Did Anyone Else Have Trouble With the 2018 Monogram Frank Iaconio Camaro? Fitment Issues...

[TheCamaroKid]

I know it was a limited release in 2018. I don't know if it's every kit but mine seems to be the kit from hell.  It was an unopened kit from 2018 that I brought recently. I'm just building the body to use as a slot car drag car and it's been nothing but problems. For a Revell-Monogram kit it's surprising. It has the quality of an MPC. A lot of the pieces are just two big. And not sand them down bit but actually cut too big including the rear tail lights and the rear hatch glass. The hood was too small. I know most people don't glue their hoods and have them open, so you can see the engine but if you wanted a closed hood, you can't. I had to putty the front of my hood for it to fit.

The waterslide decals were uneven and too big. Each side has the large water slide decals that say Frank Iaconio that basically acts as a wrap. I've done tons of NASCARs before, so I am used to large wrap style decals but these were just too long and did not fit evenly on either side. Lastly, the windshield glass. You are suppose to glue it from the front like a NASCAR but there really isn't a place for it to sit. It's hard to use clamps due to the shape of the third gen Camaro. I have an MPC Camaro IROC Z and it has plenty of space inside the frame for the windshield to sit so you can apply glue, press and tape. But the Iaconio pro stock? No it just kept slipping and slipping. I never had this much frustration with a model car before.

I love the car and the look of it. I can't wait to see it on the drag strip but man is it Revell P-61 Black Widow levels of frustrating. Has anyone else done this build? Did anyone else have similar issues or did I just get a bad model.

[Force]

Well this kit is a bit different from 1984 when the Reher-Morrison and Frank Iaconio Camaro Pro Stock kits was originally issued and the chassis and engine, even tho' you are not going to use it, is modified to later versions of the Pro Stock kits as the basic tooling except for the 1980's Camaro evolved to two different versions of the Firebird Pro Stock kits with different bodies, the first in 1991-92 with the STP and Pennzoil Firebirds and the other in 1999 with the Goodwrench and Summit Firebirds.
The latest version from 1999 was reissued with generic decals 2007 and then backdated to the original 1984 bodied Reher-Morrison and Frank Iaconio bodies again in 2013 and 2018 but with the later version of the chassis and engine.
The decals are also new for the latest  reissue and might not be correct in size.
I built the first version from 1984 and I don't remember having any probelms with that one...but things can change over the years.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Force

[TheCamaroKid]

  On 4/26/2023 at 2:25 PM, Force said:

Well this kit is a bit different from 1984 when the Reher-Morrison and Frank Iaconio Camaro Pro Stock kits was originally issued and the chassis and engine, even tho' you are not going to use it, is modified to later versions of the Pro Stock kits as the basic tooling except for the 1980's Camaro evolved to two different versions of the Firebird Pro Stock kits with different bodies, the first in 1991-92 with the STP and Pennzoil Firebisrds and the other in 1999 with the Goodwrench and Summit Firebirds.
The latest version from 1999 was reissued with generic decals 2007 and then backdated to the original 1984 bodied Reher-Morrison and Frank Iaconio bodies again in 2013 and 2018 but with the later version of the chassis and engine.
The decals are also new for the latest  reissue and might not be correct in size.
I built the first version from 1984 and I don't remember having any probelms with that one...but things can change over the years.

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I wonder if I just got a bad mold of a model. I only did just the body and it was the single most frustrating one I have done. I did an MPC IROC Z and it was straight forward. Much better fitment too for both the head lights and taillights.