View Full Version : Monogram Tank hunter Diorama


iamweasel
07-03-2009, 10:02 PM
I just won this kit on ebay and I had it as a kid. Does anyone know if they had done any other Military dioramas like this one or was this the one and only?

The-Nightsky
07-04-2009, 08:45 AM
Which one did you get?I know of 2.One that came with a Mustang or Thunderbolt and a Panzer or one with an Me-109 and a Sherman.1/48 scale correct? The Tanks are ex-Aurora

iamweasel
07-04-2009, 01:27 PM
You are correct they are 1/48th scale. I won the one with the Mustang, don't remember how good the detail was on the kit but it looks like a fun build still.
I'll have to keep my eyes open for the Sherman one now, thanks for the info.

The-Nightsky
07-04-2009, 10:06 PM
The Mustang is the monogram kit.The same one you can buy today in a Revell box.

djnick66
07-06-2009, 09:25 AM
They did two half baked dioramas... you got the old Aurora Sherman paired with Monogram's very old Focke Wulf 190, or the Aurora Panther with the Monogram P-51B.

They turn up on eBay fairly often, but usually missing the tanks. Interest in the Aurora armor meant a lot of people (me included) bought the kits for the tanks and sold off the redundant airplanes.

Both kits came with the same diorama base - an injection molded earthy blob with a giant red-wood size tree in the middle to support the plane.

Despite the kit box arts and decals... the Focke Wulf with the underwing gun packs was not a strafer - it was for attacking bombers, and I don't think the Mustang, Salem Representative, flew ground attack missions either.

Of the four kits, the Mustang is still quite nice but the Fw. is crude and inaccurate. The Aurora Sherman is still fairly nice also, but the Panther is truely horrid...

djnick66
07-06-2009, 09:27 AM
The Mustang is the monogram kit.The same one you can buy today in a Revell box.

Revell does not currently sell the old Monogram P-51B. They do sell the P-51D, and Revell retooled the poor Monogram wing and nose parts too! Later in the year the P-51B is up for a reissue.

I assume the reissue will be the reworked tooling from the Pro Modeller reissue. Monogram reworked their kit to make it more in line with newer, better kits. The revised tooling was last issued as the Pro Finish pre-painted kit.

The-Nightsky
07-06-2009, 10:14 AM
You are correct Djnick66 My memory must be fogged,too many glue fumes not enough ventilation.

Cro-Magnon Man
07-06-2009, 08:04 PM
The dioramas sound interesting, with the tree and all; I've seen these sets mentioned in an Aurora book but didn't know they came with a scenic base. If you can post pics of the kit built up it'll be a first here, probably.

iamweasel
07-06-2009, 10:50 PM
I just got the kit in the mail today and while the detail isnt a Tamiya level I think it will build up rather nicely.
The base isn't hugely detailed but with some decent painting it could be pretty nice. I'm not too worried about it being historically acurate, if it builds nice and looks nice sitting on my shelf, I'm happy. :thumbsup:
I am hoping to get started on it shortly, I need to finish my building my sons 1/72 Alamo diorama I have been working on, at the moment its roughly 4ft x 4ft and I need to rebuild the base to 4ft x 5ft. After that, I'll relax with the Tank hunter dio. :)

MightyMax
07-08-2009, 11:51 PM
Revell does not currently sell the old Monogram P-51B. They do sell the P-51D, and Revell retooled the poor Monogram wing and nose parts too! Later in the year the P-51B is up for a reissue.

I assume the reissue will be the reworked tooling from the Pro Modeller reissue. Monogram reworked their kit to make it more in line with newer, better kits. The revised tooling was last issued as the Pro Finish pre-painted kit.


You are correct. Monogram irreversibly altered the mold when they recessed the panel lines for the Promodeler version. Not a bad kit but had bad timing upon it's initial ProMod release.
Both Tamiya, Accurate Miniatures, and the Promodeler kit hit the streets within weeks of each other. I picked up the version that had the patch in it and was surprised to find the Promodeler kit. then I realize the mold work cannot be un done. So I was picking these up for about 7.50 when they were last available in the old retro SSP boxing

Max Bryant

djnick66
07-13-2009, 12:04 PM
It is still a fun kit. I sort of wish they hadn't screwed up the mold by tinkering with the panel lines though. The upcoming reissue shoudl run about $18 which is kind of high. For another $10 you can get the Tamiya kit which is vastly superior nowdays.

I bought a couple of the pre painted "Pro Finish" ones on clearance at Wal Mart a while back for $3 each and stripped the paint off with Super Clean.

MightyMax
07-18-2009, 10:46 AM
The upcoming reissue should run about $18 which is kind of high. For another $10 you can get the Tamiya kit which is vastly superior nowdays.

I was in a local Hobby shop a few days ago. I saw some Revell Classics retro repops and the old Monogam (Aurora) monster kits. I had a "Holy Cow" :eek: moment looking at the new retail on these oldies. Yikes!
Glad I already own most of them!

Max Bryant

djnick66
07-18-2009, 11:27 AM
Yeah the 2009 repops run around $24. When TRU sold them in the retro boxes I think they were $10 and that was about 10 years ago.