Chuck Most Posted June 10, 2023 Posted June 10, 2023 This is the new AMT curbside kit. Not terrible, actually stands up pretty well for itself when you compare it to the 90s promo. Right off the bat, the wheels and tires suck. The wheels are painfully underscale, and the tires would look more at home on something two decades older. To "fix" that problem I went the other way and stuck giant Hoppin' Hydros Venetian wheels on it. ? Body looks good but the same lousy outside door handles carbon copied from the original. Too bad they couldn't carbon copy the Tahoe kit door handles, as those actually look good. Compared to the original the character crease at the belt line isn't as defined. Interior door panels are slightly better than the original regular cab tub. No "elephant ear" towing mirrors, but a choice of two different aero mirrors. I used the set that don't look like the 454SS mirrors. Maybe this will end up with some homemade 262SS graphics. ? I applied foil to the back of the parking light lenses for a more realistic look. The actual lenses have a kind of "frosted" look. Ease of assembly? Yep! Kit has, like, nine parts total, and everything fit with minimal fuss. I managed to build the thing in a little over ten hours total. I hear 24 hour build projects are somewhat popular. So if you need a subject for such an undertaking... Here you are. Paint is the same as the Tesla Dodge I built a while back. Colorshot Splash distressed with Vallejo's rust and steel paint set. There's also a great deal of exposed grey primer. Interior is a mix of Revell anthracite and tank grey. The chassis and engine bay were trimmed to fit the wheels, and the side trim was shaved. I also cut away the air dam, which is molded to the chassis. Otherwise everything is as it comes from AMT. Finishing touch was a Three Inches Under Michigan plate. 10
ncbuckeye67 Posted June 12, 2023 Posted June 12, 2023 Your build looks amazing! I've always felt that way about the wheels and tires on those AMT kits, back when they were brand new. The 454SS was extremely disappointing in that area.
Chuck Most Posted June 12, 2023 Author Posted June 12, 2023 48 minutes ago, ncbuckeye67 said: Your build looks amazing! I've always felt that way about the wheels and tires on those AMT kits, back when they were brand new. The 454SS was extremely disappointing in that area. This is a completely new kit. Shares no tooling with the 1988 MPC kit and spinoffs. The wheels in this kit wouldn't look to far off in a 1:32 kit...
ncbuckeye67 Posted June 12, 2023 Posted June 12, 2023 56 minutes ago, Chuck Most said: This is a completely new kit. Shares no tooling with the 1988 MPC kit and spinoffs. The wheels in this kit wouldn't look to far off in a 1:32 kit... Ok, I had no idea. That's definitely good to know. Those wheels were my real motivation to buy that kit (Love the 454SS pickup!). I actually just bought a 454 motor from Iceman, for this very reason. Those old kits were pretty nice, as far as body & interior goes. The motor & tires were so disappointing though. 1
Chuck Most Posted June 12, 2023 Author Posted June 12, 2023 7 minutes ago, ncbuckeye67 said: Ok, I had no idea. That's definitely good to know. Those wheels were my real motivation to buy that kit (Love the 454SS pickup!). I actually just bought a 454 motor from Iceman, for this very reason. Those old kits were pretty nice, as far as body & interior goes. The motor & tires were so disappointing though. Good news about the motor then... This version doesn't have one. It has a full engine bay (another advantage to this kit... No more interior tub mounting tabs in the cowl!) And I'm assuming at some point they'll 1963 Nova it into a full kit.
ncbuckeye67 Posted June 12, 2023 Posted June 12, 2023 Gotta love those tabs, Lol. Isn't the latest version (of the wagon kit with the trailer) a full detail kit?
Chuck Most Posted June 12, 2023 Author Posted June 12, 2023 1 hour ago, ncbuckeye67 said: Gotta love those tabs, Lol. Isn't the latest version (of the wagon kit with the trailer) a full detail kit? Yeah, but the initial wasn't. Kind of like this in that it has a separate hood and inner fender detail though.
ncbuckeye67 Posted June 12, 2023 Posted June 12, 2023 I built the 1st (curbside) issue. The detail on the emblems and trim is amazing! 1
Mattilacken Posted June 12, 2023 Posted June 12, 2023 Nice build! Will get one eventually, but got hold of a original 454ss recently that I will build first with same mods as my previous build regarding lights.
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