1/25 AMT '72 Chevy Blazer Crew Chief

[unclescott58]

Now I'm a little confused now on the tailgate decal for the Feathers package. I too have seen a variation on the above ad showing the more elaborate tailgate decal than the one seen on the above photos of the two Blazers with the Feathers package. Maybe the non photographic ad has the original design that did not make it on to the real vehicle. Also on the CST version of the Blazer you got the more elaborate tailgate trim. Maybe the Feathers tailgate decal was left off the CST Blazers?

Another question about these decal packages for the real trucks. Weren't they only offered as a factory authorized, dealer installed accessory only? They do not show up as a factory installed item in any of my factory dealer option/price guides. And I only remember them being offered late in the '72 model run.

Scott

[niteowl7710]

Did these "Bod Mods" vehicles come with a dream catcher and a sweatshirt with an iron-on graphic of a wolf head or two?

Talk about 70s CHEESY!!

[Don Sikora II]

Did Chevy offer a soft top for the Blazer? Don't ever remember seeing one, but I kinda like it.

Maybe 10 years ago I drove from LA to Las Vegas on a Sunday and remember seeing an awesome first-gen Blazer in traffic. It was very clean, lowered on large-diameter wheels, and completely topless.

[Longbox55]

I believe the soft top might have been a dealer install option. I do know that the standard Blazer did not come with a top at all, the fiberglass top was an option, RPO Z58 White and Z59 Black.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=1088474&stc=1&d=1365366793

I came across this while looking for a better tail gate decals pic. Seems there's a glovebox decal that was used with them, too.

[hpiguy]

[unclescott58]

No top. Soft top. Or hardtop were all factory options on that generation Blazer.

Scott

[unclescott58]

Oh, by the way, another great video review Chris. About the spare tire. The way they show it in the box art, is its correct factory location. The saddle tanks would have been an aftermarket item in the real world. I doubt they would have been chrome plated in real life. But a silver color of some sort.

Scott

[hpiguy]

Oh, by the way, another great video review Chris. About the spare tire. The way they show it in the box art, is its correct factory location. The saddle tanks would have been an aftermarket item in the real world. I doubt they would have been chrome plated in real life. But a silver color of some sort.

Scott

Thanks for the info. Never knew they just stuck them smack dab in the middle of the floor like that.

[unclescott58]

Thanks for the info. Never knew they just stuck them smack dab in the middle of the floor like that.

Yea, right behind the driver's seat if no back seat was ordered. Magazine articles from the time complained about the spare tire location. Especially on models with the optional rear seat. Cut down on inside luggage space. That's why several aftermarket companies came up with outside tailgate brackets, simular to what Ford offered on the Bronco.

Scott

[unclescott58]

Got mine last night. Opened the box, and like what I see.

Scott

[chunkypeanutbutter]

I oughtta get one. I rebuilt one a while ago, quite nice kit.

[unclescott58]

This may sound stupid. As I started doing some preliminary work on my Blazer this morning, the thought came upon seeing and handling this kit it's like seeing an old friend again for the first time in years. It's really nice to have the '72 Blazer out again. I've always love the Chevy trucks of this generation. And I like both AMT and MPC kits from that era. Having and working on this kit brings back very good memories. And here's the kicker. I never own a copy of this kit back in the day. I remember a friend having one, and lusting over it. But, I never owned one until about 15 years ago. Yet working on this kit is not taking me back 15 years. It's taking me back 40+ years. Weird.

Scott

[Monty]

This may sound stupid. As I started doing some preliminary work on my Blazer this morning, the thought came upon seeing and handling this kit it's like seeing an old friend again for the first time in years. It's really nice to have the '72 Blazer out again. I've always love the Chevy trucks of this generation. And I like both AMT and MPC kits from that era. Having and working on this kit brings back very good memories. And here's the kicker. I never own a copy of this kit back in the day. I remember a friend having one, and lusting over it. But, I never owned one until about 15 years ago. Yet working on this kit is not taking me back 15 years. It's taking me back 40+ years. Weird.

Scott

Doesn't sound stupid at all. 40-some years ago I had the GMC version of this kit and, although I'm glad to see this one out again, I'd feel the same way as you if they'd repopped the Jimmy. I'm also glad someone has been digging through the old AMT molds 'cuz up until a couple years ago I thought I'd never get another chance to build the Freightliner cabover I'd had in my youth. I wouldn't/couldn't pay what the ebay scalpers wanted, so I figured I'd learn to live without it. When they came out again at a realistic price, I made sure I grabbed two.

Kinda strange what memories we attach to these things.

[unclescott58]

The same friend who had the Crew Chief Blazer back in the day, also had the Jimmy. Being a big GMC fan, I'd love to see the Jimmy come back too.

