Is the AMT 1970 1/2 Camaro any good?

[Rob Hall]

What is the kit number for the 'avoid-at-all-costs' kit?

Don't know, but it's obvious by the box art--the only one w/ the older style AMT/ertl box art and in red--IIRC, this kit had only 1 issue. The later tooling kit has been out in green and orange on the box..

Edited July 13, 2014 by Rob Hall

[Brett Barrow]

What is the kit number for the 'avoid-at-all-costs' kit?

#6896

[Danno]

Don't know, but it's obvious by the box art--the only one w/ the older style AMT/ertl box art and in red--IIRC, this kit had only 1 issue. The later tooling kit has been out in green and orange on the box..

Yes, I could see that.

#6896

Thanks for answering the question, Brett! I appreciate it. Now, I'm off to run that number through my inventory database to see how many of those turdtles I have!

Edited July 13, 2014 by Danno

[Bob Ellis]

It can be noted that the kit to avoid, has glass, interior, chassis and engine parts useful in restoring the old 1970-1974 AMT Camaro kit.

[mnwildpunk]

Not to thread steal but the last amt 70.5 camaro "the good one" I got (btw one of my favorite models to build) the passenger side rocker panel was all messed up in was sunk in and warped. it took a lot of work to get it right. Anybody else notice that or was it just mine?

Edited July 14, 2014 by mnwildpunk

[Hayabusa]

@Dave Isle - I have both the Model King issue and the Round2models issue molded in orange. Both have the same imperection on the passenger side rocker panel.

Both kits also have sink marks on the roof and some other imperfections, but no big deal.

The biggest problem is getting the interior & chassis fitted inside the body since the front of the dashboard panel interfere with the windshield glass. I cut away roughly 1 mm from the front edge (dash panel) and also thinned down the upper area a bit. The windshield was also thinned down on the inside. I think I dry-fitted the parts about 50 times before I was pleased, but patience goes a long way.

[Byron5150]

I personally don't like the Orange Amt 1970 1/2

This kit was molded in orange and the plastic feels very weak IMO

I hate kits that have all the parts molded in one color unless it's a Tamiya kit

[deuces wild]

I have that kit.. I plan on building mine with the '66 Nova tunnel ram set and also use a pair of the amt Goodyear hollow slicks..

[james460]

Doesn't it come in both orange and white? I think it's marked on the box. There are several nice articles in the model mags that deal with building the different variations of the car. I think all mention taking a little off the back of the dash and a little off the bottom of the front glass. I have all three issues, the Z/28, the first Balwin car with out decals and the Models King issue. The later Balwin Motion Cars have, I understand, a really nice decal package for that car. I think its as nice a Camaro kit as you'll find. A 2 in 1 would be sweet.

[Byron5150]

I've only purchased one of the 1970 1/2 camaro and it was molded in orange at least the newer version I bought it last year.

There may be some in white to for that kit

Edited July 18, 2014 by Byron5150

[pack rat]

The Round2 Baldwin/Motion kit comes in two colors (white/green) but the Z/28 only comes in orange.

[Brett Barrow]

I think production of the Z/28 has been switched to white, but it's not one of the kits where you get a choice. I'll check some stock when I get a chance.

[mnwildpunk]

All I know is the last ones I bought 2011/12 was only molded in orange and except for the tiny problems listed above I had no problems with it like I said I love this kit next to the AMT 70 superbee 66 nova pro street its the kit I've built the most and have the greatest back stock of.

[unclescott58]

I've built both the "good" and the "bad" versions of AMT's '70 1/2 Camaros within the last year. The early 90's release, the bad one, is really bad. Besides the front end being wrong, it's obvious the kit was based on a older non Z/28 mold. The air cleaner and I believe the valve covers are totally wrong for a kit of a Z/28. And overall the kit is just a typical 70's kit in detail. Not good compare to the newer kits. As noted, you could use a lot of the parts for restoring old 1970 - 1974 AMT Camaros. Except for one thing. The seats are the low back buckets that were only used on the 70.5 Camaros.

The later AMT 70.5 Camaro Z/28 is a great kit. I had no problems what so ever with mine. Everything looked good and fit fine.

I'll have to dig out the two kits and photograph them together so people can see the difference. The front end is the real problem with the earlier kit. Who they came up with that and allowed it into production I'll never understand? The rest of it I can forgive being that it was made from a revised old tool. But, that front end! How could they design something that was that far off?

As others have advised. Forget the earlier 70.5 Camaro, and look for the newer tooling. It is a 100% improvement over the other.

Scott

P.S. The decals on the earlier kit were also goofy. I'm not sure what Ertl was think when they designed that kit?

