Information on Monogram's Exotics Series

[Art Anderson]

So are you calling him a liar then? Or is it possible life exists outside of your frame of reference in Western Indiana?

Actually, I got the models which are the topic of this thread confused with Monogram's 'Mini Exotics", which were 1/43 scale kits--those did not sell at all well, in my shop, nor at any of my wholesale distributors--they were on closeout lists for months.

Art

[Zoom Zoom]

I think I heard that the RX-7 is going to be released this year. I have plans for a couple of those, and I also plan to hit a big model car show later in the year and the rest of these cars are all on my look-out list! I've already got the MB, the Ferrari and the 924 but I can always use more!

The RX7 will be a 2-in-1 this time; full stock and race version all in one box. Definitely looking forward to it! It's not part of the Monogram exotic series; has full detail. I wouldn't be surprised if the Revell Miata gets reissued soon, it's been a long time since it's been out and it's a great kit. Much more detail than the Tamiya kit.

[Zoom Zoom]

Here's a built 308 by Eric Cole from another board. Pretty nice kit, and I had a 1:1 to compare. 

I told Eric when he built it that it's exactly the first 308 I ever saw, exact same color combo. Almost wrecked my Dad's car when I saw it. One of my favorite Ferrari designs ever. For such a dead-simple kit, it's the best looking, best proportioned 308 plastic kit ever. I have one of the Revell AG reissues that I intend to build one of these days when I need a good slump-buster.

[Rob Hall]

Actually, I got the models which are the topic of this thread confused with Monogram's 'Mini Exotics", which were 1/43 scale kits--those did not sell at all well, in my shop, nor at any of my wholesale distributors--they were on closeout lists for months.

Art

Actually, the Mini-Exotics were 1/87th HO scale.   You are thinking of the Ultimates, which were 1/43rd kits--'67 Corvette convertible and Shelby 427 Cobra.

[Snake45]

Great thread! I've built the 308 and the Carrera. Both came out super-nice and my only complaint with either was I thought the back tires on the Carrera are way too small, but I could fix that if the mood strikes me. I have the 928 new in the box and hope to build it sometime soon for my "polished plastic" (molded in red) collection. (I painted the other two.)

I'd buy a couple more from this series if they ever came back.

[unclescott58]

Actually, I got the models which are the topic of this thread confused with Monogram's 'Mini Exotics", which were 1/43 scale kits--those did not sell at all well, in my shop, nor at any of my wholesale distributors--they were on closeout lists for months.

Art

I found those 1/43 Monogram '67 Corvette and 427 Cobra a major disappointment when they came out. They were a pain in the you know what to build. And I would not buy them again if they ever reissued. But, 1/24 scale kits originally talked about in this thread, I'd love to see them come back. 

Scott

 

[peteski]

I found those 1/43 Monogram '67 Corvette and 427 Cobra a major disappointment when they came out. They were a pain in the you know what to build. And I would not buy them again if they ever reissued. But, 1/24 scale kits originally talked about in this thread, I'd love to see them come back. 

Scott

 

I found the Monogram Ultimates to be wicked awesome models. They were molded very well with lots of details, vinyl tires, chrome parts and even a set of photoetched parts. Even the packaging was well done. For the price it was a bargain.  The problem is that U.S. modelers aren't into small scale models - they all want 1:24/25 scale cars.  Too bad that they didn;t sell well and more weren't made.  Here is one after many hours of enjoyable modeling.

[Edsel-Dan]

I have 2 of that Ultimates Cobra

Never did get the Vette!!!

 

I have No problem with Smaller scale kits

I hope that the 132 All Stars sells well for Round2

and we get the 143 series next

Hopefully including kits Never re-issued after the original run, ie; T-Bird, VW Beetle, Indy car, Custom GTO

Edited February 2, 2017 by Edsel-Dan

[oldcarfan]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Revell Miata gets reissued soon, it's been a long time since it's been out and it's a great kit. Much more detail than the Tamiya kit.

I loved that kit. I built one with the 5.0 from a Mustang kit and made a modern day Cobra!

