Stranger things blazer

[carnut]

I just picked up mine yesterday on a lunch break from work. I picked mine up at my local hobby shop, sure I paid a little bit more than online, but I’m supporting my local hobby shop.
I have opened the box up, and I pulled everything out to inspect everything. For once it’s not a short pour nor is anything warped.

I know the box says 1/25 scale, but I am wondering at the size of this, this looks more like 1/24 scale than 1/25, at least to me it does. I’m sure this has been discussed but this is just my observation. The size comparison looks more like the Monogram-Revell Chevy / GMC 4x4 pick ups that they just released.

any thoughts?

Edited June 4 by carnut

[Ron Hamilton]

I haven't picked up my kits yet,  but I did get some grilles from Canuck 3D for my.projects. I sold a few of them as new and used cars when they were new.  I even had a black and silver one for a demonstrator in 1981. I'm building a model of that,  but I'm going to bring it to 2025.. I have several sers of 3D printed engines and wheels and tires.  

I'm so glad this kit is what it is.

[DJMar]

On 6/3/2025 at 9:05 AM, carnut said:

I know the box says 1/25 scale, but I am wondering at the size of this, this looks more like 1/24 scale than 1/25, at least to me it does. I’m sure this has been discussed but this is just my observation.

I just mocked this kit up as well as I could with Blu-Tack and a lot of patience. The kit's wheelbase is pretty close to the real thing in 1:25 scale, but it would be off for 1:24 scale.

That being said, the kit as a whole feels a bit big to me, but I haven't taken the time to actually compare any of the model's dimensions to measurements on the 1:1 K5.

[carnut]

I just did some measuring between the centers of the wheel openings and everything that I can see points to this being 1/24 scale.

I did a search on the Internet web, and I found out that the wheelbase is 106.5 inches. Then I used the math formula.: 106.5 divided by 24= 4.4375 or 4 7/16”

it measures up.

For 1/25 scale you simply just use the mathematical formula following:

106.5 divided by 25 = 4.26

I am fine with this being at 1/24 scale. Everything now makes sense to me.

I still cannot wait to see what everyone’s gonna do with this. For me it’s time to start scrounging for parts..

keep smiling

Edited June 12 by carnut

[carnut]

I hope I didn’t turn anyone off by me being this critical. I usually try to just have fun and enjoy the building, but I do wish sometimes the manufacturers would try to get things a little straight.

[DJMar]

6 hours ago, carnut said:

I just did some measuring between the centers of the wheel openings and everything that I can see points to this being 1/24 scale.

Here's a pic of the frame with the axles in place. The calipers are measuring from the center of each axle (actual wheelbase). It measures 4.28" (~108.8mm). I measured on both sides to be sure everything was square. 

4.28" x 25 = 107" 

4.28" x 24 = 102.7"

When I said that the kit wheelbase was "pretty close" to scale in 1:25, this is what I meant. With a 1:1 wheelbase of 106.5", it's off half a scale inch, give or take a smidge. 

The wheelbase is not in scale for a 1:24 model, it would be close to 4 inches short.

Still, the kit body still feels big to me, but that's just me.

 

[stavanzer]

I just managed to get one at the LHS. Only $33.00 too! I'm stoked. Do I build it stock, or order a resin GMC grille?

The Box is Packed with parts. Hard to get it all back in neatly.

Last, What Fireball Wheels & Tires are folks using on this kit?

 

Thanks, Alan.

[Can-Con]

2 hours ago, stavanzer said:

I just managed to get one at the LHS. Only $33.00 too! I'm stoked. Do I build it stock, or order a resin GMC grille?

The Box is Packed with parts. Hard to get it all back in neatly.

Last, What Fireball Wheels & Tires are folks using on this kit?

 

Thanks, Alan.

If you want a GMC, I'd build that one as is and just pick up one of the Jimmys that were announces when it comes out. Shouldn't be too long.

[DJMar]

5 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Last, What Fireball Wheels & Tires are folks using on this kit?

The Rally Wheel was available in '85, so you could rock these: https://www.fireballmodels.info/fmr-100.html. You might want to do a little modification to the front hubs if you're building it stock, as the Fireball pieces represent manual locking hubs and the NP208 in '85 came with auto hubs. 

You can get those wheels and some nice BFG tires as a set: https://www.fireballmodels.info/fmr-101.html. Those 31x10.5R15s are going to be pretty close to the height of the tires in the kit, so no additional suspension mods should be needed.

There was an 8-hole aluminum wheel and a 8-hole steel wagon wheel available that year as well. Fireball makes a Ford wagon wheel (FMR-230) that might work as the Chevy piece, if you swapped out the 5-bolt pattern hubs for the proper GM 6-bolt hubs. I don't know if the hub swap would work, but you could email Joseph at Fireball if you wanted to go that route.

Side note: the wheel/hubcap & tire combo in the kit isn't atrocious. There are issues with the kit wheels, but you cover up most of their sins with the supplied hubcaps & decals. IIRC, that setup was the standard wheel on the Custom Deluxe trim. 

Of course, all of this is for stock-style builds. I'm sure someone is already building a lifted K5 on 39s.

