Kit review: Testors' '80 Firebird

WORST KIT EVER.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/4556362006_0809Image0005.JPG

That would pretty much sum up Testors' 1980 Pontiac Trans Am model kit.

It may even be considered curbside by some, because of such little engine detail. I haven't built it yet, but i bought it and was terribly dissapointed. They have prepainted it black, so you must CSC it if you want your own color. I was also dissapionted by the fact that they were too cheap to make vinyl tires, and instead, opted for plastic wheels.

Sum up: What do you expect, its Testors Rating: 2 Stars * *

thanks. it probadly saved some people from buying that!

my dad had a real FB trans-am as a car when he was young

I forget where this kit originates from (Arii or Otaki maybe? I seem to remember the Arii American car series as being not TOO bad. Not this bad, anyway, I've seen this kit, and it's hideous. I've seen better engine detail on 1:64th Hot Wheels cars) but it's from the time when the 1:1 car was new. It's not a new tooling. If it was then I would expect heads to roll at Testor's! They also have the '80 Camaro and '80 Corvette, too.

Best. Review. Ever.

How about some more detailed information about why it's so bad? Let's see that motor. While I trust yours and bm_barrow's opinions, I'd like something to back up the claims. How bad is the body molding? Could it be saved if it were built as a curbside, or if a motor was swapped into it from another kit? I personally don't mind plastic tires. In fact, I think plastic and resin tires are great - they are easy to modify and clean up, way better than their vinyl and rubber counterparts. In fact, I HATE vinyl tires. That slick material gasses out forever, and will react to the paint and plastic of the wheels or anything else it touches. Is it really that hard to dip the body in CSC or alcohol to strip the thin paint on the car? Are there any decals? How are they? Are there any other kits of this particular car made by other manufacturers that aren't - horror! - Testors? How does it compare to those?

Frankly, Testors isn't so bad for a company that almost exclusively reboxes other people's kits. Some of their kits, the MID-4 and the new Charger kit come to mind, are almost universally acclaimed. So I wouldn't sum up the kit's difficiences in two words, "It's Testors."

Is it really the worst kit ever? Have you seen the Lindberg Model T Pickup?

I'm with Willimo on this one, I dont really care how poor or good a kit is as long as the body is a fairly accurate representation of the real car. I usually make a lot of engine mods so the poor (a relative term here) engine is no real worry. I'd be more interested in the chassis and how that is handled, for instance, a metal rod for an axle? mufflers and exhaust molded on? I have never had a Testor's car kit before but I did build one of their 1/48 airplane models and there was nothing wrong with it really, very nice kit actually.

Willimo: okay, here u go...
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/4556362006_0809Image0010.JPG
just from the pic on the box u can tell how louosy the
fitment is, the pros couldn't even make it look presentable,
and for $12.00 i expected at least a real engine. to
transplant a motor you'd have to cut it up. the tires
thing, well that's dependant on the modeler, I guess.
Stripping the paint is a waste of time, especially when
you have little time to do modelling, like most of us.
Yet another problem is the missing firebird decal,
which represents the car itself. Yes, other companies
do, actually, many do...
http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/fb/24/70_1.JPG
MPC^^^, monogram, and revell.
No, I havent seen the Model T, is it worse?

I hope this helps.

-Matt