62rebel

the T181 is vastly different from a Kubel in many areas. They are a from-scratch design using the Kubel concept and VW's existing (at the time) parts bin.... not that an accurate model wouldn't be great to have!

very nice! Gonna have to buy another one now

another of my favorite kits, and favorite car... I've had three 1:1's, all 390-4v hardtops like this. Got one of these right now in powder/sky blue in the closet waiting for final assembly, a replica of my first '66.... here's a toothache story for ya: fellow I knew was selling a rolling body for a SEVEN LITRE (as depicted in the kit) for $350 when I was living in Lynchburg Va..... I was going to slip the 390-4v out of my daily driver '68 Galaxie in it..... but it got bought right out from under me, 1993...... even with a 390 that car would bring 10 grand easy today

as has been said, it's an old tool, well-used and never properly updated. parts fit is fiddly and there are seams in the body that are a bear to deal with. the grille shell is the best part of the kit IMHO; the wheels and tires, the worst. ejection pin marks show up everywhere and some are problematic to remove. I heavily modified mine, put big astro rims on it, and i like the result but I would like to try it again just to get it closer to box-art style. For what it is, don't pay too much. but don't dismiss it as junk, it's tough, but not junk.

we have a couple locally... as you've said, no mistaking that thump. even us cold war vets recognize it.

Thanks Tim for an excellent review. And kudos to Revell for putting the effort in to do a great job. this is definitely a must-buy for anyone building rods... and I predict they'll go like Lay's Potato Chips... no one can eat just one!

I've given that thought some consideration and find it to be incorrect on several details: the first pic, primarily, shows quite a lot of effort put into making the car fit a theme, such as period-perfect; the other pics do not show quite as much effort in keeping with the "theme". There are period-correct replacements for nearly all of the anachronistic parts. More apt is the idea that the builder KNOWS what needs to be replaced to make the car "complete" and is working on getting them. Even those parts that have no modern replacements could be safely and reliably used in a seldom-driven or even a daily driver rod. Having an "era-specific" styled rod carries with it an obligation, almost, to keep the accessories and details "correct" if at all possible. i.e., sponsor decals or dragstrip logos that fit within the car's "era".... an appreciation for the way things were done, pride in having something unique, etc

they couldn't pony up and release all four on the same tool in one box? Even I would have bought that, and I've only built one motorcycle kit to completion in forty years.... (Revell's LA Chopper, which I would surely buy again)

I don't get it, either. And I usually go for artistic representations. Even the iconic "Red Baron", an admittedly silly looking rig, comes off as more acceptable tribute than that does. (And I love the Red Baron car) I have to admit, I find myself asking this question when I see these art rods; would I ever build a real car like this? Would I try to pull the build together with "theme" parts, like fake gun barrels for headers? And, almost every time, the answer is NO. the basic car is barely within any particular style or era, and the addition of "theme" parts just doesn't finish the scene.

yep; AMT took advantage of not having released many of the kits in that series in a long time and I have to admit I bought several, ESPECIALLY that '63 1/2 Galaxie, as I wanted to duplicate the 1:1 I had in the driveway at the time... I even still have a couple of those stands. Traded away a bunch of the car show stuff a couple of years back.

I'd almost say that anything older than mid-90's qualifies as a "niche" vehicle these days. There's nothing to tie-in with the film or TV media now... no strong film connections to build on.... racing is too fluid for manufacturers to keep up with, and current fandom doesn't support the kit industry well. Kids don't identify with the old cars and trucks except as something their older family members might have had in most cases. Old farts like myself find ourselves staring at a shelf full of kits we've already built when we're in the hobby shop; and also find it increasingly hard to justify 30+ bucks for a new kit OR a repop of something we paid $2.79 for, regardless of inflation. I like the new Moebius series of trucks, and I actually WOULD buy that Kaiser kit. makes me a one-percenter, I guess.

made the trip over to our local Hobby Lobby today, surprised to find MANY empty slots on the kit aisle. Not simply cars, most of the military stuff gone, few semis left..... it occurred to me that HL might have cleared out some older stuff and put it out on clearance, but this wasn't the case, they simply didn't have much stock on hand. Went online and found that, except for new releases, there's not much depth in inventory anywhere. E-bay was more of the same, lots of relatively new stuff with some older material sparsely interspersed. Not sure what to make of this, it might be nothing at all. Just an observation.

X2 on the model looking better than the 1:1!

the 'stang is really quite easily kitbashed using the two existing Monogram kits.

somebody with taste and a checkbook could straighten that out. but it would take a lot of taste and a lot of bank.

I've avoided buying one of these up till now; Tim's review and his examples have me wanting to give this one a try.

I worked at a plastic pipe fitting plant for a short period; during that time we ground up thousands of mistakes in what was probably the noisiest machine I've ever heard. the chips coming out of it were mixed right back into the feeder. i can still hear that screeeeech.....

i vote real as well

i would post his response, but....

yet it has the vaunted "radial tuned suspension".....

very nice! love the gold.

styrene by itself in large scale chassis simply can't take the stress of the weight of all the other parts, and if it doesn't actually break , it will eventually sag or warp.

no, there's not, is there?

amazing.

why on earth wouldn't they still run?