1965 Corvette Stingray 2016 Revell RoG issue

[The Creative Explorer]

After the Pocher Lamborghini in 2015, I am priveliged to review the 2016 re- issue of the well-known 1/8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The kit has been around for a long time and most should know it. I even owned it twice and sold it twice, it was a bit lack of detail that threw me off.

But since I only have to build this box-stock, with maybe some minor changes, I can build it without feeling to bad. And since it is for the Dutch IPMS, I can share this in the USA without problems.

 

I also love the new box-art, it's a keeper!

 

 

Two of the few improvements: The decal sheet is so much better than the older issues, it is very complete and I love them! I suspect they are from Cartograph

 

And the second is the improved instructions, they are just so much nicer than the older ones.

 

the body is molded in black, fortunately all the bodypanels are molded in the same color, I remember from earlier issues that the hood and flip-flop lights were red and the rest black.

 

My body had some distortions in the moldings, nothing to worry about though

 

And the moldinglines don't get any smaller per re-issue

 

 

 

Even though I haven't started this project yet, still need to finish the Sunseeker for the IPMS, I got an itch when I looked at the wheels, they still use the same wheels per issue and even though they are correct for a Corvette, I don't think they look pretty, nor make the Corvette proud. So I looked around online and even though I love the Torque Thrusts, they are a bit the usual suspect for a wheel-swap. I noticed the Kelsey Hayes wheels and I liked the look of them, next to the original steelies.
I was going to scratch the wheels, but dove in to my kit-supply first and found pretty good looking wheels on the '82 Corvette.

And with some modifying, they might be a perfect match. The diameter is spot-on, they use the same adapter, but they are 6-7mm wider than the '65 wheels.

 

 

On the lathe I got rid of as much material as I possibly could, maxing it out. But I am still 3-4 mm short.

 

So the plan is to make sure the inner part of the adapter will stay with the outer part and keep sanding the parts down, till I got rid of enough material, clean them up and cast them in resin to make a set of 4.

Edited November 20, 2016 by The Creative Explorer

[MrObsessive]

I'm tuned in to this one!

I've have the old '70's issue for many years now (molded in red), and for whatever reason I've never touched it. May have to do with how much space it takes up, and the fact that it's 1/8 scale, it screams for tons of detail! 

Like you mentioned, it needs just that------------lots of detail to make it come alive, and I like the fact that those decals are so nice. Too bad those aren't sold separately!

[The Creative Explorer]

I agree, it does scream for detail, both adding and replacing. The parts that come with the kit, can be crude and not very representative.  But that will take some major overhauling for the kit.

 

What I could do, since they are not for sale seperately, I could scan them high-res and upload them?

 

This morning I started working on the wheels again, my little plan worked and the heart stayed nice in place after being on the lathe.

 

But when working on the lathe, my eye fell on a 3D printed Halibrand part, which also looks nice. The gears in my head started working and instead of making a alternative for the '65 wheels, why not make 2?

 

So I used the original wheels and made a hole on the lathe, big enough for the Halibrand heart. I tried to use the original adapters, but then they would be to shallow, so I will have to modify them and make them fit with the newly made adapters for the HK wheels.

 

Slowly starting to get rid of the placeholders

 

And added 2,25mm of styrene at the bottom, fixing the outer and inner part together. Will need some work on the lathe later on, when the glue has set properly.

 

 

[The Creative Explorer]

Well, I even had some time this evening to work on the Hallibrand wheels again, I glued a strip of styreen to the ring and I thinned the heart with about 1,25mm. Theoretically, it should now fit the tires and give it a bit deeper look, not as deep as I would've hoped, but deep enough to make it look nice.

 

 

 

 

[pharoah]

Great review and build.  I thought Revell/Monogram wasn't going to reissue 1/8th kits any more.   Hmmm.   I like the wheel idea.

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks John, I heard that Revell stopped making big scale models, at least making new tools. But then we got the 1/12 Ford Mustang GT500 and RoG made last year the 1/16 Volkswagen bus and this year comes the 1/16 Isetta.

 

The Jaguar E-type was made 2-3 years ago for a German internetstore and now we have the Corvette back, appearantly there is a market for and I hope they catch on.

The price of them is fair, they ask sticker 99 euro's for the corvette, the same amount of money as a second-hand one does 'on the market'. It is not like Tamiya were an old 1/12 tool suddenly goes over 200 dollars.

