Chuck Kourouklis

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.

Must say, that does look very good. Now all I need is the Pontiac to go around it.

Eh, like the 24-hr format myself. Nice, succinct, no AM/PM confusion once you're used to it.

Bill and Joe, I'm not unsympathetic. But keyser has a point in that flame wars are often inevitable 'round here even when we're keeping to accessories in 60+-year-old model kits.

Mine is reasonably clean there - certainly no craters like the silver shells have.

Wiewed as about half what original Monogram '79s were going for on Ebay, or about 15% of a parts work kit for something that won't give away much visually by comparison, that really ain't bad. Original in the stash stays original while this one gets served up most likely with a far superior decal sheet? I'll take it.

Yeah, that stuff's for geeks...

Thanks, Alan! Luc covered it quite nicely. Only thing I can think to add some clarity on is "DLO", which might not be such a universally understood term. That's short for "daylight opening", the area defined by the side window openings on a car or truck's body. In the first run of AMT's '55 Cameo back in '91, the most often-seen complaint was that the lower edge of the side window openings swept up into the A-pillar as it ran from the rear of the cab, when instead it should have been level and flat. Personally, I was also a little irked at the absence of an entire cab floorpan in such an otherwise nicely executed kit, but that's just me. ? AMT heard about the side window problem and eventually corrected it. I was wondering if my memory served, but Luc confirms they made that correction for the '57 Cameo version released in 1998, and then subsequent '55 Cameo reissues sharing that cab inherited it. They made this correction at the mold, which only stands to reason if you think about it. Problem is, if you don't fix the wooden master pattern and then you base a future model on it...

Welp, the JL Cameo trailer sets verify for us that the DLO ramp-up to the front was corrected at the 1/25 kit mold, not the master pattern. There it is again in 1/64. And yeah, this Slave 1 reissue is still hauling Solo around in carbonite, so prob'ly a bit early in the curve for Fennec Shand. '68 'Vette outta curiosity. 'Nother Dyno Don couldn't hurt.

One of the nicest seen in this forum and not a word. Bet it's 'cause people think you've put up a photo of a 1:1.

REALLY. I kinda like my Delta Inaccurograle - certainly find it and the 8C2300 and the Cinquecento superior to many a finer ESCI reissue. Well, smashed body shell aside, of course. But Italeri's promised to make that right. ? And a Type 35 to the same standards is one big YES PLEASE, imnsho...

Easy there, Mr Croat - that's not the sort of hypocrisy you'll catch BVC in with any kind of frequency. Otherwise, you have a point. People who assume their lack of interest means nobody has any interest are really saying more about themselves than they are anyone else. A pokey, underachieving, malaised-out GM colonnade is one of the most idiotic automotive subjects ever conceived to lust after, but at least any of 'em is way uglier than its A-platform antecedent. But hey man, that's just, y'know, like my opinion.

I like red lenses, though I have no great animus against paint over plating - but Chris B took the words right out of my mouth.

Thanks MUCH for that, Tim! I see one little thing I'm not going to mention again, don't think it would take much more than an hour, two max, to make it the way I think it should be. The design and the little bonuses are really promising - enough to light up your imagination with cross-pollination possibilities for other recent Novas...

Very cool! Guess that'd make the first 350 in plastic, then...

Welp, can't say I object to that color scheme...

Wasn't that the car that debuted the 350, Snake?