New Monkees - this was their car! (OOB)

[Faust]

It’s not a surprise when companies try to associate themselves with what’s “new” and “cool”. While modelling in the 2020’s might not be quite so fixated on this, there was a time when modelling was a more general hobby and companies did try to ride the coat tails of profitable and hoped-to-be profitable enterprises.

There are lots of kits of vehicles from famous TV shows produced from the ‘60s to the ‘80s, so it really comes as no surprise that Monogram also decided to produce a kit from the much-hyped “New Monkees” TV show that aired in 1987.  Sadly, Monogram’s bet didn’t pay off, and the New Monkees Mustang GT Convertible doesn’t carry the same cultural weight as the original Monkeemobile, Knight Rider’s KITT or even Magnum PI’s Ferrari 308.

However, they did indeed kit the New Monkees Mustang, and I came across one last year at an antiques store. It was so weird, such a piece of ‘80s kitsch, that I had to get it. Now you can check out what you might have missed back in the day at the link below!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/monogram-1-24-new-monkees-mustang-gt-convertible/

[youpey]

i remember watching the monkees tv show. it was terrible

[Chuck Kourouklis]

As brilliant as your reviews always are, Adam, I gotta engage in some light record-sorting on this one.  It's entirely correct for you to catch the odor of whiffed opportunity here - but the whole endeavor is an order of magnitude more cynical even than it first appears.

It wasn't just the Monkees concept that was "phoned in".  The whole kit was "phoned in".  Monogram updated the body and the wheels and absolutely NOTHING ELSE to the '87+/ "AeroFox" standards this kit is supposed to represent.  Everything in the box is redolent of "just swirl up the plastic and they'll never notice the rest".

You could judge for yourself the merits of some odd proportioning here and there, and of pressing 16" wheels into service where 15s would have been correct; but there's no disputing the untouched interior and carbureted engine were obsolete and bitterly inaccurate for this body style.  At least Monogram warned the cognoscenti with those model pictures on the side panel.

That's why the 1992 convertible is different - 16" wheels were correct by then, properly updated to the five-spoke design, and there was at least a good faith attempt to get the interior and the fuel injected 302 up to post '87 spec.

None of which should be such bad news, in the end - if you're looking for a "loser kit" standard-bearer, this may just be the most comprehensively overqualified offering ever from Monogram.  🙂

Edited April 15, 2021 by Chuck Kourouklis
diction, clarity

[Snake45]

21 minutes ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

if you're looking for a "loser kit" standard-bearer, this may just be the most comprehensively overqualified offering ever from Monogram.  🙂

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

[1972coronet]

I was in high school in the mid 1980's when reruns --and reunion tours-- of the original ( and only ) Monkees programme were aired on MTV . That steaming pile of Mullet-era seagull sauce was the worst thing since New Coke ! 

I came mighty close to buying that kit on clearance back in early 1988 , but decided to pass -- just couldn't see-past the acid washed denim and moussed-up mullets to justify the abject embarrassment I'd potential incur if I were caught even looking at the box with that Aqua Net mess on it .

[Faust]

Oh, man! 

I knew this one was going to provoke a reaction! 

That's interesting about just how phoned-in the kit is, Chuck. I'll be honest: Whereas I normally do scrupulous research on a car I intend to build stock (Difficult for the MPC Monza "S" Sportback, believe me...), this one was different. I honestly just didn't care. I thought the engine looked very out of date, but then again, the whole concept was so misbegotten that it seems fitting.  With that being said, when I build it, I think I may just leave the plastic bare. I can gloss and buff the plastic  as the actual paintwork. I only bought the car because I thought it would be "New Monkee" special in some way, and it would be fun to mock it and its source material.

32 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

I was in high school in the mid 1980's when reruns --and reunion tours-- of the original ( and only ) Monkees programme were aired on MTV . That steaming pile of Mullet-era seagull sauce was the worst thing since New Coke ! 

I came mighty close to buying that kit on clearance back in early 1988 , but decided to pass -- just couldn't see-past the acid washed denim and moussed-up mullets to justify the abject embarrassment I'd potential incur if I were caught even looking at the box with that Aqua Net mess on it .

