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Revell 1968 Hemi Dart - First Look


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As many of you have guessed Bill and I are building and reviewing the !968 Hemi Dart by Revell for our next project. Many of you have expressed great interest, and also some concerns, about what this kit will or won't be, so rather than wait any longer let's get to it.

First - many of you may have heard the A100 style bucket seats and the plain steel wheels didn't make the cut. This is true. We're already working with aftermarket vendors to fill in the gaps so these should be available by the time the kits hit the shelves. While this may be a disappointment for many I believe it's not a deal breaker, just something that requires a bit of modeling know-how.

Now that that is out of the way, let's move on:

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This kit is a two in one, meaning you can build it as a stock Dart GTS or as the Hemi Dart. Several parts trees were added to the original kit, making this more of a continuation of the Dart kit line rather than a separate kit of its own.

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Here we see the stock body along with both the stock hood and the drag hood and scoop.

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The scoop comes with three support struts molded in. The scoop was just placed on the hood for this picture, it fits much better than this pictures indicates.

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There has been talk of the rear wheel opening shape and a cut line on the body for that wheel opening. Here I've highlighted the scribed line on the inside of the body with black marker to make it show up more clearly for the photo. This line marks where you'll need to cut or grind to open the wheel well to match the lines on the Hemi Dart. As many have speculated this was done in an effort to save money and to allow the body to be used for future releases requiring the stock wheel opening.

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Two floor pans are included, one flat and one with the molded in factory console.

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On the right is the stock rear bumper with the molded in rear trunk molding. Since the race car did not use that molding Revell tooled up a new rear bumper and a filler panel for the rear trunk panel.

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Here we see the stock wheel covers on the right along with generic Cragar style mags on the left. The supplied tires are four generic street tires and two M&H Racemaster Slicks with sidewall markings.

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This tree is new to this release and includes the roll bar, Dana rear axle, race headers and pipes. The original 8 3/4" differential in still in the kit. You'll need that if you're building a car with an automatic trans or the original Magnum motor. Hemi cars with four speeds got the Dana, Hemi automatic equipped cars got the smaller diff.

Edited by Len Carsner
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I think I went over the size limit for the post. Here they are now:

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This tree has the Hemi engine with a four speed transmission. The other big block has an automatic trans molded to it. You'll need to break out the razor saw if you want to mix-and-match.

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The decal sheet is a nice blend of stock and generic race decals. Bill will be using an aftermarket sheet on his build to be a specific car.

Keep watching, I'll have more in a couple of days.

Bill and Len

Here's one more, just playing around with parts:

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Nice...I'll probably get a couple, do one as a Hemi drag car and one as a Hemi street machine. I have one of the earlier '68 kits w/ a resin Hemi transkit (separate decklid, opened out rear fenders, A-100 seats, steelies) that I want to do as one of the primer gray/black cars that I've seen photos of.

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I have the first issue of this kit (wow, I think it was somewhere in the mid-90s) and welcome its' return, especially with the Hemi and optional supporting parts. I built mine as a Hemi-swapped stock bodied car; now I can buy just one kit and have either option. I am disappointed in the fact that the correct Hemi S/S seats and door panels didn't get added, I am happy that they did not cut the body for the larger rear wheel well openings. Someone was actually thinking when they did just the 'cut here' lines instead. Kudos Revell; even without the correct seats, I will buy at least 6 of these kits, as the 68 Dart is my favorite A-body!

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Bill & Len,

Thanks for the kit review, is there a release date for this kit as yet or will it be up in the air for another six months?

Bill and I get them about 5-6 weeks before stock hits the shelves. During our last project (the 1972 Cutlass) the kits actually came before we finished our review.

Bottom line - if we've got them then youi'll have them within a few weeks. We don't get vapourware or "maybes", we just get them first to review so you'll know what to expect when they arrive.

Thanks,

Len C.

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I gotta mess of these kit's in 68 and 69 issues, I LOVE this body style Dart. One thing i notice, with that separete trunk panel, it MAY be able to be modded into a 67 also. I know the tailights and front grille are different, but i think it'll be doable. I'm gonna end up with a few of them just for that! Havein the Dana and the Hemi with 4sp sure don't hurt either! THANKS for the sneek peek Len, MUCH appericiated!!!biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gifwink.gif

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Guest Chris V

It looks like another hit from Revell!!!

I don't wanna sound like one of the people mindlessly bashing Revell's new products, but I just don't get why they would go through the trouble of tooling up all those new parts for the kit, just to leave out details like the seats and door panels... It seems somewhat half-hearted.

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This kit will go good with my 66 Impala kit (which I haven't even started yet)

I know, I know the Impala should be built by now...

I haven't even started my '62 or '66 Impalas...still haven't started my Revell '65 Impala convertible kit from years ago...alas, my buy-to-finish ratio is pretty poor...

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Well, we got the Lindberg Little Red Wagon for the buckets and the Revell '68 Charger for some steelies, right? Bit like the '57 Black Widow, not quite done all the way. But nothing we can't deal with either, if I read it right...

Similar to what I had in mind!

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Are we getting the proper cross ram intake manifold or are we getting the same old street hemi that has been in a half dozen other kits? The more I see of this one the more disappointed I am.

oldscool

It looks like the cross ram is in there(see pic). Maybe Len can post a few more sprue shots and the rest of the box art?

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