BY BILL ENGAR

​Atlantis Models has released four very cool funny cars in 1/32 scale.  These former Monogram kits have some cool features and provide some interesting possibilities for car modelers—or for anyone who wants to become a car modeler!  They’re great for beginners and are packed with details that will even excite veteran scale car builders.

FOUR cool kits.  So many amazing possibilities!  You'll want to collect them all!

THE FAST LANE:  FOUR CLASSIC FUNNY CAR KITS IN 1/32 SCALE ARE BACK AFTER A LONG ABSENCE.  ALL CARS DESIGNED BY TOM DANIEL.  SMALL SCALE, BIG FEATURES.  EASY-TO-BUILD WITH NICE DETAILS; BEGINNERS AND VETERAN CAR MODELERS ALIKE WILL BE PLEASED WITH THESE GORGEOUS LITTLE KITS!  MOLDED IN COLOR OR PAINT THEM ANYWAY YOU WANT!

ATLANTIS #M8275, M8276, M8277, M8278 SOLD SEPARATELY -- MSRP $21.99 EA -- ASSEMBLY REQUIRED -- EACH KIT HAS 37 PLASTIC STYRENE PARTS -- PAINT AND GLUE OPTIONAL (NOT INCLUDED) -- RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 14 AND OVER

M8265, Fake Out Mustang!  As a special bonus, your Tom Daniel 1/32 funny car kits come in surprise colors!  In this case, our Fake Out Mustang came with a red body!

Monogram Models first released these kits in the early 1970's as funny car racing was growing in popularity.  There were two series of four; Atlantis released the first set in 2022 and has plans to release the others in 2023.  These cars haven't been available in a long time and we're thrilled that Atlantis Models has decided to bring them back!

Tom Daniel designed many 1/24 kits for Monogram that were wildly popular when they first debuted.  Many of them have seen re-release over the past number of years.  Now, collectors and fans of Tom Daniel's creations can add this set of four 1/32-scale funny cars to their collections and display cases!

The kits have a lot to offer new or experienced modelers:

• Easy-to-build – they look great right out of the box in a LIGHTNING QUICK evening
• Spend a little more time and paint some awesome details during a weekend
• Add detailing for additional realism!  Win an award at a model contest!

These cars come with many authentic drag racing features.  Each has a common funny car chassis.  Regardless of the brand that the car's body represents, the Hemi engine design is the engine of choice for most funny cars, and an authentic racing Hemi is portrayed in a chassis that is identical for all four cars.

A common set of three sprues come with each kit.  Those broad valve covers on the silver sprue are unmistakably Hemi.  Authentic 5-slot rear wheels and solid fronts are just like the real thing.  A Roots blower with butterfly-valve intake is there as well.  On the black sprue you'll find tube headers, a racing diff, roll bar, parachute, and supercharger belt with pulleys!

The common tube-frame over which each body fits.  Note the clever placement of the steering wheel on a stub-runner for packing; steering wheels on model kit cars are often fragile while on the sprue.  Arranging it this way was an innovative way from keeping it from getting broken in the box during packing and shipment.

When you take a close look at details like the seat padding, seatbelts, fuel cells with mounting bands and knurled caps, you have to remind yourself that these are 1/32-scale kits!  These details open up all sorts of painting possibilities.

This is the plastic and decals from M8276, the "Whiplash" Camaro.  Note that all the black and silver plastic you see is common to all four kits!  Each kit has a unique body, clear window piece, and water-slide decal sheet but the funny car chassis is common to all!

This model of "Whiplash" was built in an evening, right out of the box, with NO painting!

We're amazed at the fine details.  Monogram made no compromises when it came to realism while they tooled these kits.  The parts are realistically thin.  Atlantis recommends ages 14 and up build to these kits, and this is probably a good guideline.  Younger builders experienced with intricate Lego sets might be able to handle these with no trouble.  Younger kids may need some assistance.

The seatbelts have braided texture, strap adjustment clasps, D-rings, and a rotary-buckle molded in!

Note the outrigger molding arrangement for the steering wheel!  Of course, you'll cut this off when it's time to build the model.  The small steering wheel is a classic deep-dish dragster type with two spokes.

