echoxrayniner Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 (edited) So I'm attempting to build this one at the moment, and when I say attempt I mean that in the "absolute failure and close on giving up on it due to the amazing quality of the kit" way. I'm at a loss here, everything with this kit that could've gone wrong has gone wrong for me. None of the wheel prongs fit, the metal one is almost twice as thick as it should be, I found out too late that there's some rock hard flash on the top of the chassis so now they won't connect, the entire nose is molded too thin on one end so it actually doesn't fit, there's a quarter centimeter gap between the rear bumper and the taillight, the hole where the engine sits is a bit too far backwards so the shaker doesn't actually meet the hood, I had to use pieces of the rollcage to forge makeshift wheel prongs, I mean Christ I sincerely hope it's just tough luck on my end and having gotten a bad egg. My questions here are now that I've gotten to a point that nothing will fit without some serious breaking and ruining of the body/chassis and also literally being one squeeze away from being done, should I buy another one of these kits in hopes of getting parts that'll fit(I can score one on the cheap so it wouldn't be a giant loss) or just bin it and write it off? The reason I ask this is cause I've had varied results with MPC, the '72 Pontiac GTO is easily one of the worst kits I've ever touched but at the same time... They have made some really nice kits to counter that, I wonder now if the '79 T/A is part of the former. Edited August 9, 2016 by echoxrayniner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 If you are considering getting another one, think about making that one the "primary" one. Build that one using the lessons learned from the first one. The parts will probably be identical in the amount and type of work needed. You already have extensive experience with the problems that will be encountered in building another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charger74 Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 When i built mine, i only had 2 problems in my built. First, the mirrors are awefull, they just don't sit right so i left them off. Second, the carburetor is too high, so when you put the shaker on, the hood doesn't close properly. Maybe the front and rear bumpers could fit a little better, but i was happy the way it came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Louis Snacker Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Make a junker out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I just built mine as a curbside, with no engine because I knew about the poor fit and detail........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoxrayniner Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 Make a junker out of it. (snip)Sweet holy hell that is beautiful, is that a Buick GSX?And honestly I might do what you did Jollysipper, gut the thing and glue the shaker to the hood. All in all it's not too horrible when most the functionality's taken out of it. Wheels still sit awkwardly high on the front on mine but, suppose with some glue and struts I can mend it. Also are those BBS wheels? They look fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Yea, Friend....... Those are some BBS wheels I got in a trade on here. Thanks! Have you tried to put the decal on the hood yet? Be careful, the wetness sheets out from under the decal as soon as it is placed, making it hard to move into position. Maybe some setting solution would help............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 (edited) ...should I buy another one of these kits in hopes of getting parts that'll fit(I can score one on the cheap so it wouldn't be a giant loss) or just bin it and write it off?Sorry to tell you this. But I bought the same kit recently and saw the same problems you did. The nose fit is fixable, I guess, but sure is irritating. Mine has a "step" no matter how I position it. The left (driver) side almost looks like it's a short-shot, the fit is so bad. And the location pins on the nose definitely have to go. When I align the pins with the body, it REALLY doesn't fit. Sanding down the fenders to fit the nose will probably look goofy. So maybe I'll build up the nose with epoxy putty or Bondo.I'm already planning to build mine as an abandoned junker. I live in Upstate SC, so there's plenty of 1:1 source material around. Edited August 12, 2016 by Mike999 error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luc Janssens Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 If we only could convince the guys at Revell to downscale their 1/8th scale '79 Firebird.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 The kit is buildable,, just takes more work than most people are willing to put into it. I also glued the hood on both the ones I started lately. Easier to make it all look good and I don't find the underhood area of those cars all that intresting anyway. Putty and patence. This is the green one I've been working on,, and the same body all painted ,, Here's the finished red one I did the exact same procedure too,, What I did find with this issue that I don't remember happening with older issues of th MPC Firebird kits is I had to do some grinding with the Dremmell on the bottom of the interior bucket in the tranny hump area for the chassis plate to sit properly. I also drilled new holes to lower it some but that's more a personal choice than a necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 If we only could convince the guys at Revell to downscale their 1/8th scale '79 Firebird.... I WANT THEM TO REISSUE THAT ONE! So I can get it at a reasonable price, and not the insane, crazy high prices on eBay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Hamilton Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 I WANT THEM TO REISSUE THAT ONE! So I can get it at a reasonable price, and not the insane, crazy high prices on eBay! I still have my 1/8 Scale Turbo T/A I built back in the 80's in the basement. I may just clean it up and find some place to display it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoxrayniner Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Sorry to tell you this. But I bought the same kit recently and saw the same problems you did. The nose fit is fixable, I guess, but sure is irritating. Mine has a "step" no matter how I position it. The left (driver) side almost looks like it's a short-shot, the fit is so bad. And the location pins on the nose definitely have to go. When I align the pins with the body, it REALLY doesn't fit. Sanding down the fenders to fit the nose will probably look goofy. So maybe I'll build up the nose with