Faust

MPC was so bad for that - "thinking ahead" with what was coming next year... and being wrong. The reissued '78 Pacer X the aforementioned Sportback Chevy are two other examples, for sure. I'm sure there are others. However, it wasn't just MPC. Monogram's Corvette America is dead wrong, too. It took the late '70s 4-door vette and updated the endcaps to make it an '80 or '81. However, they left the original wheels and Targa Bar on, and these weren't present on the miniscule number of '80s (maybe 1 or 2) they made. Hmm... I think I should review that kit sometime... For some reason, I LOVE that thing!

Hey, that's a pretty good accomplishment on my part, then! Oh, man, I agree on IMSA panels - Vettes suffered too. You've seen the "Travolta Fever" (I call it "Revolta Fever") Trans-Am, right? You wanna see flares ruin a sleek and sexy car??? (PS - I NEED one of those so, soo badly) I like the proposed geneology - sounds right to me! Man, those "movie" cars remind me of the Tonka trucks that were all Mad Maxed in the '80s. Remember, they were recalled due to lead paint, I think?

As I'm sure you know, I have that Revell Super Spyder, too. Sure, it's all wrong, but it looks darned cool, especially the front end. I couldn't leave it behind after losing out on the yellow MPC. It's one to just build for the fun of it, accuracy be damned. If you can believe it, I actually turned it down three times, but figured fourth time was the charm. I'm glad I did - I don't know when I'll get back to Richmond, MI, what with all this craziness going on.

No, as far as I know, once the Monza went to the slot grille, that was the end of the mods for MPC. Just more custom pieces. I had a chance to get Hot Streak, but I thought I'd wait for it. It disappeared. That's why I bought Long Shot and the Revell. As for a break from the crazy, I hear you. Besides, what's crazier than MPC customs and Harry Bradley decals? P.S. I love that ProStreet/IMSA/WTF machine. None of the others have that Hi-riser intake snorkel! Sweet!!

Spring has sprung, and that means that it’s wet, muddy and generally kinda crappy weather-wise. Add in all the craziness that’s going on in the world, and it might be enough to make you pull the covers back over your head and just wait for better times. However, there’s nothing to brighten a dull day like some good old-school MPC craziness!! In order to brighten everyone’s spririts, and to thank everyone for helping my little site get to 300,000 views, I thought something different should be done over at the Sprue Lagoon. Thus, I decided to put my four MPC Monzas head-to-head and see just how similar, or different, they are! So, if you want a trip back in time to a more badge-engineered, parts-reusing, mix-and-match era, where bad customs and crazy decals were the norm, then strap in and check out the link below! H-Body shenanigans a-plenty await! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/mpc-monza-parts-comparison/

Of course, I want to get one of these badly. With my LHSs all being shut down due to COVID, and the fact I rarely buy online, it's going to be a challenge, but I'll find a way! :) I agree with what is said above. You guys know me - I'm a super-stickler for stock detail... my choice is usually "stock, stock stock". No customs until the Stock is built! However, I love Luvs, and you know what, just having one to do with the Mighty Mike decals is neat enough. I don't want to bash my face it trying to accurize this. I'm just going to be glad I have it, paint it and have fun with it. I do love that they've put a perfectly '70s mural on the camper top, too. Even if the decals aren't right for the year, so be it. You're not going to get "Mighty Mike" decals again in this lifetime, I wouldn't think, so I'll take what I can get. Wrong engine, wrong wheels, wrong year. Three strikes and stock's out. Now, I'll just treat it like the custom minitruck it is! I can hardly wait!

Hey Randy! Oh, I didn't get relegated, I put it here. I mean, it is a die-cast after all! Besides, the point is to make it available to people who want to see it. If this place doesn't get a lot of traffic, that just tells me that there are a lot of people missing out! If it's loser, there's a good chance one of us will want it! I know you know how to find me!

