[CamaroSSBoy346]

Revell 1992 Thunderbird Super Coupe 3n1 Lowrider kit

The MN12 Thunderbird. The last of the REAL Thunderbirds. (Not this crappy retro thing..) These cars were cruisers, with Independent suspension at all 4 corners. Thats untill you droped a few bucks, and you can get you a Sport Thunderbird, which came with a 5.0L V8 (Or a 4.6L V8 after 1993) upgraded wheels, brakes and suspension. Spend a few more presidents, and you can get yourself the "Super Coupe." Its not called "SUPER" for anything. Introduced in 1989, it was the top of the line Thunderbird. It came with upgraded suspension over LX models, 16x7 Unidirectional wheels, optional CD Player and cell phone, and a V6. Wait, what? A V6? Wouldnt the Sport with the V8 be better? Nope. The V6 comes with an Eaton Supercharger, hence "SUPER.." They also came with an optional 5-Speed transmission. Unfortunately, the Sport, LX, or Base models NEVER came with a manual, from the factory. Infact, the 1989 SC won Motor Trends car of the year? How 'bout that..

Now, its been gone for awhile, and the only place you could get them were on ebay...I'm talking about the model here. Revell made many different variatons of the SC kit. The 1989, 35th Anniv Ed, 1991 (I think..) and the 1992. Revell modified the molds of the 1992 kit, giving it the correct tail lights. This is the 3n1 Kit, so it comes with the outragous (in a bad way) lowrider parts (tires wheels decals), custom (which resembles a salt flat racer type theme) and stock.

Engine
The engine is a 3.8L V6, with an Eaton roots-type blower, SET AT 12 psi. The engine made 210 HP, and a whopping 315 TQ. The engine is extremely detailed (One inside the engine bay, there are so many pipes..). Except, the intake manifold, and SC are molded as one unit in chrome. Also, the intake pipe is molded in chrome too, along with the intercooler pipe. I did have a fit issue, and clearence issue. With the engine fully assembled The hood wouldnt close all the way. The first time around, I just lowered the K-Member, the second time, I trimmed the top of the blower, and bottom of the intake. Both times, I needed to sand the inside of the hood, to make it thinner. Also, when assembled, the chrome intake pipe can be a hassle to get in. The intercooler pipe doesnt quite fit right either, and may take a coupe of test fits, and filing. The kit also comes with the M5R2 Manual transmission.

Suspension
The biggest problem on this kit. Its very finnicky, to the point where you get so pissed off you just throw it against the wall. Its very detailed yes, but it doesnt go together right. The front suspension consists of 5 pieces alone. When built, without any alterations, the front suspension will give some very weird cambers, and offsets. By that I mean, one wheel might stick out of the fender, and one might stick way inside. Its a real PITA. Also, the wheels may look "too far foward". The back suspension is...the same way. The back consists of 6 pieces. The first time I built this kit, I put on the suspension before the chassis went together with the body, and ended up having to take it back off for some modifications. The suspension sits too low, and the wheels will look to close to the front of the fender. To fix this, I grinded off the little knobs/stubs that the subframe connects to, then I trimmed the stubs, that are supposed to represnt the coil springs. Then I added the suspension after the chassis was witht ehb ody, so I could line up the suspension to look right. As with the front, the wheels look like one sticks out farther then the other. What I found out was, apparently, not all the tires are the same, so Play around with them, and see what looks good. I also trimmed the inside of the wheels. Unmodified, they stick out of the tire, making the tire look too skinny.

Interior
This is a fairly nice interior, comes with seperate door panels, and comes with a choice of three different gauge clusters. (Stock, one with a built in shift light, and a gold one.) The way the dashboard connects with the center console looks a little weird though. I built this kit twice, and there seems to be some kind of..something..on the seats, that rejects paint.

Body
A very nice, cleanly molded body, with the revised tail lights, molded in clear red. The tail lights say "Thunderbird" on them, this is incorrect, there arent supposed to be anything on there. If you happen to have the 1989 Kit, it might be unique to add that bumper onto the 92 kit. The 89 it has "SC" molded into the front bumper. The windoes didnt come with any lines for the trim, so good luck painting them. Also, the wheels are chrome, which is incorrect. They are supposed to be silver, but I have seen only ONE EVER with chrome wheels. If you're building a 1:1 Replica, the 89-93 SC's came in Red, Black, Silver, and Teal.

Overall
For $12, and being the only MN12 Thunderbird made, I guess you have no other choice. The suspension is a major MAJOR PITA.

Accuracy: Pretty much spot on.. 3/3
Fit/Finish: The suspension ruins it.. .5/2
Detail: Box stock, theres alot of it.. 1/1.5
Options: Lowrider, Custom, stock.. 1.5/1.5
Value: Its a Revell..its cheap, but dont expect Tamiya quality.. 2/2
Final Verdict: 7/10