If you know me, and/or the Sprue Lagoon, you know that I do have a thing for “loser cars”. However, it’s not just econoboxes and soulless “made-to-be-rented” cars that I love! I am also a fan of the mundane. That means cars that aren’t necessarily bad, and might be kind of exciting, but definitely things that you’d see everyday. They are the car equivalents to the “people in your neighbourhood” that Sesame Street sang about.

One vehicle that surely fits this description is the Volvo 850 Turbo Estate wagon. I rather like these cars, and they’re decent, competent and even kind of stylish, in their own way. However, at least where I live, they were common. Not Chevy Celebrity common, but much more common than many other kinds of wagons. Since station wagons aren’t something that get kitted enough, in my view, I was very glad to come across this kit at Wings and Wheels in Toronto quite some time ago. I figured that the drab days of winter were a good time to pop it out and see what was up. After all, I remember seeing a lot of these in Beige.

Check out Tamiya’s take on this Swedish family mover at the link below!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/tamiya-1-24-volvo-850-turbo-estate-oob/

You wouldn't by any chance know if the 850 version in this kit features the flip-up forward-facing rear seats in the very back?

Another quirky kit, and another excellent review Adam. I'm looking forward to your build on this one, many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

Cheers, D

No, it doesn't. It's a "straight" 5-seater. If you follow the link you can see the instruction page wherein the seats are shown being installed. I don't see any flip-up seats. Now, I do see panels marked in the floor... so it likely has them, but they're not deployable.

THAT would have been really cool!

Looking at the plastic in the photo, I do believe those lines are close if not the same as those hiding the fold-up seat. One part lifted up to form the back and the other flipped over to form the seat. I messed up my description above; the seat actually faces backwards out the rear window. Great place for a dog or a couple of talkative kids.

It was the first car my wife and I bought together.

This 850 wagon, or estate version, actually raced in the British Touring car Championship for a couple of seasons, led by Dutchman Jan Lammers. Tamiya made a kit of that, too.😄

I didn't know that the Volvos had "tailgunner" seats! I thought that was something phased out in the '80s!

Now I really wish they did fold out!

Maybe they were phased out at a different time for your market. Items that sell well in certain markets continue to be marketed to those while supplies may be reduced or ended to those where a vehicle option isn't as useful. There were a number of dealer accessories and vehicle variants of the Volkswagen bus that weren't offered to the American market but that were widely available to Europe and other places. I had a pair of fresh-air dash fans for my 1969 bus that I found in a Canadian camper that had been junked in Orlando, FL. When I ordered the switch that goes on the IP, I was informed I was ordering one of the last three pieces left in VW's U.S. supply system.

Adam,
Looking forward to your build of the Volvo wagon. This time you've got a Tamiya kit, with Tamiya quality to work with. The detailing molding to the bench seat really caught my eye.

Joel

It is really one of their nicest kits, in terms of interior detailing for sure.

I find a lot of their kits very sterile, detail-wise, especially on things like seat textures and other interior features.