Kit Review

1998 Corvette "Indy 500 Pace Car"

AMT snapfast #30021

Parts included with kit #30021

Review:

Last spring when the Indy Racing League and GM revealed the Corvette that would pace this years Indy 500 opinion was split on the chosen color scheme. The Radar Blue and Yellow being described as everything from bold to Hot Wheels garish. Like it or hate it, it was only a matter of time till the car would be available in model form. AMT started the game with an excellent promotional model which overnight became hard to find. Revell-Monogram brought out the first kit and set a benchmark standard. AMT have now released a snapfast version of their promo. So how does it stand up to the assembled promo or to the R-M kit?

• The kit comes in blue, yellow and semi matt black and is nearly flash free including any difficult to sand body mold lines. The molded in blue appears very close to the Radar Blue of the car which can appear blue or purple depending on the light. The body is also dimple and blemish free.
• Fit is excellent and while designed to snap and screw together I would recommend some glue to insure a tighter fit.
• The kit is typical of both AMT and snap kits. The general outline is correct but the kit lacks some details. There is no rear view mirror or chrome inserts for the outside mirrors. The poorly detailed inside door sidewalls that have been an unpleasant feature of so many AMT kits are also back. The inadequacies of the AMT C5 models have been documented in several magazine reviews, suffice to say that they are continued in this kit.
• Some additional painting is required on the windshield frame and seats and center of each yellow wheel. The instruction sheet and box art will provide this information.
• The kits biggest flaw is a fatal one. What makes the Pace car are its distinctive graphics. The decal sheet looks good and the complex graphic is in register. Although missing the waterfall logo, it has a more serious problem. Each decal is backed in white, I’m sure to prevent bleed through from the dark blue. While careful trimming may eliminate some of this white outline nothing can save several decals such as the windshield CORVETTE, the Indy 500 date on the door and the hood/tail logos. On these pieces the white background can’t be trimmed cut out.

  Final Comment:

  Had the decals been correct this kit could have been highly recommended for anyone wanting an easy build and authentic looking Pace Car as it is it ranks a distant third. Now to find a paint match so I can build my R-M kit!

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Page updated  09/01/99