# New kit news



## mr-replica (Sep 25, 2011)

OK, I ordered several of these, but will not build any as Starsky and Hutch cars, LOL. But a chance to grab later model Torino kit was too tempting. I will use the proper 1/25 whitewalls and 70's Torino style wheel covers. 

It was always so silly to watch that show with a non sporty Torino hardtop pretending it was fast, as Ford has stopped putting punch in Torinos by then and the Torino fastback was much hotter looking. 

http://www.megahobby.com/starskyandhutchtorino125revell.aspx

The actual car used on the TV series had a 302 2 bbl, choked with emissions controls and only rated at 110 HP at best. It couldn't burn rubber if all life depended on it. 

Still, I look forward to building these, come May. I actually owned a few Torinos. A 1969 with the 390, a 1970 with 351 Cleveland and a 1972 with a 351 Cleveland and Hurst 4 speed and positraction.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

In 1980 I owned a '75 Torino--the two-door model with a 351 Cleveland under the hood. I needed a cheap car, and I only paid $800 for it because the engine had a burnt cylinder. Despite having only seven cylinders it ran well and rode comfortably, but it needed work that I couldn't afford at the time and I ended up selling it for $300 after driving it into the ground for nine months. :lol:

I was a fan of the show, so I'll probably pick up one or two of these kits just because. I've read Revell is allegedly going to release a kit of the stock Torino some time after this one hits the shelves, so I'll probable end up building one of those as well.


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## mr-replica (Sep 25, 2011)

Zombie_61 said:


> In 1980 I owned a '75 Torino--the two-door model with a 351 Cleveland under the hood. I needed a cheap car, and I only paid $800 for it because the engine had a burnt cylinder. Despite having only seven cylinders it ran well and rode comfortably, but it needed work that I couldn't afford at the time and I ended up selling it for $300 after driving it into the ground for nine months. :lol:
> 
> I was a fan of the show, so I'll probably pick up one or two of these kits just because. I've read Revell is allegedly going to release a kit of the stock Torino some time after this one hits the shelves, so I'll probable end up building one of those as well.


Cool, Torinos were great cars. And the 351 Cleveland was a good engine and though the ones I had were high mileage clunkers, they still ran as long as you kept dumping oil in them.


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## whiskeyrat (May 7, 2012)

Yup, I've been waiting a looong time for one of these too! I posted an earlier thread here, with a link to another model car forum that has a discussion about some inaccuracies in the test shot. Hopefully these will be corrected, but either way, I'm glad to see a kit of The Striped Tomato finally hit the shelves!


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## mr-replica (Sep 25, 2011)

whiskeyrat said:


> Yup, I've been waiting a looong time for one of these too! I posted an earlier thread here, with a link to another model car forum that has a discussion about some inaccuracies in the test shot. Hopefully these will be corrected, but either way, I'm glad to see a kit of The Striped Tomato finally hit the shelves!


I agree, though I am sorry this kit is not the performance Torino Ford made, back then. Back then, this body style Torino was not the performance one, the fastback Torino Gran Sport was. I always thought it was silly that the producers of Starsky and Hutch knew nothing about Torinos.

The actual Starsky and Hutch car was a 302 2 bbl, and could not out run a Chevy Monza V-6. I will make mine discarding the tires and wheels and use aftermarket scale 14 inch whitewalls and resin wheel covers.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

mr-replica said:


> ...I always thought it was silly that the producers of Starsky and Hutch knew nothing about Torinos...


They probably didn't put any thought into it beyond the car looking good enough for their purposes, being large enough to *accommodate the cameras, and being within their budget. Other than that, they could use camera trickery and sound effects to make the car appear to perform better than it actually could.



*David Soul has stated in at least one interview that he and Glaser would often drive around Los Angeles with cameras attached to one of the cars, reciting their lines in order to get the necessary footage for certain episodes.


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## Stangfreak (Jun 7, 2007)

mr-replica said:


> I agree, though I am sorry this kit is not the performance Torino Ford made, back then. Back then, this body style Torino was not the performance one, the fastback Torino Gran Sport was. I always thought it was silly that the producers of Starsky and Hutch knew nothing about Torinos.
> 
> The actual Starsky and Hutch car was a 302 2 bbl, and could not out run a Chevy Monza V-6. I will make mine discarding the tires and wheels and use aftermarket scale 14 inch whitewalls and resin wheel covers.



*There was never a 74 Torino with a 302 for Starsky & Hutch my friend. There were several cars from 74 to 76 since the body was the same. First ones were 351s and later ones were 400s, 460s, and a 429... Click the link, scroll down to cars, and read all about them... Paul Michael Glazer hated these cars and purposely tried to destroy them hitting everything he could...*



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starsky_&_Hutch


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## mr-replica (Sep 25, 2011)

Stangfreak said:


> *There was never a 74 Torino with a 302 for Starsky & Hutch my friend. There were several cars from 74 to 76 since the body was the same. First ones were 351s and later ones were 400s, 460s, and a 429... Click the link, scroll down to cars, and read all about them... Paul Michael Glazer hated these cars and purposely tried to destroy them hitting everything he could...*
> 
> This gets confusing then, as Chilton doesn't agree with that:
> 
> ...


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## mr-replica (Sep 25, 2011)

Zombie_61 said:


> They probably didn't put any thought into it beyond the car looking good enough for their purposes, being large enough to *accommodate the cameras, and being within their budget. Other than that, they could use camera trickery and sound effects to make the car appear to perform better than it actually could.
> 
> 
> 
> *David Soul has stated in at least one interview that he and Glaser would often drive around Los Angeles with cameras attached to one of the cars, reciting their lines in order to get the necessary footage for certain episodes.


True, I read an article back then that said that one time, while Soul was driving that Torino, a man in an Olds Cutlass 4 door sedan challenged him to race. Soul said he floored the Torino, but the Olds won by a great margin.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

I think Revell may have pushed the release date of this kit back again. Tower Hobbies now has it's availability listed as "Late September".


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## mr-replica (Sep 25, 2011)

Zombie_61 said:


> I think Revell may have pushed the release date of this kit back again. Tower Hobbies now has it's availability listed as "Late September".


Yes, I saw that. I cancelled my order.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

I just hope the delay is because they're fine tuning the molds to get it right and not because of the box art, instruction sheet, or some vague legal issue.


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## Stangfreak (Jun 7, 2007)

mr-replica said:


> Stangfreak said:
> 
> 
> > *There was never a 74 Torino with a 302 for Starsky & Hutch my friend. There were several cars from 74 to 76 since the body was the same. First ones were 351s and later ones were 400s, 460s, and a 429... Click the link, scroll down to cars, and read all about them... Paul Michael Glazer hated these cars and purposely tried to destroy them hitting everything he could...*
> ...


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## hartracerman (Jan 9, 2005)

My imagination always thought that those 2 guys souped it up like so many gearheads did and do even today. They used a stock car and made it look like some garage tinkering gave them the performance for the show. Effects are effects.


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