Kit Review: Revell 2010 Corvette ZR1

ZR1: The Ultimate Corvette

A luxury sports car carved of power, performance and prestige, ZR1 boasts a handcrafted LS9 638-horsepower supercharged V8 with titanium connecting rods and intake valves and a test track top speed of 205 mph. Experience 0-60 mph in only 3.4 seconds and 1.05g skid pad, or over 1.13g with available ZR1 High Performance Package (PDE), while nestled in a refined and luxurious interior. All while maintaining a fuel efficiency of 21 MPG highway.
ZR1 is the fastest, most powerful car Chevrolet has ever produced, and rivals the world’s best luxury sports vehicles both on and off the track, and was the overall winner of the 2010 Car and Driver Lightning Lap competition, which pitted the ZR1 against the fastest cars in the world. And because it’s Corvette, it’s the only truly American sports car in the competitive class.  -chevrolet.com

Kit Review: Revell-Monogram 1962 Corvette

 When it came to the 1961/62 Corvette for almost 50 years all modelers had to choose from was the very flawed AMT/MPC offering. The original suffered greatly due to the tooling technology of the day with an undersized body, chrome headlights, a front end that was far too vertical, metal axles that slid through the oil pan, and an overall poor parts breakdown. As the years went on and the molds aged further problems cropped up such as an overabundance of flash, heavy mold lines, poor quality plating, scratches in the clear parts, the list goes on and on.

W.I.P SERIES: AMT 2009 Corvette coupe Part II Interior Details

I've gotten the interior parts base painted. Since this is going to be a box stock build there will be no carpets or other goodies beyond what you see here. I sprayed all the parts Tamiya TS-6 Matt Black and let it dry overnight before i brushed the accent color in Model Master acryl Dark Ghost Gray. The aluminum trim is MM metalizer aluminum. All that's left for this assembly is the detail painting and glue it all together.

W.I.P SERIES: AMT 2009 Corvette Coupe Part I Introduction And Body Paint

I recently purchaced a pair of AMT's new "Showroom Replicas' 2009 Corvettes. The breakdown of the kits is aimed at the beginner, or experienced modeler with little time on their hands. They are very well done from the box, however seperate front and rear valances and a seperate hood add to the parts count uneccessarily in my opinion. The only other problem I encountered is that the seats are molded in black yinyl which will make painting a chore. Stick to acryllics here as enameels wil never dry on these surfaces. Thumbs up to AMT however for including two of each deacal on the sheet in case you foul one up theres a spare. Perfect for a beginner. When I purchesed the kits, I brought home a coupe and roadster. Both kits are exactly the same with the exception of the bodies and one is listed as a 2009, the other 2010.

The first body I prepped and painted was the coupe. I wanted something odd so I chose code 51U Gold Mist Metallic. I'm not entirely sure if a Vette was ever issued in this color but it's different and looks kinda classy in my opinion. After the coupe recieved two coats of Tamiya white primer, I sprayed 3 mist coats and 2 wet coats of Tamiya champagne gold followed by 3 coats of clear 48hrs later and set it aside to gas out (I typically leave a body 30 days before polishing).

While the coupe was gassing out, I moved on to the roadster body. All went well through sanding, primer, and 3 mist coats of Tamiya chrome yellow until.....the Santa Ana winds rolled in nullifying any chance of painting. So there it has sat through two weeks of miserable 7-day forecasts with yet another week of wind, rain, and just plain horrid weather on the horizon. I suppose if I want to make any progress at all, espescially if I'm able to make it to Modelfest Ventura the most I can do is polish the coupe, prep parts and pray...

2009 Corvette Coupe

About The Build

Manufacturer:  AMT

Scale:  1/25

Subject:  2009 Corvette Coupe

Kit Number: 685

Date Built: January 2012

Modifications:

• Detail Master Carpet

This kit is part of AMT's "Showroom Replicas" series. Parts count is low reminiscant of the old promo kits which is explained by the fact this kit is meant to be marketed to beginning builders or those without alot of spare time on their hands.. The body has separate front and rear bumpers and a separate hood even though there is no engine which is overly complex in my opinion given the nature of the kit. Construction would go far smoother with a one piece shell. The seats in the interior are represented on the vinyl tree which makes painting difficult as solvent based paints will not dry over that surface unless you use a good primer. The problems only continue moving in to final assembly with decals that shatter on contact with water, clear parts that have trouble fitting, and a lack of marker light engravings on the body making it so you can't paint them after the decals have ruined.  If your a beginning builder this kit is a nice starter to practice techniques. If you're a veteran builder and want a proper 2009, salvage the rims and steering wheel  from this kit and use Revell's 2005 kit

Buildup


 
Completed Build
Click thumbnails to enlarge


Related Posts
2009 Corvette coupe part 1:Introduction and body
2009 Corvette coupe: Interior Detailing

2007 Corvette Coupe

About The Build

Manufacturer:  Revell

Scale:  1/24

Subject:  2007 Corvette Coupe (Based on 2005 coupe kit)

Kit Number: 85-2840

Date Built: December 2007

Modifications:

• Detail Master Carpet
• Steering wheel from Revell 2006 Corvette ZO6

Take my word for it when I say I have ALOT of 6th generation Corvette kits stashed away. After seeing a picture in a magazine showing the new Atomic Orange body color for 2007 I had to build one of them in it. The basic model is built box stock, however to properly represent a 2006 and later model year the kit steering wheel needs to be swapped out for the one that comes in the ZO6 kit. The body is painted Testors one shot lacquer system "Firey Orange which looks close enough to the factory color to me and cleared with several coats of Tamiya TS-13 clear. I toyed with the idea of adding the body colored inserts in the interior, but in the end I left it as a all black vinyl scheme. Note that my engine is slightly incorrect as it still carries the LS2 badge on the intake covers from the 2005 edition, this could easily be fixed by printing your own decals or a steady hand and paint.

