RoR Step-by-Step Review 20130210* 1950 Oldsmobile Club Coupe 2n1 1-25 65-4254 Kit Review The 1950 Oldsmobile 88 is widely considered to be the first factory hot rod produced. With its powerful overhead 303c.i. V-8 engine cranking out 135hp, and lightweight body design, it was a force to be reckoned with. It was very popular with racing enthusiasts at the time, running the quarter-mile in 18.9 seconds, unheard of in 1950. It wasn't uncommon for these cars to be driven straight from the showroom to the race track! For the Modeler: This new tool model from Revell can turn out to be a prize winner for your shelf but there are some things you ll need to know BEFORE you put the decals on. This kit is molded in white, red, and clear plastic and contains 135 parts, including black rubber tires and metal axle pins and exhaust tips. Flash is practically non-existent. Covered in this Review: Basic kit construction and paint selection for the engine, interior and exterior; starter location; engine highlighting and detailing; detailing the undercarriage and brakes; modifying the frame for engine fit; straightening a warped part; repairing ejection pin marks; using metalizer paints for detail; engine bay appointments; business coupe considerations; body seam identification; glass handling; using foil for trim; correct side mirror location; instruction errors; hood sink corrections; detailing the hood and trunk emblems; are all fully examined in this 10 page, full-color Step-by-Step review.
(Fig. #0a) This is the box art and kit packaging. (Fig. #3) I began by assembling the Rocket V-8 engine. I glued the two-piece block/tranny, oil pan, transmission cover, intake manifold, cylinder heads, rocker covers, front cover, and oil filter all together and painting it as a unit using Rust-O-Leum Green (that's what the can says!) to replicate the Oldsmobile Green engine color. Distributor, coil, generator, fan, starter, and four-piece air cleaner assembly were painted gloss black. The upper radiator hose was painted green at the base and picked out using flat black paint for the hose itself. The fan belt pulleys were painted green and the belts themselves were detail-painted in flat black. Exhaust manifolds were painted Testor's Magnesium buffing metalizer, while the two-piece carburetor was painted gold. (Fig. #7) The engine assembled without issue, except for a rather tenuous fit for the starter against the block...no positive contact point. Patience and strong glue ensured a proper fit. Revell did a nice job recreating the Rocket V-8 engine, with lots of detail, and the finished unit looks beautiful. I took a silver Sharpie across the raised "bars" on the tops of the valve covers, then painted the areas with Tamiya Clear Orange to simulate the gold "plates" under which the plug wires would locate. "Oldsmobile Rocket" script decals are provided for this area, as well as decals for the generator, oil filler tube cap, oil filter, and air cleaner.
(Fig. #11, 12) I moved on to the chassis and its components. The floor pan and frame are separate units (a nice touch!). The front suspension consists of a suspension unit, two upper A-arms, tie rod, and two-piece coil springs, as well as brake backing plates. Revell could have easily molded the springs in one piece rather than two...seems a waste of time and glue to me not having done so. All components were painted gloss black, and as is customary with me, I rubbed a silver Sharpie across the raised ribs of the coil springs to elicit definition. I painted the brake backing plates Testor's Stainless Steel buffing metalizer. The backing plates are keyed to ensure proper fit of the completed wheel assemblies, since metal pins are provided that install into the wheel assembly and attach to holes in both the front and rear suspension units. (Fig. #27) I then installed the engine onto the frame. The exhaust pipe is a one-piece affair and should be installed before the front suspension is, simply because my example did not allow the exhaust pipe ends to fully mate with the exhaust manifolds, leaving not only an improper fit but also forcing the oil filter into the engine block. The only solution would be to carve out a section of the frame at the exhaust manifold location to allow the pipes to seat properly into the manifolds without interfering with the oil filter. Next I installed the floorpan onto the frame. The floorpan was slightly warped, but a few clamps corrected this issue. I painted the floorpan flat black to give it definition and distinction from the gloss black frame. It also doubles as the interior floor, so that side was also given a flat black paint job.
(Fig. #29) The rear suspension/drivetrain consists of a three-piece rear axle, driveshaft, track bar, stabilizer, rear shocks, cross-member, and two-piece coil springs (again, why not mold them as one-piece units?). The rear axle cover has ejector marks which need to be shaved off for a proper fit. Also, there are no positive contact points for the rear shocks where they affix to the rear axle itself. Everything else installed without issue, including the rear brake backing plates. I painted everything gloss black except for the driveshaft and exhaust pipe, which were painted Testor's Stainless Steel buffing metalizer. (Fig. #24) Since the floorpan contains the front inner fender wells, I masked off the interior part of the floorpan and painted the wells gloss black. The interior part of the firewall was painted flat black while the engine bay side was painted gloss black. The left and right vent ducts installed without issue, as did the clear washer bottle, whose hollow inside I painted with Tamiya Clear Blue to simulate washer fluid. I painted the cap flat black and applied the decal to the cap. The battery was painted gloss black and also installed without issue. The radiator wall contains a two-piece radiator unit/shroud, and went together well. The upper radiator hose also installed seamlessly, as did the four-piece air cleaner canister unit. The completed engine bay looks nice, and the Rocket engine sure fills it well!