epoxy putty or Bondo.I'm already planning to build mine as an abandoned junker. I live in Upstate SC, so there's plenty of 1:1 source material around.Ahh dang, I was afraid of that... I may roll with Can-Con's approach of getting a pile of putty and a lot of sandpaper and giving one a basic do-over so it at least makes for a nice shelf model, I'm just so bummed that it's this meh quality wise.Also hold on, 1/8 scale!? How much did that RRP for back then? o.O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 .Also hold on, 1/8 scale!? How much did that RRP for back then? o.O I don't remember what I paid for mine as it was in the early '90's----------$20-30 maybe? But get out your wallet and get ready for it to be bled dry if you see one of these on eBay! EVERY time I see one of these and follow the auction, the price gets crazy high! You might find a beater built-up kit for a much better price, but the caveat with these is for some reason they seem to be molded in a more brittle plastic than the standard scale fare. A lot of them I've seen in the past suffered from fractured and shattered body panels, but they went for "reasonable" money though. It's the pristine kits that are in the stratosphere price wise. REVELL! PLEASE SEE FIT TO REISSUE THIS ONE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Ok, I was just scouring through eBay and I did run across one of those 1/8 Trans Ams in the Vintage section which I follow. You can check it out here, but I can guarantee you the price will go up from where it is now. Damage to the body notwithstanding........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoxrayniner Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Ok, I was just scouring through eBay and I did run across one of those 1/8 Trans Ams in the Vintage section which I follow. You can check it out here, but I can guarantee you the price will go up from where it is now. Damage to the body notwithstanding........ 110 bucks starting bid, woof... Awh man they really need to re-release this or scale it to 1/25 D: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I don't remember what I paid for mine as it was in the early '90's----------$20-30 maybe? But get out your wallet and get ready for it to be bled dry if you see one of these on eBay! EVERY time I see one of these and follow the auction, the price gets crazy high! You might find a beater built-up kit for a much better price, but the caveat with these is for some reason they seem to be molded in a more brittle plastic than the standard scale fare. A lot of them I've seen in the past suffered from fractured and shattered body panels, but they went for "reasonable" money though. It's the pristine kits that are in the stratosphere price wise. REVELL! PLEASE SEE FIT TO REISSUE THIS ONE!! That seems about right, because I had one in the early 90s and I was a high school student working part time as a grocery bagger and had a 1:1 '79 Firebird and I could afford one! Then as an adult about 10 or 15 years later I found a mint version for around $100 to replace the high school one that never got finished because I found out at a young age: model on rear package shelf of the 1:1+rear window glass+May sunshine coming through glass for 8 hours=A pillars and top windshield frame touching top of dashboard! I'm not surprised to see the huge crack in the body of the one in the listing, because the 2nd attempt of finishing this kit has not been much better. I had to repair a badly warped hood and tried to reshape it heating it with hot water, but that just led to it snapping. There have been other pieces that have snapped on the body as well, hopefully all easily repairable though because none of my damage has been as severe as the listing's. I would love to see this reissued as well and a 1/24th or 25th scale version as well, Revell had a decent snap tite, and it may have even had an engine. I just would like to see the big one back out, maybe I could FINALLY build one without destroying it in the process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robberbaron Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 (edited) I would love to see this reissued as well and a 1/24th or 25th scale version as well, Revell had a decent snap tite, and it may have even had an engine. I had a similar vintage Revell 1/25 Z28 snap kit, probably released about the same time. The Camaro did have an opening hood and some basic engine detail, think it might also have had a separate rear axle/spring assembly. It was definitely a step above your typical snap kit, and I wouldn't mind having one again to make a nice shelf model. Didn't know there was a similar Trans Am, with a CHiPs tie-in, no less... Edited August 14, 2016 by Robberbaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Neat..don't remember that one...I have a Revell '79 Trans Am kit I built as a kid back then, but it's not stock...has molded in flared fenders, turbine wheels and side pipes..very simplified engine IIRC> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I had a similar vintage Revell 1/25 Z28 snap kit, probably released about the same time. The Camaro did have an opening hood and some basic engine detail, think it might also have had a separate rear axle/spring assembly. It was definitely a step above your typical snap kit, and I wouldn't mind having one again to make a nice shelf model. Didn't know there was a similar Trans Am, with a CHiPs tie-in, no less...Yeah, just to bad Ponch's Trans Am was a 73 or 74 and no where close to a 79-81! I have some Testor's reboxed kits I found maybe 10 years ago now at Big Lots, and two of them were a 80? Trans Am very similar to the one as Ponch's T/A and the same era Camaro that does have some engine detail as well. I'm almost thinking they MAY have been these old Revell kits, because the front end of the T/A I have snaps on very similar to a kit I had way back when I was young. The best snap I ever found was the Monogram 85 Camaro issued years ago as the "Simon & Simon" Camaro, and it actually includes a FULL engine, not just a basic suggestion.Neat..don't remember that one...I have a Revell '79 Trans Am kit I built as a kid back then, but it's not stock...has molded in flared fenders, turbine wheels and side pipes..very simplified engine IIRC>I think that they also did a custom John Travolta version that had the custom parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I think that they also did a custom John Travolta version that had the custom parts. Revell also had a Camaro that had a similar (same?) body w/ the flared fenders. I built that one from a 'Hot Rod' series issue in the 80s, molded in blue with a blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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