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Revell 1968 Chevy Chevelle SS 396...........My take


MrObsessive

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You're very welcome Brandon! January? Wow, I'd go stir crazy till that time! I've bought very few new models this year and I have to say these are THAT good! Revell should be reaping many profits off of these and what's nice is there will be other versions to come from this tooling.

I'd sure like to see a convertible spawned from the Chevelle. Not a hard conversion for someone that has some skill, but it's nicer if it can be at the ready. Revell already has the '72 Cutlass Convertible, so here's hoping.

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thanks for posting the decal sheet, Bill; I like the availability of the stripes in 3 colors; too bad the body doesn't have the emblems; it wouldn't take much to have SS or Malibu scripts included

I like what they did for the rear cavity where the taillights go, as it makes it easier to do '68 and '69 versions.  The eventual '69 Chevelle will hopefully have accurate lights, unlike all of the AMT/ERTL/Round 2 versions.

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I was on another message board and someone wondered about the fit of the grille/headlights of the new kit compared to the old AMT '69 convertible. My curiosity got the best of me, so I dug out my kit which has the '68 conversion set from The Modelhaus and I did some test fitting. It's interesting what I found....................

P1016538-vi.jpg

As can be seen here the answer is no. The Revell part is too wide which makes me wonder if the AMT one is actually a little smaller than 1/25.

Some definite narrowing is needed which'll be difficult at best since this is all molded in one piece. Once there's PE available for it, the task will be easier as there may be a separate grille, but at this juncture it's a no go.

P1016539-vi.jpg
P1016540-vi.jpg

I then wanted to see if the chassis would fit. It looks like it does, but it was quite a tight fit. Some definite tweaking would be needed to get the chassis to sit squarely in the body. You have to first and foremost grind away at the rear inner fenders to get it to fit properly. Looks the wheelbase is about the same, but without some quick measurements which I didn't do, I'm a bit doubtful of that due to the fit issue.

I'd simply use the conversion set I have already for the '69 to backdate it to a '68, or have a little patience and see if Revell releases a convertible version in the future. Seems logical to me since we already have this '69-----a '68 would be a nice choice.

P1016541-vi.jpg
P1016542-vi.jpg

So there you have it! For those of you curious about transposing some of the new kit to the old '69, it's doable but not without some work------work that some may or may not be able to do.

Hope this helps!

Edited by MrObsessive
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My only concern in-so-far-as the body is concerned is the moulded-on trim ( grille-to-rear-bumper ) . When / if Revell updates this to a 1969 , that trim will have to go (although , I suspect that the 300 Deluxe retained that trim for '69... someone please correct me if I'm wrong) . Would've been nice as a separate set ; would've made the update easier for Revell . I'm just concerned about ending up with a 1969-1968 Dart body ; that has remains of the Mr. Norms 1968 GSS 440    vinyl top trim on the C-pillars at the rain gutters .

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4 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

My only concern in-so-far-as the body is concerned is the moulded-on trim ( grille-to-rear-bumper ) . When / if Revell updates this to a 1969 , that trim will have to go (although , I suspect that the 300 Deluxe retained that trim for '69... someone please correct me if I'm wrong) . Would've been nice as a separate set ; would've made the update easier for Revell . I'm just concerned about ending up with a 1969-1968 Dart body ; that has remains of the Mr. Norms 1968 GSS 440    vinyl top trim on the C-pillars at the rain gutters .

Since the vent windows are molded in as are the marker lights, they obviously would have to do a different body for '69.      The 300 Deluxe being the bottom line basic model didn't have that trim either year.   

Edited by Rob Hall
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12 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Since the vent windows are molded in as are the marker lights, they obviously would have to do a different body for '69.      The 300 Deluxe being the bottom line basic model didn't have that trim either year.   

You beat me to it, with good info! B) 

They could do a '69 Malibu using this body, but they'd have to replace the BBC engine with a small block. I suppose that's doable. Would also need a flat hood. (Probably new interior patterns, too.)

I have a feeling that the next variation we'll see will be a '69 SS convertible. Why? It's just a feeling, based on the natural cussedness of the Universe. :wacko: Come to think of it, I might actually buy a '69 SS convertible just for the grille to convert the AMT '68 El Camino to a '69. (The '68 Elky is wider than the AMT '69 HT, so it looks like the Revell grille might be a drop-in fit.)  Hmmmmmm....

