Revell Dodge Magnum SRT8- Review

For many a long year- wagons were not "cool". They were what Mom used to get the groceries and drop you off at school. But as the years wore on, something happened. People's perception began to change. All of a sudden, wagons weren't so nerdy... the old Custom Cruiser your mom had back in the day was actually a pretty sweet car in hindsight, and quite a few manufacturers began producing cool wagons, many of which were even available in performance versions. One such animal was the Dodge Magnum of 2005-2008. The swoopy, rear-wheel-drive Maggie was, in my opinion, a better looking car than the Charger that came a year later, and in SRT8 form it was a family truckster that could really bring home the bacon by way of its 425-horsepower HEMI V8. The short-lived Magnum was restyled for the 2008 season, and then unceremoniously dumped at the end of that model year, reportedly because one soon-to-retire suit at Chrysler wasn't fond of the car. It was a shame, because even though the Magnum could have been called a bit of a 'niche' vehicle, for a few short years Dodge all but completely owned the US wagon market with this car.

Anyway, Revell has brought back their 1:25 scale kit of the 2006 model SRT8, as basically a straight reissue of the original "Revell Muscle" kit. The kit is molded in white plastic, as opposed to the original kit which had a white body with the chassis molded in black, the engine components and brakes molded in metallic grey, and the interior pieces molded in a dark solid grey. Smoked grey windows are still supplied for the side and rear windows.The decal sheet is also mostly carryover, though for this reissue Revell has added '71 'Cuda-type "billboard" graphics in white and black. As odd as it is to me to see Plymouth graphics on a Dodge, I will say they're nicely done and look good on the car. Also, since this kit is in Revell's bargain-priced "Streetburner" series, it can be yours for anywhere from eight to ten bucks less than a Revell Special Edition release- and that's quite a bit of kit for the money.

Where do I start? Nearly twenty pieces make up the mighty 6.1 liter HEMI. The body is accurately executed and features an opening hood and lift gate. You get a choice of the stock wheels, or custom five-spokes, both rendered in 20". The platform-type interior is crisply replicated, and of course Revell supplies you with a full compliment of decal graphics for detailing it. Same story for the chassis- every detail that should be there is there, and nicely represented. The kit also goes together well, and looks great when done- in fact, assembly and finished appearance are better regarding this kit than the simplified 1:24 scale "Uptown" Magnum kit from Revell.

There's very little not to like about this kit, assuming you're hot to the subject matter. After all, if a Magnum doesn't appeal to you, this kit may as well not exist. But even then, that 6.1 HEMI is well worth having for transplant into practically any street rod or modern custom. Or you could open the hood on the "new" Wrangler Rubicon and stuff it in there- quite a few Wranglers have undergone HEMI swaps. And of course there's that Fender Stratocaster-ish guitar, with its own sunburst pattern decal on the sheet! But back to what's not to like... as with many recent Revell kits, the tires aren't the best- they aren't as 'chunky' looking as some, but the lack of sidewall detail and minimal tread wraparound onto the sidewalls makes them appear that way. The optional decal for the amplifier/speaker setup for the rear cargo area isn't even convincing at a glance. The last one is more of a personal preference, but I wish they'd made the grille inserts separate from the fascia to ease in painting them, or supplied some nylon mesh for these areas.But all in all, that really isn't much to gripe about... I've seen recent releases by Revell rightfully take a bit more heat than this one deserves!

I think this is one of the best 'late model' kits in the Revell stable- inching just above the Mustang kits due to its better tires and more realistic out-of-box stance. These cars are popular with tuners, customizers, and even families with at least one lead-foot in the house. With a bit of work here and there you could build it as a 'lesser' RT (which had the 5.7 HEMI), or the base SXT if you could find a suitable V6. Who among you might want to modify the chassis into the AWD version? Or, something I've wanted to do, modify the nose and interior bits to represent the car in its 2008-only form? And we aren't even getting into all the parts you could harvest for other projects... say, or go the other way and rob some of the police-spec parts from the Lindberg Charger cop car kit and do a police-issue Maggie? Even though the only out-of-box options revolve around a set of custom wheels and a few non-factory decal treatments, this kit is loaded with possibility. The fact it just so happens to be one of Revell's best efforts just sweetens the pot.