The bodies to these cars were nicely designed and they’re very well molded.  Car modelers take for granted slide-mold insert technology that allows curved car bodies to be molded in one piece.  Monogram also used slide-mold technology to make the frames to these kits.  Both top and sides of the frames are well-detailed.  With the chassis molded in silver and engine and tire parts molded in black, the assembled drag racer chassis sans body will look good even without any paint.  Of course there are unlimited options for the builder who decides to paint the frame and engine components.  We’ll discuss options and ideas further in the bonus features accompanying this kit review.

#M8277 is the "Rip Off" Duster!  Our kit was molded in a very cool "Sublime Lime" green.

These are vintage kits from tooling a half-century old at time of posting.  Expect some flash to trim and mold lines.  We noted few if any sink marks.  I noted some minor ejector pin marks on the bottoms of the blade-spoilers but other than that, there were none additional that I noted of consequence.  One thing we've noticed about Atlantis' re-releases is that they work very hard to be sure that mold alignment is just right.  In most cases we've seen, they do a better job than was done with the original release.  This means that a round part is round and parts just fit together better.  Mold registration with these kits appeared to be spot-on.

The Hemi engine block has subtle detailing.

A Roots-type blower has a pulley housing with rotor bearing covers on the back.

Tube header exhausts tied to Hemi heads.  Be careful with these; the mounting tabs are fragile.

Parts fit didn’t seem quite as snug as what you'e expect to see on newer snap-together kits.  Using glue is a really good idea although it isn’t absolutely necessary.  These are early snap-together kits and there has been quite a bit of evolution in the genre since these were first released a half-century ago!
 
Pins that fasten the heads to the engine block are fragile.  Be careful removing these parts from the sprue so you don’t break them.  If they do break, using glue will attach them to the block with no problem.
 
The rear axle was a tight fit into the chassis.  Take a little extra care when snapping this part in place.  An X-Acto knife or razor blade will come in handy for trimming parts to improve fit if needed.
 
Monogram used an innovative arrangement to protect the fragile steering wheel piece.  It’s attached to a sprue stub that is connected to the back of the frame.  The diagram showing it in my  instruction sheet was a bit lightly printed, but it wasn’t hard at all to figure out what to do on the kit part.  The steering wheel had a little flash on it that needed some trimming.  The steering wheel is a nicely executed two-spoke drag unit and is on the fragile side; use care when trimming.

#M8278 is "The Fiend," a 1972 Charger.  Each of the bodies in the kits is a little different stylistically.  Fiend is a tad longer than the rest of them reflecting the larger body that was the Dodge Charger musclecar.

After minor parts prep which consisted of shaving some part molding lines, removing sprue attachment points and trimming a little flash, assembly was quick.  I followed the instructions pretty much in sequence and had no issues.  Since these were originally early Monogram SnapTite kits, it was possible to "un-snap" the parts, unlike more modern snap-together toolings.  This is convenient as you can check parts fit of the wheels, for example.  While it's not necessary, we would recommend using model glue to keep everything together securely.

Hemi valve covers and rear wheels.  Authentic all the way.

Bare aluminum would be the most common finish on real wheels like these.  The unpainted look is pretty close.

The axles had some minor mold parting lines and I gave these extra attention on my model.  After this, the wheels rolled freely.  If they're a little tight, you can remove them with no trouble to make adjustments.  We like rolling wheels on our car models; it will be particularly important as you'll see in our upcoming YouTube video about these kits that will feature an all-out drag racing runoff between the 2Modeler Guys.  Which car will win?

The curvy body of the 2nd Generation Camaro was adapted into a very plausible funny car design by Tom Daniel.  The decal sheet for Whiplash came with the grille and headlight markings.  On real funny cars, these items would be stickers.