Completed Build
Click thumbnails to enlarge

2005 Corvette Roadster

About The Build

Manufacturer:  Revell

Scale:  1/24

Subject:  2005 Corvette Convertible

Kit Number: 85-1930

Date Built: December 2005

Modifications:

• Detail Master Carpet
• Brakes From Revell 2005 Corvette Coupe
• Mirror faces from Revell 2005 Corvette Coupe

The only kit of a 2005 rag top to date is Revell's 2005 Wheels Of Fire snap kit. I built mine pretty close to when the kit was released since from it's debut I had fallen in love with the new body style. Being a snap kit there are some concessions made such as simplified brakes and a lack of mirror faces, however these were easy to fix utilizing parts from the same company's 2005 coupe kit which are almost a drop in fit. The color combo approximates "Magnetic Red" which despite the brightness of the photos is actually a deeper metallic red with a black vinyl interior. This build has taken several awards including two 1st place plaques at the Cactus Classic 2005/2006, a 2nd at IPMS So. Cal 2010, and a 3rd place ribbon at Modelfest 2012 (spring) as well as was photographed by Scale Auto magazine at the NNL So. Cal 2010 and appears in Contest Cars 2010.
 
Completed Build 
Click thumbnails to enlarge

1997 Corvette Tuner

About The Build

Manufacturer:  Revell

Scale:  1/24

Subject:  1997 Corvette

Kit Number: 85-1900

Date Built: October 2011

Modifications:

• Seats from Revell Ford Focus SVT tuner
• Wheels and tires from Revell 2006 Corvette ZO6
• Detail Master 5 point racing harness cam type (DM2261)
• Brakes from Revell 2005 Corvette Coupe
• Wing and supports from Revell Corvette C6R
• SMS carbon fiber decal twill weave (Code 1000)
• Stripe decals from Revell 2004 Corvette hard top
• Detail Master black carpet material

I had had Revell's Wheels Of Fire snap kit in my unbuilt kit pile for a long time not knowing what to do with it until I finally settled on using it as a painting experiment. Once I had the effect I wanted on the body I basically winged the rest of the build adding pieces from my junk parts box as I went. This method of building actually made the project incredibly fun since I wasn't restricting myself to historical or factory accuracy, a complete "my way on my time" build.

Buildup

 

Completed Build 

Click thumbnails to enlarge
 

1990 Corvette ZR-1

About The Build

Manufacturer:  AMT

Scale:  1/25

Subject:  1990 Corvette ZR1

Kit Number: 6143

Date Built: December 2007

Modifications:

• N/A built straight from box 

AMT's 1990 ZR-1 is typical of their fourth generation Corvette kits which in a nushell is a promo. The kit includes a motor but is rief with fit issues, mold line, pin marks, sink holes, and other issues which forced me to build this kit as a pseudo completion. The first issue I encountered was an engine unit that would not fit together properly from the intake manifold and had severe issues mating with the chassis and exhausts which prompted me to leave the entire unit out and glue the hood shut. The interior assembly went together and mated to the body perfectly until it came time to mount the frame. The body is incredibly loose and unless glued and clamped will slip right off the chassis if you attempt to pick up the model. The paint color I used is a Dupli-Color aqua color (I forget which) that isn't actually a proper Chevy color but rather a Ford one. In reality it appears more on the greenish side but the camera sees it as straight metallic blue.

Buildup


 
Completed Build
Click thumbnails to enlarge

1972 Corvette LT-1

About The Build

Manufacturer: AMT

Scale: 1/25

Subject: 1972 Corvette LT-1

Kit Number: 6080

Date Built: May 2005

Modifications:

• Scratch built wires and hoses
• Detail Master seat belt hardware (DM2540)
• Model Car Garage spare keys and chains (MCG2196)

I built this model in 2006 as a code 988 Steel Cities Gray Corvette LT-1 with a code 417 Saddle interior. I started with the AMT kit which has been on store shelves since the early 90's, however my kit was a 2003 release packaged in a gold colored box to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Corvette. There is no change to the kit contents from other releases aside from a 50th anniversary license plate and a brochure insert showing the other anniversary merchandise available. Being a 90's kit the detail is well executed and fits well for the most part, but is not without it's weak points. The two most notable are the fit of the body to the frame which can be loose unless you carefully glue the body sides to the frame rails, and the chrome which was scratched and covered in imperfections in my kit. In order to make the bumpers look respectable you will need to strip the plating, fix the errors, and re-plate with a medium like Alclad II Chrome. I added several of my own details such as fully wiring the engine complete with dipsticks, a set of keys in the ignition and the owners manual in the interior.

Buildup



COMPLETED MODEL
Click thumbnails to enlarge