 

[stavanzer]

Thanks, DJ.

Now to look at Resin Grilles.

I may just stick to what is in the box for the first build, however.

[carnut]

9 hours ago, DJMar said:

Here's a pic of the frame with the axles in place. The calipers are measuring from the center of each axle (actual wheelbase). It measures 4.28" (~108.8mm). I measured on both sides to be sure everything was square. 

4.28" x 25 = 107" 

4.28" x 24 = 102.7"

When I said that the kit wheelbase was "pretty close" to scale in 1:25, this is what I meant. With a 1:1 wheelbase of 106.5", it's off half a scale inch, give or take a smidge. 

The wheelbase is not in scale for a 1:24 model, it would be close to 4 inches short.

Still, the kit body still feels big to me, but that's just me.

I like how it’s going so far, I agree with you. It feels larger than 1/25 scale so I’m just gonna leave it there. I can’t wait to do some parts scrounging and see what I can come up with for mine. Keep building it’s looking good.

[Fat Brian]

I'll throw my hat in the ring here. I pulled out the MPC snap Blazer to compare in to. I lined up the lines at the back of the door and the wheel wells look dead on. What interests me though is how much more the MPC body curves under at the rocker panels under the doors. I've owned two square bodies in my life and when I saw the Revell body in person it looked a little slab sided to me and this has been an issue with other modern Revell kits like the first gen Bronco. From anyone who has access to a real one currently it would be interesting to know what the measurement between the rockers is.

[av405]

12 minutes ago, Fat Brian said:

I'll throw my hat in the ring here. I pulled out the MPC snap Blazer to compare in to. I lined up the lines at the back of the door and the wheel wells look dead on. What interests me though is how much more the MPC body curves under at the rocker panels under the doors. I've owned two square bodies in my life and when I saw the Revell body in person it looked a little slab sided to me and this has been an issue with other modern Revell kits like the first gen Bronco. From anyone who has access to a real one currently it would be interesting to know what the measurement between the rockers is.

I agree. You put into words what I couldn't the first time I opened up my kit. I like it, but the "squareness" is what threw me off from the get-go. 

[DJMar]

1 hour ago, Fat Brian said:

I'll throw my hat in the ring here. I pulled out the MPC snap Blazer to compare in to. I lined up the lines at the back of the door and the wheel wells look dead on. What interests me though is how much more the MPC body curves under at the rocker panels under the doors. I've owned two square bodies in my life and when I saw the Revell body in person it looked a little slab sided to me and this has been an issue with other modern Revell kits like the first gen Bronco. From anyone who has access to a real one currently it would be interesting to know what the measurement between the rockers is.

That's a really, really good observation, and might be why the body feels off. The MPC kit definitely has a pronounced curve from the beltline to rocker, which is prototypical. 

Totally off topic, but is that a vintage 1980 Monogram Turbo T/A kit in your stash, unbuilt?

[Fat Brian]

1 hour ago, DJMar said:

That's a really, really good observation, and might be why the body feels off. The MPC kit definitely has a pronounced curve from the beltline to rocker, which is prototypical. 

Totally off topic, but is that a vintage 1980 Monogram Turbo T/A kit in your stash, unbuilt?

Yeah, I just picked it up from ebay a few months ago. It took a little bit of waiting but I got it for a good price. I like that body-style of Firebird but the AMT/MPC kit is tragic. This kit has the good Pontiac engine Iike the 70 T/A and not the 78 Firebird kit.

[stavanzer]

I'll got out on a limb with some very wild guesswork.

The Reason Revell could pull up this "All New" Blazer so fast, was that part of the Scanning/Planning/Measuring had already been done.

The Body sides are a clue. Perhaps, Revell dusted off some old scans they had of previous 'future' projects, and what we have here is the tooling that had been started as a Diecast, Metal Body Blazer. Would explain the lack of taper, and the subjective 'hefty-ness' of the kit.

I am probably wrong, but it does explain the body proportions at least.

[Can-Con]

4 hours ago, stavanzer said:

I'll got out on a limb with some very wild guesswork.

The Reason Revell could pull up this "All New" Blazer so fast, was that part of the Scanning/Planning/Measuring had already been done.

The Body sides are a clue. Perhaps, Revell dusted off some old scans they had of previous 'future' projects, and what we have here is the tooling that had been started as a Diecast, Metal Body Blazer. Would explain the lack of taper, and the subjective 'hefty-ness' of the kit.

I am probably wrong, but it does explain the body proportions at least.

It's a good theory though Alan.

[Can-Con]

For those interested , I went and measured across the grille of my uncle's old '84 Chevy C-20 pickup today , , , 

Right across the top of the stainless grille trim it measures 70". 

So, therefor the grille on the new Revell Blazer and Jimmy when it comes out should measure about 7cm which is very slightly over 2 3/4 inches.

I don't have one to measure myself but just wanted to put that out there.

 

 

 Little update, Just measured the grille from the MPC?AMT '84 "Deserter" 4X4. It measures almost exactly 71mm according to my calipers. So it's a hair over 1/25. And the new Revell kits are wider so ??

Edited Wednesday at 12:24 AM by Can-Con