During the Cold War, nuclear-tipped, rocket-launched weapons were all the rage. From the towering ICBMs that would end the world to the ridiculous and perilously short-ranged Davy Crockett nuclear mortar, it was expected that all phases of future war would be conducted by some kind of rocket bombardment with mushroom clouds as the end result. A perfect example of one such piece of equipment, and one that falls somewhere between the two aforementioned extremes, was the Honest John. This was a truck launched artillery rocket that could be fielded with both conventional and unconventional warheads. With a range of between 15 and 30 miles, it was basically the equivalent to tube artillery. It was highly mobile and promised to deliver nuclear Armageddon to an advancing enemy army from behind friendly lines. Of course, it only makes sense that there would be replicas of such a system, since it was important to the US and its allies. However, one of the more interesting reproductions of this weapon is actually a toy! I mean, it was the Cold War, what else were kids going to play with besides battlefield nukes? The toy I’m talking about is the Dinky Toys No. 665 Honest John, and it was a particularly long-lived model in the Dinky line! Check out this diecast doomsday weapon at the link below! Sure, it’s not a kit, but it’s a neat replica and it really fires! (Don’t point at eyes or face…) http://]https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/dinky-no-665-m386-honest-john-missile-launcher/

They say that “everything old is new again” and I think they must have had our current fascination with nostalgia particularly in mind when coming up with that phrase. The good thing about nostalgia is that sometimes it spawns a “do-over”, where whatever is being fondly remembered gets reinvented with the benefit of modern sensibilities and technology. Nowhere is that more apparent, to me at least, than when it comes to toys. The current crop of Transformers toys are almost exclusively re-dos of old classic standbys but with modern, top-notch design and functionality. However, before this wave of nostalgia hit, I had thought it would be fun to try and bring two of my favourite things (modelling, and Transformers) together. Rather, though, than model someone famous this time, I decided to go for a “What if they were real?” approach. That’s not that entertaining when the subject is a yellow Beetle, perhaps, but it gets plenty freaky when it’s a magenta, blue an purple quiltwork of an AH-64 Apache! Check out my “just for fun” take on the classic Decepticon helicopter named Spinister. What, you don’t remember him? Check it out at the link below, and you’ll wonder how the “in disguise” part was every supposed to work in this guy’s favour. https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/mecha-robots/academy-1-72-ah-64a-apache-spinister/

I've got a '92 Mustang GT Convertible, too. I know that's not an '80s kit, but it looks really good. The definitely seemed to get better as they went. Seems to me their 4th Gen T/A and Formula were excellent as well.

If you go to my page, the Sprue Lagoon, you'll see I have a number of kits from this time period. I agree the T-bird is nice, and I have the aeroback Monte, but haven't built it yet. I have built the SVO and the GTA. I was more impressed with the Stang than the T/A, sadly. I think they're good, maybe not as fine as MPC though. Yes, MPC has fit issues galore, but they were great for interior detail and separate engine bay bottles and accessories by the end of their life.

Well the people have spoken, and the winner in my poll to see what should be reviewed next was the Blackurn Shark, from FROG. This is one of those “Because you demanded it!” moments, and I have to say, I was surprised the Shark came out on top. It was close with the Neiuport and Macchi coming in close second and third, but the mighty Shark won out! Hailing from the 1968 time period, this first-style boxing certainly has he years on its side! So, if you’ like me and love a good classic kit, or you just want to see how it was done in the old days, check out the link below! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/frog-1-72-blackburn-shark-out-of-box/

OOOOOOOh Yeah!!!! I NEEED that so badly. So hot. Thanks guys. Now I can loose sleep looking forward to it, rather than worrying if it's real!

Hey everybody! Yesterday, my brother sent me a picture of a facebook post. It had the old Monogram Chevy Luv Street Truck (the white one, with the camper top) done in correct yellow with the correct Mighty Mike stripes, but still with the camper top and new graphics on the side. The pic said it was "built for Revell", and it was implied that this kit was being reissued sometime, I assume with these new, correct decals. Has anyone else heard about this? is this real, or was someone pulling our chains? If it is real, then hoooooo boy! I know I'm going to want some of that! Just curious what you guys, with your ears closer to the ground, might have heard or know. Fingers crossed!

Glad you enjoyed them, and yeah, he's a good one! You sound like my brother - I think he voted the same way!

For a lot of people in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter months can be long and draggy. Sunshine is at a premium (if you see it at all), there’s usually cruddy weather and driving isn’t exactly trouble-free. Add to this the inevitable arrival of post-Christmas bills and a return to the “normal” routine, and you’ve got a recipe for some serious doldrums. Thankfully, my friend Alan took it upon himself to send my “January Blahs” packing by doing some packing of his own! In the mail near the end of January I got a surprise load of kits from him! You want to talk about a great way to end a day? Getting a box of awesome old kits in the mail is definitely a good way to do it! Thanks, man! Check out some of the cool stuff I got at the link below, and don’t forget to vote on which one I do in-depth first! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/scores-and-collections/cure-for-the-january-blahs/

Oh, cool production breakdown list! Thanks for that. I forgot that the TR5 was a separate thing. There's an AutoArt replica of the yellow one, I think! I love the cop-car Volvo!

That yellow seems to be a popular collour for those cars. I personally like the teal, but that's because when I think '90s, I think teal! I will likely do mine that goldy-beige-Champagne colour. Not much says "suburban hauler" like that, and no other colour would hide the wolf inside like beige! If only it was rear or all wheel drive, that wagon is something I'd lust for in real life! I hate front-drivers...

If you know me, and/or the Sprue Lagoon, you know that I do have a thing for “loser cars”. However, it’s not just econoboxes and soulless “made-to-be-rented” cars that I love! I am also a fan of the mundane. That means cars that aren’t necessarily bad, and might be kind of exciting, but definitely things that you’d see everyday. They are the car equivalents to the “people in your neighbourhood” that Sesame Street sang about. One vehicle that surely fits this description is the Volvo 850 Turbo Estate wagon. I rather like these cars, and they’re decent, competent and even kind of stylish, in their own way. However, at least where I live, they were common. Not Chevy Celebrity common, but much more common than many other kinds of wagons. Since station wagons aren’t something that get kitted enough, in my view, I was very glad to come across this kit at Wings and Wheels in Toronto quite some time ago. I figured that the drab days of winter were a good time to pop it out and see what was up. After all, I remember seeing a lot of these in Beige. Check out Tamiya’s take on this Swedish family mover at the link below! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/tamiya-1-24-volvo-850-turbo-estate-oob/

Pics are fixed, and should now load without issues. Try checking it out again! Thanks!

If there’s one thing I love, and one thing Bandai knows all about, it’s variants! When it comes to Gundam kits, there are quite often very many variants of major suits to choose from. The idea, of course, is that people will buy them all… well, it seems to work! Despite having 3 Jegan and two Jesta varieties in 1/144, I still picked up the 1/100 Master Grade Jegan when I ran into it. It was sure cheap enough for an MG, and it was a lot simpler than some of the more recent, overdone kits. However, I didn’t want just another green Jegan, so I figured out how to customize it. I did it as if it was still in service at the time of V-Gundam, thanks to the help of the recent RE:100 Gun Ez! Check out my custom Jegan, likely the last in this long line of evergreen grunt suits! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/mecha-robots/bandai-1-100-master-grade-rgm-89-r-jegan-custom-build/

I'm looking forward to having it with my Norm and eventually my Seiran and Jake, too, for a Pontoon Plane Jamboree! I guess I could include my Twin Otter in there, in the right markings... Hmm... Shame my An-2 isn't a float version....

Yeah, I was pretty pumped to get it. Alan wanted to see into it, so I thought I'd start the new year with it. It's a neat little kit, but the rigging does worry me. Oh well... I'll see about trying the rigging on something else first, in case I mess it up!

Yeah, I know... I have no idea if I can pull it off, and I might not do this biplane first. Or, I might just do the best I can and hope. There's always that approach! I've got a lot of EZ Line, but I don't know if that's the right answer for this job or not. Any ideas?

It only seems right to start the New Year off with an old kit! Of course, I have a whole stable of those to choose from, but I thought that it would be fun to look at something that I’ve never done before; a biplane! While everybody knows the Swordfish, there is another Fleet Air Arm biplane of WWII that, it seems, is largely forgotten. No, I’m not talking about the Albacore, although it’s awesomely obscure and somewhat pedestrian as well. I’m talking about the Fairey Seafox! This was an observation and spotting plane used until the middle of the war to help locate enemies for the fleet’s gunners. It’s no surprise that few people know it; it’s not fast, glamourous or sexy, except in that weird, obscure “What is that??” kinda way. Of course, that makes it totally awesome to me, and I was very happy to finally get my hands on a Matchbox kit of the type. It seems to be one of the harder ones to find! So, if you want to check out some classic Matchbox goodness on a genuinely obscure type, go no further than the link below! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/matchbox-1-72-fairey-seafox-oob/