7000in5th

In my automotive life, being invited to Larry and Joyce Shinoda's house for dinner ranks right up there. More recently, writing an article for "Automobile Quarterly" (Volume 47 Number 3) makes me proud: Then, of course, owning one of these, and having driven all of them (including laps around Road America in the California Spider #2383) has been very special: In the model world, making the cover of the May, 1995 cover of "Car Modeler" with my fantasy Corvette is my only real big event: After almost 72 years, it has been a great trip, hope I can add a few more cool items. Much more of this kind of stuff than anyone else could possibly care about HERE.

Hi to all, glad to help. If you are interested in more C5-R information, on my web site I have preserved a variety of Corvette racing history information, particularly photos I took at many American LeMans Series (ALMS) races. During the C5-R era, I had contacts on the team and got close to the cars. I took pix with the model builder in mind. I also kept info from other sources from day one: Above - October 5, 1998 - Autoweek - The first C5-R was a converted production 1997 Corvette Coupe. After being used for initial testing it was further converted to an "Homologation Car". This was to show that the C5-R could be used as a street car. Enjoy!

The 2010 Corvette promos were by Round2, so they were essentially AMT tooling. I don't know if they are providing the 2011 promos but it seems likely.

There is good news for Corvette promo collectors. Projected for sometime in April, there will be two new 2011 Corvette promos released. Jetstream Blue Metallic Convertible: Crystal Red Metallic Coupe: I sure would like to see a ZR1 and Grand Sport coupe and convertible.....

C5R-005 on eBay Many, many pix of an actual Pratt & Miller built C5-R, inculding a separate engine! Time to get out that Revell C5-R kit and get going!

It is always great to answer this question, particularly since I am moving rapidly to the "Most Senior" status. I still have the original wood car that I built in 1949. This was my first custom car and among my very first of any kind. It turned out to be a bigger job that I assumed, and required a LOT more sanding sealer than I had ever used before. It started as a box of balsa blocks, some detail pieces and a picture of a 1949 Ford: It ended up as a custom predecessor to the 2-seat T-Bird (sorta) : I have given the car an entire web page here.

This is the status August, 2009: And this is October, 2010: I have added 10 structures (yes, they are [approx] 1:24 scale), paved roads and a reverseloop/siding. There will be a gas station where the two trucks are sitting and a very big, scratchbuilt combination engine house/control center on the patio at the far right. Oh, vehicles? Well my 6 yo grandson and I did a couple of snappers. I will be doing modified diecasts (can't beat "real" weathering) and maybe a few "special occasion" plastic cars for the Frankfort Terminal RR.

One more post today. Robert, have you converted a Z06 into a 2010 Corvette Grand Sport convertible (or coupe) yet? If so, I will be happy to host your pictures since, I am sorry to see, Ismael's last update to his Corvette web site seems to have been about April, 2008. Regards,

Excellent display; a '64, '67 and '66, right? Not sure what the painted-to-molded promo ratio is, but I know that when AMT tried to mold some '90's Corvette metallic colors, they ended up with a swirled mess!

Impressive collection! All the mid-years are big on the collector market, but the '67 is one of the hottest.

The oldest original, intact promo that I have is a 1976 Corvette. All the earlier Corvettes in the picture are later re-released promos or built kits (and a couple of slot cars and the Revell "Route 66" 1962 diecast). I do have an original 1966 Corvette convetible promo that I got from a friend AFTER he converted it to a race car (including chopping off half the windshield frame and applying a "shark" paint job). Some day I will restore it.

1950 Chevrolet Coupe - The first car I owned - 1957. It met a sad end and almost took me with it. (Internet photos, my car had a dark green roof, no sun visor, no spotlights and no cattle guard on the front or rear bumper.)

Reputed to be a Doyusha kit of a 1976 Corvette. I never tried to find one.

Welcome to the Forum. I am glad there are still a few Corvette promo collectors out there. I have 188 Corvette promos but not much that is rare.

Great looking car, I wish Chevrolet had stuck with red, white and blue for all the races. I have a web page for each C5-R and the page for C5R-008 includes some shots at Nashville for the Corvette 50th anniversary celebration. Corvette Racing brought 008 home from Le Mans without cleaning it up. If anyone would like to do an authentic weathering job on that C5-R, the pix are HERE. A sample:

Dollhouse supplier Houseworks makes several (somewhat pricey) brick sheets in 1/2" (1/24) scale. This page is all 1/24, check near the bottom for 3d brick sheets.

No photos of the 2010 promos that I have seen, but they will surely look exactly like the 2005 promos: The last AMT Corvette promos were made in 1999, Revell has done them since then. The wheels and tires look okay to me in the above photo, what do you think?

Maybe this will help - think of a "promo" as an item that that a manufacturer (Chevrolet Division of General Motors, for example) has produced in order to promote the product(s) they sell. A model kit or diecast is generally an item that a company like Revell produces to make a profit for Revell. Put the words "Dealer Promotional Model" in your search engine for more info.

Dealer promotional models are, generally speaking, 1:25 scale plastic models that are fully assembled and molded, or painted, in factory colors: As far back as the 30's there were metal promos but the plastic ones became popular in the late '40's; junior got the promo when dad bought a new car: Promos have almost died out so news of anything new is a big deal. You are correct that most dealers that have any model cars usually have diecasts, which are not "traditional" promos.

Thanks to all for your comments and a special thanks to Bob Downie (that name sounds familiar ). I have some shopping to do...

For the 2 or 3 of us that still collect, comes now the amazing news that, in addition to the 2008 and 2009 Corvette promos on the water to the USA, there will be two 2010 Corvette promos produced: 2010 Corvette Coupe in Switchblade Silver (gotta love that color name) 2010 Corvette Convertible in Torch Red Check your favorite source for details.

I have recently gotten back into painting and wanted to get a 250 ml bottle of Tamiya X-20A thinner. The local hobby shop doesn't carry it (only the 23 ml bottles) and I wondered if there was a good substitute. In surfing the web, I found a lot of military and railroad modelers that use a variety of products from Windex to various alcohol mixes. Some interesting ideas but those guys usually don't care about shiny paint. What are you guys using with Tamiya acrylic paint for thinner? Comments? Thanks,

Last time I entered one of these contests, I won a t-shirt. How about it, Greg? Above - This is a picture that I took at Road America in Wisconsin in the early '80's. The folks with me couldn't believe that I would "waste film (remember film?) on something like that". I had the last laugh when I submitted it to "Car & Driver" for their "10 Best Ugly Cars" competition in 1989 and it made the list and won me a T-shirt. It has been featured since then in the "Best of the Best" articles and, as of 2007-11-17, is the only "Ugly Car" entry shown in their "Best of the Best" web page. Some others for your viewing pleasure(?) Below - This one has kinda' grown on me, or maybe just because I loved Annie Potts in her movie debut: Below - And, back to the beginning with this rear end!

I'm with you on that note, here is a '61 Chevy I did in the early '60's and most of the interior came right out of Mom's sewing basket. The picture and quote are from my web site: ......... ever popular custom interior from Mom's sewing basket: - Corduroy tuck and roll - Very comfortable looking (?) balsa bucket seats with "leatherette" trim and gold thread piping - Gold Christmas wrapping door and console trim - Bent straight pin door handles and window cranks - Felt carpet - Assorted custom items from hot rod and custom kits - Driver's door cut open and permanently glued

Great movie, great car, great build. Just don't spend too much time on a tight, well aligned hood fit.....