Polar Light's Scooby Doo Mystery MachineBy Chris Banyai-Riepl |  |
History
"Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?" This classic line started each episode of Scooby Doo, a cartoon about a none-too-brave Great Dane named Scooby-Doo and four teen-aged sleuths--Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy--as they searched out supernatural phenomena in their van, the Mystery Machine. Twenty-five episodes of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" were produced for its debut season (1969-1970), which anchored CBS's Saturday morning line-up. Scooby-Doo was an instant ratings success and spawned many other Scooby series over the years, as well as comic and children's books.
The KitThis is a Snap-Together kit put out by Polar Lights, and while there is no scale listed I'd guess it's about 1/24 or 1/25 (so it should fit in nicely with any other car collection). While aimed at children, I'm sure there's plenty of adults that will get this kit purely for the nostalgia, as I'm sure many of us grew up watching these cartoons. The kit is molded in several colors, making it a snap for kids to build, as no painting is technically required. The body is molded in one piece, with the rear doors separate and engineered to be movable. There are several bits and pieces to fit into and onto the body, including lights, the roof rack, and bumpers, as well as the spare tire on front.The interior is basic, with one piece making up the whole interior & seats fitting onto the one-piece chassis. The wheels fit onto metal axle rods, allowing this model to be rolled around on the floor (no rack & pinion steering, however). The wheels are in two parts, with the tire & back half of the wheel molded in black and the front half of the wheel molded in blue to match the body. The front spare tire is also molded in blue.The best part of the kit, in my opinion anyway, are the two figures included: Scooby Doo and Shaggy. These are arranged in a sitting posture and are designed to be driving the van around, but with a bit of work I'm sure you could rearrange them to be in just about any stance. While this model went to my daughter, I commandeered the two figures for a future vignette, just as soon as I figure out which monster I want to have these two guys confront. Sadly, there is no Daphne, Velma, or Freddie figures.The stickers included are pretty well done, but they are stickers geared more towards kids than the serious modeler. However, they could easily be used as templates for someone to airbrush the markings on. For those who want to do this model straight out of the box, I suggest using a little soapy water in positioning some of the larger ones, as that will prevent them from sticking too soon.ConclusionI think this is a very nice release from Polar Lights and is sure to catch plenty of people's attention. I found mine at a local Walmart for under $10 (OK, my daughter saw it first), so it won't break the bank. Kudos to Polar Lights on this one!ReferencesThe Cartoon Network's Scooby Doo Page |
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