Chuck Kourouklis

Yeah, that rear quarter sculpting really likes a fat tire, doesn't it?

Roger Dodger on the Skylark! oof

I'm as big and noisy a parts geek as they come, but if Round2 were to include a single front suspension/tie rod/torsion bar lower piece for augmenting MPC's typically naked, blushing K-member - to accomplish pretty much what Bill S did with his JoHan 'Cuda, without having to raid another kit - then the new '68 Coronet release would have everything I think could be reasonably expected of it. If the budget limited new tooling allocation to prioritize a platform interior over such a part, though, I'd say Round2 made the right call. ?

Ain't gonna knock your point, Justin - actually, I see it pretty well. But I do think it all goes back to your own observations of the target consumers, who are not only happy with the general design m o the kit offers, but... uh... how do I put it delicately? Maybe like this: let's just say the sales prospects for this kit, and '60s muscle generally, might not extend quite as far into the future as the Bronco's and Charger's... ? And so in the business case analysis, the "cloning"/retooling approach was judged the more cost-effective approach here, where the considerably fresher Bronco and even the late hit on the Charger are more likely to justify tooling from the ground up, perhaps? I think the polite way to gauge the appeal of the Coronet is as definitely more "niche", where the Bronco and Charger might cast a wider dragnet for prospective buyers. One thing we gotta remember as consumers is how frequently we've nearly driven manufacturers over a cliff with our requests. '41 Chevrolet pickups and 1/6 engine kits may have been answers to questions nobody particularly asked, but '66 Novas, '67 Chevelles, '55 Cameos and '70 'Cudas were practically demanded. And thus began a cycle of initial stampedes and then rapid drop-offs in sales when the manufacturers played those requests. Sure, that '68 Coronet would appear over and over and over in discussion threads - and based on previous in-demand subjects from folks who could apparently give a hang about chassis detail by and large, Round 2 may have chosen the most logical approach. Would I rather have 150+ parts in separate transmissions and suspension arms and perimeter frames and subframes and steerable wheels and door handles and windshield wipers all across the board? Oh yes. I've played devil's advocate with Tim B about the necessity of an engine in a completely developed kit but in the end, I want one about 99% as badly as he does. And I'll tellya this: that Revell E-Type is a monstrosity for reasons considerably more numerous than just the windshield (just happy about the apparent course correction in their new 911s). Long as this Coronet has the original's proportional accuracy and wow, a platform interior too? More of a win for me than that E-type or the Kit That Shall Not Be Named, for sure.

Reaalllllyyyy gorgeous workup, Bill. And yes, I was curious myself and zoomed in - I'm pretty sure you have the Monogram GT radials on yours, with the blank sidewall out or maybe from just after they removed the lettering. The tread matches. Those weren't quite right so many of R/M's own subjects, but they're a HUGE improvement over what Italeri gives you for most of their vintage Ferraris. ?

^^x2^^ ?

Oh, Tamiya-San, there really needs to be a new Z. Now that Corvettes and Mustangs have gotten truly interesting, there's none of them in plastic. PLEASE don't be as dense as the USDM with your national treasure.

Well. Guess I shoulda left in my original line about “what a difference a little CAD data makes”, but I’d already gone a little snarky. ?

Z4 - ? Heh, that's way out there. I, of course, will register my skepticism of Meng's wisdom with a purchase.

Didn't Revell cover some Gen 6 cars? I mean yeah, the Fusion-to-Mustang and SS-to-Camaro transitions might have been missed, but this Gen 7 car seems a WAAAYY more intriguing subject. Certainly taken me from yawning about 60-year-old technology to whoah... Can't knock Salvinos' rocket trajectory of improvement, either. Things started looking up when they actually made some Chrysler bodies for their old Chrysler chassis but still, to arrive at an offering this serious in such a short period of operation? Impressive. MOST impressive.

ROVER! Niiiiiice. Diggin' the big Lotus too.

"WIN A CESSNA PLANE" - ?? (sorry, just caught that)

Just glad to see I'm not the only one who mixes a little hot sauce with my Tamiya TS... ?

