Revell ’78 Corvette Indy Pace Car (07646) 1:24

[Mike]

’78 Corvette Indy Pace Car (07646)

1:24 Revell

 

 

After WWII General Motors subsidiary Chevrolet developed a sports coupé concept into a production car following a good reception at their 1953 show, with solid sales ensuring its continuation.  Each year subtle changes were made until a new generation was ready to supplant the aging design.  By generation three, referred to as C3, which was made from 1968 to 1982, the look of the car had changed substantially to a smaller, sleeker two seater, about which Prince was probably dreaming about when he wrote Little Red Corvette, a song released in 1983.

 

The C3 was based on their concept car, utilising many of the internal components of the C2, but replacing the engines with a slightly larger unit pushing out the same BHP, which gave additional leeway for tuning.  Engine sizes and output changed as the years went by, with optional small- and big-block engines, plus a host of other options such as power windows and side exhaust options, while the introduction of unleaded fuel and catalytic converters put a bit of a crimp in their performance for a while.  In 1978 the Corvette was 25 years old, so a special edition was released to celebrate, with a silver and black paintjob that matched that of the Corvette Pace Car that was used at that year’s Indy 500 race, with a new interior and dash.  The optional spoiler and air dam, and new seats were continued over into the next years until the C4 replaced it with a sleek new bodyshell that was itself phased out in 1996, with a little of the original spirit lost along the way to my eyes.  We’re currently on C8 at time of writing, introduced in 2020 and that’s a good-looking car IMHO with over 600bhp on tap, although sales might not be great thanks to Covid-19.

 

 

The Kit

This is a rebox of an old 1979 tooling that has had some new parts along the way, although I don’t have any of the other kits so can’t confirm for certain.  There was even a translucent glow-in-the-dark edition once upon a time, which is weird, but I’m starting to wonder if there is a snap-fit kit that’s muddying the waters.  The Copyright symbol on the inside of the spare tyre carrier confirms the 1979 vintage, while the black printing of Zhongshan 112719 GL 2, probably relates to where in China this boxing was moulded.  As I always say, it’s a product of its time but it seems to have stuck quite close to the original spec of the interior especially, which will give a good start to a historically accurate look, at least partly because it was tooled when the car was still new.  You may need to do a little extra preparation in places due to the age of the tooling, and add some details here and there, but it’s quite a detailed kit for the time, even down to the tread upon the tyres.

 

It arrives in the usual end-opening box that Revell use, and inside are three sprues and a bodyshell in white styrene, another with plastic chrome (Marzac?) applied all over, a clear sprue with glazing and lights, and four individual black rubbery tyres.  Inside the colour printed instruction booklet you will find a large decal sheet and the disposable safety sheet that accompanies all their kits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a preamble of paint codes and sprue diagrams that takes up half the booklet, construction begins with the engine, which is well represented if a little soft in places, although much of it won’t be seen once the body is in place around it.  Some chrome parts for the rocker covers and other ancillaries are used, with the almost complete assembly and fan belt dropped into the floor pan with its transmission, securing on three mounting points, much like a real engine.  The chassis is detailed with a one-piece front and rear suspension, plus the rear axle with differential housing in the centre, then the exhaust and twin mufflers to the rear with an exhaust pipe poking out on each side of the bumper, and to get the right angle, you are advised to use two 3mm lengths of sprue to space them correctly.  A drive-shaft links the transmission to the rear axle, then the firewall drops in place with what looks like a chromed brake cylinder attached, then the radiator panel with tinwork around it and a chromed air intake trunk with airbox mating to the top of the carburettor, completing the detailing of the engine compartment, which you might want to add some HT leads to.  At this point the wheels are made up from chromed “alloy” fronts with flat rears that are blacked out, both pushed into the tyres from either side without glue.  Red pinstripes around the rim and Goodyear logos for the sidewalls are provided on the decal sheet.

 

The passenger compartment is a separate “tub” that is painted according to the call-outs and then detailed with gear shifter (it’s a manual), handbrake lever, dashboard part with decals for the dials, a chrome steering wheel on top of a steering column that fits through the hole in the dash.  Sadly, there are no foot pedals, but Revell have tried to remedy this by adding a decal for the front footwell, which you could use to pattern pedals of your own design along with some references.  The seats have the correct lateral panelling plus side-bolsters, and have a rear added to bulk them out, then these and the arm rests on the door cards are inserted into the tub and glued into the inside of bodyshell, locating on two pins in the rear.  The bonnet/hood is held in place on a pair of pivots that sit in recesses inside the front of the wing area of the bodyshell, trapped in place when the shell and the floor pan are joined in the next step.  The body has a Targa roof, with a wrap-around rear window with ridges moulded into the inner surface to depict the de-mister wires, which was still quite a luxury back then.  The windscreen has the rear-view mirror attached, then inserts into the body from the outside and can be joined later by the optional roof panels, painted gloss black to match the upper body.  A pair of chromed inserts are installed on the side-skirts, with the indicator repeaters on the fenders painted or decaled, as they are moulded in with a slight raised texture.  The front bumpers have the grilles moulded-in, and the spoiler is a separate part that affixes to the lower side of it.  At the rear the deep moulded-in number plate surround and the two over-riders are depicted, and into the four deeply recessed lights, clear parts are fitted, after painting the outer lights with concentric rings in transparent red, silver, then clear.  The inner clusters are left clear, then the bumper is inserted into its recess and joined by the spoiler above it.  The final job is to fit the aforementioned roof panels (if you want), add the wing mirrors with their chromed inserts and you’re done.

 

Markings

This is of course a special edition depicting the race day appearance of the type at the 1978 Indy 500, so it has the special decals on the door, along with the pin-striping along the black/silver demarcation, as well as badges that are applied over the moulded-in depictions that give them a degree of depth.  Decals are also provided for the badges on the boot/trunk and bonnet/hood, plus silver and red pin-striping around the power-bulge on the bonnet.  Two options for number plates are supplied, one set in blue, the other black and both with red writing.

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

Of course it’s an old kit and you should set your expectations accordingly, but with new decals in the box, and a bit of tender loving care during the construction process, a good replica can be made.

 

Recommended.

 

 

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