Chuck Kourouklis

Heh heh, yeah. Roger that, Izzy! Roger that. But that test shot looks bitchin'...

Well an unassembled GMP wouldn't be catastrophic news to me - sign me up in fact, 'specially if it's $200 or less - but along with most, I'd certainly prefer all-new plastic tooling, especially if it's within about 90% of a comparable Tamiya twelfth-scaler. The relative merits of Trumpeter's foray into 1/25 are actually debatable. Yes, the kits were visibly off, and the engineering deteriorated by the time the Monte Carlo was released. They flung hundreds of pieces and photoetched hinges at an increasingly crotchety crowd that'd rather just have a correct body and a promo-plate chassis. Trumpeter would have been better advised to flip off 1/25 and all the baggage that comes with it; it's had its day, and Revell is the only manufacturer left with any true understanding of 1/25, anyway. All that notwithstanding, it's still arguable those kits weren't a total waste of time. The Bonnevilles in particular were ground-breaking in design, and their general fit is impressive for having those hundreds of parts. There were positive aspects to these kits, and I think writing those strengths off in anticipation of the GT40 isn't entirely fair. But even so, let's assume the American-catered 1/25 kits offer a dire indication of what's ahead. We're also ignoring a pretty good fire engine in the mix, and Trumpeter's aircraft and armor haven't even entered the discussion yet. That stuff has been improving by leaps and bounds, enough that this die-hard car guy couldn't help trying a few. And if Trumpeter's new military kits look a lot more like the intended subjects than the earlier releases did, I don't see why the automotive releases can't follow the same trend. If Trumpeter builds on what's been established in 1/12 the same way they do on 1/32, 1/48, 1/350, and so on, this new GT40 could actually be pretty impressive. Stellar, even.

Yezindeed, Rob. They actually instituted that change with the AAR 'Cuda reissue, which might have been scheduled originally to come out after the '55 Chevy hardtop - that was the last kit with the blue logo.

lol, yeah - probably because you provided the evidence that it's not!

Perhaps it's because there's nothing really to notice. That vent may be missing on the boxcover, but it's right there on the actual Revell body shell. Double-click the first photo in this thread and have a closer look. You can just about make it out in Dave's photo of his green car, as well.

Don't forget one other thing, y'all - The mounting pins on these trim bits are long, because they were originally designed to be heat-swaged from inside the diecast body shell. This opens up two possibilities: you can either mushroom the pins yourself from inside (that is, if you have a bit less trouble with heated screwdrivers near your painted body than you do with glue or shaky blades), or you can trim the pins a bit and apply the glue from inside. All told, this set of trim promises to be a bit easier to deal with than what you see in some other kits **COUGH-TRUMPETER-COUGHCOUGH**.