Inspecting each of the four funny car bodies together was interesting.  It's apparent that Tom Daniel used a different stylistic approach for each one.  For example, the Duster's proportions most closely represent those of the actual car although side surfaces are a little flatter.  It sits higher on its chassis.  Perhaps this car was intended to resemble Don Prudhomme's Mongoose, an iconic funny car that helped popularize the "stock car" drag racing motorsport.  The Mustang and Charger bodies appear to be narrowed quite a bit.  The Mustang's sloping hood is portrayed with the front wheels set back a bit compared to the other cars, which have an almost non-existent overhang typical of a funny car.  The Charger has a longer rear overhang; in fact, the Charger's body is noticeably longer than the others.  Both Charger and Camaro sit low on their chassis.  The point is, each of the cars has a different "personality" reflecting the talent and thought that went into their design.  Tom Daniel was one of the great model kit designers of all time and he didn't hold back when it came to applying his efforts to this 1/32 line of kits.  The bottom line is you'll enjoy each one, so be sure to collect them all!

This view shows how the body is hinged in the rear on the common chassis.

The Hemi engine has a detailed blower intake with butterfly valve detail, supercharger with belt, and accurate valve covers.

Whiplash, with the other car bodies.  We'll update the article as we build additional models.  Brudder Dick is in the process of painting up the Charger.  Once he's done, we'll have a faceoff.  Who will win???

Widths of the car bodies are a little different on each one.  The result is that it won't seem like they're sitting on the same chassis!  Mr. Daniel gave the Mustang in particular a very narrowed look.

Each car has a bit of "chop," or a lowered roofline.  We like the curvature of the Duster's roofline, which contrasts nicely with its slab-sides.  Note that the Mustang body has slightly more front overhang.  Very cool!

The bodies of these cars were tooled on a "family mold," meaning that each of the four bodies are together on one mold.  During a single production run, each of the bodies can be molded in only one color.  To get multiple colors, a different color of plastic is loaded into the molding machine for subsequent runs, and each of the four bodies are then molded in another color.  Four runs were done each with a different color; this means you have a chance of getting your car's body in any one of four different colors!  Collecting the kits will be fun; you don't know which color you will get out of a sealed box and of course you can always paint the model any color you want regardless of what you get.  We'd recommend a white primer undercoat first if you want to change your car body's color.

Bottom's up!  This view shows the transmission cover, oil pan, and heavy-duty racing differential.  Of course the car has "wheelie wheels."  Modern funny cars launch with a force of up to 6 G's.  That's substantially more than a Space Shuttle launch and rivals the forces felt by Mercury and Gemini astronauts, who were launched on converted ballistic missiles.  We love the sponsor decals!

Tom Daniel was reportedly never happy with the decal artwork for the original cars.  Atlantis took the opportunity to commission all-new graphics and they are an improvement over the original releases.  We found the quality of the decals to be superior; they went on the bare plastic easily and covered well thanks to an opaque white bottom layer.

Nicely done sponsor logos are included.  Fake Out, Whiplash and Rip Off have decal-headlights.  The Fiend Charger and Whiplash Camaro have prominent grilles and decals are included to enhance these details.  Whiplash also had a few extra decals for optional placement and even red taillights!

Note that the markings for the Fake Out! Mustang have black outlines.  So they'll look great on the red body!

Both long sides of the boxes have different profile drawings of the cars.  We like that the body-up view shows exactly what the models will look like with minimal painting!

Atlantis Models' 1/32 Tom Daniel Whiplash Camaro embodies the iconic fiberglass flip-body funny car.

Even the parachute was nicely detailed with realistically folded canopy and straps.

PAINT IT!  Brudder Dick built his "Fiend" Charger in a hurry, but he decided to do some painting!

Dick's "Fiend" Charger came molded in blue.  We love the natural plastic colors of the bodies in these kits, so Dick didn't paint the body on his model.  After applying the decals, he airbrushed on some Future floor wax, thinned down with a little Windex for easy spraying!  This creates a no-fuss high-gloss shine!

On the box, the Fiend Charger is green.  But the decals look awesome on the "electric blue" body, don't they!  That's the awesome thing about the surprise colors; the decals were apparently designed to look great with any of the four colors you might get with any of the kits.  And there's nothing stopping you from painting your car if you're not crazy about the body color.

With a narrower body, the Charger sits on that common chassis just a little bit differently than the Camaro.  Each car really has its own character!  Ya gotta get all four!

