Moebius Models 1/25 1961 Pontiac Ventura Kit First Look

By Ken Kitchen, Front Range Auto Modelers (FRAM)

First Look

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not much of a Pontiac guy. I know I’m dating myself but I do remember the first time I saw a Judge. I was the right age and all the marketing had me salivating when I saw one in the “flesh”. It was an amazing car and one that burned itself in my memory. However I was a little young to remember or get excited about the Ventura. That said I have to admit I’m at a bit of a loss on background for this kit. I tried to do due diligence and search the Internet to see what I could find and frankly there’s really not much out there.

Even Wikipedia had a really limited amount of info: 'The Pontiac Ventura is an automobile that was produced by Pontiac. The name was derived from Ventura, California. The Ventura was first introduced for 1960 as a new higher priced model on Pontiac's standard full-size 122-inch B-body wheelbase, shared with the Pontiac Catalina. It was available as a four-door Vista sedan and two-door hardtop. It had unique exterior identification, deluxe wheel covers, a sport steering wheel, and distinctive tri-tone seats done in 'Morrokide' (Pontiac's leather-like vinyl upholstery). '

So when Moebius announced their intent to produce an all new kit of the 1961 Pontiac Ventura I was at a loss to understand why. For me it didn’t tick any of the boxes that said I needed to add it to my collection. However now that it’s been on the “street” for awhile and I’m starting to see of amazing builds of this kit it’s beginning to grow on me.

As is usual, Moebius really knows how to reel you with the box art; once again looking like it was copied from an old sales brochure. Moebius usual attention to detail with the packaging of the kit is really appreciated. They really go the extra mile when designing their packaging, carefully packaging all the parts in plastic bags and carefully placing them in the box thereby protecting each part from shipping damage.

The kit parts are molded in light gray, red and clear styrene with four whitewall tires. There are eleven trees of gray, two of clear, two chrome and the taillights in clear red. Just based on the parts layout, the way the parts trees are cut into smaller sections and of course Moebius’ business model it’s clear we can expect more versions of this tool in the future.

The body is nicely molded with good detail, however the engraving around the doors is fairly light so I’d suggest you scribe the door lines deeper before painting. Mold seams are virtually nonexistent. Door handles, antenna, mirror, rear panel, and windshield wipers are all separate pieces. The body is fully polished and ready for paint.

Also of note is the instruction sheet. This time Moebius chose to layout the instructions on one large flat sheet rather than the booklet style of other kits. It does follow Moebius’ usual approach of several pages of exploded views resembling engineering drawings with part name callouts. on the other are full color pictures of the various subassemblies. This really helps when it comes to understanding how to paint the model. It also includes a color chart showing the colors and names that were available and painting suggestions for the individual parts.

The final item is the decal sheet. It contains the markings needed for the body, interior and engine compartment.

Clearly Moebius knows their market because they have tapped into the adult modelers market and are providing models of cars that have an audience and are generating intense interest and discussion on the various model message boards.

Once again Moebius Models has produced an excellent model of an iconic automotive subject, and one I am looking forward to adding to my completed list.

Thanks go to Moebius Models for the review sample.