Kit Review

1999 C5-R Corvette Goodwrench

Revell ProFinish kit # 85-1648

Review:

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.

Revell is the first to make a kit of this awesome car. Released as a Pro-Finish glue kit, the model represents the #2 car that debuted in the ROLEX 24 hours race at Daytona in February 1999. It finished third in class and 18^th overall in that race. The box art says "Driver figure Included", but don't look for it. That's a typo in the box.

The one piece body is prepainted in Silver and Black, with the door sponsor decals, the GMAC logo over the rear fender and the door numbers pre-painted. The hood and rear hatch are molded closed. There are some mold lines along the top of the hood edges.

The engine is a 14 piece affair. But because of the hood being molded closed you either hide the engine completely, or do not put the body on, something that is not very realistic. The headers are visible behind the front wheels and the exhaust gases go out thru pipes about the middle of the car.

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. 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.

The interior consists of the tunnel, with three electronic boxes and wires molded in, a racing seat with molded belts and a small tank. The racing dash has details molded in that should be sanded before decals are applied. The pedals are mounted in the firewall and the steering wheel attaches effortlessly. A rear bulkhead separates the cockpit from the rear compartment.

The massive roll cage consists of two major parts, left and right, that include frame detail, plus separate crossmembers to hold everything together. A separate side rail goes into the driver compartment for added side impact protection. A rather heavy molded window net finishes the interior.

The rear compartment also includes cooling ductwork, a hefty rear sway bar, fuel filler neck and an oil tank.

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. The vinyl tires only needed sanding the contact surface with 100 grit sandpaper to produce a convincing effect.

Final assembly includes the mirrors, windshield, side and back windows, headlights, wiper, lower grille, taillights and the huge rear spoiler. The rear spoiler is pre painted, and that sprue is bagged separately, but the spoiler's mount supports need painting to match.

The best part of the kit is the decal sheet. It includes 50 decals for the model ranging from sponsor decals 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 strategically located slit cuts with a new #11 blade, and paitence will do the trick. Apart from the body's vast array of decorative sponsor decals, the sheet also includes carbon fiber decals for the engine compartment and rear tunnel, dash, electronic box logos, roll cage decals and the belt harness "SIMPSON" logos.

Final Comment:

In summary, the model goes together very easy and the results are great. Despite its simplified construction, the finished model even looks more complicated. If there ever was a "One size fits all" model, this could be it. It is simple enough for a first time builder, challenging enough for the average modeler and a great starting point for veteran modelers. Revell did a great job and this kit should sell very well, bringing new blood into the hobby and returning lost followers. As Larry Greenberg would say, "Higly Recommended" I would say: "RUN and buy one NOW"

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Page updated  03/25/01