And one can only hope if the Firebirds and Camaro's come back, although I seriously doubt that.

[The Creative Explorer]

oh, and the wheels are now covered in silicones :-)

[The Creative Explorer]

The Kelsey halsey wheels just got in the second part of silicones, but the Hallibrands are ready and I started to test-cast them. The first showed to give caution to the outer ring, airbubbles might get trapped there.

But all in all, I am satisfied with them, the overall appearance and quality are more than satisfying.Giving preparation a bit more attention did pay off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by The Creative Explorer

[heinz74]

i build this thing a while back..(there is a topic here)..from i believe one of the first issues ever...molded in all red body and interior and black floorpan and suspension

i did a ton of clean up work on the body..this was the worst i've ever seen in a modelkit..

i ended up blocksanding the whole thing and then using the same paint system ,one would do on a real car..all automotive paint..

this issue you have, seems no better..a big plus are the decals in this case..on mine they were long gone because of age..

this kit also screams 'detail' in a big way...,'cause it's just a magnified 1/24 ..i added some lines to the injection system and cooling ,so now it has some sort of credit in the looks departement

try to build as clean as possible ,and then it'll be a nice model..

maybe i'll do one in black ...somewhere down the line...still a shame they didn't include some extra wheels and options..

and modelshows/competitions.?.overhere in Holland..mmmm.. never heard of any..must have a look at that..

[The Creative Explorer]

@Henry; that is also exactly why I sold it twice, (see inital post in topic). It is a nice model, but needs a ton of work and since both I had were somewhat started, I lost the enthusiasm quite quickly and sold them.

This time is different, I am motivated to build as it is and I just made my own wheels for them, so the incentives are there to make something nice of it.

 

I have worked basically on the wheels alone for the last past days and I am happy, there are some improvements to be made, but will take that in the second batch of casting with slightly different molds.

 

The Kelsey Halsey wheels

 

And the Hallibrands

 

Did I say that I made a few more?

[The Creative Explorer]

The boat is finally done and I can start with the Corvette for about a week, after that, I will start Dakar groupsbuild, so will be working on that for 2 weeks, after that, I will be getting on this one again, so I am trying to get as much done as I can.

 

First I dechromed a couple of parts that shouldn't be chromed at all

 

And glued both engine halves together, filled it with filler to get it decent.

 

 

And some other, thicker, parts got some filler, due to shrinkage

 

 

The engine is halfway decent, and getting ready for paint.

 

 

In order to place the cylinderheads in the right place, I added the intakemanifold only for glueing the heads down.

 

 

The choice of wheels for this project, I decided not to go for the kelsey Hayes

 

And the rocker covers; I left the chrome on the piece, but painted it over with light gray and scraped the Corvette lettering

 

The engine is somewhat Chevrolet organge and the gearox dark grey

 

 

 

 

What I really love of this issue, is that awesome decalsheet! It makes such a big difference to the older issues.

 

The engine got a bit more dressed up

 

 

And this is where I left the engine for today;

 

 

 

 

 

[heinz74]

i love those decals they included this time..makes it all so much more realistic..i wish i had those when i did mine..oh well ..missed again

like i said build this as clean as possible and it'll do..it's never gonna be a Tamiya large scale kit..but it isn't priced like that either..

i also toned down the shine on the engine chrome,. the brightness at this scale makes it look like an oversized Hot Wheels toy when finished..

most of the chrome in my kit was gone or scratched over the years so had to redo most of it..

keep up the good work Erik ,you'll get there..

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks Henry,

 

Yes, those decals are a serious gamechanger, they make so much more out of this kit. Even though it isn't Tamiya quality; it does build into something nice. And there is a lot of room for detailing, it isn't that hard with this kit.

 

Small update, haven't done much due to illness during the holidays (still have to have our Christmas dinner!)

The wheels in their final colors, I think it looks so much nicer than the stock wheels.

 

The tention on the V-belt is just too high, even after letting the glue cure for almost a week, it still pulle the pulley's off. I decided to omit the crankshaft pulley, in order to release the tention.

 

 

Battery and steeringbox installed

 

The hoses from the engine mounted to the radiator

 

Glued down and held in place with tape, also a lot of tension here.

 

 

Discbrakes

 

Intake in place and also hold together with tape

 

 

Subframe also being held with tape, it's necessary

 

 

Starting to look like something

 

And the rear-axle in place.

