RoR Step-by-Step Review * Corvette C5-R 2001 Daytona Racer 1:25 Scale Revell Kit # Review

Transcription

1 RoR Step-by-Step Review * Corvette C5-R 2001 Daytona Racer 1:25 Scale Revell Kit # Review In 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr. strode out of his comfort zone of Twin 125, Grand National Series, IROC, and NASCAR races and, along with his son Dale Jr., entered the Daytona 24-hour endurance race to complete unfinished business. Although both he and his son handled themselves extremely well, they only managed to finish fourth due to having to stop for repairs during the night. However, their C5-R Corvette maintained a strong lead throughout the race until the breakdown occurred. This model represents the #3 car driven by Dale and his son (along with Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins) as a tribute to The Intimidator and his legacy, with a couple of modifications. For the Modeler: This is a Revell Corvette C5-R 2001 Daytona Racer 1:25 Scale Revell Kit # skill level 3 model kit was released in 2003 but there are still plenty of these kits around. You can find them at online auctions or flea market sales. The kit consists of 94 parts molded in white, transparent red and four vinyl tires. The body represents the 2001 CR-5 styling. It also features a highly detailed chassis with a liftoff body and decals to finish either the class winning LeMans car, the Daytona #2 winning car or the Daytona #3 car driven by the Earnhardt team. Finished length is 7-3/8"

2 (Fig #0a) This is the kit s contents and box art. (Fig. #3) I began by painting and assembling the base engine with Ambroid cement, which consists of a two-piece block, intake manifold, front cover, oil pump, belt/pulley assembly, (all of which were painted flat black), and starter and valve covers (painted gloss black). On the intake manifold, the instruction sheet states to paint a certain part transparent blue, but it s not clear what part of the manifold should be that color. There is a semi-circular part in front of the manifold where the arrow is pointing to, so I painted that with a base color of silver before applying Tamiya clear blue paint. The valve covers are shown in the instruction sheet to be mounted upside down the Corvette logo should be right-side up. Also, there is no color indicated for either the valve covers or the front cover. Continuing with the rest of the color scheme for the majority of the engine, I painted the engine cover flat black and the valve covers semi-gloss black. Assembly of the engine went smoothly and without issues.

3 (Fig. #4) I then mounted the completed base engine onto the chassis pan, which I painted flat black. (Fig. #5) I painted the one-piece front and rear suspensions flat black and installed them onto the chassis pan, as well as the three-piece transaxle/differential unit, which was painted Testor s Aluminum Plate buffing metalizer. All components installed without problem. Contact points for all the components were sure and precise. The rear axle assembly accommodates a metal axle for the rear tires. The instruction sheet shows decals to be placed on the rear pan that juts out from the chassis, but there are no such decals in this particular kit. It seems that the instruction sheet, with relatively few changes, almost directly mimics the one found in Revell s CompuWare C5-R Corvette kit, which I built and reviewed some time ago. I actually used that review to reference this build, knowing both kits would be identical in most respects. Decal #5 is reserved for the lower rocker panels on the side of the car, while decal #9 is used on the left intake box on the engine. I also installed the tank to the right side of the chassis pan, painted it flat black with a silver cap.

4 (Fig. #7, 8) I then began to install the roll cage assembly. I started with the center console (painted flat black) which includes three decals; two for the batteries, and one for the hard/soft shift pattern next to the shifter location. (Fig. #9) I moved on to the second half of the roll cage assembly by installing the left roll cage after painting it Magnesium, detailing the canisters in red (red arrows) as the instructions suggested, and detail-painting the molded-in roll cage cushions flat black (white arrow).

5 (Fig. #10a) The shifter was painted flat white, and the shifter base detail-painted silver (red circle). The twopiece oil tank and radiator were painted Testor s Aluminum Plate buffing metalizer, and the right roll cage was done in Testor s Magnesium buffing metalizer (blue arrow), while the seat was painted flat black (red arrow). I detail-painted the molded-in seat belts with a black sharpie, giving them a somewhat glossier look, and detailed the belt buckles with a silver sharpie (blue circle). There is a decal for the headrest (white arrow). (Fig. #10) I added the bulkhead and rear cross-member afterward. I not only had to shave 1/16 off either end of the bulkhead contact point at the bottom for a proper fit, but had to trim the side contact points of the rear cross-member as well to ensure fit.

6 (Fig. #11, 12) The cooling duct assembly was next. It is a two-piece affair consisting of top and bottom scoops. The instructions show the body of the bottom scoop to be painted red, while the hoses are flat black. From my experience with the CompuWare version of this kit, it should be the other way around. I did just that, and painted the body of the top half flat black with semi-gloss black piping. The completed assembly installed flawlessly. (Fig. #13) Moving on to the brace assembly, I painted the firewall flat black (white arrow). The foot pedals were painted Testor s Stainless Steel buffing metalizer (red circle), and the center cross-member Magnesium with flat black cushion (blue arrow). Installation of these items was issue free.

