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1 hour ago, CabDriver said:

Received mine today.  Firstly the box was crushed:

B7C270A9-E311-4081-BDA0-CD9F9C0B3D4A.thumb.jpeg.a060071446306720b56321d68943a53f.jpeg

Secondly the car on the box is blue:

96E3F295-E50F-48C5-93C9-F495F7F4767B.thumb.jpeg.36e7dad5261e4d0bfb243e2bb555bb1e.jpeg

And the car inside it is mint green:

DD26E1D7-B295-4ADF-B35D-2F290CE1CA61.thumb.jpeg.0555fc18d417b6f6789077eb707c9281.jpeg

Now I have to buy paint, and none of the pieces are attached to each other.

Overall, 2/10, lousy kit, wouldn’t buy again 👎🏻
 

 

 

 

(😂🤪😂🤪😂🤪😂🤪)

Wow, you mean you have to assemble it?

That is lousy!!! 😁

 

 

Steve

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11 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Received mine today.  Firstly the box was crushed:

B7C270A9-E311-4081-BDA0-CD9F9C0B3D4A.thumb.jpeg.a060071446306720b56321d68943a53f.jpeg

Secondly the car on the box is blue:

96E3F295-E50F-48C5-93C9-F495F7F4767B.thumb.jpeg.36e7dad5261e4d0bfb243e2bb555bb1e.jpeg

And the car inside it is mint green:

DD26E1D7-B295-4ADF-B35D-2F290CE1CA61.thumb.jpeg.0555fc18d417b6f6789077eb707c9281.jpeg

Now I have to buy paint, and none of the pieces are attached to each other.

Overall, 2/10, lousy kit, wouldn’t buy again 👎🏻
 

 

 

 

(😂🤪😂🤪😂🤪😂🤪)

And you ordered it through Amazon.....🤐🤔😆

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1 hour ago, BlackSheep214 said:

And you ordered it through Amazon.....🤐🤔😆

I wasn’t looking to have my local hobby store special order it for $34.99 when Amazon had it for $12 delivered.

I WILL spend probably $50 with him today on Tamiya and Testors paints though, thus restoring my karmic balance somewhat 🤪

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1 hour ago, CabDriver said:

I wasn’t looking to have my local hobby store special order it for $34.99 when Amazon had it for $12 delivered.

I WILL spend probably $50 with him today on Tamiya and Testors paints though, thus restoring my karmic balance somewhat 🤪

LOL! The balance of powers...

You didn't look hard enough. Scalehobbyist has the same kit for $17.19..... 

Just sayin'....:D

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1 hour ago, johnfin said:

Yea, you guys are right, great $12 kit. Gotta love these fenders. Spend $40 and get a tamiya, worth every penny.

20210506_175952.jpg

 

24 minutes ago, Jim B said:

Tamiya makes a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air?

Ya beat me to it Jim. 😄

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If Tamiya made a ‘57 Chevy it might be a valid argument to consider it as an alternative. But since they don’t, (or any other classic American car for that matter) it’s pretty much a moot point.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
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Kinda like that seafoam green plastic, though.  Very vintage.

Tim Boyd wrote one of the best comparison articles ever and found this original-tool '57 the best of the lot - not the very highest plaudit, because the contemporary Revell, MPC and Monogram kits dropped the bar pretty low for accuracy, ease of building, or some combination of the two.

I'm honestly not super-keen on the Revell snapper/Monogram 1/12, either - roof crown at the rear and the front fender arches weren't the greatest matches to a 1:1.  If I were to put a good Bel-Air coupe together, it'd probably graft the front clip from the left one onto the rest of the kit on the right:

spacer.png

The new-tool (1997) kit on the right was a game attempt to make a new mission statement for AMT, but I think on balance, the Revell 150/Bel Air sedan variation on the left is decisively the best '57 Chevy kit we've seen so far.  That "face" is just bang-on, and the front bumper is not only the most accurate in a plastic '57 Chevy kit, it's also the best-processed.  The mold parting lines were moved to the rear edges so there were no obvious seams marring the sides - an industry-first, I think.

But even with its wonky side trim and rifle-straight fender/headlight transition, the old '62 kit still looks pretty okay overall.

