Monogram Beer Wagon

[tcoat]

Either for my Birthday or Christmas in 1968 my grandparents went over the top and gave me the Monogram Beer Wagon. Why "over the top"? Well it was at least a $5 kit and way more than the $1.50 to $3.00 kits I would normally have been given.

I probably had the thing built in an hour. It was the only kit I ever got of the series and was my pride and joy for 6 years or so until it met the fate of most of my childhood builds. 




It then remained forgotten until a couple of years ago when I stumbled across the reissued  Rommel's Rod in a local hobby shop. Once I bought that and opened the box I was hit with a wave of nostalgia for the poor old Beer Wagon and knew I had to get one.

So I went shopping and...


Here are some current listings. Each listed price could be $50 to $100 HIGHER if they decide to charge duty and taxes.



Original issue in good shape be about $360 by the time I got it here (read the fine print Canadian dollars)


A very battered original with contents of dubious condition. Be around $150



Even the 2016 issued is outrageous. At least $220



Now no matter how badly I wanted one these prices just were too high for me to feel good about paying them so I resigned my self to hoping it would get reissued here or I found one at a flea market and they didn't know the value.

Then Kyle posted his and I expressed my excitement to see it. He sent me a message and asked if I wanted it and of course I said yes. He was supposed to find out how much shipping would be and I impatiently waited for a price so I could send him the cash. Five days later, instead of a price, he sends me a tracking number and says it is on it's way! A few days later he sent another message saying that now the tires were on their way as well.

The tires arrived and then the kit arrived and I was like a little kid playing with the parts and making plans.

Hope to get started on it this weekend and no doubt it will take far longer than an hour to build this time.

So pretty even on the sprues.







There is a tiny bit of flash and typical 60's ejector pin marks but other than those expected (but minor) items it is very nicely molded.
The wood sections have some beautifully done wood grain patterns that should come up really nice.





Painting will be someplace between the kit instructions and the real thing which has more black to it.

[kyledehart5]

In my removing everything from the box to make sure it was all there before sending it to the great white north, I managed to leave the tires on my work bench while the rest of the kit was carefully packed up and shipped. So a couple days later I sent a second, very small package north. 🤦🏻‍♂️😂 Amazes me the tires got there first but I’m glad it all arrived safely and I can’t wait to see the build!!

[stikpusher]

Nice! Very nice!

[keavdog]

So awesome. Never knew there was a real one. I built a bunch of Tom Daniel kits as quick fun distractions when I was suffering from AMS 20 years ago. Now we have egg planes lol

[moparman18064]

Wow, this is great! Kudos to Kyle for the great gesture. I’ll be watching

[atomicholiday]

Very cool story! And way to go, Kyle!
I’m looking forward to seeing this come together. I had a chance at the RC cola version about a year ago and walked away. Been kicking myself ever since. The Beer Wagon version is definitely cooler though.

[tcoat]

Feb 28, 2024 20:52:55 GMT -5 keavdog said:

So awesome. Never knew there was a real one. I built a bunch of Tom Daniel kits as quick fun distractions when I was suffering from AMS 20 years ago. Now we have egg planes lol

There are a few real cars based on models and some models based on real cars.

The Red Baron (based on model)



The Street 'Vette (this was modeled on the real thing)



Of course the famous duo


Beer Wagon based upon model

[Golikell]

Great story an a nice kit... The challenge is to make it look 2024 and not 1960's...

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 8:02:49 GMT -5 Golikell said:

Great story an a nice kit... The challenge is to make it look 2024 and not 1960's...

Be easy to build like when I was 9. Just smear glue all over it, put some parts on upside down and paint with 2 different colours of paint by numbers oil paint that take 26 years to dry!
OH WAIT...
I haven't changed much at all!

[lyle]

Feb 29, 2024 8:11:51 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Feb 29, 2024 8:02:49 GMT -5 Golikell said:

Great story an a nice kit... The challenge is to make it look 2024 and not 1960's...

Be easy to build like when I was 9. Just smear glue all over it, put some parts on upside down and paint with 2 different colours of paint by numbers oil paint that take 26 years to dry!
OH WAIT...
I haven't changed much at all!

You a funny man. No one believes it takes 26 years to dry. 

[atomicholiday]

Feb 29, 2024 8:19:46 GMT -5 lyle said:

Feb 29, 2024 8:11:51 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Be easy to build like when I was 9. Just smear glue all over it, put some parts on upside down and paint with 2 different colours of paint by numbers oil paint that take 26 years to dry!
OH WAIT...
I haven't changed much at all!

You a funny man. No one believes it takes 26 years to dry. 

Pretty sure it takes at least that long for Testors silver to dry. Probably longer.😁

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 8:19:46 GMT -5 lyle said:

Feb 29, 2024 8:11:51 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Be easy to build like when I was 9. Just smear glue all over it, put some parts on upside down and paint with 2 different colours of paint by numbers oil paint that take 26 years to dry!
OH WAIT...
I haven't changed much at all!

You a funny man. No one believes it takes 26 years to dry. 

