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Revell Kit Number 85-7691 1/25 Chevy SSR |
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Reviewed By Patrick Elkington |
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Revell has released the
latest Chevy Sport-Roadster/Pickup in 1/25 scale. It is a welcome
addition to their line-up of kits, as it is a subject that all North
American auto model enthusiasts will be pleased to build. I have
purchased four of the kits, of which I have built two. The kit is extremely well engineered, with parts fitting very well, for the most part. The only disappointment in the fit was with the backs of the seats. For whatever reason, it seems that this is an area where fit is a problem on many kits, and this one is no exception (unfortunately). Careful attention must be taken to sand the seams and to shape the headrest to comply with the actual auto. |
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An area where a piece
was omitted was on the instrument panel. There was no lens for the gauge
cluster. I simply used a piece of the cellophane that wrapped the kit
box, cut it to the desired shape and size, placed it over the decal
provided for the instrument cluster and glued them in place in front of
the plastic dash insert. The result is a very realistic and to scale
instrument cluster lens. The installation of the headlight bezels and lenses appear to be alright. However, being that the bezels are large and the lenses are what are actually to be glued (I use white glue on clear parts) to the insides of the fenders, I used liquid glue to locate the bezels directly to the insides of the fenders. Then, I filed away the beveled edges of the headlight lenses (these beveled edges were to have been glued to the insides of the fenders after the lenses had been glued to the bezels), and, using white glue to anchor them in place, I pushed the lenses through the holes, for the headlights, in the fenders. This allowed me to glue the bezels firmly in place and then install the headlight lenses. I felt that this was the best way to ensure that the headlight assemblies would not fall off the fenders at a later date, as the two lower body sills are glued in place for final assembly, and don't allow you to take the model apart for repairs, later. The kit has a pair of screws that hold the rear of the model together, similar to the promo kits. |
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The kit includes a pair
of billet aluminum exhaust, as with some of Revell-Monogram's new tuner
kits. They look great as a tuner exhaust piece, however they are
oversized for the SSR exhausts. I used two pieces of chrome-plated sprue
to create a more realistic pair of exhaust tips that appear to be better
proportioned for the SSR. I went to two of our local Chevy dealers to shoot a roll of film for the detail shots that I would require as reference material for this project. The photos were invaluable when dealing with the seats, engine bay, chassis, decals and overall details. I, also, picked up the brochure, as I do for all North American cars each year; you never know when you will need them for reference material. |
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The decals for this kit
are the most complete of any decal sheet for a car kit that I have seen
(including the knob detail on the dash). All but one decal for the engine
compartment were included, however there should have been another decal to
be located right of the hood latch on the radiator support just in front
of the air filter shroud. The decal locations on the instruction sheet
were not always correct. The corrections for the decal placement are as follows:
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Conclusion This is a great kit for the experienced model builder, and, despite the few decal misplacements and fit problems with the seats, it is well worth adding to your collection. By that I mean to build it, not to just leave it sit on your shelf. It took me about 25 hours to build it, which goes to show you that car kits make great weekend projects. Happy Modelling!!! |
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