1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

[FenderMender]

When it comes to diecast or plastic models and kits, be they automobiles, trucks, motorcycles or planes, I am pretty much a sucker for anything. Yet this 1/24 plastic kit by Testors, a Level 2- Moderate, turned me off completely by the very ugly photo of the built Camaro model on the box. I must have seen this kit six or seven times in the same store, with a price that was cheap, too, I believe four dollars. But I just couldn't get over what an ugly-looking model the box photo depicted, so rejecting it was continuous. I like Chevies and Camaros, but this one, my gosh, it looked so pathetic. Finally, one day the darn thing was marked down to only two dollars, so I figured, what the heck, it would be a fun time to try and build a plastic kit after some fifty years. Plus, if I totally blotched it, there wasn't really anything to lose. And I definitely wanted to satisfy my insatiable curiosity: Could the actual model be THAT ugly?

Here is a picture of the kit's box:

Here are pics of the finished model:

(By the way, body-wise, don't the 77-79 Camaros have ram air hoods and slotted fender vents and the 80-81s have cowl induction hoods and open fender vents? The model has an induction hood, slotted fender vents and the chassis has molded in text: 1980 Firebird. Another issue, the rear side markers. On photos of 1980 Camaros, I didn't see any. Yet this model has them. Perhaps this is a Testors hybrid Firebird/Camaro?)

Thanks for looking....

[cruz]

Very cool considering the model's simplicity!!!

[Hawk312]

Yeah, you did a good job on the build. It looks much better than the box art!

The kit itself is wrong in so many ways. I had an `81, and just of the bat, I can tell you that the hood/bumper line is completely wrong, the wheels are from a turbo trans am of the era, as you mention it shouldn`t have side marker lights in the rear, the fenders fents are from a 77-79 which you also mention, and everything else is all just generally out of proportion.

It looks like you made the most of it though!

[SSNJim]

The kit looks much better than the box art, that's for sure. The box art has always scared me away, too. It's the first one I've seen built. It does look like a Firebird with Camaro bumpers. I think those wheels are Firebird wheels, too.

[nascarfan]

I have a 1.1 80 camaro and that nose is very flat, there should be more of a peak. The 1/4 panels look like a firebirds as well. The monogram kit is far better.

[leereyn]

I also have an 81 Z28 and I never could put my finger on it with this kit but I think with the comments I just read and looking at the built model it absolutely looks like a T/A with Camaro bumpers. I just did a replica of my car using the 1979 Camaro Revell Streetburner kit. It's alot more accurate. The Testors kit is a cool looking hybrid though.

Here's my 1:1 and model and I yes know the hood and fender vents are 79.

[SSNJim]

For comparison's sake, a Tenth Anniversary Trans-Am...

Note the wheels and rear side marker lights.

[Guest]

You have definatly turned a sow's ear into a silk purse!

[KENNEDYJR]

I am building the companion 1980 Trans Am kit and it is equally dismal.

All they did was tool up different front and rear ends for the 2 kits. The Pontiac still has a Camaro dash in it. What I don't get is the fact that Testors switched the wheels sets between the 2 kits. The Camaro has the Trans Am wheels , and the Pontiac kit has what I believe are Monte Carlo SS wheels from the 80s.

[nascarfan]

I also have an 81 Z28 and I never could put my finger on it with this kit but I think with the comments I just read and looking at the built model it absolutely looks like a T/A with Camaro bumpers. I just did a replica of my car using the 1979 Camaro Revell Streetburner kit. It's alot more accurate. The Testors kit is a cool looking hybrid though.

Here's my 1:1 and model and I yes know the hood and fender vents are 79.

Is the engine in your Z28 stock or?? Mine is a .030 350. I just put some world heads on it and a new bigger cam .

[FenderMender]

I am building the companion 1980 Trans Am kit and it is equally dismal.

All they did was tool up different front and rear ends for the 2 kits. The Pontiac still has a Camaro dash in it.

What I don't get is the fact that Testors switched the wheels sets between the 2 kits. The Camaro has the Trans Am wheels , and the Pontiac kit has what I believe are Monte Carlo SS wheels from the 80s.

What some of these model companies do really makes no sense, even from the point of view of trying to maximize profits. Seems to me if Testors really wanted to make plenty of profit on these two, the least they should have done: make the two models accurate within reason to appeal to the cars' respective fans. Above all, put the right wheels on the right car! And by doing this simple thing, would that have been so cost prohibitive?

[leereyn]

Is the engine in your Z28 stock or?? Mine is a .030 350. I just put some world heads on it and a new bigger cam .

This car was my daily driver for about 20 of the 23 years I've owned it. 50 miles a day, 6 days a week for 20 years. It does still have a 350 in it but I'm on about my third engine and it's nothing fancy. It looks faster than it is. lol

[leereyn]

I am building the companion 1980 Trans Am kit and it is equally dismal.

All they did was tool up different front and rear ends for the 2 kits. The Pontiac still has a Camaro dash in it. What I don't get is the fact that Testors switched the wheels sets between the 2 kits. The Camaro has the Trans Am wheels , and the Pontiac kit has what I believe are Monte Carlo SS wheels from the 80s.

Some of the 1980-81 Z28s had factory wheels that looked like, if not identical to, mid 80s Monte Carlo SS wheels.

Edited June 26, 2009 by leereyn