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

[horsepower]

On 12/23/2018 at 9:47 AM, 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.  

Yeah, but did you forget that THIS beauty is a product of the OLD Revell?

[horsepower]

On 12/24/2018 at 1:01 PM, Snake45 said:

I'd be even happier if Revell would offer to send out new nosepieces for everyone who bought the Mach I. 

But isn't the new Boss a 1/25th scale kit and the old Mach (or Mock?) I kit a 1/24th scale?

[Rob Hall]

1 minute ago, horsepower said:

But isn't the new Boss a 1/25th scale kit and the old Mach (or Mock?) I kit a 1/24th scale?

No, both the '69s are 1/25th.  The '70 Boss 302, Boss 429 and Mach 1 kits are 1/24th. 

[horsepower]

22 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

No, both the '69s are 1/25th.  The '70 Boss 302, Boss 429 and Mach 1 kits are 1/24th. 

OK, I was confusing the '69 & '70 kits. Must be the Oldtimers kicking in again?

[KWT]

I just finished building mine. I have to say, it is a very well designed kit. I didn't run into any fitment issues that I can recall... The only thing I didn't dig is the dang 2 pc mirrors. I hate those things.

[Plowboy]

Having recently built this kit, I found a few issues with it:

1 The fit of the grille is not very good. The headlight bezels should be flush with the header. I filed as much as I could. But, still had to trim the top of the bezels and rework them to get a decent fit.

2 The bottom of the trunk lid and quarter caps have a lip that needs to be trimmed flush to get a better fit.

3 The wheelwell lips are a little oversized and don't terminate correctly at the bottom. If you look at them at a 3/4 view, immediately noticeable. 

4 The hood doesn't quite fit flush with the header panel. I shaved the header panel on the inside, placed the hood on the body and sanded them together to get a good fit.

These are all simple and minor fixes. What isn't a simple or minor fix is the interior. The dash is FUBAR'D. It's not even close. As soon as I saw it, I knew it wasn't right. To get an accurate dash, you'll have to rob one from the AMT '68 El Camino and either remove the A/C vents or convert it over to A/C. The problem stems from the door panels being too thick at the top. They measure right at 4 mms thick at the top. They actually lean in. The rear seat is narrower at the top. Somehow, the left side of the dash leans in more than the right.  This causes the the instrument and convenience cluster to also lean as well as become cramped for space. Here's a comparison photo.

If one doesn't care about the accuracy of the interior, it's not an issue. Build it as is. If one does, you have some work ahead of you. The AMT dash will fit the Revell body no problem. But, it's missing the speaker and defroster detail. I grafted in those from the Revell dash and added the tabs to the sides. The door panels are fairly simple to fix. Just trim away a couple of mms per side. The problem comes in on the quarter panels. They need to be bent in at the top. Then finally, you have to add 2mms per side at the top of the rear seat and feather it out towards the bottom. 

When I built mine, I glued the firewall piece in only at the top and smoothed it with the top of the cowl. This allowed the body to still be able to spread to get the chassis in. Even doing that, the body has to be spread quite a bit. I can't imagine how much it would need to be spread to get it over the firewall if it were glued to the interior tub. Plus, it eliminates the joint between the cowl and firewall. 

The chassis is excellent. You couldn't ask for a better fit between the frame and floor pan. The remaining suspension pieces fit great and assembled easily. Even though I had modified them.

[Classicgas]

Yeah you can see the difference in your pic, but in all honesty once assembled it'll be hard to see . Nice to know tho. 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Classicgas

[Snake45]

4 hours ago, Classicgas said:

Yeah you can see the difference in your pic, but in all honesty once assembled it'll be hard to see . Nice to know tho. 

This is why I don't get that wrapped up in model interiors, good or bad, an attitude I brought with me from Model Airplane World (where it was QUITE unusual). As I'd often say in those days, "What am I gonna do, get under a Shrink Ray, crawl in there, and make airplane noises?" 

[Nazz]

  I'd like to chime in, I read in this thread the AMT Chevelles are not 1/25th scale, so does that mean that all the A bodies are not 1/25th? 442 ,GTO etc.   Oh and Snake, did you finish that Beaumont? I'd like to see it!.

[Snake45]

55 minutes ago, Nazz said:

Oh and Snake, did you finish that Beaumont? I'd like to see it!.

Wasn't me working on a Beaumont. 

[Nazz]

  Sorry ,My mistake.