New Kits- Convertibles Before Hardtops- Why?

[Casey]

Reading about the new Revell '72 Olds Cutlass Supreme convertable kit got me thinking...

When Monogram tooled up an all-new '55 Chevy Bel Air kit in '95, they did it as a convertable, and now the '72 Cutlass follows the same pattern.

1) What do you think is the reason they were both released as convertibles first?

2) Did the '55 Bel Air 'vert come with an uptop, and if not, did people complain about that in '95, too?

I'm wondering if the reason for doing a convertable first is to prevent lost sales from buyers converting hardtops into convertibles, since the other way around isn't nearly as easy.

[Modelmartin]

That's interesting because the 1st Monogram 55 Chevy from the early 60s could be built as a HT or convertible. Then they retooled it as the Badman and put the HT on the body.

[LUKE'57]

In the sixties, not only did they do the convertibles first but they also used the same convertible interior, doglegs and all, for the hardtop kit to save money.