Reviews of products for scale automotive models, including motorcycles and motorized vehicles.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
October 16, 2013
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$22.95

Thanks to Revell for providing the kit to IPMS and continuing to build and reissue good Corvette models.

The kit is another reissue of the Revell kit that was first released in 1995 and has been reissued many times since. The plastic sprues contain parts indicating copyrights in 1995 and 4/17/13. The kit shares parts such as the chassis and interior with Coupe versions of the ’67 Corvettes. Either a stock or race version of the Corvette can be built with the kit.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$24.95

In 1977, the Pontiac Firebird became the rage of pop culture in its strong supporting role in Smokey and The Bandit, and ensuing sales of the Trans Am variant skyrocketed overnight.

Revell does a magnificent job capturing the essence of The Bandit's ride in this re-release of their 2004 tooling of an American muscle car legend.

Molded in white, clear, and chrome-plated styrene with steel axles and vinyl tires, the kit consists of 89 parts and a sheet of decals. Mold quality is very good, with little flash and very manageable mold parting lines. Detail, raised and recessed, is crisp and in-scale, and tracks well to reference photos. The tires are beautifully seamless, and just need to be pressed over their hubs to be display-ready.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Camden Koukol
Published on
October 14, 2013
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$15.95

Well-received by many a soccer mom (and dads looking for a “man van”), the Ford Expedition has also gained significant acceptance and popularity among some American law-enforcement agencies looking for a reliable and rugged vehicle with increased towing, passenger, and cargo capacity.

Revell’s Ford Expedition Police SSV (Special Service Vehicle) provides a fantastic opportunity for young modelers to build an imposing replica of this popular vehicle. Molded in black, clear, and chrome-plated plastic, accompanied by vinyl tires and steel axles, its 46 pieces are well-detailed with crisp raised and recessed features. A sheet of stickers provide marking options for 2 vehicles.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
September 30, 2013
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$29.99

The 1967 Shelby GT-350 Mustang was not your average Mustang. It was powered by the Ford High Performance 289 engine and many special improvements. However, since this version was intended to be a production car and to be purchased by the general public, it included the Deluxe Mustang Interior, power brakes, power steering, optional air-conditioning, and optional automatic transmission.

Even so, its performance was superior for its time:

Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
February 10, 2020
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$23.95

Jeep must be an American icon. They’ve been around forever and keep on going.

Engine

Well, there isn’t an engine. All you get is an oil pan molded into the chassis.

Chassis

The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. The exhaust pipe, front and rear differentials, and springs are separate assemblies. The kit comes with actual springs for springs – they were a very pleasant surprise. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to screw the chassis to the body, but this kit calls for it. Fit is right on and the screw heads are covered by the suspension parts. The kit also has metal axles to hold the wheel/tires to the suspension. Wheels are gorgeous bead-lock units and the no-name tires are just beautiful. I’d like to see the wheels/tires in a Revell Parts Pack that they had years and years ago.

Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
August 2, 2013
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$23.95

In front of the "A" pillar, the '66 Chevelle Station Wagon is all muscle car. It was built with the same engine and drive train as one of the most potent muscle cars in history, the Chevelle. But you have to put the kids somewhere. The station wagon's designers stretched the two-door, four-seat car into a four-door, eight-seat wagon.

The kit directions contain a paint guide that you can follow if you so desire, and a beautiful decal sheet should you care to use it. The decal sheet contains decals that will cover most of the side in a wood grain pattern with flames.

Engine

The kit features a big block 396 ci engine that’s engraved very well. I changed out the kit chrome-plated valve covers for a resin pair of painted Moroso covers. The engine then got spark plug wires in the correct firing order, alternator support, fuel lines, throttle linkage, an aftermarket air filter, and heater hoses.

Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
July 30, 2013
Company
AMT
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$22.99

This ’56 Ford Victoria was originally issued by AMT in the 1960’s, then re-released several times after that. Even with Round 2’s mold clean-up process, I have never encountered so much flash on a model before. Literally, every piece had excessive flash that needed to be cleaned off prior to fitting and painting.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Camden Koukol
Published on
July 16, 2013
Company
Polar Lights
MSRP
$20.99

Once again, Round 2 Models’ Polar Lights brand brings modelers (young and old alike) another great classic TV subject – the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, complete with everyone’s favorite mystery-solving K-9 and his best friend.

Re-released and touting “All New! Simplified Assembly,” the Mystery Machine comes molded in black, turquoise, and clear plastic, and is accompanied by steel axles, a full-color sticker sheet, and pre-painted Scooby and Shaggy figures.

Assembled in under 30 minutes by 7-1/2 year-old Camden, the kit’s design is simple and fit is pretty good, although he did need an assist from large hands to snap in the clear windshield piece and a couple of drops of super glue to hold the wheels onto the axles.

Review Author
Jack Kennedy
Published on
July 2, 2013
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$31.99

Back in 1960, I remember a guy named Mickey Thompson setting the land speed record of 406.6 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats. He did this feat with one of the most original cars ever seen. This was the Challenger 1. It was powered by four supercharged Pontiac engines, each powering a separate wheel. I remember at the time hoping that someone would make a model kit of this car. Well, Revell did back in 1962. They produced the kit from 1962 until 1966. I was busy with getting on with my life at that time, so I forgot about Challenger 1. Last year at the IPMS Nationals in Orlando, I saw that Revell was going to re-issue the kit. I couldn’t wait for it to come out and when it came up for grabs by the Reviewers corps, I jumped at the chance to build it.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
July 2, 2013
Company
Aoshima
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$47.99

So what would be cooler than having your car talk to you, be bulletproof, and able to drive itself? Well, if you were Michael Knight, not much…and while he drove several different versions of KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand), the original from the first season of the show was always my favorite.

I don’t build many car models, but when I do, they usually were involved in some movie or TV show. So when KITT came up for review, my hand also came up. I am not sure if this is a re-release by Aoshima of a previous kit as I remember KITT kits from years ago, but if it is a re-release, it is a good one.

The kit includes 95 plastic parts in black, tan, chrome, aluminum, clear, clear red, clear orange, and tinted black colors. There are also 4 rubber tires, 4 polyethylene caps for the wheels, and the scanning unit with 4 screws to mount it.