Revell 1984 Olds 442

[Classicgas]

Looks nice to me, except the tires. I hardly think bias ply tires were used in the 80's. The Monogram Goodyear radials are more appropriate.

[Dragline]

My buddy  Jimmy is gonna flip for this thing. He had a Vette motored one with man trans back in the day. That thing was hella fast.

 

 

Of course, guess who gets to build it for him.......... maybe I'll let it slide and just get one for me.

[charlie8575]

It's all so '80s Monogram in look and feel for me, and I'm still a bit conflicted regarding how I should feel about that. The body looks great, basic details look good, but molded-in everything in the engine compartment is nothing to get excited about in 2016. At least the brake booster and master cylinder aren't melting down the firewall. 

What's really bugging me is if this type of kit, in terms of design, parts count, breakdown, etc., is what we should now expect from a Level 4 Revell kit. 

This may get me kicked out the rivet-counter's club, but I don't care.

I actually welcome the simplified construction. I think we've started to hit the proverbial wall in many respects with parts count, the number of details that can (or should) be made separate, and the like. 

Oddly, though, we've noticed that as parts count has gone up, with many manufacturers, for whatever reason, in many cases, this has also resulted in suffering accuracy of many critical parts. 

Now, if the designers are concentrating on better accuracy without having to worry about how many tiny parts that many of us can't see well they have to include, well, then I'd say that's a win-win for all of us. If we're netting a better-looking end product with fewer gross errors, then I'll take it. While I'll agree that a separate firewall/engine compartment and their attendant components wouldn't be the worst thing, if this is the trade-off for a better-looking end product, I'll work with it.

Like Casey, though, i do have a lot of concerns about calling this kit a Skill Level 4. 

Even adjusting for the I Made That line of very simplified kits, this kit does not, from its appearances, have any semblance to a proper Level 4 kit. Where these scales are arbitrary and have no uniform agreement among the manufacturers as to what they ought to be, that also creates its own problems. 

But Level 4? No.

Charlie Larkin

[Brett Barrow]

Like Casey, though, i do have a lot of concerns about calling this kit a Skill Level 4. 

Even adjusting for the I Made That line of very simplified kits, this kit does not, from its appearances, have any semblance to a proper Level 4 kit. Where these scales are arbitrary and have no uniform agreement among the manufacturers as to what they ought to be, that also creates its own problems. 

But Level 4? No.

Charlie Larkin

New Level 4 is the same as the old Level 2.  Glue kits under 120 parts.  There's still only 2 levels of conventional glue kits and this is the lower level.  

Here's the breakdown of the new skill levels:

 

1. Simple "build and play" snaps
2. Snap-tite kits with higher parts count (old Level 1)
3. Pre-painted body glue kits
4. Glue kits with fewer than 120 parts (old Level 2)
5. Glue kits with more than 120 parts (old Level 3)

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Been an unrepentant parts geek since childhood, but I gotta agree - the RIGHT LOOK is far more important than a gajillion-piece breakdown.

 

[mikemodeler]

To Charlie and Chuck's points, I agree that if the body proportions are spot on and the underhood details are somewhat vague, then I am a buyer of the kit as I tend to display my models with the hood closed. In the case of this car, this was the beginning of the era where engine compartments started to shrink and more "stuff" was crammed in them so reality is that there isn't much to see anyway.

[gasman]

This kit is on the revell new release sheet for a late April, Early May release. 

[TimKustom]

That really does look good. They got the body character lines, shape and all that stuff down quite nicely. 

This would not be tough to build a Cutlass Calais out of with what's in the box, you will need to supply a mesh for the grille; some etched screen might work well. A Supreme or Brougham would need some engineering in the interior and grille, but they're quite achievable. 

I hope MCG issues some photo-etch scripts for these; that'll be the icing on the cake. They should include the optional wide lower mouldings and the edge-banding for the landau top, too.

I'm in for 2-3 at least.

Charlie Larkin

I'm really looking forward to this kit. You can bet MCG will have a set for this. Not sure about including the lower mouldings and landau top trim though. Those would make the package fairly large and those would probably be better made with evergreen. Should have a few choices for the grille and plenty of choices for the scripts and emblems.

 

 

[Johnny1973]

A few more shots from the same show for anyone who likes:

It does look as if they're using the '70 'Cuda tires.  For the streamlined, slightly retro-flavored parts breakdown, though, detail looks very good.

Looking forward to the OLDs release we all have been waiting a long time for this one.

[Agent G]

That looks pretty darn good to me.

A bit of glue, some paint and it should look just fine.

G

[Deathgoblin]

Looks like it's a ground up new kit.  The chassis looks a lot better that the Monte Carlo SS kits.

[charlie8575]

The HEI distributor came out very nicely. 

Charlie Larkin

[W-31]

Im definitely gonna pick up several, dont want to make another mistake like I did with the Trumpeter 64 nova! 

[Dragline]

Is in the April offerings on their website. I'll be picking up a couple.

[Sport Suburban]

Revell does have it listed on their sight as an April release now! I will be picking one up for myself. 

[martinfan5]

Revell does have it listed on their sight as an April release now! I will be picking one up for myself. 

Can you pick one up for me too?

See you next week Raoul

[charlie8575]

Revell does have it listed on their sight as an April release now! I will be picking one up for myself. 

Really?

I'll start watching my shop end of the month, first half of May. New stuff comes in about that time of the month with STS.

Charlie Larkin

[dshue76]

I'm super excited about this kit. As a G body Olds fan this is great, I wish it was a 78, 79 or 80 but this one will do nicely. There were also rumors that another version was measured as well.

[charlie8575]

Confirmed out end of April.

My hobby shop has one on order for me.

Like the tag line they used..."can we build one for you?"

Charlie Larkin

[mikemodeler]

Added to my wish list at Tower Hobbies, will have to get a couple eventually!

 

[Casey]

Confirmed out end of April.

It's out, or at least available on eBay now. 

 

Edited April 15, 2016 by Casey

[bismarck]

On it!!

[dshue76]

The only things I wish they had done differently is make the grills separate pieces and it would have been nice as a t top version. Hopefully some photo etch sets with different grill and badge options will be offered. With a resin hood, resin tail lights, resin bench seat and photo etch badging a lot of different years and trim levels could be represented. Add in the v6 from a T Type converted to naturally aspirated, small block Chevy to represent a 305( I believe the 305 was available in Canada) and all the bases are covered, except for the euro nose. Just a little work and the stock engine can be made to represent the diesel option.

Edited April 15, 2016 by dshue76

[martinfan5]

It's out, or at least available on eBay now. 

 

 

Link?, not finding any

[Casey]

Link?, not finding any

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Revell-83-Hurst-Oldsmobile-plastic-1-25-scale-Special-Edition-car-model-kit4317-/282006135265?hash=item41a8e021e1%3Ag%3ArAEAAOSw3mpXERa3&nma=true&si=dqp1qInwMLujkbPBH56jQB0Dh%2Fk%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Looks like all four sold. Probably that Kevin guy from Ohio!