86 olds Cutlass

[gearhedjon]

Hello everybody. I have just found this site and like what I see. I'm sure someone has asked this before but does anyone make a 81-86 Olds Cutlass resin kit? I know you could use the Buick Regal kit that is available but the Olds has a different dash than the Monte or Buick. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Lownslow]

carlos avelar was the last person to make a cutty kit, and its basically flintstone quality body with no extras and the price of 10 regal kits. they pop up on ebay from time to time but they all need serious work to make them presentable

[Casey]

I don't want to poke the hornet's nest by bringing this topic back up, but the G-body Cutlass topic fascinates me. It seems to be a much wanted kit/conversion, and there are certainly kits available to base a Cutlass Supreme master on, but nobody has attempted it.

I don't believe the Revell kit/built-up which was shown a few years ago will ever happen in kit form, but is there true demand from builders to see this conversion produced?

Maybe it's the scale which is causing hesitation? I would assume both the Monogram 1/24 '86 Monte Carlo SS and Buick GN/GNX (Regal) kits would be used for the basis of the Cutlass Supreme, but maybe it should be done in 1/25 scale instead?

And just to sharpen the stick a bit more, here are some pics of what Revell showed off a few years ago:

[Chuck Most]

I'm working on a '78-80 version (very slowly) using the MPC '78 Monte Carlo as a base, and there has been interest in that one being cast. I'd be all for an '81-88 version as well, so much so the conversion after that will cover that body style.

But I do hope someone beats me to it.

[jeffs396]

Casey, if Revell went as far as doing the tooling for the Cutlass, I wonder why they would pull the plug on it?

They already made the investment $$$

Oh, and WELCOME John!

Edited December 8, 2011 by jeffs396

[mikemodeler]

Jeff,

many times the model companies will tool up a kit or announce a re-issue and then wait to see what the pre-orders are before pouring the molds. If there is not enough demand for a kit, they can minimize their losses by not having thousands of a kit laying around that no one will buy. Just because a hundred or more members of a forum say they want one or will buy a dozen that doesn't translate into enough to justify production. There is also the retailers and considering only Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Hobbytown USA are national retailers of kits, if they don't commit to buying a model, that can influence the perception of how well a kit will sell.

I wonder if a Model King could "lease" that Cutlass tooling to get 5,000 of those out to the public? It is possible that avenue has already been explored and was cost prohibitive, not sure.

[Casey]

I wonder if a Model King could "lease" that Cutlass tooling to get 5,000 of those out to the public? It is possible that avenue has already been explored and was cost prohibitive, not sure.

Oh, now there is a good idea.

[Chuck Most]

Just my own personal opinion here (coming from a Ford guy who occasionaly dabbles in GM vehicles of the Rocket persuasion), but I don't see how a late '80's Olds G-Body could NOT be at least a decent seller. The kit itself was a donk, but dig out some AMT Olds Rallye wheels and some stock suspension pieces from an AMT ot MPC Monte Carlo/El Camino, and you'd have a pretty nice stocker... or swap on some wheels of your own for a custom or street machine variant. Drag racers love these... pretty much any weekend meet you go to has at least a couple Cutlasses (unless it's an all-Mustang, etc. event or something like that). Flip through a copy of Lowrider? Yep, loaded with Cutlasses of this vintage. They're popular with circle-track guys as well. And with a little bit of backdating, one could make a model of the very striking 1983 15th anniversary Hurst/Olds 4-4-2. And those are just the possiblilities I can think of... I'm sure there are plenty more!

[mikemodeler]

Chuck I would buy a couple of these kits but for whatever reason Revell saw fit to not to put them out. I think the poor sales on the other DONK kits might have scared them off. If they had brought the Cutlass out first it may have been a different story as it probably would have sold better than the Monte.

[Kris Morgan]

From what I understand the kit was haltted do ome body issues. Seems this kit (like the lowrider Caddy?) derived from a diecast. I want to say there was talk of the body being too slab sided. Not 100% sure on this though. But, Yes this kit would sell very well I think.

Edited December 9, 2011 by Kris Morgan

[gearhedjon]

Is there any way we could get a petition going requesting Revell to make the Cutlass kit? As stated earlier there is alot of interested people who beside myself, would like to see this model produced. How about one of the top notch resin manufactures? What can I or we do to produce this kit? Any ideas ?

[Tonioseven]

I called AND wrote Revell; I was prepared to buy a case of them.

[Abell82]

The body was found to be too slab sided, but not only that it was NOT a full detail kit. It had an "engine plate" and I believe molded in exhaust?

It was really more of a "curb side" kit, rather then a full detail kit. A "Promo Donk"?

[gearhedjon]

I basically wouldn't mind if it was just a curbside as I could use the body and interior and use the Regal chassis. I bought a resin Cutlass body on E-bay many years ago, but was very disappointed in the body. It was the most horrible resin body I have ever seen. It has the hood molded in and the body has pin holes and uneven amount of resin through out the body. It also has no interior. The major difference is the dash as it is different than the other kits. As I stated before couldn't on of the resin casters produce this body? Who could we talk to?