[oldcarfan]

Could there be a stickie added where posts that cover some aspect of the history model kits could be collected? I've seen several over the years and it would be nice to collect them all in one place.

[Zoom Zoom]

I loved that kit. I built one with the 5.0 from a Mustang kit and made a modern day Cobra!

Nowadays the old 5.0 Monster Miata has been put out to pasture, the hot setups for engine swaps for early Miatas is the GM LS series V8; being 2 valve engines they fit fairly well. Even more interesting from size/weight perspective is an LFX conversion, w/modern GM V6. With the right tune even that V6 (which stock has about 75 more HP than the old 5.0) is going to have a power to weight ratio that will blow your mind...or even that of an old Cobra! The Coyote engine would be interesting, but since it has more modern 4 valve heads, it takes a lot more real estate than the GM LS series. 

[Bob Johnson]

I happened to find this thread about the 1/24th scale Monogram Sports Car Series and how they were developed..and how that series taught the design and patter model builders how to work I the 1/24th scale model car arena.. It was fun working with Gary providing this insight... I also noted a post by Art Anderson indicating the kits were a failure and that failure is why BobJohnson was fired from Revell-Monogram...hmmm .. I happened to be part of those years at Monogram and Revell-Monogram..because I AM Bob Johnson.simply put, Art Anderson does not know S**t from Shinola!  The sports car series eventually evolved into the extensive series of muscle cars, the pro stock Camario and T-bird and the amazing NASCAR series we began developing right after the 1981 Daytona 500..in a decade, this series sold over 13 million kits in multiple versions.   When Tim Cawley came to Revell-Monogram, it did not take long for me to realize this soap salesman from Proctor & Gamble knew nothing about the hobby industry..Our son was 10 and growing up without his dad..I RESIGNED on April 15th of 1991 and moved to Charlotte, NC forming IRT Design..doing NASCAR licensing and research..I was a founder of Accurate Miniatures and the person behind the 1/24 Corvette Grand Sport using reference photos I found in the Monogram files...I created Creative Masters at Monogram in1984, and led design on NASCAR die-cast for Revell Collection, Carousel I, 1320 Inc., Team Caliber, Mattel NASCAR, and HO projects for Classic Metal Works..love the two buses!  I have done the rework on the Brawner Hawk for  Replicarz as well as the two Marmon Wasps, the two Challenger I models, and the upcoming Lola T-90..  I write the annual book text for AutoCult...by the way, our son earned his Eagle Rank In BSA in 1999 And is now a Major in the USAF..I am a 

25-year BSA leader.... Hey Art...deal with facts; not your uninformed vitriol!   Happy building!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dragline]

Wow!

[randyc]

I happened to find this thread about the 1/24th scale Monogram Sports Car Series and how they were developed..and how that series taught the design and patter model builders how to work I the 1/24th scale model car arena.. It was fun working with Gary providing this insight... I also noted a post by Art Anderson indicating the kits were a failure and that failure is why BobJohnson was fired from Revell-Monogram...hmmm .. I happened to be part of those years at Monogram and Revell-Monogram..because I AM Bob Johnson.simply put, Art Anderson does not know S**t from Shinola!  The sports car series eventually evolved into the extensive series of muscle cars, the pro stock Camario and T-bird and the amazing NASCAR series we began developing right after the 1981 Daytona 500..in a decade, this series sold over 13 million kits in multiple versions.   When Tim Cawley came to Revell-Monogram, it did not take long for me to realize this soap salesman from Proctor & Gamble knew nothing about the hobby industry..Our son was 10 and growing up without his dad..I RESIGNED on April 15th of 1991 and moved to Charlotte, NC forming IRT Design..doing NASCAR licensing and research..I was a founder of Accurate Miniatures and the person behind the 1/24 Corvette Grand Sport using reference photos I found in the Monogram files...I created Creative Masters at Monogram in1984, and led design on NASCAR die-cast for Revell Collection, Carousel I, 1320 Inc., Team Caliber, Mattel NASCAR, and HO projects for Classic Metal Works..love the two buses!  I have done the rework on the Brawner Hawk for  Replicarz as well as the two Marmon Wasps, the two Challenger I models, and the upcoming Lola T-90..  I write the annual book text for AutoCult...by the way, our son earned his Eagle Rank In BSA in 1999 And is now a Major in the USAF..I am a 

25-year BSA leader.... Hey Art...deal with facts; not your uninformed vitriol!   Happy building!

