Monogram Classics 1/24 Predicta

HISTORY

The Predicta is one of Darryl Starbird’s most acclaimed custom creations. It began as a wrecked 1957 Thunderbird and in 1959, in just under a year, Darryl completely redesigned and restyled the overall look and function of the car. It took roughly 11-weeks to rebuild the Predicta and it became Darryl's first fully functional show car. Since its debut, the Predicta established Darryl as a respected custom and show car builder. 

As one of the first prominent bubble top cars to make the show scene, he debuted the Predicta at Oakland Roadster Show in California and completely redefined the custom car world. 

It’s powered by a 392 Hemi and features a mono stick center steering handle. Starbird added push button controls, a TV, and dual foot pedal controls. 

Later, Monogram partnered with Starbird and sold over 500,000 1:24-scale model kits. 
In 1960 the Predicta won Car of the Future at the National Roadster Show in Oakland, California. Again in 1960, Motor Life chose the Predicta as the Top Custom of the year. The car was sent on a 17 week tour across 15 states, and it won major national prizes everywhere it was shown.

THE KIT

Originally released in 1964, this is the fourth and most recent reissue by Monogram from 2000. Molded in red, white, chrome and clear plastic, the kit comes with four rubber tires and a hypothetical decal sheet as the actual car carried no markings. It also comes in the universally despised lunch box style box.

This is not a curbside and comes with a nicely done (for 1964) Hemi engine. This fits into the floor/chassis pan to which the suspension items are attached. The front wheels are designed to turn so care has to be taken building up the front suspension parts. The kit has no metal axles and instead has plastic axle attachment points.

An interesting feature of the wheels is that there is a white plastic insert for the whitewall tires. The interior is well done and prototypical which means no steering wheel and foot pedals on both sides so either seat occupant could drive the car. In addition to the hinged hood to show off the engine, the bubble top is also hinged.

Instructions are well done with generic color information provided. Though the box art shows a red car, the actual vehicle is blue, both with a white interior. The decal sheet looks to be still usable, but as I mentioned, the real car had no exterior markings.

CONCLUSIONS

It is nice to have an older show car kit like this still around. This kit can fairly easily be found but as usual, the e-paid listings are all in the $50 plus range, showing they have no grasp of reality. I'm betting this will be fairly easy to find at shows and swap meets for considerably less.

https://www.museumofamericanspeed.org/starbird-predicta.html

September 2025

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