This is a review of the Revell Firebird Funny Car kit#7636

I can honestly say that when I was younger, the idea of building a kit like this would have made me chuckle. I’m not a BIG fan of drag racing – though I love driving fast – and the idea of never seeing one/driving one left me cold to build it. I am having a blast building some new stuff though and this is a really cool kit!

CAR BACKGROUND :: This is a model of Cruz Pedregon’s Firebird and it is one that he had some good success with. In 1992 he won the Funny Car Championship – one of two titles in his long career – and it was this blistering car that did it. We are talking some 9000 horsepower leading to a ¼ mile in 4.9 seconds at … 310mph! These aren’t for the weak of heart for sure and would probably have put me in traction!

So, obvious info out of the way.. I scrapped Mc’Ds for something I actually LIKE to eat. Papa Gino’s is a pizza restaurant near my home town of Attleboro, Mass and I thought it a better moniker than the big clown. It actually amused the heck out of me that the wedge shape logo fit perfectly to the point of the hood! Painted in Tamiya Bright Red, I did most of the decals like the instructions depicted and kept the rest basic. I also didn’t black out the rear “glass” because the red looked nice.

This engine gave me constant smiles through the build-up. The 500ci, blown engine is just fun to assemble and looks re-damn-diculous when done. There are a few nit-picky things, however. The front black hoses location was vague-as-heck in the directions; the driveshaft was incorrectly sized when in place (actually had to fix); and the triangular side sheets were an odd fit. Like I said… not big deals. The end result is something to behold (not for my skill, but for what it is).

I have to say that I really enjoyed the build. The kit is fun to work with, only has a couple of poor details in the directions, and has quite a few pieces. It takes you away from some of the typical monotony builds and gives you something to be creative with. The kits are a tad pricey right now, but I’m telling ya, it is worth the bit extra to try something really different. I can also say that it would be a reasonable investment grab… I don’t see the model company reissuing a 30 year old dragster.

8.75 Very Good