Monogram 1970 GS 455 Buick

[1972coronet]

I'm thinking about getting the Monogram 1970 Buick GS 455 kit , and am wondering about the most-recent reissue ; primarily , does it have decals for the gauges and other small parts ? Any-thing to look out for with respect to its construction (i.e. , any parts need massaged / tinkered with) ?

[Casey]

Here's the decal sheet from the 2012 reissue of the 1/24 '70 Buick GSX kit:

 

There are no gauge decals, but there are a (very) few engine compartment decals to be used.

 

Edited August 24, 2015 by Casey

[Snake45]

I've had one about 95% built for years and had NO problems with it at all. The hangup for me is figuring out how to do the black hood treatment RIGHT. It's more difficult than it might look and I've never seen one (model) done correctly. One of these days I'll take the time to do that nasty job and then I'll put the decals on and kick that thing through the goalposts.

Till then, this 1/25 diecast, which I spent a couple hours detailing and pimping out a little, occupies the GSX slot on my shelf. (Of course, if you're not doing it as a factory stock GSX, the hood treatment won't be a concern for you.)

[Casey]

The original issue kit had no decals for the center hood color spear, so you had to figure out how to best to that yourself, either before or after you applied the blackout area on the hood. Now, the spear decal is provided in both Saturn Yellow and Apollo White, and decals for the edges of the blackout hood area/pinstripes are provided.

One thing to be aware of is the front bumper/grille/headlight surrounds piece...yes, piece, as in it's all one piece. The headlight surrounds should have the plating removed before painting them body color, but that's not the easiest thing to do without damaging the plating on the bumper or grille. I also recall the rear bumper to body fit wasn't ideal, either, at least in terms of their being enough surface area to bond the two cleanly together. Getting the area under the rear spoiler fully painted can be tricky, too, unless you add some pins to the pedestals and paint and mount the spoiler separately. It's a pretty typical late '80s Monogram kit, though, so overall very good with the expected simplification of assemblies.

[Snake45]

One thing to be aware of is the front bumper/grille/headlight surrounds piece...yes, piece, as in it's all one piece. The headlight surrounds should have the plating removed before painting them body color, but that's not the easiest thing to do without damaging the plating on the bumper or grille.

I'd forgotten about that. I just hand-brushed those in the same yellow I used on the body--MM Chrome Yellow IIRC--and they came out so well I didn't even remember that as a problem. I didn't even remove the chrome, just brushed the paint right over top of it. Maybe I was just lucky with that.

[Tonioseven]

Here's one I started a few years ago. I hope to finish it one day.

Inspired by one of my Forza cars