1/25 AMT '68 Chevy Corvette Custom

[Casey]

+1 for the '68 style box a rt. 😊

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by Casey

[Justin Porter]

That is digging deep in the tooling vaults. I honestly kind of like it. lol

[stavanzer]

Now to see what is actually in it!

I don't remember that exact hood in any Vette kit from AMT, but I am not an experten on Vette's.

[Mr. Metallic]

Well, that's good. i can stop looking for one of those gen AMT Vette kits with that windscreen and options. Curious what the experts will tell us this kit is based on and even curious-er to see what actually ends up in the box. 

edit- this is not the kit I thought it was. i was thinking of the later AMT annuals apparently. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Mr. Metallic

[Mark]

Minilite wheels and hood scoop point to the mid-Seventies issue Greenwood GT, which was based on the 1968 only annual kit.  AMT tooled an entirely new Corvette kit for 1969.

[Can-Con]

11 minutes ago, Mark said:

Minilite wheels and hood scoop point to the mid-Seventies issue Greenwood GT, which was based on the 1968 only annual kit.  AMT tooled an entirely new Corvette kit for 1969.

I'd say that's exactly what that kit is.

I had one when I was 7 or 8. I'll buy one just because of that even though the proportions are awful. 

I hope the clear headlight covers are in it though.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Can-Con

[Casey]

7 minutes ago, Mark said:

Minilite wheels and hood scoop point to the mid-Seventies issue Greenwood GT, which was based on the 1968 only annual kit.

I think you mentioned in the 2021 Round releases topic there was also the "ACCelerator" version, too, which is where the funky wrap-around windscreen (first?) appeared:

 

Here's the Greenwood Vette instruction sheet to see what was included with that particular kit: https://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/1356/amt-389-john-greenwoods-corvette The front chin spoiler definitely matches this new box art.

 

[stavanzer]

And here are the directions for the ACCelerator kit.

Looks like lots of parts are shared between the two kits. There could be some VERY interesting plastic in the box.

https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/amt-instructions/1-sort/amt-ac-celerator-co/?view=roll#1

 

[Mark]

I never thought about it, but the ACcellerator paint scheme is similar to that of the Fireball 500 Barracuda.  Last winter, I finally got the gumption to shoot that body (with spray cans yet!) and it came out great.  Still have to clear coat it, it should be thoroughly gassed out by now...

[Snake45]

I think the "racing windshield" was in the original "for 1968" kit. 

I have a glue bomb of one of these I've been meaning to get to. The plan is to put it on a VW chassis and call it a "Faux-Vette" kit car. 

[Rob Hall]

Neat...something different.

[Mark]

26 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I think the "racing windshield" was in the original "for 1968" kit. 

I have a glue bomb of one of these I've been meaning to get to. The plan is to put it on a VW chassis and call it a "Faux-Vette" kit car. 

The original annual was not labeled "for 1968"!  Though it probably should have been....

[MPi-KM]

It that's the same kit I'm thinking about, there are only 3 gills per side instead of 4. To me it seems like another company molded the body. It doesn't look like an AMT mold.

[Rob Hall]

25 minutes ago, MPi-KM said:

It that's the same kit I'm thinking about, there are only 3 gills per side instead of 4. To me it seems like another company molded the body. It doesn't look like an AMT mold.

IIRC, because MPC got the Chevy promo contract for ‘68, AMT had only custom versions of some ‘68 Chevy and Pontiac subjects (Impala, Corvette, Camaro and Firebird, I think) and not stock annuals. 

[Mark]

The 'Vette was not a "for 1968" kit.  Those (non-stock) "for 1968" kits included the Camaro (essentially a detrimmed '67), Firebird (an alteration of the Camaro), Corvair (basically a '67 minus stock wheels), and "Chevrolet SS 427" ('67 Impala minus stock bumpers and wheels, and with a detrimmed body with no rear window opening).  A weird one for sure, but try finding one now...

[Can-Con]

The body of the BFG car had the fenders flares molded to it, [at least it looks that way compared to an accurate Vette body]  I wonder if the AC car did and it's just not shown on the illustrations or if it really doesn't have the flares ,,

and will the reissue have them or not?

[Mark]

The Accelerator was issued immediately after the '68, and was largely based on it.  The Greenwood GT came later and incorporated some alterations.  A new issue would include alterations made for the Greenwood kit.

[pack rat]

The Greenwood kit had(has) the fender flares molded to the body, the Accelerator did not.  The flares eliminated one of the four front fender vents as mentioned above.  

the Accelerator included the parts to build a "stock" version in the box with the exception of the wheels (Kelsey Magstars).  As we all know the stock version had some proportion issues as compared to the MPC and later AMT kits.  The chassis was straight out of the '63-'67 annual kits.

Here's a built up Accelerator.  (Yea, it's a little sloppy, but I was just a kid when I built it).    

  

Edited November 4, 2021 by pack rat

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

The 'Vette was not a "for 1968" kit.  Those (non-stock) "for 1968" kits included the Camaro (essentially a detrimmed '67), Firebird (an alteration of the Camaro), Corvair (basically a '67 minus stock wheels), and "Chevrolet SS 427" ('67 Impala minus stock bumpers and wheels, and with a detrimmed body with no rear window opening).  A weird one for sure, but try finding one now...

I checked and you're correct. The Corvette box didn't have the "for" on it, though the rest did. 

[Snake45]

5 minutes ago, pack rat said:

The Greenwood kit had(has) the fender flares molded to the body, the Accelerator did not.  The flares eliminated one of the four front fender vents as mentioned above.  

the Accelerator included the parts to build a "stock" version in the box with the exception of the wheels (Kelsey Magstars).  As we all know the stock version had some proportion issues as compared to the MPC and later AMT kits.  The chassis was straight out of the '63-'69 annual kits.

Here's a built up Accelerator.  (Yea, it's a little sloppy, but I was just a kid when I built it).    

  

That's pretty cool looking! Is that a "fade" paint job, or just the lighting? Either way, VERY cool old survivor! 

[pack rat]

18 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

That's pretty cool looking! Is that a "fade" paint job, or just the lighting? Either way, VERY cool old survivor! 

It's a fade paint job using a can of Testors yellow on the molded-in-orange body.  Should have adjusted the fit of the hood before I shot it. 

I might re-do it some day, but part of me wants to preserve it as a childhood memory.

[Snake45]

6 minutes ago, pack rat said:

It's a fade paint job using a can of Testors yellow on the molded-in-orange body.  Should have adjusted the fit of the hood before I shot it. 

I might re-do it some day, but part of me wants to preserve it as a childhood memory.

Preserve it as-is, get the new one, and do it again as a "Then-and-Now" build. 

I'm now looking forward to this kit. Should be fun to do a straight-up "custom" build of the thing with no worries about rivet counting or trying to match factory colors. You know, just like how we all built them when we were kids! 

[sfhess]

12 hours ago, Mark said:

The 'Vette was not a "for 1968" kit.  Those (non-stock) "for 1968" kits included the Camaro (essentially a detrimmed '67), Firebird (an alteration of the Camaro), Corvair (basically a '67 minus stock wheels), and "Chevrolet SS 427" ('67 Impala minus stock bumpers and wheels, and with a detrimmed body with no rear window opening).  A weird one for sure, but try finding one now...

LOL I can find a few of those Impalas around here.

There was a built one at our Spirit of Speed show a few weeks ago.

[espo]

I picked up a couple of the BFG reissues a few years ago and the rear fender flares in those kits had them as an add on. These are also a gold mine of parts for other projects.

[Mr mopar]

I like this kit and the box art !