kingiguana Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Last weekend a friend of mine picked up the reissued 57 Black Widow for me at a local swap meet. He dropped it off to me the other night. Upon, opening the kit, I find the body to the Belair sedan, not the 150 Utility Sedan. Everything else in the box is Black Widow, just a wrong body. Has anyone elese found this yet ? I'll be calling Revell later today, and hopefully they send out the right body.
droogie Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 If the kit came from a swap meet, how do you know it was packaged that way by Revell?
Badluck 13 Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 I too purchased this kit (un-opened) and has the wrong body in the box .......I messaged Revell and waiting on a response.
Danno Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 LHS here was notified by Revell to pull the kits off the shelf because they had shipped with the wrong (Bel Air) body. LHS was told not to sell them. The run would be replaced.
High octane Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 I just sold an original Black Widow kit last month and the buyer wanted a deeper discount. I said no way, and he bought it anyway. Some people expect you to sell the kits at "give away" prices.
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Thats an expensive mistake. Well at least they got a tri five in the box. Oh that's what you get for cheap labor.
kingiguana Posted January 31, 2017 Author Posted January 31, 2017 If the kit came from a swap meet, how do you know it was packaged that way by Revell?it appeared to be factory shrink wrap,...plus reading the other posts here, I guess Revell knows. And the guy I purchased this from is a dealer, and also has a Hobby Shop.
Rob Hall Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) Makes sense they would have the Bel Air body...wasn't the 150 2dr sedan out first, then the Bel Air 2dr sedan? That may have been a retool and the only '57 Bel Air 2dr sedan body that exists now..would have to change the body tool to go back to the 150? Just speculating... Edited January 31, 2017 by Rob Hall
niteowl7710 Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Makes sense they would have the Bel Air body...wasn't the 150 2dr sedan out first, then the Bel Air 2dr sedan? That may have been a retool and the only '57 2dr sedan body that exists now..would have to change the body tool to go back to the 150? Just speculating...The 150 came out in 2009, I'm almost positive the Bel Air came out before that considering it's kit 1912 vs. 4240 for the 150.
Rob Hall Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) The 150 came out in 2009, I'm almost positive the Bel Air came out before that considering it's kit 1912 vs. 4240 for the 150.Is there any meaning to Revell kit numbers, though? IIRC the Bel Air 2dr sedan 2n1 came out after the 150... but it doesn't really matter..Edit: I checked the Revell catalogs...the 2009 catalog shows the '57 150 Black Widow as 'New' and the 2010 Catalog shows the 'California Wheels' Bel Air sedan as 'New'. Edited January 31, 2017 by Rob Hall
Bill J Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Too bad they shipped the wrong body in the BW kit. It would be nice if they'd throw a Bel-Air back seat in the Black Widow kit. I doubt many 150 sedans were sold without a back seat. It was like a $9 option IRL, I think.
niteowl7710 Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Is there any meaning to Revell kit numbers, though? IIRC the Bel Air 2dr sedan 2n1 came out after the 150... but it doesn't really matter..Edit: I checked the Revell catalogs...the 2009 catalog shows the '57 150 Black Widow as 'New' and the 2010 Catalog shows the 'California Wheels' Bel Air sedan as 'New'. Quite possible the 1912 kit is the SnapTite kit now that I look at the numbering.I can't disprove your release order, but it just seems to be the '57 Bel Air (and not the 1973 kit) has been around for awhile, and then it was modified into the 150/Black Widow to cash in on the vintage NASCAR craze that Moebius started with the Hudson & 300, and then again "modified" into the Convertible. Obviously I'm misremembering the time line.But it does seem quite silly that Revell perma-modified the body into the Bel Air after the 150 and then didn't remember doing that.
Snake45 Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 I doubt they perma-modified the 150 body. Probably just came up with a couple Bel Air side tools.
RT6PK Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Years ago, when AMT came out with the '71 Charger R/T, my LHS had a shipment that had an Olds Toronado body, (if I remember correctly) in place of the Charger body. AMT was replacing the order and the LHS owner was selling the kits with the mis-matched bodies for next to nothing. I think I bought five of them off of him for the parts particularly the awesome 440's with the 727 trannys.