Compare the model built in an evening on the left with the model at right built over a few days!

We were absolutely thrilled when Atlantis Models announced they were bringing back the Tom Daniel 1/32 funny cars.  Monogram Models had a series of nicely done car models in 1/32 scale (Check out our popular review for the 1/32 1982 Camaro).  They're easy on the pocketbook but big on features with authentic details and features you'd expect in larger scales.

As always, Atlantis goes first-class with boxes, decals, and production quality, making their kits in the USA at a low price!

​The 2Modeler guys give each of these kits four enthusiastic thumbs up!  Buy a collection of four for yourself -- they'll make great gifts for friends or youngsters who like cars or enjoy building things.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ATLANTIS MODELS FOR PROVIDING THESE KITS TO REVIEW AND ENJOY!  BE SURE AND VISIT ATLANTIS-MODELS.COM TODAY!
​

BONUS FEATURES

A REAL RACER WEIGHS IN

PRO DRIVER AND MASTER MODELER RICH ROY PROVIDES HIS OPINIONS ON THE ATLANTIS 1/32 RACERS

• HOW AUTHENTIC ARE THEY?
• ​WHAT PAINT COLORS MAKE A 100% ACCURATE FUNNY CAR CHASSIS?

Anybody can take a "Selfie," but doing it in 3D is something else.  Rich Roy built this model of himself with his own Class-C gas-powered rail dragster!  The car used a Ford 289 engine and ran consistently in the low 9's.  Rich raced the car between 1974 and 1983.   The model is converted from a Revell 1/16 scale kit and the figure was likewise modified to look just like Rich.  Note that he's holding a small AMT "Kat" figure.  Rich hasn't aged a bit! 

Rich reports that he built one of these 1/32 Tom Daniel funny car kits back in the day, probably during the period when he was drag racing himself.  Like me, his model car building skills were beyond the need for the SnapTite design, but we commonly found the economical, realistic funny car model in small-scale too enticing to resist.  

Rich is impressed with the overall detail found in the kit.  He reckons that the engine looks like a real Hemi, and the chassis, common to all the kits, is well appointed for the scale.  He does contend that the tubing depicted for the chassis is on the heavy side, but this persists even in larger-scale dragster kits with a tube-style frame thanks to molding and durability considerations of the parts in styrene plastic form.

Note that this 5-point racing harness has prominent Simpson logos on black belts with silver buckles.

This 1/1-scale Butterfly steering wheel from Neil and Parks is lightweight and inexpensive.  You have to drill your own hub-mount holes!

Revellution with its black tube-frame.  Exhibition dragsters would certainly use other colors.  But basic black appealed most to Henry Ford and your average funny car racer.

Rich stated that the steering wheel of choice for funny car racers circa 1970's was the lightweight butterfly-style.  Earlier dragsters used a style more like that depicted in the kit and who's to say there weren't exceptions.  But a butterfly wheel shouldn't be too hard to scratch-build for those interested in adding or modifying the details in the original kit.

Rich liked the seatbelts as depicted in the kit.  A nice enhancement he suggested would be the addition of the manufacturer's logo.  Belt makers knew their products would be seen in photography of the car's insides and they commonly put their logos prominently on their belts.  Simpson is one of the go-to brands for racing seatbelts and harnesses.

1972:  Smaller rear tires, 5-slot wheels

1975:  Larger back tires, solid wheels.  Note Gene Snow's Chevy Monza has Revell sponsorship.

Rich stated that he is jaundiced on his opinion of the rear wheels on the kit, but he said the fronts are 100% accurate.  However, he stated that there were no hard and fast rules.  I'd recommend that the builder use their personal preferences and there are plenty of photos available online.

Now, to the blade spoilers!  The original four Monogram 1/32 funny cars didn't have them upon first release.  They were a later addition, probably done in the 1973-4 timeframe.  Spoiler technology was rapidly progressing in the 1970s.  Rich reports that these spoilers were actually tried on the funny cars during the period, but only briefly.  And their location was lower on the body, on the rocker panels just in front of the rear wheels.  We'd guess that maintenance crews didn't like them.  It'd be awfully easy to get gouged by them while prepping the car for a run.