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I doubt if they will do a convertible, but a '69 SS 396 ht would make sense.   Also, given what they've done in the past w/ the Nova and Camaro kits,  '69 COPO 427, Baldwin-Motion or Yenko variations would make sense also...

Edited by Rob Hall
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14 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I doubt if they will do a convertible, but a '69 SS 396 ht would make sense.   Also, given what they've done in the past w/ the Nova and Camaro kits,  '69 COPO 427, Baldwin-Motion or Yenko variations would make sense also...

Yes, but if I'm not mistaken, the Camaro and Nova kits all share the same body shell. That won't work here, unless they're planning to give you instructions to remove that chrome strip and the vent windows, which I suppose is a possibility....:wacko:

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9 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Yes, but if I'm not mistaken, the Camaro and Nova kits all share the same body shell. That won't work here, unless they're planning to give you instructions to remove that chrome strip and the vent windows, which I suppose is a possibility....:wacko:

I’d assume they would do another body shell if they do 69 variations.   This is the new Revell, hopefully without the incompetence of the past.  

Edited by Rob Hall
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10 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I’d assume they would do another body shell if they do 69 variations.   This is the new Revell, hopefully without the incompetence of the past.  

Well, you'd think...but then, why did they do the rear quarter caps as separate pieces? :wacko:

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Remember a body mold is at least four pieces - two sides and a top/bottom (some times if the front and rear are molded to the body then it would slide mold into 6 pieces) - so to remove the window vents and side trim would just require the separate '69 side pieces.

There are also obviously gated off parts, and the way the chrome runner is engineered there's a mirror image part gated off that would line up on the opposite side of the bumpers and front grill. That mostly likely has the '69 parts tooled on it.

One last point- broken record time - it's already all tooled! No matter what is or isn't there, it's all cut at the same time on modern tooling. This is also the "last" (in terms of ready to market kits we know about) of the old Revell tools. So they no doubt had 3-5 versions planned in order to make this a viable investment.

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37 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said:

Remember a body mold is at least four pieces - two sides and a top/bottom (some times if the front and rear are molded to the body then it would slide mold into 6 pieces) - so to remove the window vents and side trim would just require the separate '69 side pieces.

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks for giving me a little hope! B)

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1 hour ago, monza77 said:

Why can't the manufacturers give us chrome foil scripts for the few scripts that would be chrome on these bodies?

I think it comes down to cost. It's cheaper to print them on a decal sheet, than it is to have the artwork done, pay a supplier to make the scripts and what that entails. They know that there are aftermarket sources that will sooner or later do the work for them! :D

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I thought it came down to cost. The decal scripts are printed in silver ink and do not look realistic. The model manufacturers already have the licence to use those images (scripts).  Wouldn't the aftermarket have to negotiate a licencing agreement of their own? I would love to see an aftermarket sheet with nothing but chrome foil scripts for GM cars. That said, I can't wait for this kit to hit local shelves. 

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12 hours ago, echoxrayniner said:

Awh man I'm so jealous - I have to either pay 40$ shipping or wait a few weeks/a month to see it appear on eBay to get it at 20 or so bucks shipping, boo for being in Europe. God I can't wait to have this and the '69 Mustang in my hands.

Revell (Germany) is releasing the same Chevelle, but their own wrapper in our neck of the woods, February 2019, so no high shipping, nor custom duties!

The Boss 302, one could write Revell Germany, to consider carrying US kits in their online shop. 

 

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19 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

This is the new Revell, hopefully without the incompetence of the past.  

Guys.....just want to clarify that the kit as you see it from Bill's images above is 100% the work of the "old" Revell product development  .....this is exactly what I saw (except for the decals and box art) when I visited their "old Revell) offices a little over a year ago.  Same with the Boss 302 kit.  

Also, there were additional spinoffs of existing tools that were well underway at the "old" Revell that have yet to break cover....should they actually materialize we need to make sure the proper team receives the credit.  

Like many (most?) of you, I had my frustrations with some of the work of the "old" Revell (such as the 1967 Camaro kits), but I also think that that product development team rightfully deserves the credit for the "right" work they did...and I think it is a huge loss to the hobby that the Revell team was disbanded just as they seemed to have reached a new level of competency in their kit development.  Just my 2 cents....TIM 

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