[kevin]

if you could get one mastered we would gladly cast it

[gearhedjon]

Excuse me for my ignorance, but what do you mean "get one mastered" I am sorry but I don't understand.

[Kris Morgan]

He means have someone convert an existing kit into the Cutlass. That would be the master to be used for making copies in resin.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Kris Morgan

[Chuck Most]

I have mentioned I'm working on a '78 Cutlass, but that might be a while. (Just ask Chris how slow I can be sometimes! ) IF that happens, and IF it gets cast, and IF there is enough interest/sales, I will ABSOLUTELY do an '81-88 variant. I do hope Revell at least considers 'fixing' this one (suspension/wheels wise, anyway) and eventually releases it. Even if they do it as a curbside with a sealed hood and 'coaster' chassis, I'd buy more than a handful.

[1972coronet]

I can see this as a potential 3-in-1 kit :

- Stock

- Low Rider

- Street Machine

I can just see two different engines :

- V6 ( Buick or Chevy ?)

- "Generic" small block V8 (305 , ad seq.)

Induction :

- Stock 2Bbl for both engines

- Single 4Bbl option for both engines

- Tunnel Ram for V8

With both backed by a 200-4R .

Engine-side Exhaust :

- Stock iron manifolds

- Headers with trim-to-desired-length collectors

Wheels :

- Stock Oldsmobile Rally Wheels

- Daytons

- Plain Steel Wheels (with wider size for rear for hot rod / bracket racer build)

Tyres :

- Stock 225 75-14's ( or whatever was stock size )

- Skinny whitewalls for the Daytons

- D.O.T. Slicks (small enough to fit the wheelwells) for the Street Machine / Bracket version)

Interior :

- Stock bench seat / column shift

- Bucket seat / rear seat delete panel for speakers (Low Rider)

- Bucket seats / console with stock shifter , "Lightening Rod" shifters for race version (similar to the Hurst version )

Optional steering wheels , roll bar , gauges , etc.

Hoods :

- stock flat hood

- "Cowl Induction" style hood

- "L88" style hood

Exhaust :

- Stock single exhaust

- True dual exhaust

Everything in the engine compartment should be separate in order to facilitate a plain race car version.

I firmly believe that if Revell-Monogram were to make it a 3-in-1 kit , that its sales would be quite strong !

Edited January 1, 2012 by 1972coronet

[Casey]

The body was found to be too slab sided, but not only that it was NOT a full detail kit. It had an "engine plate" and I believe molded in exhaust?

It was really more of a "curb side" kit, rather then a full detail kit. A "Promo Donk"?

Yes, you can see the engine plate at the bottom of pic #1, and the lopped off front fender wells to match on the body.

Does anyone know if this Cutlass was based on a die cast? It appears to be based on neither Monogram's 1/24 '86 Buick GN/GNX or the Monte Carlo SS.

[Chuck Most]

It may have been originally slated to be a diecast, but Revell seemed to be pulling out of the diecast market for the most part by the time this kit was announced.

[Abell82]

I believe that it was Hobbico that killed this kit, after it bought Revell.

[Casey]

I'd be all for an '81-88 version as well, so much so the conversion after that will cover that body style.

But I do hope someone beats me to it.

I've been looking at large, quality images of '86 Cutlasses, Regals, Gran Prixs, and Monte Carlo SSs on the web for the last hour, and it's clear why nobody has attempted this body- just about every exterior panel on the Olds is different from its siblings.

Other than the side view mirrors from the 1/24 Monogram Regal GN, I don't see any body parts from the Buick which could be used for a Cutlass conversion. Maybe the greenhouse could be used, but the hood, fenders, bumper covers (though the Olds rub strips look very similar to the Gran Prix's), quarter panels, and trunk lids are all different. I thought the doors could be left as is, but I can't tell for sure if the crease running through the lower 1/3 of the Regal's body is the same as the crease on the Cutlass's body?

The Monte SS looks useless as a Cutlass body donor.

[Rob Hall]

The roof and glass of the Regal should be the same except for the quarter window shape. It's too bad Monogram didn't do an '83-84 Hurst/Olds back in the day, would have been great to go w/ the Monte SS and Regal GN kits.

[Chuck Most]

I've been looking at large, quality images of '86 Cutlasses, Regals, Gran Prixs, and Monte Carlo SSs on the web for the last hour, and it's clear why nobody has attempted this body- just about every exterior panel on the Olds is different from its siblings.

Other than the side view mirrors from the 1/24 Monogram Regal GN, I don't see any body parts from the Buick which could be used for a Cutlass conversion. Maybe the greenhouse could be used, but the hood, fenders, bumper covers (though the Olds rub strips look very similar to the Gran Prix's), quarter panels, and trunk lids are all different. I thought the doors could be left as is, but I can't tell for sure if the crease running through the lower 1/3 of the Regal's body is the same as the crease on the Cutlass's body?

The Monte SS looks useless as a Cutlass body donor.

That's right, but the car's 'sheetmetal' can be shaped out of putty- you'd more or less be using the MPC body as a buck. That's the approach I'm taking for this one. The 1:1's share the same body structure, but the skin is completely different among the various models.