Atlantis (Revell) 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air build up vid

[Daddyfink]

 

[Classicgas]

How dare you build a junk kit!? Now there my friend is proof positive something quite nice can be done from the old Revell tri five kits.

[RDean58]

When I was a kid, I probably had about 20 of these tri-fives from Revell. I kept trying to get them better ?  The only thing I don't like about this kit is the way the front bumper looks like it's drooping and the headlights. I used the custom headlights from an AMT kit along with the custom nose on only of my builds of this kit and it turned out good. I've not tried the new Revell headlight and grille/bumper on one of these old bodies, but they would probably work as well as the AMT stuff.  I may have to get one of these and try my hand again at building one. although I may wait until they release the 57 Nomad kit, the only 1/25 scale 57 Nomad that has the correct rear bumper in it.

n

[Motor City]

4 hours ago, RDean58 said:

 although I may wait until they release the 57 Nomad kit, the only 1/25 scale 57 Nomad that has the correct rear bumper in it.

You mean there was a '57 Nomad other than the Revell in 1/25th scale?  I'm only aware of the AMT '55 and the Revell Monogram '56.

[Carmak]

2 hours ago, Motor City said:

You mean there was a '57 Nomad other than the Revell in 1/25th scale?  I'm only aware of the AMT '55 and the Revell Monogram '56.

Monogram did a 1/24 57 Nomad way back in the day. Similar in design to their 57 BelAir HT.

[Can-Con]

7 hours ago, RDean58 said:

When I was a kid, I probably had about 20 of these tri-fives from Revell. I kept trying to get them better ?  The only thing I don't like about this kit is the way the front bumper looks like it's drooping and the headlights. I used the custom headlights from an AMT kit along with the custom nose on only of my builds of this kit and it turned out good. I've not tried the new Revell headlight and grille/bumper on one of these old bodies, but they would probably work as well as the AMT stuff.  I may have to get one of these and try my hand again at building one. although I may wait until they release the 57 Nomad kit, the only 1/25 scale 57 Nomad that has the correct rear bumper in it.

n

I agree about the front end of that kit. looks like an old hound dog. ? I did love the kit when I was a kid though, all those working parts !! ?

[Daddyfink]

16 hours ago, Motor City said:

You mean there was a '57 Nomad other than the Revell in 1/25th scale?  I'm only aware of the AMT '55 and the Revell Monogram '56.

Last issued in 2011

[doggie427]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:46 PM, Motor City said:

You mean there was a '57 Nomad other than the Revell in 1/25th scale?  I'm only aware of the AMT '55 and the Revell Monogram '56.

There was a Revell 1/25 Nomad w/similar features as the video buildup (open doors etc.)

Edited June 27, 2022 by doggie427

[StevenGuthmiller]

Both of these ‘57 Nomad kits are the reason why somebody needs to do a new tooling. ?

 

 

Steve

[TransAmMike]

3 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Both of these ‘57 Nomad kits are the reason why somebody needs to do a new tooling. ?

 

 

Steve

I'm with you on that Steve.  I'd scoop a few up if that were to ever happen but I'm guessing not likely to happen.

[Oldmopars]

So, I am not questioning that this kit is not great, but can someone please explain what it is that makes it so bad? I have never had one, and while no a big tri-5 fan anyway, I am curious out this kit. 

What specifically are its negatives?

Along with that, are there any positives?

Many times we hear that a kit is bad, but we don't hear why its so bad. It may be possible that some of those things are not important to the build I want to do, or maybe they are really important to the build I want to do. 

Thanks

 

[Daddyfink]

13 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

So, I am not questioning that this kit is not great, but can someone please explain what it is that makes it so bad? I have never had one, and while no a big tri-5 fan anyway, I am curious out this kit. 

What specifically are its negatives?

Along with that, are there any positives?

Many times we hear that a kit is bad, but we don't hear why its so bad. It may be possible that some of those things are not important to the build I want to do, or maybe they are really important to the build I want to do. 

Thanks

 

In the case of Revell's Nomad, it is the fit and proportions of the kits. If you watched the video, all the issues with this kit also apply to the other Revell Tri Five kits from that era. 

And for the Monogram, it is detail and body proportions that make it a negative kit for those striving to build something more accurate. 

The best way to know is by building them yourself and then making the call, and most of us who are calling them out, have built them in our past. Some of us multiple times. 

[Mr. Metallic]

@Don Sikora II, now would be a great time to share your old-tool Revell 57 builds here 

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

What specifically are its negatives?

My only real problem with the kit is its Jay Leno chin. 

The front bumper is way too heavy looking, incorrectly proportioned, and spoils the initial impression of the face. It's correctable, but beyond the capability of a casual modeler.

The '57 Nomad, based on the same tooling, has a roof that droops towards the rear, too. Again correctable, and again a PITA to do.

People complain about the operating features, but they're fixable...and again with more effort necessary than lotsa folks want to put out.

I rather like the engines and chassis in the kits, high parts count, etc. IIRC, there's an intake manifold base that works well as a Man-A-Fre.

The separate opening panels make the kits naturals for representing low-buck junkyard-refugee drag cars (assembled from mismatched parts), and in that case, you can lose the front bumper entirely (depending of course on class and era you're trying to represent).

 

[Oldmopars]

Thanks, we seem to like to call out "Bad" kits a lot here, but seldom specify why the kits are bad. It is nice to know why they are bad and what redeeming qualities they have. I like to build a lot of "Working" cars/trucks, USPS, Phone Company, Contractor trucks, etc. I also like to build weathered beat up cars/trucks. So, for many of these types of builds, some issues can be overlooked or may even be completely removed. Like bad trim or inaccurate molding are often a non-issue for me as I plan to remove them anyway. 

When I think of a "Bad" kit, the AMT 77 Pinto is close to the top of the list. However, I was still able to build something cool out of it. From the video and what has been said here, the Atlantis 57 does not seem to be all that bad. 

One more question, with all of the other 57 Chevy kits out there, do any of the other kits front bumper fit the Atlantis/Revell 57? If so a junk glue bomb may donate to fix the biggest issue.