(Fig. #13) Moving on to the interior, I first installed the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals to the floorpan. The two-piece front seat, door panels, rear seat, and dashboard were all painted flat gray, detailed, and installed without incident. (Fig. #14) Nice decals are provided for the instrument panel and dash-mounted clock. Knobs and radio were detail-painted in silver, as were the door and window handles. The steering wheel and column were painted body color, and the column-mounted shifter and turn signal stalks were detail-painted in silver. There is a decal for the center of the steering wheel, as well as a clear "dome" for the center of the wheel. The horn ring was also painted silver. (Fig. #25) Since this kit can be built both stock and as two racing versions, there is a flat panel to take the place of the rear seat. This panel includes a 3- piece roll bar for the racing version. Many manufacturers built base line cars as "Business Coupes" in the '50s, with no back seats, hubcaps, etc. for the traveling salesmen, and this model could easily be turned into one by substituting the rear panel for the rear seat, and filling in the holes for the roll bar. Voila! A business coupe is born!
(Fig. #28) The tires are black wall "no-name" skinnies, and the rims are twopiece units which incorporate metal pins trapped between the two pieces to insert into the suspension assemblies. Dog dish hubcaps and beauty rings are also provided. The beauty rings are quite fragile, with rather thick contact points on the sprue tree, and are very susceptible to breaking while being removed from the tree. As careful as I was, I still managed to break two of the four during removal. I was able to install them without the breaks being noticeable. Also, the kit box clearly states that the tires are "tampo-printed whitewall tires", when in fact they're black walls with cheesy whitewall decals. I ended up scrapping the whitewall decals since they refused to conform to the tires despite a copious amount of setting solution. You should spray these decals with some clear coat lacquer and cut them out to give them some stiffness before applying. I ended up ordering a set of whitewall stickers from Vinyl Nation, which as usual, snuggled onto the tires with absolutely no problem at all, and look great. (Fig. #21) I then addressed the body. I painted it Dupli-Color Hampstead Green (one of my favorite colors) after sanding down any mold lines/seams that I encountered. I was very disappointed to discover a seam running across the top of the trunk, just above the trunk lock. Another seam intersected the roof-to-beltline where it ran through the trim molding around the rear/side windows. Even careful sanding risked damage to the chrome molding.
(Fig. #20a) After painting and wet-sanding the body, I installed the glass, which consists of windshield, rear window, rear side windows, and vent windows with frames molded in. I painted the vent window frames silver. All glass is extremely difficult to install, given the fact it barely is wide/long enough to contain enough surface with the body to provide positive contact points for glue. This could have easily been designed much better than it was. The rear view mirror and separate sun visors installed perfectly, all have nice positive contact points to ensure a proper fit. (Fig. #16) I then installed the body onto the interior/chassis and applied the bright work: separate headlight buckets/clear lenses, hood emblems, door handles, windshield wipers, trunk emblem, side view mirror, taillight bezels, front and rear bumpers, and license plate holders.
(Fig. #21a) The taillight bezel chrome strips contain the taillights, which must be painted red. There are three different "lenses" in each piece; the instruction sheet tells you to paint the uppermost "lens" red. This is inaccurate; the middle lens and lower "dot" should only be painted red. The upper lens is a backup lens and should be left as is, according to numerous reference photographs of '50 Olds 88s. Fig. #16a) The instruction sheet calls for the exterior side view mirror to be placed on the driver's side fender below the beltline. This is inaccurate. All reference photos indicate it should be installed 1/4-1/3 the way up the door frame. (Fig. #22) The hood has "pockets" to allow placement of hood hinges, which I elected to delete. However, these pockets on the underside create dimples on the topside of the hood, which do not become evident until after paint is applied. Putty is the only way to correct this, and unfortunately I did not discover it on my example until it was too late so watch for this and address it beforehand.
(Fig. #20, 21b) I detail painted the hood and trunk emblems with Tamiya Clear Yellow to simulate the gold color of the emblems. The "Oldsmobile" script and "88" decals applied without issues and, although the Olds decals are rather dull in color, still look somewhat acceptable. The hubcap decals did not conform well to the raised surface of the center hubcap emblems, and were ultimately removed after the photos were taken. The trunk lock was detail painted silver. (Fig. #18) Final impressions: As excited as I was to build and review this kit, I was equally as disappointed after I finished it. Being a newly-tooled kit I neither anticipated nor expected the fit and finish issues I encountered during the build. Despite the fact the subject matter was highly desirable to me; it nonetheless left a rather poor impression. I can only give this kit a 7-star rating (out of 10 possible stars), and six of those stars are a direct result of it being a great subject, and chock-full of possibilities. Planning and execution of the engineering and design leave a lot to be desired.