HOW DO I PAINT AN AUTHENTIC FUNNY CAR DRAG RACER?

Most drag racers have a myriad of details to consider when making sure their cars are as fast as possible.  Color of the frame is generally not one of them.  Basic black is the order of the day.

FUNNY CAR COLORS ACCORDING TO RICH ROY:

• Frames:  Usually black for a competition dragster.  An exhibition racer is a different story!
• Engine blocks:  Bare metal.  These were aftermarket engine blocks, not orange Chrysler engines.
• Blowers:   Polished aluminum.
• Spark plug wires:  Black, unless Excel brand wiring is used.  Then, they're yellow.  (Your TD 1/32-scale funny car doesn't come with spark plug wires--but there's nothing to keep you from adding them!  They'll be pretty fine in 1/32-scale, but they would certainly add a dash of realism to your funny car model!)
• Seat vinyl:  Semi-gloss black, but more flat than gloss.
• Seat belt harnesses:  Flat black with 6" wide white tags on the upper part of the shoulder belt having red Simpson logos; that's slightly less than 1/8-inch in 1/32 scale or about 7mm!
• Body insides:  Funny car bodies were made by draping fiberglass and resin inside a mold.  The inside/backsides of the car bodies were often rough, raw fiberglass.  Exhibition cars or premium racers might have this surface smoothed and worked over, but most often, the inside is painted a dark color such as dark gray or semigloss black.
  

Rich's bottom line with the kit was that it is obviously designed for younger/beginning builders, but it has a lot to interest the more experienced modeler.  We share his sentiments.  Many larger model contests have small-scale automotive racing categories.  With some added details, these could easily make a contest-winning model!

COMING SOON FROM ATLANTIS MODELS

In the early 1970's, Monogram Models added their line of iconic 1/32-scale funny cars to their catalog.  Four iconic muscle cars were released initially.  Response by modelers was good.  The kits were a hit and it was decided to produce additional bodies to go with that standard 1/32 funny car chassis! 

A image from the Monogram 1973 catalog, courtesy of BoxArtDen.com shows the second series of Tom Daniel 1/32 funny cars.  Featured are four iconic 1970's compact cars!  From bottom-left and clockwise, there is a Mustang II, Gremlin, Vega, and Pinto!

Late summer, 2022, Atlantis announced that the remaining funny cars (shown above) would return early in 2023.  We're excited to see these return and we hope to present them to you in a future comprehensive review on this website.

OCTOBER, 2022 UPDATE:  1/32 RAIL DRAGSTER AND JUNGLE JIM SNAP '74 FUNNY CAR ANNOUNCED

Atlantis Models' 1/32 classic drag racing series expands!  In October, 2022, Atlantis Models offered for preorder the new Tom McEwen Mongoose rail dragster and the Jungle Jim Snap 1974 Vega.  Even though these kits were designed for younger/less experienced modelers, Monogram cut no corners when it came to the types of details that excite more mature modelers.  Thanks to Atlantis Models, they return for the first time in a long time!

Atlantis releases a 1/32 easy-to-build top fuel-style, rear engine dragster.  You can almost hear a tire-shredding launch!  You'll want to collect them all.

MONOGRAM 1/32 FUNNY CARS - HISTORY

In 1967, Monogram released the Beer Wagon, their first design commissioned by industrial designer/artist Tom Daniel.  It was a very popular kit.  Tom Daniel’s next design, Red Baron, was a massive hit for Monogram and it really paved the way for dozens of imaginative Tom Daniel designs that followed.
 
Tom Daniel attended hobby trade shows for Monogram and had a chance to talk with many young modelers.  He gained some insights based on their feedback that helped create Monogram’s legendary “SnapTite” series of easy-to-build, snap-together models that younger kids, not quite ready for glue-together kits, could handle easily.

Tom Daniel-designed Red Baron and Beer Wagon as built by Brudder Dick Engar (see his model car gallery here).  These kits were huge hits for Monogram and they began a line of dozens of car models to follow, all by Tom Daniel.

