Monogram Car-in-a-Bottle

Here's the old “ship-in-a-bottle” trick

with a new twist...

Now you can build a “Car-in-a-Bottle” in just minutes with “Pop” art from Monogram.

Amaze your friends with Monogram's bottle models. Wild rear engine dragsters inside full-size plastic replicas of familiar Pepsi® and 7-Up® bottles.
   They're fun and easy to build because they're Snap-Tite® kits. All the parts just SNAP together... no gluing or painting needed. How does the car get into the bottle? That's a snap too, and it will be your secret. Mounted on the display stand, your Car-in-a-Bottle "pop" art is a conversation piece. A model that will make you proud to say, "I built it myself."
   Monogram's Snap-Tite® "Car-in-a-Bottle" kits are a whole new idea in model building fun. And you can get them for around $4.00 wherever model kits are sold.

These kits came out in the mid 1970s and were advertised in full-page color ads on the back cover or inside back cover of comic books. Originally costing only $4.00, they now go for around $50.00 on ebay. The ad features kits in Pepsi® and 7-UP® bottles, but there was a Dr. Pepper® bottle kit produced also that seems to be a much rarer find. Each kit featured a different color dragster -- red for Pepsi, yellow for 7-UP, and green for Dr. Pepper. The kits just snap together and require no gluing or painting, however, some of the parts are very delicate and these should be glued for stability.


As a kid I always wanted to get one of these, but living a small town, I never saw one in the wild. I found this one on ebay recently, it was opened and assembled, but looked to be complete in the photos. It arrived today and I found that it was missing the side spoilers... but what was more disappointing was that the seller just stuck the model into the bottle with no packing and one of the front wheels broke off in shipping. In the seller's defense, he offered a refund if I would send it back, but I chose to keep it and repair it.

Lets take a closer look at it:



What did you think of today's adventure with Monogram's Pepsi Car-in-a-Bottle Pop art model kit? Did you ever have one of these kits? Do you remember the comic ads for them? What was your favorite? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!