LOL Have you ever used 1960's oil paints from paint by numbers sets on plastic models? Pretty sure that 26 years is the optimistic dry time. Some of them probably never fully dry. Was a case of use what you had on hand back then for meat least. 

[lyle]

That is a good point. Those things did take forever.

[keavdog]

The Munsters rides were George Barris designs. Lot's of cool models of his work as well.

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 12:20:41 GMT -5 keavdog said:

The Munsters rides were George Barris designs. Lot's of cool models of his work as well.

Of course. Brain fart there.

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 12:32:27 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Feb 29, 2024 12:20:41 GMT -5 keavdog said:

The Munsters rides were George Barris designs. Lot's of cool models of his work as well.

 I wasn't actually wrong. I knew I was associating Daniels to this for some reason.


"The Munster Koach is the family car that was used in the television series, The Munsters. The show's producers contracted George Barris to provide the Koach. Barris paid show car designer Tom Daniel $200 to design the car, and had it built at Barris Kustoms, first by Tex Smith, but finished by jackwagon Dean, his shop foreman at the time."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munster_Koach#:~:text=The%20Munster%20Koach%20appeared%20in,and%20thin%2C%20round%20disc%20lights.


"DRAG-U-LA, along with the Munster Koach, was one of two cars on the television show The Munsters designed by prolific show car designer Tom Daniel while working for George Barris and Barris Kustom Industries."

[keavdog]

Get bit of nostalgia there. Must have been a fun time to be involved in those automotive circles.

[kyledehart5]

Ah the old Barris and Daniel show rods. Too cool. Be fun to build the Munster mobiles too.

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 16:35:32 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Ah the old Barris and Daniel show rods. Too cool. Be fun to build the Munster mobiles too.

I could get addicted to these things. Probably be cheaper if I switched to heroin. 

[keavdog]

How about the Clampett Jalopy!

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 18:33:26 GMT -5 keavdog said:

How about the Clampett Jalopy!

That is a bit different. Along with the first Batmobile, the Monkees car, K.I.T, the General Lee, A-Team van, etc. etc. those are TV cars that all should be kitted and built! The Munster's cars cross genres between TV cars and wild hotrods.

[moparman18064]

I built the street vette when I was young. I will never forget, this was when the tube glue had the scent of oranges.😁

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 21:29:58 GMT -5 moparman18064 said:

I built the street vette when I was young. I will never forget, this was when the tube glue had the scent of oranges.😁

I never had orange smelling tube glue.  Back then it smelled like toluene!

I love the smell of model glue in the morning

[kyledehart5]

Mar 1, 2024 7:50:16 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Feb 29, 2024 21:29:58 GMT -5 moparman18064 said:

I built the street vette when I was young. I will never forget, this was when the tube glue had the scent of oranges.😁

I never had orange smelling tube glue.  Back then it smelled like toluene!

I love the smell of model glue in the morning

toluene. Gross. We use that almost exclusively as our thinner at work. Wonder if I can use it as model cement? 😂

[tcoat]

Mar 1, 2024 8:41:44 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Mar 1, 2024 7:50:16 GMT -5 tcoat said:

I never had orange smelling tube glue.  Back then it smelled like toluene!

I love the smell of model glue in the morning

toluene. Gross. We use that almost exclusively as our thinner at work. Wonder if I can use it as model cement? 😂

Although most cements and "glues" now are combinations of acetone and other acetates I would not be surprised to find some still have at least some  toluene in them. You could use it but in it's pure form it may be a bit aggressive. 

[handiabled]

Feb 29, 2024 21:29:58 GMT -5 moparman18064 said:

I built the street vette when I was young. I will never forget, this was when the tube glue had the scent of oranges.😁

I remember that stuff! I think it was advertised as "non-toxic".  As I recall it didn't hold parts together nearly as good as old Testors glue did.

[kyledehart5]

Mar 1, 2024 9:13:36 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Mar 1, 2024 8:41:44 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

toluene. Gross. We use that almost exclusively as our thinner at work. Wonder if I can use it as model cement? 😂

Although most cements and "glues" now are combinations of acetone and other acetates I would not be surprised to find some still have at least some  toluene in them. You could use it but in it's pure form it may be a bit aggressive. 

It melted my phone once when I spilled one. Back in the days of plastic cased flip phones. lol!

[tcoat]

All cleaned up and ready for first base coats. Was a little flash, a couple of mold seams and scads of injector pin marks but all were easy to eliminate (well... reduce at any rate)

[406 Silverado]

This is going to be a pretty dang cool build and am glad that you were able to score this one from Kyle. Good on you Kyle for that very kind gesture dude!!

I had pretty much the same thing happen to me when I wanted a Jo-Han Maverick kit. Those things are now going for around $300+ and a fella on another forum sold it to me for $50 because he wanted to see what I did with it. I couldn't have been happier to get that kit in the mail.

Will be watching you work your magic on this one Tony.

[tcoat]

Everything which won't be yellow, which is most actually, is base coated.