This is a review of the Revell 1970 Torino Cobra AND Torino GT by Revell

The Torino has always been a favorite design of mine – even to the point of noticing its influence on the Mad Max Interceptor / Ford Falcon X/B. It is a big, fast car and I like the look from front to back. I have made one or two before, but never got the look quite right… til now.

Besides a racing version, these are the only choices for this bada$$ and they are getting fewer by the day. They are all made by Monogram/Revell so the quality is good and parts are fairly similar. The big differences are the shaker hood and straight grille/rear tallights that the 2 differing models have. Straight and straight for the GT, shaker, and 4 headlights for the Cobra. If you want them different… you do what I did! Read on…

CAR BACKGROUND :: I will say this wholeheartedly… I like the 68/9 Torino Cobra better. That said, that would be like me saying I like a PB&Fluff more than a PB&J. Both are good and filling… just like one better by just a tad. Well, tads aside, the 1970 Torino is a look you either like or don’t. It is wide, grimacing from one angle, and straight-laced from another. All-in-all I think it a tidy, yet sporty look for a car this big. I have had more classic Fords and I’ve also had a Torino. I like the comfort and look over the bonnet and the FordMoCo engines. This one has the baddest of em all – the 429 CJ. The 370hp (375 with ram air) V8 would be enough to propel this beast to high 13s in the quarter mile. More than that, the car would cruise with the best of em. The Torino had the most “groovy” out of all the Ford Muscle as well, with stripes, colored hoods, shaker scoops, and more. It would also be the last true Torino super-muscle as the next rendition was homely, slow, and besides a stint on a cop show, useless.

White is a different color than what you’d expect from a 70 Torino… there were a lot of vibrant colors. I did this in homage to the 1970 I had. No it wasn’t a $60k Cobra, but then again it was a nice car for me at the time. The 302 had a lot of grunt and the car was a lot of fun.

So, back to the double kits mentioned above. I really like the hidden lights up front, but not only am I a bigger fan of the standard Fairlane lights, but am a hater of the straight metal overlay of the full-length taillight. I decided I loved the look of the tri-color stripe, so I went with it. This is my favorite iteration for this car and safe to say will be the last time I build it.

Nope… not the fun 302 I had. Not even a 351 – a popular engine for Torino buffs. Nope, this one has all the beef you could get – the 429CJ ram air. With 375 horses, this was the baddest Torino ever created (besides that of the King Cobra one-of, but that is another story). The revell engine bay is as good as always and is bettered with wired engine. Painting the car white made painting the engine bay black a little more work than I wanted, so it is white. I know… wrong, but I like it the way it is. The rest of the bay is well stocked and needed nothing. I will say I would rather have the flat hood vs shaker, but this is what I did… and I like it nonetheless.

The interior is standard fare for a Revell kit and that means good detail, lots to work on, and plenty to ogle at. The interior was done in semi-gloss black and only needed a directional stalk to complete the look.

The bottom of this kit is better than not-taking-a-pic would suggest as well. There is a lot of detail; a well-fit exhaust setup – with really good chrome tips; tight fitting to the bottom of the car, and easy-to-work-with axles. Couldn’t ask for better… but maybe a pic. 😜

I wished I could have gotten this look from only one kit – especially how pricey they’ve gotten. I just saw a re-release of a model the other day and thought – “WTH… why did they do this one and can’t bother to put out another Torino kit??”. This is a very good kit with few issues. The hood can be a lousy fit; the inset markers are a pain; and not having ALL the possibilities in one kit are trouble spots, but easily bypassed after getting the car to look just right!

These Torino kits are also a tremendous investment as the prices just keep going up. Watch for a reissue to knock the value down, but otherwise, these could be $200 in the next few years. I built one … but I also kept one. I’m no dummy!

9.25 – Excellent