Rob Hall Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Quite possible the 1912 kit is the SnapTite kit now that I look at the numbering.I can't disprove your release order, but it just seems to be the '57 Bel Air (and not the 1973 kit) has been around for awhile, and then it was modified into the 150/Black Widow to cash in on the vintage NASCAR craze that Moebius started with the Hudson & 300, and then again "modified" into the Convertible. Obviously I'm misremembering the time line.But it does seem quite silly that Revell perma-modified the body into the Bel Air after the 150 and then didn't remember doing that.I'm pretty sure the 150 was first, then the Bel Air 2dr sedan, then later the convertible. Moebius came along much later IIRC w/ their vintage stock cars, didn't they? The '08-11 time frame is kind of a murky period of my life for various reasons...
Casey Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Perhaps the '57 Bel Air Sedan bodyside mold pieces were installed instead of the 150-specific pieces. Both share the same Sedan roof height, and I can't think of any other changes between the two bodies which couldn't be accomplished by changing the bodyside inserts.
espo Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Perhaps the '57 Bel Air Sedan bodyside mold pieces were installed instead of the 150-specific pieces. Both share the same Sedan roof height, and I can't think of any other changes between the two bodies which couldn't be accomplished by changing the bodyside inserts. No big deal really, but upon checking two built models on the shelf, I can see that the 1:1 differences between the Bel Air and the 150 interiors are present. The dash in the 150 doesn't have the Bel Air polished aluminum dash insert and is a radio delete style. The seat pattern is also more basic on the 150.
Casey Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 No big deal really, but upon checking two built models on the shelf, I can see that the 1:1 differences between the Bel Air and the 150 interiors are present. The dash in the 150 doesn't have the Bel Air polished aluminum dash insert and is a radio delete style. The seat pattern is also more basic on the 150. I should've been clearer-- I was talking about the body shells only. I suspect the mold for both the Bel Air and 210 Sedans both share the same base and differences are accounted for with various inserts as needed, but that's just a guess on my part. I have compared a few "newer" Revell 1/25 Tri-Five Chevy kits, but not these two, so again, my guess. Below is the mold half for the 1/25 Revell Datsun 240Z kit, and at the bottom left we see the cavity for the body shell. It is my understanding the two thick pins on either side align the bodyside sections, and those sections are what I'm speculating got mixed up when the everything was setup and run:
shoopdog Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Thanks for the pic of the mold, never seen the inside before.
High octane Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Thanks for the pic of the mold, never seen the inside before.I was lucky enough to be able to tour the AMT plant in Detroit area back in 1976 with some fellow club members of The Old Town Escorts from Chicago. Dang, I wish that I had taken my camera.
Atmobil Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Is there any meaning to Revell kit numbers, though? IIRC the Bel Air 2dr sedan 2n1 came out after the 150... but it doesn't really matter..Edit: I checked the Revell catalogs...the 2009 catalog shows the '57 150 Black Widow as 'New' and the 2010 Catalog shows the 'California Wheels' Bel Air sedan as 'New'. Yes, the Black Widow kit was the first one, kitnumber 85-4240 and the Bel Air sedan is 85-4251.
espo Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Thank you for sharing the picture. I find that sort of thing very interesting. We become indifferent to how things are made sometimes.
250 Testa Rossa Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 Good thing I didn't buy mine yet. I still have the original kit and I'm looking forward to the new release.
MrObsessive Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 I have both and yeah, I can see where different slides could be used to differentiate the two. Actually, I bought the Bel Air for a possible '57 Nomad kitbash with their '56. I've no idea why that one gets ignored.........It's just as popular as the '56 if not more so, and no, Revell's long ago tooled '57 Nomad just ain't it!
charlie8575 Posted February 1, 2017 Posted February 1, 2017 I'll cancel the Black Widow order. Good thing I saw this.Charlie Larkin
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