Corvette Model Gallery
C5-R
After what seemed to be an eternity, GM finally took the Corvette racing with full factory and corporate support in 1999. The C5-R, as the racing version of the newest generation Corvette is named, is a powerful purpose built race car, prepared by Pratt & Miller. Designed to do battle against Vipers and Porsches in venues like Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona, it utilizes several production parts like the hydroformed frame and the windshield. Motion is provided by a 7 liter (427 cu in) racing version of the LS1 cranking over 600 hp.
The model: I built this Revell Pro-Finish 85-1648 C5-R Corvette racer box stock. Revell is the first to make a kit of this awesome car. The kit represents the #2 car that debuted in the ROLEX 24 hours race at Daytona in February 1999. It finished third in class and 18th overall in that race.
Because of the hood being molded closed you either hide the
engine completely, or do not put the body on. I opted for leaving
the engine out, to be detailed and displayed next to the car. In
the future, I might try opening the hood.
Because of the prepainted body, there are some mold lines along
the top of the hood edges that I didn't even tried to remove.
The wheels and very nice molded, with plastic pins depicting the
center nut holding the fronts and a metal axle holding the rears.
The tires have nice tampo printed "Good Year" and
"Eagle" lettering. But mine came with a blurred left
front tire, that became worst after a light application of
dullcoat. The vinyl tires only needed sanding the wear surface
with 100 grit sandpaper to produce a convincing effect. The
spoiler's mount supports need painting to match.
The best part of the kit is the decal sheet. It includes 50
decals ranging from sponsors to carbon fiber to seatbelt logos.
The decals went surprisigly smooth, and did not reacted
negatively with Model Master's Decal Set. Some decals had to go
over difficult areas like the hood louvers and the roof air
intake. But decal set, a few strategic cuts with a new #11 blade,
and paitence did the trick.
Most of the chassis detail is not seen in the real car because of the underbody pan. Likewise in the model, the underside is a one piece pan with an aerodynamic air tunnel in the rear. Suspension is a simplified piece with lower A arms up front and a similar piece for the rear. A clever design feature is using the metal promo style rear axle like the halfshafts, passing thru the differential. Separate upper A arms and shocks complete all four corners. The brakes include the giant rotors and massive calipers. The rear compartment also includes cooling ductwork, a hefty rear sway bar, fuel filler neck and an oil tank. It looks very good, but there is room for a lot of detailing here.
Comments:
Since the underbody pan is huge, any slight
warpage or misaling will prevent all four tires to sit properly.
As soon as the suspension components are glued, check that all
four tires touch the ground and adjust accordingly. You don't
want to wait until the last moment to find out that only three
tires touch the ground. (Don't ask how I know).
In summary, the model went together very easy and the results are
great. Despite its simplified construction, the finished model
looks even more complicated.
If you would like to contact Ismael on this model his e-mail address is: tatocorvette@hotmail.com
Page updated 03/30/01