In 1970, Daniel designed a series of roughly 1/32 caricature hot-rodded cars that were very popular.  They were inexpensive and younger kids, age 7 or 8, could handle them without too much help.  I recall these were popular birthday and Christmas gifts and it seemed that all the kids in my neighborhood, myself included, built one or more of these kits.  It was these first Tom Daniel “SnapTite” kits that started me on my own modeling journey.

These were the first "SnapTite" kits I remember seeing.  At the time, kits requiring glue were beyond my abilities.  For the first time, I was able to build a model without Brudder Dick's help!  Of note, Monogram Models was owned by Mattel Toys as these kits debuted.  These kits got the "Hot Wheels Kids," myself included, more interested in Monogram's other model kits.

Additional kits were added to the line and Monogram’s car model kit offerings seemed to explode during the early 1970’s with dozens of new Tom Daniel designs appearing on model store shelves.  A number of new SnapTite caricature-cars were added to the original line.

An image from Monogram's 1973 catalog with just a portion of their drag racers.  Professional drag racing was white-hot in the early 1970's.  Boxartden image.

The Mongoose and Snake funny cars became household names thanks to marketing by toymaker Mattel through its popular Hot Wheels brand.  Mattel also owned Monogram during this time and a number of new funny car kits debuted in Monogram’s catalog in the early 1970’s.  Monogram decided to tool up some easy-to-build, inexpensive funny car kits intended for younger or beginner builders to take advantage of the funny car drag racing phenomenon.  These cars would be much more realistic than the previous line of caricature cars.

​SEE OUR REVIEW OF TOM DANIEL'S TROUBLEMAKER HERE!

Tom Daniel did the design work.  The product line was tooled very economically by making a common funny car chassis that would be molded in silver and black.  The bodies were grouped together in a different mold and could be produced in bright colors; the funny cars snapped together and it would be easy for young modelers (or the young at heart) to build a 1/32 funny car.  In 1/32-scale, the kits cost quite a bit less than 1/25 car kits and I remember buying them easily with a little leftover paperboy-money.  The secret to the low price was the common chassis and grouping four bodies together on the same piece of tooling.

Whiplash and Fake Out in their original incarnations.  These kits had no parts in common with their earlier caricatured brethren.  For the first time, a beginning modeler could have a realistic funny car in an economical, easy-to-build form.

The first series in 1972 included the latest Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Dodge Charger, and Plymouth Duster bodies.  These were all popular muscle cars/pony cars at the time.  The choice of the Duster was quite likely because Tom McEwen’s famous Mongoose was a Duster funny car.

Each of these cars is depicted in its then-current 1972 incarnation.  The musclecar era was in decline, but the Tom Daniel fantasy car phenomenon was in its heyday with new kits debuting well into the 1970's.

Some of Monogram's 1/32 funny cars got a limited release in "Luminators" form circa 1991.  This series used a transparent fluorescent plastic that would glow brightly under a black light.

These models were hot sellers and stayed in the Monogram catalog for about ten years.  After the first set was an immediate success, Monogram added four new Tom Daniel-designed bodies to the series.  The second set utilized what were at the time popular compact economy cars including a Mustang II, Pinto, Gremlin, and Vega.  To fit the long chassis, the second set of cars had stretched hoods.  These kits were also popular since just about everybody had at least one of these common economy cars in the driveway during the 1970’s!  Atlantis Models announced that this second series would be released in early 2023.

The kits had some minor tooling changes.  Some time after their initial release, the intake was changed from a shrouded injector system to a standard blower intake with butterfly valves.  Blade spoilers were tried briefly by funny car racers and they were added to the Monogram funny cars later.  In the racing community, however, these were set aside as improved methods for increasing downforce and traction were developed.

THE 1970'S RETURN IN 2023!!!  Atlantis Models announced via their Facebook page that the rest of the Monogram 1/32 funny car line will be released in 2023.  Popular economy cars of the period get the funny car treatment.  Believe it or not, these cars actually made great racers on drag strips and circuit tracks.  The Mustang II's front end suspension is still used today in racing applications thanks to its excellent design and performance.  It's available from a number of aftermarket manufacturers.  Complete your Atlantis 1/32 funny car set in 2023!

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