As you can see, I'm not the only one down with a little Monkee-bashing! (Man, that sounds dirty when you say it aloud...)

The only "special" part is the swirly plastic, and I'd hate to see that get lost to the ages. I mean, if we don't preserve this kind of half-arsed poop-show stuff, then it could happen again. 

What do you guys think about that idea? (I'm almost afraid to ask!)

[64Comet404]

13 minutes ago, Faust said:

The only "special" part is the swirly plastic, and I'd hate to see that get lost to the ages. I mean, if we don't preserve this kind of half-arsed poop-show stuff, then it could happen again. 

What do you guys think about that idea? (I'm almost afraid to ask!)

Keep the swirly plastic, Adam. It's the main concept that differentiates this car from any other Mustang. Why the 'brains' behind the show would want a faux-marble effect on a car is another matter...

[Faust]

I think the use of "brains" in those quotes tells you everything we need to know.

I mean, if the New Monkees seem like a good idea, then why wouldn't a marbleized Stang be just as good? Right?

[Motor City]

I didn't know there was a "New" Monkees.  I remember the original put-together group.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

HAH!  Now THAT'S very interesting, Mr Faust!  To call the kit out plainly for what it is would be a discredit to perfectly serviceable manure all over the world - but as a meta-statement on an '80s conceptual retread of a corporate band?

An '83 GLX convertible festooned with body panels and wheels slapped on in a half-a$$ update is all too perfect, isn't it?

If you're into clearcoating, Mr Color 46 won't yellow on you, but yes; definitely let the only committed aspect of this kit shine through.

 

 

[Can-Con]

3 hours ago, 64Comet404 said:

Keep the swirly plastic, Adam. It's the main concept that differentiates this car from any other Mustang. Why the 'brains' behind the show would want a faux-marble effect on a car is another matter...

IIRC, it snowed a lot in California in the '80s. 😎

[1972coronet]

5 hours ago, Faust said:

What do you guys think about that idea? (I'm almost afraid to ask!)

Definitely preserve that "Swiraladelic" (actual nomenclature) scheme !  I can just smell the odours of Aqua Net , hair gel , and Marlboro Reds ! 

[1972coronet]

Crystal Pepsi generation ! As the playwright George Bernard Shaw put it, "Youth is wasted on the young." 

[Snake45]

13 hours ago, 64Comet404 said:

Keep the swirly plastic, Adam. 

Agreed--that's just Hella Cool! I'd LOVE to find some kind of curbside kit (hood in place) molded that way. 

[mk11]

On 4/14/2021 at 8:26 PM, Chuck Kourouklis said:

 The whole kit was "phoned in".  Monogram updated the body and the wheels and absolutely NOTHING ELSE to the '87+/ "AeroFox" standards this kit is supposed to represent.  Everything in the box is redolent of "just swirl up the plastic and they'll never notice the rest"... there's no disputing the untouched interior and carbureted engine were obsolete and bitterly inaccurate for this body style.  At least Monogram warned the cognoscenti with those model pictures on the side panel.

At least it makes a great parts source for fans of the dual snorkel carbed 5.0 cars  ... more affordable than the original '83 ragtop 

 

 

With a talented resin caster capable of sculpting the proper slot between the headlights on the '83 fascia to make an '85/'86 front cap and maybe casting the '79-'82 & '83/'84 front ends, along with tail lights etc, we could see the complete line of four-eyed foxes being within reach of interested modelers.

 

[64Comet404]

50 minutes ago, mk11 said:

At least it makes a great parts source for fans of the dual snorkel carbed 5.0 cars  ... more affordable than the original '83 ragtop

That '83 ragtop is a difficult kit to locate nowadays. I have one that I bought with a built interior and engine; the New Monkees kit came in handy for replacements that I don't have to prime and seal in order to paint in light colours!

[Chuck Kourouklis]

1 hour ago, mk11 said:

At least it makes a great parts source for fans of the dual snorkel carbed 5.0 cars  ... more affordable than the original '83 ragtop 

 

 

GREAT POINT.  I got the '83 a few years back, recall it being a bit pricey.  Really like that one best of the Monogram Fox-bodies.