Scott

[Guest]

The instrument cluster/ gauges in the dash of this kit need some work to look decent. Drilling them out and placing decals on the back side will improve them greatly. There's a huge difference between the Blazer's dash and the dash from the pickup. The pickup dash is barely wide enough to fit the Blazer interior and I don't know how well it would fit up to the Blazer's body. It could be an option. Here's photos of the different dashes.

[Ron Hamilton]

There were probably what, two Chevy dealers in D.C.? Odd that New York state dealers couldn't get it either, but I'm sure if you wanted one and lived in either of those two places, you'd find a way.

Back to the Blazer with the Feather graphics, it looks like there may have been two options?

Ironically, I worked for both of the Washington DC Chevrolet Dealerships in different decades. At that time, just getting a truck for either of them was like pulling teeth. If either dealership wanted one for a customer, they could have gotten it delivered.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Ron Hamilton

[1972coronet]

Got my copy of this beauty today (along with a 'companion' 1970 Impala SS-454) and am loving it ! Great to see this one back in the mix !

[Robberbaron]

Picked one of these up the other day with a 40% off HL coupon. Wouldn't have been able to swallow the $30 sticker price considering what this kit is.

Pretty much knew what to expect, based on previous posts in this thread. The one surprise disappointment is that the deep offset off-road wheels are mismatched. The fronts with the locking hubs are proper 6-lugs, but the rears are 5-lugs. D'oh!

Don't think I saw anyone mention that previously, so it must not be too obvious to most people, but it jumped out at me immediately when I first looked over the chrome tree. Maybe it's because I planned to build it using these wheels.

Not sure if I'll go that route now, since that's the kind of thing that will drive me nuts if I see it sitting on a shelf.

[microwheel]

I picked up one of these kits the other day. I had so many builds going on that I didnt take the time to get one when they were first reissued. It's a great kit for it's age. One thing I noticed that I havent seen anyone talk about yet... I thought it was a little odd that none of the original or reissues of this kit ever came with the turn signals in the front bumper. The bumper would be right for the GMC Jimmy but not the Blazer.  I plan to do something about that problem for my build. I'll cut out the correct locations for them in the bumper and then graft in some turn signals that i will cut out of a left over 66 chevy nova bumper. Might not be 100% accurate, but should be better than none at all, that and I wont have to try to make a bumper from the amt chevy truck kit fit lol.

[Robberbaron]

...One thing I noticed that I havent seen anyone talk about yet... I thought it was a little odd that none of the original or reissues of this kit ever came with the turn signals in the front bumper. The bumper would be right for the GMC Jimmy but not the Blazer...

 Good eyes, Jim!  The 5-lug wheels jumped right out at me, but I don't know how I missed that incorrect bumper.

[Fabrux]

When the tooling was originally created it was for a 1969 model year Blazer, which had the turn signals in the grille. The grille was later updated to 71-72 style but the bumper never changed.

[unclescott58]

When the tooling was originally created it was for a 1969 model year Blazer, which had the turn signals in the grille. The grille was later updated to 71-72 style but the bumper never changed.

And as a kid (teen) my friends and I never noticed the missing turn signals. It still looked like a correct '71 - '72 Blazer to me. I guess I was never that picky. As long as it basically looked right. And not like a Palmer kit.

[bob b]

I ended up cut the bumper from the grill of the '72 Fleetside pick up to make the correct bumper..... now I'm working on the wheels.

I had a couple extra front wheels with the 4 x 4 hub with the 6 lugs... so I drilled them out with a 1/8" drill bit and glued some 1/8" rod styrene in the hole setting it back a bit so I have proper 6 lug wheels in the back...

It is driving me nuts though... all the pics I see of the '72 blazer with the 4 x 4 stock rims (painted white).... they don't look as deep as these..... The spare that is included with this (even though it is 5 lug) looks like the proper depth the rims should be.??

Anyone notice or am I nuts. Is there a better kit to source the wheels from?

 

[Longbox55]

You're not nuts, the chrome open wheels in the kit are not correct for a stock truck. They are much wider. Off the top of my head, I do not know of any correct width 6 lug open wheels, or at least not from kit sources. If you wanted to do the standard wheel with the small hubcap, the wheels and caps from the recently reissued AMT Chevy van kits would be pretty close.

[Misha]

Using the Blazer kit for my entry in the AussieBall this year's Cannonball on the forum. It's great to have this kit back, yet I'm facing the same quandary with the off road wheels included. Once I get back to Vancouver Island I'll search thru the stash for something more appropriate. It's a mystery how they combined six and five lugs into the kit. I also picked up a second kit largely for an extra set of tires (even with five included in the box) as one was somewhat miss molded, plus I want to carry two spares on board.

The Blazer is lifted a scale five inches, will mount a full roll cage mounted to the chassis, have the steering shifted over to RHD and have a number of mods and additions for this trek across the Outback. Check out the thread on Community Group Builds.

Cheers Misha