The chin spoiler on my sample wasn't a very close fit,
and was sanded a bit to achieve a decent fit. I felt that the deck lid spoiler was slightly too large and even
though it fit pretty well, extended down the rear fenders enough to cause some interference with the body stripe
decals. Some of the color callouts seemed to be in
conflict; the master cylinder's painted gold on the box art photo, but my references show it to be silver on the
real car. The air filter and snorkel are listed as "chrome" on the instruction sheet, and are in fact on the chrome
tree, but should be painted semi gloss black. In addition to the interior faults I mentioned above, the
instructions also call for aluminum-painted windshield trim, but photos of the real car show that to be black.
I painted my model twice. The first time I started with Gunze Sangyo Metallic Silver Acrylic, but it was slightly
too grainy for my taste, so I stripped it off (always a messy job) and gave the body an overall coat of Testors
gloss black enamel. When dry, I masked off the upper half of the body and sprayed the lower half with Testors
Non-Buffing Aluminum Metalizer. The decals are excellent
and feature a multi-colored cheat line in four pieces which goes around the car to separate the colors with a
precise line. It has an upper black, and a lower silver stripe (with red piping). This is a good idea, but in order
for the stripe to function as intended, the silver needs to match the silver that the builder paints on the car's
lower half. I didn't think it did, so trimmed off that part and applied the decals beginning with the side
stripes. I was pleasantly surprised that they fit beautifully, even over the wheel flares. I had to use lots of
patience and decal solvent at each corner of the car to get them to snuggle down. Once all the decals were in place
and dry, I overcoated them with Gunze Sangyo H30 Clear Gloss to seal and protect them.
After I'd finished the body shell, I noticed that the black of the cheat line stripe didn't match the black enamel I
painted the car with, so it's visible if you look closely. Had I known this would happen, I'd have also trimmed off
the black part of the cheat line as well as the silver, and relied upon my masking a straight line. As I say, the
concept behind the Revell decal is very good---just match the paint better on your 'Vette than I did on mine.
The decal sheet also gives the red circular stripes to be applied to the chrome wheel rims, and the hub flags. Took
a little time to get these in place but it was actually easier than I thought it'd be. The instruction sheet also
states that the decal sheet contains the Indy logos for the bucket seats, but they didn't appear on my sample.
The tires are plain blackwalls, with no outline lettering as the Indy Pace car or its replicas had. This circumvents
the ever-popular licensing agreement with a certain tire manufacturer who seems to pursue our hobby as a means of
padding their treasury, but it also means the car's not really complete as a replica. This lettering is available
in dry transfer form should the builder want to replicate this feature.
No side windows are provided, but the windshield, rear window, and two removable T-Top sections are given which are
nicely done and optically clear. I tinted all the windows on my model with a light spray of Gunze Sangyo H95 Smoke
Gray. The hood doesn't hinge very well and needs retainers (not supplied) on the inside of the fenders to rectify
this; I used strips of plastic sheet to make some, but was only partly successful in my efforts at a
smoothly-opening bonnet. The chrome side moldings needed a little judicious bending to get them to fit the rocker
panel areas. The small circle on the upper left rear fender represents the antenna; I drilled it out and added a
mast from hypodermic tubing. In summary the kit needed a
little more work than others I've done, due to less-than-perfect fit of some of the parts and the complexity of the
exterior painting scheme and decals. A builder wanting to add a stock '78 'Vette to their collection will have a
much easier time than one building the Pace Car. Still, the paint job is striking, the red decals are great accents
for it, and when finished, the model is a handsome addition to my growing auto model collection. Thanks to Revell
and to IPMS/USA for the chance to review this kit. |