Edited July 19, 2014 by unclescott58

[Brett Barrow]

Z/28 is still molded in orange. It was the 71 Charger I was thinking of, it's in that same series and is also orange on the box top but is molded in white. Sorry if I caused any confusion! I knew I had opened an orange car in that series and was presently surprised to find white. That orange plastic is hideous.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[Bob Ellis]

The '90s ERTL '70.5 Z28 version was originally a promo in 1970. So, it is a very simple kit. It was a decent full front bumper kit until 1973. Okay, not a lot of detail, but it appeared okay. It just didn't translate to well from a '77 antiquated kit by ERTL.

[farmallgray]

I just started this kit (the newer orange version) and I'm a bit disappointed with it. I think it will build into a nice model but it will take a good bit of work. I was looking for a fairly quick no hassle build to do straight out of the box-and this aint it. Mine seems to have an excessive amount of flash for starters. I know that in the old days the manufacturers tended to chrome way more parts than necessary. This one is just the opposite. The wheels should be chrome. Then you could just paint the spokes argent over the chrome. Instead you have to foil or paint the trim rings and center caps which are chrome on the 1:1. The air cleaner and valve covers could be chrome too. The valve covers on the 1:1 are cast aluminum so they could be hit with dullcoat if they were chrome and the air cleaner lid is chrome. Most of the locating pins for parts don't fit well at all. They are either oversized or undersized which both lead to vauge or improper fit. The differential cover only fits upside-down unless you remove the locating pins. I added strips behind the front and rear valance panels to make them easier to install after painting and give them positive repeatable locating for fitting them before paint. The molded headliner and dome light are nice except they cause the roof to be wavy. The wheel mountings fit very loosely so I would glue them. The rearend sits way to low with the standard rear axle. I used the one from the Baldwin version (included in the kit but not listed in the instructions) to make it sit level and not like it had 400# in the trunk. I would have rather had the front subframe attached to the floorpan but I know others like it separate. Bottom line is; it has the potential to make for a really nice accurate model, but it takes a good bit of work to get there. Its not an easy quick build to get there though.

[Guest]

Actually Camaros of this vintage tend to be tail draggers.

Edited January 11, 2015 by midnightprowler

[Can-Con]

Reading through this thread and it's occurred to me that no one has mentioned a glaring mistake in the newer kits.

The top of the rear fenders is way off. There should be a smooth transition between the sides and top of the fenders, not a kick-up on top like on the kit. I'm not sure if it would be better to sand the "mini tailfin" off or try to fill in the channel it has created.

I see a lot of pics of the real cars where it looks like the kit is correct but it's just how the body catches the light in the pics.

Hopefully, this pic will show how the body should look.

[jkelleycrna]

I just picked this up a couple weeks ago...Happy to know it's the "good" one!

Will most likely be my next project.

[Mr Stock]

I just picked this up a couple weeks ago...Happy to know it's the "good" one!

Will most likely be my next project.

I have this same kit in my stash, apart from being moulded in orange which is no big deal really, my kit does seem to suffer with a lot of flash...which again is no issue to me, just surprising on a fairly newish tool.

[Mr mopar]

What color is the plastic in the Model king kit ? and is there any extra parts other then the decals!

[horsepower]

I'm glad they molded the subframe separately, makes it a lot easier to use on building street rod models, that are more correct to current 1:1 building styles, they're excellent for updating '55, & '57 Chevy pickup kits, and not bad on the  '64 -'66 pickups to make a more modern front suspension.

Now if Revell would just reissue the Beatnik Bandit II so I could get some good Pinto/Mustang II front suspension parts reasonably priced.

[Snake45]

 

I have this same kit in my stash, apart from being moulded in orange which is no big deal really, my kit does seem to suffer with a lot of flash...which again is no issue to me, just surprising on a fairly newish tool.

Flash is a common problem on this kit, especially around the headlights. Also, several "dents" or indentations along the passenger side of the hood opening on the front fender. That one's not a big deal--just fill and sand--except I'm planning to build this kit with the (green) plastic polished to a high gloss ("just because"). I'll probably have to just live with it.

[Mr Stock]

Flash is a common problem on this kit, especially around the headlights. Also, several "dents" or indentations along the passenger side of the hood opening on the front fender. That one's not a big deal--just fill and sand--except I'm planning to build this kit with the (green) plastic polished to a high gloss ("just because"). I'll probably have to just live with it.

Its ironic this thread has resurfaced as my next kit on the bench is this exact kit !, although I did sell the orange plastic one and the one Im building is in grey plastic with a lot less flash interestingly.