Atlantis rolls out ex Revell 57 Chevy Nomad.

[John M.]

As I recall,. Atlantis listed the Nomad it's 22-23 catalog and nothing more about it afterwards. It was only speculation on my part but the company may have found hidden problems with the tooling before it was slated to go into full production. It's over 60 years old

Edited January 5 by John M.

[M W Elky]

It will be pretty cool to kit bash this with the gasser option from the AMT 55 nomad . Then there’s the idea of using the 55’s pickup option on the 57 with the gasser parts . There’s a lot of great possibilities here, and I can’t hardly wait 

[TooOld]

2 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

From Atlantis' site : their description of the kit's contents :

"Made form the original vinatge  [sic] tooling. Features opening doors hood and trunk. Molded in gray and chrome and clear. Newly tooled 1 piece rubber tires. Skill level 3. Not an easy build by any means, It features 169 parts, 1 piece body, newly flame decals by Starfighter. New artwork by Brad Liesure."

No mention of improvements other than the tyres (leaps and bounds over those horrible two-piece junks) and the decals (the original lacked the flames, no ?) .
 

My earlier post shows the new decals with the flames , but the built model still has the chrome reverse wheels . 

Edited January 5 by TooOld

[Can-Con]

40 minutes ago, M W Elky said:

It will be pretty cool to kit bash this with the gasser option from the AMT 55 nomad . Then there’s the idea of using the 55’s pickup option on the 57 with the gasser parts . There’s a lot of great possibilities here, and I can’t hardly wait 

Those old Revell '57s always had a strait axel gasser front end included as an option, I can't imagine they would have blocked of the runners for it as it's still in the hardtop kit.

[Bills72sj]

I built one in the 70's as a kit. Too many parts. did not turn out well. I have a '97 reissue of the Revellgram kit. still have not gotten to it. I would like to take another crack at the vintage Revell kit when it comes out.

[stavanzer]

And, the Atlantis '57 Bel-Aire will get you the Blower for a Gasser build. The engine are from similar tooling, and the parts swap is easy.

[Ragtop Man]

Picked up a '70s version that was a partial build. Fiddly, but like any kit with this much detail, take your time and get good reference. 

FWIW, tho, the front clip is 'jowly' (mainly, bumper) and needs rework to use the better AMT Trophy front bumper, or the surprisingly good MPC flipnose bumper.

In the mid 60s, when the kit was released, Revell was ready to pressu the button at the priniting plant on the boxes, when someone realized the Skylark wires were NOT in the kit. IIRC, this was a revolutionary bit of merchandising to use a pic of the 1:1 on the cover vs. illustration. (The '62 Revell ChryCo annuals pioneered that idea...) After a mild panic attack, they found a set of chrome reverse and the art department shot what is known as a "match angle strip" in the parking lot, then retouched the wheels into place. Presses rolled, day saved. 

[ncbuckeye67]

I'd have to look, but I'm pretty sure mine has 1983 on the box.

[Motor City]

21 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

From Atlantis' site : their description of the kit's contents :

"Made form the original vinatge  [sic] tooling. Features opening doors hood and trunk. Molded in gray and chrome and clear. Newly tooled 1 piece rubber tires. Skill level 3. Not an easy build by any means, It features 169 parts, 1 piece body, newly flame decals by Starfighter. New artwork by Brad Liesure."

No mention of improvements other than the tyres (leaps and bounds over those horrible two-piece junks) and the decals (the original lacked the flames, no ?) .
 

That will be disappointing if there are no improvements other than the tires and decals, but I'll buy it anyway.

[blizzy63]

On 1/4/2025 at 2:57 PM, dodgefever said:

It was on the cover of the May 1967 R&C. 

 

[Bainford]

3 hours ago, blizzy63 said:

 

I think it looks infinitely better with the chrome steelies.

[Bainford]

I only built one of these, back when I was a kid in the mid-70s, and it only lasted less than half an hour. After completion I was not terribly happy with it, but brought it up from my bench in the basement and placed it on the kitchen table to show off. Shortly afterwards I sassed my mother about something, and out came the wooden spoon (disciplinary device of choice in our house). I evaded the swing, but the spoon made direct contact with the Nomad, breaking the roof in two places and generally smashing it to bits. Mom was very sorry and attempted to replace it, but couldn't find another '57 Nomad, so she bought me the AMT '55 Nomad kit. I wasn't happy about that at first, but soon realised that the AMT '55 was a much better build, and has since become one of my favourite kits of all time.

[Dave Darby]

On 1/4/2025 at 12:53 PM, Radretireddad said:

I still have the ‘70’s release I started but never finished. It’s a crude kit but still buildable and IIRC the only other ‘57 Nomad ever tooled other than the old 1/24 scale Monogram kit from the 80’s. Which one is better is certainly debatable. A modern spinoff from Revell’s current Tri-five series is much needed.

