A fellow high-performance-loving buddy of mine and I were at an annual swap meet in Denver yesterday and look at what I found. I was surprised because I'd never seen one of these?

We were enjoying a cold beer and perusing various vendors selling their wares when we stopped by a table that had an assortment of scaled automotive gee-gaws and doo-dads. In his back row, they had stacks of car kits and I spotted this C3 but something didn't look right.

Bear in mind, the drink in my hand was the first one of the day and we were only in the 2nd hour of wandering around (almost noon). I looked again to make sure I read the box correctly then had my friend confirm that I wasn't seeing things.

Bought it just to show anyone interested in marketing 101: fail.







I suppose in all other aspects, this is a usual and customary '69 car kit with the final product like any other assembled model but I thought you guys might enjoy the irony of having a Ford cubic inch engine size associated to a 435hp themed car kit.

I did a search in CF too and some guys were aware of their existance. Found these old threads but I'd never read them, until now:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...available.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...rta-funny.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...e-model-2.html

 

What's interesting is that the 429 was a Ford motor...obviously the folks at Revell don't really do their homework when it comes to details (at least not with car models)...

 

I bought the same one @ a swap meet for $5.00 and still in the plastic also. I tried some model websites and guys told me that it wasn't worth much. But I beg to differ. By the way, nice find!

 

What's up Dustup! I had planned on going to that swap meet this weekend but with all the snow you guys just got I decided against it.
Was it still a pretty good turn out with buyers and sellers?

 

First run of this kit. Not sure if Revell/Monogram ever corrected the box art. I have one around here also. Best kit available of an early C3. mike...

 

the Boss 429 Corvette? :-)

 

I have seen them come up on ebay, once in awhile, everybody makes mistakes eventually. Keep them in original seal and maybe they will be worth something someday, who knows.

 

Open the box and glue it together. It will never be worth more than what you paid for it. Enjoy!

I loved those kits as a kid. I'm off to ebay to look for one.

 

What's shakin' Gregg? The show was smaller this year, yeah. Lots of empty vendor space. The crowd was thin too, early on; was definitely a ghost town early in the day. By noon though, it looked like business as usual. Having the sun shine brightly must've helped change minds. Sorry we missed you but the season's early. Catch up later, for sure.

Once I saw this kit isn't quite in the inventory range of real ZR-1's or -2's, I'll find time in the future to assemble it into a nice car. For now, I'll keep it in the old cellophane and be amused that even marketing professionals are not 100%, every time. Sounds like it is detailed nicely.

 

Unless you can confirm [by contacting Revell] that they made such a mistake, my bet is that it's a Chinese 'knock-off' with an error on the engine size (or an intentional 'error' that assures that it was NOT an exact copy).

 

I read that it was corrected after initial release but it is unusual.

Crap! I hear that I paid current fleabay price, ($15) so you're 10 clams up on me.

Thanks for the info, Mike. Was hoping it would build good and just a typo, of sorts.

At least it doesn't run on the beach with a Hemi and a transfer case under it.

 

Absolutely a mistake by Revell. Monogram had just started using the Revell name when this kit was released. I was in the wholesale end of the hobby at the time. Best body, frame, interior and engine available for the early C3. Equally nice are the '69 Yenko and Z28 Camaro kits. Also a '69 Pace Car Camaro convertible. Just some of the useless info. I have to share. mike...

 

Not a Chinese knock off at all, Revell really did screw up when they made that kit. I have one I bought over 20 years ago, when they were first released!

The "429 Corvette" kit was first issued in 1989 (the box is marked "Copyright 1989"). It was actually a modified version of a 69 L-88 convertible kit, that Revell released in 1988.

Because of the typo, the kit was well known in the hobby, back when it was released. They were quite common, as I'm sure that Revell printed thousands of boxes, before they caught the mistake. They weren't about to scrap, or recall, thousands of boxes, just for a typo,

I bought one to save, as did just about every one else I knew. I don't think that there is much value to the kit, because the typo caused so many of us to save them.

 

I see the 7149 part number now. Thanks for the great insight, guys. That's what I enjoy about CF; getting the straight skinny on these one-off situations.

 

OK, the 429 was a misprint. What about the ZL-1 stripe on a car with tripower air cleaner and high perf hood? It's a wonder it doesn't also have a radio antenna.

 

You only paid $15?
You better check the frame and birdcage for rust before you build it!!

 

Back in the day I bought a number of those kits. Revell did make the correction. I resold them later at a decent profit. Those who did the packaging on the box probably didn't know a Corvette from a Volkswagon and wouldn't have known the error in the engine size.

Factory errors are a collectible on their own, though a small "cultish" collectors area. Years ago when I was a law enforcement officer and firearms instructor, I was testing a new batch of Smith & Wesson revolvers we received from the factory. All was going well when one revolver didn't hit the target when all the others did fine. After another test shot there was a sideways hole in the paper target.

There was a very good reason for the inaccuracy of the bullet...there was no rifling in the barrel! All it was was a hand held shotgun.

I called Smith & Wesson and was told "We want that back! I want to show it to some people!" The revolver had to pass over a dozen separate inspections and no one picked up on the smooth-bore barrel. I sent the revolver back to them and within a week received it with a new barrel.

If it wasn't a departmental revolver, I would have wanted to buy it for myself as factory errors are valuable.

It just shows that mistakes happen.

 

cooool,,, wish it were mine. although i have a 68.

 

I was more disappointed with the incorrect rockers. Had to paint mine black.

 

Revell made the mistake. I have one of the "429" box boo-boos.