 

Edited December 27, 2016 by The Creative Explorer

[The Creative Explorer]

And we continue, it is getting late over here and the misses getting impatient, so I am sorry, but I won't be typing much at this update, sorry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Creative Explorer]

Got to work on it today some more, finished up the interior and all left to do is the huge task of getting the body paint-prepped. And it is quite some work I can tell you, those moldlines are difficult, as the plastic isn't even on either side of that line.

Started with some more masking

 

And playing with glue

 

 

And added some flocking, which is a fun job on this scale.

 

The chrome is two-faced; one side very shine

 

Other side basically non-existent, some parts are faced on the good side, some parts aren't...

 

The start of the dashboard

 

 

 

Flocking starting to look nice

 

Added some chrome parts and some BMF, the doorpanels don't look anything like the original, so I tried with some BMF to mimic it a little bit. Also note the heavy mold-lines on the chrome pieces.

 

 

The dash added to the interior

 

And off to the  bodyshop:

 

[Davewilly]

Looking good!  Interior looks pretty good!

[The Creative Explorer]

Thank you Dave, and the interior is box -stock, no adding, no modifying...

 

So, the last update for a few weeks, since I cleared my agenda for a 2-week Dakar groupbuild.
I tried my best to finish up the bodywork for the Corvette and at least got it in primer. It took me al morning to get it prepped and it took me the whole afternoon to get it into primer.

But, it is there; the body is primered and put aside for now.

 

 

 

[disabled modeler]

Very nice...!

[Len Woodruff]

Love the build.

[The Creative Explorer]

Thank you guys!

 

Well, I had some disaster going on. The car was nicely prepped and primed, sitting to wait for me to the end of the Dakar. So, last friday, when I finished the Dakar groupsbuild, I started on putting a very nice red on it. It was looking so awesome!

So, day after; I started to clearcoat the body, but I haven't used rattlecans for about 8-9 years?, but I remembered all the important lessons as soon as it went bad.

I had the clearcoat dripping of the body on several spots, making it look horrible. I let it cure over the weekend and was hoping to sand the runners and add some more clearcoat.

Well, that didn't go to plan. the amount of clearcoat was not thick enough to handle that, so I went through the paint. Got it all smooth again and primered it back. but for some reason, the primer made a reaction to the other paint, where the paint was 'open '.

I had to use spray-putty to get it some sort of smooth again.  It took me yesterday all day to get it somewhat nice again, but not great. I am off to the store, to get me another rattlecan of paint and hope for the best.

 

Frustrating.

[pharoah]

Nice build! They sure take up the workbench,don't they?

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks John @pharoah, yes they do. But taking up the workbench is one thing, I can handle that. But they also take up the paintbooth and that is more inconvenient.

[heinz74]

that's why i never use acrylic rattlecans anymore..

if something goes wrong you're toast and so is youre model..

same goes when you rub through the different types of coats..even when you are using everything Motip ..it still can cause a reaction..

i screwed myself once by painting over Tamiya acrylic (i forgot that i used it on that subject)with i believe Duplicolor..

everything looked fine ...but after a month or 2 the model was a write-off..full of cracks in its paint..(1969 Charge 1/24 scale)

anyway..i block sanded my vette,to get as straight as possible..

then 2 light coats of Standox plastic primer..after that a couple of light coats of Standox Topfuller..

blocksanding again to a mirrorfine finish (p1500 waterproof)..followed by Standox basecoat in red and MS clearcoat..

all automotive ..did no coloursanding or buffing afterwards

the thing still shines like day one..

albeit a bit expensive ,but at this scale you kinda need to go nine yards..

just start over Erik..and make sure that previous layers are bonedry before attempting touch up work..

[The Creative Explorer]

@heinz74; That is what I said 10 years ago, but I had to do the Corvette with the rattlecans. Unfortunately. Hate them.

 

I had not real issues with the paints crazing or reacting, it's just that it is hard to near impossible  to get a nice shiny clear coat. The body was prepped good and was straight, up till the clearcoat. Basecoat and primer were perfect, the clearcoat was horrible.
But I kind off sorted it out and now the huge task of polishing....ugh!

This is where I am:

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2017 by The Creative Explorer

[pharoah]

I feel your pain. I have one of these to build someday. And I know about the polishing. I had the 82 Collector Edition,abd it was like polishing a real car.

Patience,grasshopper...