History of Monogram's Squarebody GM Pickups

[Fat Brian]

30 minutes ago, Mike C. said:

So who owns the Blazer tooling? And why don't they reissue it based on the popularity of the squarebody Blazer now? I would certainly buy 1or 2 more.

Revell/Blitz still owns the tooling. The last time it was run was in the early 2000s as the Mad Mudder. There's some speculation as to whether they still have the stock top since they haven't run a stock Blazer since the Mad Mudder conversion in the 80s.

[Mike C.]

So the mad mudder is all we're left with? Seems strange that they would completely scrap the original Blazer. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Mike C.

[Plowboy]

10 hours ago, Russell C said:

See the attached thread for more on the Monogram history -- not mentioned within it, though, is the other mystery as to why Monogram depicted the duel batteries in the Blazer and GMC Jimmy. 

At least it does have batteries. The Monogram '78 Camaro Z/28 has dual washer bottles of all things! I'm pretty sure that the '76 Chevy pickup also has dual batteries. 

[stavanzer]

No, not strange at all. Different Times, Different Business cases.

[Fat Brian]

2 hours ago, Mike C. said:

So the mad mudder is all we're left with? Seems strange that they would completely scrap the original Blazer. 

No one is sure, they didn't permanently alter other trucks when the redid them. But of all of them the Blazer is the only one to never be later reissued in its stock form.

[Casey]

3 hours ago, Mike C. said:

So the mad mudder is all we're left with? Seems strange that they would completely scrap the original Blazer. 

As mentioned/referenced earlier in this topic, the original Blazer mold suffered some damage early on and was repaired, but the door handles are now severely undersized. The undersized handles are still present on the Pulldozer and Mad Mudder kits, which leads me to believe Monogram decided to salvage what they could, and extensively rework the kit to get something useable out of it.

[Casey]

Here's a shot with the shadow of the driver's door drip rail clearly visible, and what appears to be a slight step between the door and quarter panel, just below the terminal end of the drip rail, as well as the undersized door handle:

 

Maybe it was always this way, maybe not. I have yet to find/see this body with normal sized door handle, other than the catalog built-up model images. Maybe it never made it to production before being damaged and repaired?

Good image of the parts layout, especially the removable roof section:

 

I think these roof sections were all separated/cut from their runner before packaging, but not 100% sure on that. There a gate remnant on the back edge of the removable roof section, however:

 

There's that tire insert again, too: 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Casey

[Tabbysdaddy]

I just realized, I guess that means I can use the stock front bumper from the GMC truck with plow on the Mad Mudder. I forget what other stock parts are missing other than the top. I'll have to check. 

[stavanzer]

Mike, That is the $64,000 Question!

Nobody here seems to know, and the whoever knows, probably doesn't post (or even read) here.

So, for right now, it's the secondary market for us Squarebody Blazer Fans.

[Mike C.]

The way I'm looking at it is there are so many of the earlier Broncos being reissued you would think the blazer would not be far behind given how popular the 1:1s have gotten these days. I do remember some talk about how undersized those door handles were. I see that now. Still excited to build this one. Be better if I could build more variations without going broke.

[Rodent]

Joseph makes door handles for the squarebody trucks if you don't want anyone to think the driver of your Blazer has "small hands".

[Mike C.]

Already put those in my rough list for the next order. ?

[Can-Con]

Forget the Blazer , where the GMC Jimmy?

I bet a few builders would like to get a set of those fender flares and a Hickey hood.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Can-Con

[stavanzer]

You are SO right, Steve!

Those Flares and Hood are totally Killer. Would be nice to have them back.

[Mike C.]

41 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Forget the Blazer , where the GMC Jimmy?

I bet a few builders would like to get a set of those fender flares and a Hickey hood.

That's nice. I never knew that one even existed.  If that's the concave hood that was made of fiberglass (I think) than I remember that one. Most definitely would get 2 of those if they ever reissued it but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Russell C]

3 hours ago, Mike C. said:

... If that's the concave hood that was made of fiberglass ....

It is, see the last page of this old 36 page Hickey catalog (click on the thumbnails there to enlarge each page). I scored a never built Monogram Jimmy years back fairly cheap off eBay, it takes patience to spot inexpensive ones that are mislabeled by non car-guy estate salers. Less than $20 if I remember right, it's sorta fun to bookmark auctions these days to see how far the bids go ....

[Mike C.]

Wow! That catalog alone is quite a score. Brings back memories of the early days of off roading. I do remember that fiberglass hood from way back then. I noticed that they included that Hickey roof rack in my kit as well. I can also remember the Hickey sidewinder winch add they used to run in the publications of the time where they pulled that 1st gen. Blazer into a huge tree. Everybody was running KC daylighters with that yellow happyface. Different time back then. Thanks for posting. 

[Mike C.]

I wouldn't be at all heartbroken if somebody came out with a resin aftermarket hood like that.

[Mike C.]

I found the vintage ad for the sidewinder.

 

 

[Fabrux]

?

[Mike C.]

Nice!

[Can-Con]

19 hours ago, Russell C said:

It is, see the last page of this old 36 page Hickey catalog (click on the thumbnails there to enlarge each page). I scored a never built Monogram Jimmy years back fairly cheap off eBay, it takes patience to spot inexpensive ones that are mislabeled by non car-guy estate salers. Less than $20 if I remember right, it's sorta fun to bookmark auctions these days to see how far the bids go ....

IIRC, that Jimmy kit had a lot of the stuff shown in this ad.

[Mike C.]

All of those parts would be nice in 3D resin. The winch bumper looks a bit like the Olsen Bros. bumper.

[Casey]

From the 1991 Monogram catalog:

Edited March 21, 2022 by Casey
focus assist

[stavanzer]

Boy, I'd like to see more of that Ford P/U.