Monogram 1/24 Coors Thunderbird, previewed by Scott Van Aken

William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience part-time in 2022. His accolades include the 1988 Winston Cup Championship and garnering 44 wins in that series, including crown jewel victories in two Daytona 500s (1985, 1987), three Southern 500s (1985, 1988, and 1994), one Winston 500 (1985), and one Brickyard 400 (2002). Elliott achieved a NASCAR record four consecutive wins at Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986, and seven wins overall, the most at any one racetrack in his career. Elliott also won an additional six exhibition (non-points) races in his career, including one Winston All-Star Race win in 1986, one Busch Clash win in 1987, and four Daytona Duel wins in 1985, 1986, 1992, and 2000.

Elliott holds the track record for fastest qualifying speed at Talladega at 212.809 miles per hour (342.483 km/h) and Daytona International Speedway at 210.364 miles per hour (338.548 km/h), both of which were set in 1987; the mark at Talladega is the fastest qualifying speed for any NASCAR race ever. With the usage of restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega since 1988, it is highly unlikely that these two qualifying speed records will ever be topped. Elliott also holds the distinction of recording a track record at Talladega Superspeedway of six consecutive pole positions from 1985 to 1987. In 1985, he won 11 superspeedway events (a superspeedway being a track 1 1/2 mile or larger), a record which still stands.

THE KIT

In the mid1980s into the early 1990s, stock car kits were money makers for two of the three major US kit makers, Monogram and MPC. Revell did not put their name on a stock car kit until it merged with Monogram. Of the two, Monogram had the better tooling, though they were definitely similar. Also during this time, NASCAR kits were like beanie babies with some kits, particularly this one, selling for prices in the $100 to $125 range. This is how some of us ended up with large collections of these kits.

It wouldn't be too far fetched to say that aside from the body and decals, these kits were basically the same. Sure, there were dimensionally different chassis to fit under the various bodies, but other than that, the engines, interiors, suspensions, wheels, tires, etc were the same. What this meant is that once you built a couple of them, it was a breeze to do more. Then, there was a burgeoning aftermarket for these kits with bits to improve just about every part of the car. There were also aftermarket decals galore until NASCAR sent its hounds (lawyers) after these small companies and shut them down. Fortunately, a lot of these decals are still out there and there are places overseas that are outside the reach of NASCAR that can provide markings if you so want them.

As mentioned the kit is quite generic and a look at any of the other NASCAR kit previews will provide the salient information you need. Instructions are also standard fare with generic paint information. The decals are fairly thick by modern standards and quite glossy. As you can see by the illustration, they are lacking the striping that goes on the front bumper. This is not uncommon for decals in this series to be missing stuff. There are, as mentioned new, old stock out there to replace these if you so desire or you can paint the missing area.

So there you have it. Another nice relic from the 80s for those who like NASCAR kits. This and others are not difficult to find and after the kit crash of the late 1990s, they are usually some of the least expensive kits on dealer's tables at shows and swap meets.

KIT #:	2244
PRICE:	$4.10 when new
DECALS:	One livery
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	1984 release