Edited by Chuck Kourouklis
typo
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I looked in Tamiya website and I do not see a 1957 Chevy kit. Tamiya usually has super cars, racers, motorcycles, and other imports in their automotive line. I even looked in eBay and a search comes up zero results.

I also looked in scalemates website and even that search didn’t yield any proof.  I’m finding it very hard to believe Tamiya released a ‘57 Chevy Bel Air Kit.

Show us a pic of this Tamiya ‘57 Chevy kit....

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Those parting lines on the fenders won’t worry me in the slightest.  The real car has creases there - just gotta sand them down to where you’re happy.  

Pretty quick and easy fix (and they’ve gotta have the mould separate SOMEWHERE, right?).  

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On 4/28/2021 at 10:13 PM, NOBLNG said:

So...since this thread is about lousy ‘57s, how does this old kit compare accuracy wise? I searched this site via google and could not find pics of a built one. I gathered that the doors don’t fit proper or are finicky, and the plastic is brittle. One member said he built a few and had no issues with it.

 

They re-released that kit several years back as an Ed Roth themed kit.

boxtop.jpeg

I got one to build as a gift for my dad to replicate his build of the original issue of this kit. Let me tell you that the opening parts are not great, and it had flash for days.

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2 minutes ago, Jim B said:

So, I guess this discussion begs the question: what is a good kit for a stock 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air?

For a sedan, the Revell, no question. 

For a hardtop, probably the all-new/revised AMT, but if a curbside will suit you, the Revell Snapper might meet your needs. Both are better than the original AMT and way better than either the Revell or Monogram. 

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1 hour ago, Jim B said:

Thanks, Richard.  I thought the Revell Snap kit only had the custom mag wheels & lowered ride height. 

RK11529.jpg?20201015165537

Maybe I'm thinking of a different kit.

That one does. I think it's been issued in stock form too, though. It would be easy enough to swap on stock wheels/tires from an AMT or Revell kit. I'm sure there are plenty of those floating around the board if you just ask. B)

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Huh. I was gonna suggest looking around online auctions for the original issue with the stock wheels, but apparently that's become hen's teeth...

A few more of the Revell sedan and the '97 AMT hardtop, just for purposes of discussion:

spacer.png

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You can see a bit of the comparative "bloat" in the Roman Red hardtop. The bodywork just seems to billow a little more, though most of this effect manifests at the front - the "new tool" AMT model seems a lot more convincing from the rear.  It may be helpful to remember that the original AMT kit erred on the side of a slightly leaner and sleeker presentation. Too thick for scale in any event, the antenna is particularly obnoxious on this model. Tried fixing the huge sprue parting marks with a foil wrap, occurs to me now I should ditch that and touch it up with Molotow.  This is the "Pro Shop" variant with photoetch, ignition wires and soft vinyl hoses and dagmars.

AMT was looking to thump its chest a little and produce a new opus, right about the same time Revell was releasing an all-new '56 Nomad - which became the basis for the '56 Del Ray, which then shared its running gear with the 150 Black Widow and the eventual Bel Air sedan you see here.  Though the new tool AMT had a fully separate chassis frame and some other groundbreaking touches, the Revell undercarriage didn't much suffer for comparison in overall detail - and there's no denying the body's proportional superiority, particularly from the cowl forward.  Revell's sedan came out some 14 or so years later than AMT's hardtop, and that time was evidently put to good use.

For its complexity, the '97 AMT kit builds very nicely. The optional wheel package was a pain to use for the Revell sedan (it didn't at all seem particularly designed for the kit) but I'd guess if you went with the stock wheel option, the building experience would be far better; the rest of the kit was very agreeable to put together.  Those stock wheels and tires present a bit better than AMT's, with wider whitewalls and rims a little more flush to the tires.

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The Revell kit is the very one, seems to be the box I remember - little puzzled right now that it shows the five-spoke wheels offered in the '56 kits.  Quite possibly came with two custom wheel options...

That blue boxcover would be the original '60s kit decontented for most of its custom parts.

These would be the new-tool boxcovers:

spacer.png

The version with photoetch, wiring and vinyl hoses:

SAM_2226.JPG

Custom version with tubs and a big block:

amt57belairSM.jpg

Later release with AMT half-assing boxcover photo selection (coupe inside, not a sedan):

spacer.png

And the latest, in red plastic:

amt57belairnew2.jpg

 

Edited by Chuck Kourouklis
typo
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