Chevrolet Astro I Experimental by AMT 1:25

[ea0863]

I got this one a while back in an open but unstarted kit. There wasn't a lot about it online, so this is a bit of a review of the kit as well as the build itself.

  

The parts count is fairly low, and suspension nonexistent, although the moldings were quite nice in red - so much so that I decided not to paint over it, but rather present it bare.

For me, the nicest part of the vehicle was its Corvair engine, as it was a fair representation of the original. The only change I made to it was the use of ferrules for the intake trumpets for greater realism.

Conversely, the worst part of the build was the poorly fitting front upper clamshell, as it did not come close to being the same width as the lower body (see arrow).

Much heat, reshaping and force later, it got to about 90% of where it needed to be. Likewise, the rear upper clamshell presented its own challenges as pivot pins on the chassis needed to be relocated for proper movement and closure with the unique raising seats. Here you see the new pins in brass.

Once proper alignment was achieved though, the seats did raise and lower like the original design.

 The kit could be built as the showroom concept with airplane inspired steering control and wheel covers, or optionally as a racer with decals, mag rims, and conventional steering wheel. I chose to go with the former. I also chose to mount the engine in the vehicle, as opposed to the optional display case for showing it independently. The instructions were somewhat basic, but were just enough complete the build.

 

These then are my three Astro experimentals finally together; the AMT Astro I in 1:25 scale, the Sputofuoco Astro II in 1:43 scale, and the Racing Champions Astro III in 1:64 scale.

(My build of the Astro II is at the below link)

Thank you for looking.

 

Edited April 27, 2024 by ea0863

[espo]

This is the first one I have ever seen assembled. Like the engine and interior, body sort of reminds me of a fiberglass kit car that was all the rage in the late '70's. All that said the build looks great with all the work you had to do to it. 

[ea0863]

3 minutes ago, espo said:

This is the first one I have ever seen assembled. Like the engine and interior, body sort of reminds me of a fiberglass kit car that was all the rage in the late '70's. All that said the build looks great with all the work you had to do to it. 

Thank you much David. I really love these old concepts, and will be moving on to the Corvair Monza GT next.

[karbuildr]

Very nice build. Like David wrote, this is the first one of these I've ever seen built. You did an excellent job fixing the shortcomings of the kit, lots of work, but worth it obviously.

[ea0863]

8 minutes ago, karbuildr said:

Very nice build. Like David wrote, this is the first one of these I've ever seen built. You did an excellent job fixing the shortcomings of the kit, lots of work, but worth it obviously.

Thank you David

[Leo64]

This kit has been on my want list for a really long time, as I have collected Corvette kits.  I lucked out recently and found one that the body had been painted green (I can strip that), missing the engine display case (no big deal, wasn't going to use it), decals were bad (wasn't going to use them either) and the only hard part was missing one of the side glass.  I've got a bunch of extra glass pieces, so I'm hoping I can find a piece I can modify to work.

You did a really nice job on your build, congratulations.

Steve A.

[Lobo2me]

Rut row....another GM "almost." Nice job on this interesting subject matter! Really like the "ejection seats." Well done!!!

Edited April 27, 2024 by Lobo2me

[ea0863]

42 minutes ago, Leo64 said:

This kit has been on my want list for a really long time, as I have collected Corvette kits.  I lucked out recently and found one that the body had been painted green (I can strip that), missing the engine display case (no big deal, wasn't going to use it), decals were bad (wasn't going to use them either) and the only hard part was missing one of the side glass.  I've got a bunch of extra glass pieces, so I'm hoping I can find a piece I can modify to work.

You did a really nice job on your build, congratulations.

Steve A.

Thank you Steve. I will be looking forward to seeing your build!

[ea0863]

34 minutes ago, Lobo2me said:

Rut row....another GM "almost." Nice job on this interesting subject matter! Really like the "ejection seats." Well done!!!

Thanks Steve. I have always been into the Corvette concepts, and only recently realized the Corvair relationship was very close.

[Gloozalot]

Yes, the parts count is a little small but it is one of my all time favorite kits.  I still have the original I built in '67 and a couple of unbuilt kits stashed away somewhere.  You did this old kit justice with your clean build, I love it!

[ea0863]

45 minutes ago, Gloozalot said:

Yes, the parts count is a little small but it is one of my all time favorite kits.  I still have the original I built in '67 and a couple of unbuilt kits stashed away somewhere.  You did this old kit justice with your clean build, I love it!

Thank you George. It means all the more to me given your knowledge of this kit. Do you happen to know if they all suffered from the ill fitting body panels, or if it was just an issue with my particular model?

[bondo bill]

Cool build, I love the old box art

[ea0863]

2 minutes ago, bondo bill said:

Cool build, I love the old box art

Thank you Bill, and I agree about the box art - I can never bring myself to get rid of these old boxes just for that reason.

[louis Carabott]

very unusual and nice model....good work Sir ?

[Lobo2me]

16 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Thanks Steve. I have always been into the Corvette concepts, and only recently realized the Corvair relationship was very close.

Very cool! Keep modeling!!!!

[ea0863]

8 hours ago, louis Carabott said:

very unusual and nice model....good work Sir ?

You are very kind Louis. I am enjoying having it as a part of my concept car collection, and am pleased it came out one hundredth as good as your beautiful builds!  

[slusher]

Great looking model and display also!

[ea0863]

2 hours ago, slusher said:

Great looking model and display also!

Thank you Carl, you are very kind.  

[drippingoil]

That is neat, I like that .

[ea0863]

13 hours ago, drippingoil said:

That is neat, I like that .

Thanks Danny.

[Rattlecan Dan]

By Golly that is a cool little build. I think you did a fine job getting it together and showing it. Good work.

[ea0863]

38 minutes ago, Rattlecan Dan said:

By Golly that is a cool little build. I think you did a fine job getting it together and showing it. Good work.

Thank you much Dan.

[spencer1984]

Nicely done, it's great to see one of these built! I found one in a box of built/damaged kits a few months ago, so this will also be helpful for figuring out how it's supposed to look.

[Gloozalot]

I am lucky that my kits do not suffer from warped body panels or parts.  I have seen examples in the past that were.  One other point of this kit is the Don Greer box art.  Notice that the corner of the building has GM2000 on it.  Take a look at the G5 Corvette from its introduction and count how many styling points you see from the Astro I.  I find this whole concept and everything about it very interesting given the fact this car was built in 1966-67 and shows just how on top of the game Larry Shinoda was as a designer.    I would love to see this kit return in some form. 

[ChrisR]

Very nice!

Would not mind getting hold of the kit.