Bad news: that drip rail looks awfully flat. Didn't wanna stir anything up with that preview from months back, and now it looks like it's going to production. Good news: the "meat" right above it seems to follow a better curve, so if it bothers you, all you gotta do is Dremel and file a line that follows the roof contour closer, then stitch in a little Plastruct strip to remake the rail. Even if you take it painstakingly slow, prob'ly done in under 2 hours. And if it doesn't bother you, then hey, not a problem, right?

Ah, well, since it's come up, here are a couple shots of the original Monogram '55 box contents, if you like:

Well. Having been the guy who sorta coined "The Kit That Shall Not Be Named" 'round here, I do maintain the drag version is the more worthwhile one...

When Monogram started with the 1/8 kits in the early '60s, that may have been the scheduling. I also seem to recall the '80 Trans Am and the '85 Corvette hitting late in the year (it was actually Fall of '84 when Monogram released the '85). Got a pretty distinct recollection of the '82 Collector's Edition 'Vette and the all-new '82 Z-28 landing in July and August, though, and I have an impression of summer break scheduling for some of the older reissues too. For the bigger kids more entrenched in biscale kits, perhaps with quite a few of them, these 3-times-as-big models certainly present some space issues. But even the more intricate early ones - the Big T, Big Deuce and E-Type Jag, before the more simplified '65 Corvette established the m o for all that followed in Monogram 1/8 - were builder-friendly enough for pre-teens to tackle, and what a WOW factor they had.

Well, Jordan, this is actually a 37-year-old revision of a 42-year-old kit, from an era when 1/8 scale all-plastic kits were still cost-effective enough for Monogram to develop them. The 1/8 2nd-gen '80 Turbo pictured directly above (nice, btw!) was actually current for the year the kit was released. In '87 it was modified to bring us the '79 version Revell is now reissuing. After some Tom Daniel frippery in the late '60s/early '70s, Monogram only ever made a serious foray into 1/12 from 1986 with their '57 Chevy, and then the Corvette, Camaro, and Ferraris that followed after. After a couple decades, they gave it one more shot with the 2010 Shelby GT500. They didn't do a lot in 1/16 passenger cars, certainly not from the '80s on - only MPC offered a 1/16 2nd-gen Firebird. Monogram's notable 1/16 vehicles were the Peterbilt and Kenworth big rigs by that point. If you're talking about the 1/16 '87 Firebird Revell is also reissuing, this is the 3rd-gen car. It was first released in 1982 by Revell, then modified to an '87 GTA just as Revell and Monogram were merging. You can see the Monogram influence in its vinyl Eagle VR gatorback tires. I'd say the reason Revell is reissuing the 1/8 '79 kit now is that the tooling is there and long amortized, but also because the typical $400-500 online auction price for an original indicates some demand and sales potential.

Kinda surprised they didn't take one from the Yenko-to-COPO Nova playbook and include the beam axle this kit has always needed, but hey, DuVall windshield sells it for me.

I see Chris M has since sorted it all out for us. The prices were in Luc's earlier link - 48 Euros for the Firebird, versus 32.50 for the ones we know are biscales. Revell's '87 updates were "eh, alright" changes to the original '82/'32 1/16 F-car releases. Intakes updated to tuned port, new 1/16 16" Gatorbacks in vinyl replacing the rubber Eagle GTs from earlier, most all of the necessary exterior updates. Those Gatorbacks were a HUGE improvement to the latest 1/16 Porsche 928 reissue, and as with that kit, I'd expect Revell's latest 1/16 Firebird decal sheet to go out a whole new door.

Without knowing for certain, I'd tip in Terry's 1/16 direction simply based on the price.

Three decal schemes? Awesome! All we need now is for that glass to be clear...

I don't think the Bandit/Trans Am pinstripe graphics have ever been so complete. That alone soars this one off the charts, even if it is molded in those funky colors.

2000GT-R, yyaaaaayyy! Smooth-bumper RX-7 too, yyaaaaaayyy! JR120/30 Piazza some time, please? Great bookend for the 117...

Revell absolutely destroys it in their decal sheets. I'd bet that copper ring around the alternator is on the sheet too. A straight reissue of the 1/8 '79 T/A would have been killer enough, but I'm really looking forward to the new decals coming in that thing.