There's no real debate. The Monogram Nomad has cartoonish proportions, with a too high roof and extra long front wheel openings. If you can make it through the more challenging build effort of the ex Revell kit, you'll have a much better looking Nomad. I recommend bashing in the headlights and grille/front bumper assembly from the AMT kit to look even better.

[Dave Darby]

On 1/4/2025 at 5:13 PM, lordairgtar said:

Interesting point on the Revell box art. The real car in the photo did not have chrome reverse wheels. They cut and paste (the old way the wheels with X-acto knives) a picture of Jim Keeler's car whhels onto the pic. The photo was in Black and White, and if you look closely you can see they have no color at all...just grey tone. I think Jim owned a Rambler with chrome wheels on it.

Actually, I think it was Bob Paeth's Rambler.

[250 Testa Rossa]

If it comes with stock parts, I'm definitely getting this one.

[deuces wild]

8 hours ago, Bainford said:

I only built one of these, back when I was a kid in the mid-70s, and it only lasted less than half an hour. After completion I was not terribly happy with it, but brought it up from my bench in the basement and placed it on the kitchen table to show off. Shortly afterwards I sassed my mother about something, and out came the wooden spoon (disciplinary device of choice in our house). I evaded the swing, but the spoon made direct contact with the Nomad, breaking the roof in two places and generally smashing it to bits. Mom was very sorry and attempted to replace it, but couldn't find another '57 Nomad, so she bought me the AMT '55 Nomad kit. I wasn't happy about that at first, but soon realised that the AMT '55 was a much better build, and has since become one of my favourite kits of all time.

Dad's belt left welts.....😒

[Radretireddad]

16 hours ago, Dave Darby said:

There's no real debate. The Monogram Nomad has cartoonish proportions, with a too high roof and extra long front wheel openings. If you can make it through the more challenging build effort of the ex Revell kit, you'll have a much better looking Nomad. I recommend bashing in the headlights and grille/front bumper assembly from the AMT kit to look even better.

I think I’d rather spend the time grafting the roof tailgate and rear interior from the newer Revell ‘56 Nomad on to the Revell ‘57 sedan. 

[Radretireddad]

On 1/6/2025 at 8:29 AM, blizzy63 said:

 

That car was only a decade old at the time and it was already considered a coveted classic.

[Dave Darby]

5 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

I think I’d rather spend the time grafting the roof tailgate and rear interior from the newer Revell ‘56 Nomad on to the Revell ‘57 sedan. 

You could do that, too. It's nice to have options.

[Mark]

If you consider yourself to be "into" Tri-Five Chevys, you ought to take a swing at one of the classic Revell kits.  The '55 hardtop is probably the "easiest", followed by the '57 hardtop, then the Nomad, with the '56 bringing up the rear. 

The latter two have often had issues that prevent them from being built.  The Nomad bodies often have a nasty dip in the cowl on one side, the roof pillars are often broken, and ones molded in metallic plastic are to be avoided due to the brittleness of said plastic. 

The '56 is to be avoided beyond the first couple of issues, as the windows in later issues fall through the openings.  Hopefully Atlantis will address this with newly tooled clear parts should they reissue the '56.  I'm surprised they did not do likewise with the '57 hardtop, the rear glass fit is awful in that one.

[1930fordpickup]

On 1/5/2025 at 12:33 PM, John M. said:

As I recall,. Atlantis listed the Nomad it's 22-23 catalog and nothing more about it afterwards. It was only speculation on my part but the company may have found hidden problems with the tooling before it was slated to go into full production. It's over 60 years old

My tooling is almost 60 years old also, i am sure there are problems that pop up daily.  

[Kit Karson]

Years ago I mastered a '57 Nomad based on the old AMT '57 Chevy kit:

 

 

[Ragtop Man]

^^^ Welp, there it is! ^^^   Not having a really good '57 Nomad (vs. "it'll do with some bashing" ) is one of the inexplicable gaps in the hobby. 

I think there were a few other resin conversion, but  this one sings. 

[rickcaps55]

2 hours ago, Kit Karson said:

Years ago I mastered a '57 Nomad based on the old AMT '57 Chevy kit:

 

 

LOL I still have your kit in my stash that I got from you years ago that i have not go to yet it's really a great trans kit I also have unbuilt the Revelle kit you show in your photos I have to say i like your Trans kit better.

[lordairgtar]

On 1/6/2025 at 6:43 PM, Dave Darby said:

Actually, I think it was Bob Paeth's Rambler.

Oh yes, you are correct.