This is a review of the Monogram Pontiac Turbo Trans Am

Never built this one. Never even looked at it very closely. Glad I did. This kit is fantastic – builds better than the cheap look of the kit suggests. Went together easy, has everything you need to build it, and looks amazing when done. It IS one of the crappiest Trans Ams they ever made, but that doesn’t matter when looking at its profile… at least, not to me.

There are really only two choices with this year/type of kit. One is the one I built and the other is the GIANT 1/8 scale (pic right) that won’t fit on most shelves LOL. On top of that, these big boys are very expensive as well. There are many shaker Trans Ams by MPC and such, but for the Turbo, there ain’t much.

CAR BACKGROUND :: So, by the end of the 70’s Trans Ams were no longer the fierce destroyers of tires they once were. 6.6 Liter engines wouldn’t buy you a 15-second quarter mile if you pushed it with a Hemi. What Pontiac tried to do to make more power and boost MPG was add a turbo. 205 net horsepower is what it got and with 3500lbs and using a sled-producing 3-speed auto, you were lucky to see mid-80s in the quarter… about the same as my 140hp Forte. What was worse was the fuel efficiency was only about 1 mpg better depending on the magazine. Not really the answer to Pontiac’s question, eh? The muscle car years were at their worst and wouldn’t come back for another bunch of years. Still a nice lookin car, just don’t expect to win any races.

Tamiya Bright Red makes her shine up real nice. The model went together easily and besides some black detail work, is free of any real risk of ruining it. The tires were decent with this kit and the chrome wheels were VERY bright.

The tepid beast I mentioned earlier is here in all its turbocharged splendor. It is actually quite attractive for being such a dog, but it comes with everything needed and looks good when finished. A couple homemade decals and it’d look even better. I like the ease of the build, but if I ever wanna make this one again, a sweet ’69 400 would do wonders.

Between the 80’s spangle of the real car’s interior and the quality of the model kit, this becomes fun to decorate and even better to look at. I really like the red and tan motif and the multi-color decal through the front glass sets the whole thing off.

I think this car kit will inevitably become a collector item even though the car will be forgotten before too long. The problem with it being something to save is that it is a VERY good kit to build and one of the best display models I’ve ever made. It looks good from every angle and doesn’t have 100 instructions to make. Build it or save it – it’s worth it either way.

8.5 – Very Good