7 (Fig. #17) The interior assembly consists of a dashboard with separate steering wheel. The dash has four decals; two for instrument gauges, one for a placard on the passenger side, and a number for the placard indicating the car number. Four decals are available for the placard number, and of course I chose the #3 decal. The roll cage top is included in this assembly; again, painted Magnesium with the cushion detail-painted flat black. Remembering the advice I gave readers on the CompuWare version, I installed the completed dashboard onto the roll cage assembly before installing the roll cage top. Also, I glued the rear strut of the cage into the base of the rear of the chassis before positioning the top parts onto the side cage. The rear right-hand bar did not want to seat properly, and it took numerous applications of glue along with creative clamping to get it to seat correctly. (Fig. #18) The suspension and intake assembly phase of this build consists of an upper crossmember (flat black), upper and lower radiator hoses (semi-gloss black with flat black accents), front coil-over shocks, upper A-arms (flat black), and brakes.

8 (Fig. #23) I painted the shocks Testor s Engine Red and ran a silver Sharpie across the raised ribs of the coils for a diverse look. I painted the brake discs Testor s Stainless Steel buffing metalizer, then detail-painted the calipers Tamiya Clear Red to represent Brembo-style calipers. All of these components installed with no problems. (Fig. #29) The intake assembly consists of left and right intake boxes (painted semi-gloss black), a crossover tube (painted Aluminum Plate buffing metalizer), and two headers (brush painted Testor s Exhaust buffing metalizer). The decals for the intake boxes were rather complex to install, and did not seat properly no matter how much setting solution I applied to them. I decided to simply paint the extension tubes on the intakes Exhaust to replicate the carbon fiber type decals.

9 (Fig. #27) I trimmed down the Corvette C5-R decals for the main boxes so they would simply fit the flat surface of the boxes, and painted the intake tubes Aluminum Plate, according to the instructions. All components fit perfectly, and the modeler must thread the headers through the roll cage in order to attach them to the sides of the engine. This was accomplished without any issues, and the headers snuggled in without complaint. (Fig. #32) I then installed the rear suspension assembly consisting of two rear upper A-arms (flat black), two coil-over shocks, and a rear sway bar (flat black), as well as rear brakes. I repeated the detail-painting process with the rear shocks and brake discs as I had with the front. All components installed without a hitch.

10 black). Installation was uneventful and the finished product looks great. (Fig. #34) I moved on to completing the chassis assembly by installing the two exhaust pipes (painted Exhaust), roll cage side rail (Magnesium), and window netting (flat (Fig. #39) Last but not least was installation of the tires. The rims were all painted Testor s Aluminum Plate buffing metalizer, and I rubbed the tread part of the soft rubber tires on a sanding stick to give them a look of wear. They mounted without incident and look great. The car sits perfectly on all fours!

11 (Fig. #48) After the chassis was completed, I turned my attention to the body and final assembly. I lightly sanded what few mold lines and seams there were on the body, then primed and painted the car VHT Daytona Yellow enamel (how appropriate!), clear-coated, and wet-sanded it. I then masked off the rear panel and sprayed it flat black to replicate the real car s paint scheme. I then proceeded to apply chrome foil to both the backup lights (white arrow) as well as the taillight recesses (blue arrow). I did this to make the taillights stand out against a black background and provide a more realistic look to the taillights. 52 I applied the decals to the body. There are four options for the body decals: the #2 and #3 cars which ran in the Daytona 24 hour race, or the #63 and #64 cars which took the checkered flag in the 24 Hours of LeMans race later the same year. I chose the #3 car in tribute to Dale Sr. The decals literally snuggled into place without the use of any setting solutions, and were glossy enough that they seemed to blend into the body right away, even after drying! One caveat: decals #1 and #2 should be reversed if one is following the instructions on decal placement.

12 53 After waxing the windows, I applied a black Sharpie to the glass outlines and center braces of both windshield and rear glass, and installed both. I also installed the wing windows. All glass installed without issue and snuggled into place without complaint. I painted the headlight buckets flat black, along with the front lens bucket, then detailpainted the headlights and front lens light recesses with a silver Sharpie. The clear front lenses, lens cover, and headlight covers installed without incident. So did the clear red taillight lenses. Although I chose the clear front lens cover, a blank cover is also included in the kit, which I decided not to use. I also painted the front grille recesses flat black, chrome foiled the side marker lights, then added Tamiya Clear Yellow to the sides of them. The side view mirrors consist of two housings, and two lenses, the latter of which I chrome foiled for realism. I painted the housings flat black, which is correct for that particular car. Installation of both was flawless.

13 (Fig. #57) I also painted the window surrounds and headlight housings flat black. The only deviations I made to the car are the flat black front air dam and the memorial decal on the left front fender honoring the passing of a fallen comrade. That decal should be on the #63 car, but as a tribute to The Intimidator, I felt justified in adding it. The final piece was the rear spoiler, and, like the majority of the rest of the kit, mounted with no problem. I applied flat black paint to the vertical stabilizers to replicate the picture of the real car on the box. (Fig. #999) Final impressions: this kit is almost a carbon copy of the C5-R CompuWare Corvette I built and reviewed some time ago. Although this style of automobile is not my cup of tea, I nonetheless enjoyed building it tremendously because of its fit and finish. The Goodwrench version is no different, and although I m not a NASCAR aficionado, I did admire Dale Earnhardt s spirit and ferociousness on the track, and this kit gave me an opportunity to pay a tribute to the man known as The Intimidator. In terms of fit and finish, I would rate this kit a solid 8 out of 10 stars. The only beef I have is with the discrepancies of the instruction sheet s information on colors (or lack of). It seems Revell almost copied the CompuWare version s instruction sheet without paying attention to differences. Dale Earnhardt certainly wouldn t stand for that!