Art retracted his statement and he seems like a pretty standup guy from what I've seen.  

I loved the 1/43s from Revell.  I bought both Cobra and Vette.  I have never finished the Cobra but still have it for a "someday".   the Vette was beautiful when finished.  

I also bought several of the GS kits from AM.  Was VERY disappointed when the Roadster never came out.   I would love to build that one.  Being from NC, I was hoping AM would make it big.  The kits were so very nice.

I built a BUNCH of Monogram NASCAR kits over the years.  Even the funky Pontiac/Buick/Olds bodies that didn't fit the old Chassis very well.  We all did back in the day.  

Thanks for the little history lesson and anytime you want to provide more inside tales from any of your model company days, I'll be glad to read it.   I have always been fascinated by the history and the processes used to determine what is kitted.  

 

 

 

[Foxer]

This was very interesting. When I got back into modeling in the '90's I did a Porsche 924, replicating the 1:1 I had and am positive I used the Monogram.

[djflyer]

Great information about how it gets done (sometimes).  If that tooling is still around I wonder if it would sell - maybe as a "Special Edition"? I have the 924 Rally and a built-up 450SL that's set for a re-do.  I don't recall the TR-7, but I do have two of the TR-8's and that is definitely the only kit of that car. 

I also have both cars from the Ultimates series - 289 Cobra and 427 Vette. Fantastic detail and relatively easy to build.  I had such hopes the 289 Cobra would get scaled up to 24th to go with the RM 427 Cobras. Dam.

I guess this also proves that if you create an accurate body shape and decent visible detail at a REASONABLE price, people will buy it. Now we get curbsides for big retail prices.

[torinobradley]

IIRC, The Monogram Cobra was a 289 (or a 260?) wire wheeled car.

Also, loved those Monogram cars for those Pirelli tires!  I remember them being the lowest profile tires you could get at the time and once the back fill was trimmed, most wheels fit them.

Edited August 24, 2017 by torinobradley

[Zoom Zoom]

Love the 1/24th Monogram sports cars. Just finished a couple of the reissued RX7's, one I can't show yet (race version) and this one, built as a base-model using steel wheels/Dunlops from a Fujimi early GTR wheel & tire parts pack:

Here's what I did w/the 924, I researched and built a Martini Edition, making my own stripes digitally and printing them using a laser printer on decal film. It's easy when the base color is white. 

[oldcarfan]

I went by the LHS yesterday and they were sold out of the RX-7. I'm waiting to get another. I would really like to see this whole line of cars reissued. Since I started this thread, I've managed to collect all except the Triumph and the Z car. I have 5 of the 911 so far.

[djflyer]

The RX-7 is an excellent kit, but wasn't part of the original Monogram Exotics series.  All of those were curbsides with a very limited parts count - I think my Triumph TR-8's has maybe 15 if you count the wheels/tires as one.  Another identifier is all of the original releases had kit numbers starting with 2100. 

[keyser]

The 635CSi, 928, Stratos, and a couple others (Bora) were part of the series too but had lots of detail. The RX7 seemed to be small enough that it fit in the tiny boxes like the 911/SL etc. The 308 had nice detail, prob best of the 308's out there, also fit in tiny box.

[Casey]

On 8/27/2017 at 11:08 PM, djflyer said:

all of the original releases had kit numbers starting with 2100. 

[Casey]

From the 1977 Monogram catalog:

[Motor City]

That Capri has a wonky front end, but reading through the topic, it was a gutsy decision to come out with these cars.!

Edited April 17, 2020 by Motor City

[Casey]

On 4/16/2020 at 7:52 PM, Motor City said:

That Capri has a wonky front end, but reading through the topic, it was a gutsy decision to come out with these cars.!

The Rally version of the Ford Capri II looks better on this page from the 1980 Monogram catalog: