Chuck Kourouklis

Monogram's kit was a wee-ee bit long-ish in the "snout" but otherwise, they slaughtered the C4 game - particularly when they came up with those Gatorback tires for the '85 glue version. 1/8 kit was actually simplified a bit compared to the 1/24 in design, but it was still mighty and looked great, proportionally improved in the front fascia area though it needed a wee bit of reshaping in the driving light/"grille" openings. MPC 1/25 and 1/16 kits just kinda withered in their wake, opening doors or not. As you point out, a lot of that had to do with a comparative absence of definition about the greenhouse.

Oh, the Revell kit had its strong points for sure; I seem to recall it being the least fiddly to build, and although they were square-shouldered (again better executed in 1/16), I appreciated at least the ATTEMPT at proper Eagle GT tires. As for drip rails, MPC just seemed to be in the habit of slopping those over in the early '80s - Corvette, half-done Fiero, especially those late, unlamented EXP kits, all looking unfinished in the greenhouse. Yeah, see, I think it's all been Z28 till now. If Revell found the patterns for its 1/16 Berlinetta, it may have been just cost-effective enough to do the new nose - OR, maybe as you observed, it was something tooled but never released. Hmmph, kinda getting excited about that one now...

Yup, agreed. As for the body shells, Revell's characterization of the 3rd-gen F-cars overall seemed a bit blocky and crude in 1/25 - much better in 1/16 for some reason - and the Camaro's front end seemed difficult to execute in this scale. In the front fascia of the car, looking at it straight-on, there's a small scallop on the fender side of both headlight nacelles that rolls into the hood panel gap, instead of dropping straight down from either side of the hood's leading edge. MPC blew both this detail and the drip rails (which they omitted on several '80s releases), and Revell not only missed that feature, the front end was all kinds of blunt and bloated. In 1/25 scale, only AMT's kit caught that little scallop on either side (in fact, the body seemed copied from Monogram's 1/8 overall). Revell's much sleeker and more graceful 1/16 Camaro kits also captured it, 'cause unlike MPC's 1/25-1/16 variations, they didn't look as if they were developed from the same body masters as the 1/25 kits. Nothing huge, just something my 15-year-old-eyes dwelt on for a bit. Anyway. My question would be, are they tooling new parts for that street machine kit? That front end is very Berlinetta-specific, and I can't recall seeing it before in 1/25. And two current releases of the LUV, on top of that one from a couple years back? Been looking forward to that High Roller 4x4 just coming out, guess I'll get a Mule too...

Man, dig those front suspension lowers, the rear suspension, and the exhaust! Seems you could throw in a Lindberg slant six from one of the more all-inclusive recent AMT 330/Belvedere reboxings and be 90% of the way to a full-detail model without cheating the donor kit of its V8...

You're all too polite, Mr Boyd! We've been on record crossing pens on the objective necessity of an engine in car model kits, but even I have to admit the current Mustang situation is getting tiresome. You say "deplorable". I'd call it an r-word we're not supposed to use any more.

Checked the calendar, nowhere near April, so WOW - Once again, Round2 has hit me with something I had no idea I wanted: A VINTAGE MACK. Really hope that pays off. I'll be pitching my bit in...

Uh-huh! VERY cool.

I mean, it's a BIG move in the right direction over the 550s; but three straight curbsides now? You're beginning to swing me over to your way of thinking... 🧐

I seem to recall that script getting downsized, but I'd need a look to be certain. Check out HPI's still frame above, and it seems to be about right. Zoom in on the attached pic and you'll see more slop in the trim detail than I'd like you to, plus a decal that's not entirely centered over the engraved script - but I do believe Revell corrected it.

Well, I'll just toss in this profile of the Heller kit... Has issues of its own but I like it far better. Cross-pollination with the Revell kit and a Ukrainian 3D-printed wheel and tire set might net you something good in 1/24, though it's definitely the Heller body I'd use. But the biggest omissions in this thread so far are the heaps of praise for Brian's E-Type! That, good Sir, is a STUNNER.

Thanks, Matt & Brian! It's sort of an augmented stock build you're looking at. The engine was refinished according to DeAgostini's own suggestions, as even they seemed aware of the one-silver-fits-all for metallic-finished parts. The exhaust was given the Alclad treatment, and the suspension arms were corrected in finish. The headliner was given some textured paint and an overcoat inside its perimeter surfaces. The body was given a few coats of older-formula U-Pol, lightly thinned and airbrushed, with a cut and buff thereafter. I'm afraid the problem with the Revell kit goes a bit deeper than the coupe's windshield height. There's just something in the transition of the bonnet to the cowl that makes it seem too high at that point, reinforcing the sense of a downward cant from the cowl forward that just isn't there on the 1:1. Convertible suffers from that too, and the wheel and tire package does the kit no favors.

Waitin' in the Warehouse, as they say...

My God, I swear Hasegawa could announce the release of a half-scale dented can of Sapporo and I'd be like OoOoOoOoooooh...

Well. I wouldn't have figured the Altaya/DeAgostini 1:8 to be part of the discussion, but here's more if you like. COVID build. Not strictly fair, but on comparison of proportions alone, this shows what a dog's breakfast that new Revell kit really is - and I say this hastening to point out that every Revell automotive release since has been superior. Sometimes, vastly so.

I'd be overjoyed for a 1/24 from Tamiya. If ever, it'll probably be at least a while after Revell's most recent little present in that punchbowl...

Comes to that, Michael, everything below the beltline is a bit flattened, pancaked and "diecasty" - I was just being a little selective in the battles. 🙂 We've been cautioned that the worst thing we can do is use another kit as reference to determine accuracy, a premise I'd call a pretty fragrant bovine dump. Fact is, if the reference kit is more accurate, you can certainly use it for comparison. As you observe, the Jo-Han '70 coupe shows exactly where Revell goes astray in proportions. Similar deal in Revell's latest hardtop conversion of a late '70s T-top F-car, the drip rail is all wrong. Revell's "eyeball" team is constantly bumbling it - good thing they're leaning harder on their "LIDAR" team these days. The '71 Mustang shows just how brilliant those kits can be.

Having a SERIOUS shut-up-and-take-my-money moment over here...

^^LOVE it!^^ Wonder if they took any bets on which would swap ends first... (and actually, I think I'd like ALL those little JL cars - the '70/'71 Sport Fury?? Only American subject there without an immediate plastic kit antecedent... or is it? 😮)

Probably low, tbh - But I'd really really R R E E A A L L Y Y like one.

Yup, just taking the first tour thru mine, too. Positive first impressions (not quite '71 Mustang-positive, but pretty close).

'64's a first-gen, right? I'd be down for that...

Mine is every bit the beauty indicated by the video. *chef's kiss*

Heh. Had my druthers, it'd be 1/24, in colored plastic so I could visualize the finished model more easily before I painted it, and... yes, brandishing a complete engine. I've long maintained that there's no objective way to discredit an otherwise complete and well-designed curbside kit for keeping its hood closed. But do I want a powertrain just as traditional American-market kits have CONDITIONED ME to do, since before I was even born? Oh yes. Btw, I don't mind such a lame, boring subject, myself - I'm sure I could admire some of the more "interesting" ones in its review mirrors. 😎

I've only been puling for one of those forever now...

Yup! Wow - even if it is a little wide of the mark, I might like one...