Atlantis Model Company 1/32 Li'l Red Baron Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | July 2019 | Manufacturer | Atlantis Model Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Li'l Red Baron | Scale | 1/32 |
| Kit Number | M6650 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Welcome return of another classic subject | Cons | See text |
| Skill Level | Basic | MSRP (USD) | $21.95 |
First Look
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You may recall that after Hobbico's bankruptcy last year, Revell USA (Revell-Monogram) and Revell Germany were sold off to a German company while the molds left in storage in the US were not included in that sale. Instead, Atlantis acquired the molds stored for decades in Illinois which included old Revell, Monogram, Aurora, and Renwal kits. Beginning late last year, Atlantis began releasing kits we haven't seen on shelves for many, many years and here is another gem that hasn't been seen in over 40 years.
Back in the 1970s, Monogram was producing kits of notable show cars from designers like 'Big Daddy' Ed Roth, George Barris, and Tom Daniel. One of Tom Daniel's designs was a hot rod called the 'Red Baron' which was quite distinctive, so distinctive that Monogram produced two different kits of the car. One was the 1/24 Red Baron kit, which has been reissued a few times since its initial release, and this 1/32 caricature of the car as an easy-to-build snap-tite kit.
The kit is molded in styrene and presented on two parts trees, one molded in black, the other in silver, plus the chassis molded in red. A younger modeler could build this kit in a relatively short time and would look good without painting. For a more experienced modeler, a little paint here and there will really bring out the look of the original car.
One nice aspect of this kit that I appreciate is that Monogram loved to chrome their parts, and that chroming process would obscure details in the process. Atlantis has sourced a nice silver styrene that, while not as shiny as chrome, will look good anyway and you won't have those scars where the parts were removed from their sprue trees. Even today, there is only one product on the market that almost matches that chrome. An experienced modeler can use one of the many metallic lacquers on the market should they want to replicate the chrome, but they can also clean the mold lines and prepare the parts beforehand, something you cannot do with pre-chromed parts.
If you're looking for something that can go together quickly and provide a nice visual reminder of our modeling past, this latest release from Atlantis will be a fun weekend project.