Revell Corvette Stingray with New Tooling

This is the first part of the Revell 2022 Corvette Stingray Z51 Coupe New Tooling 1/25 Scale 85-4556 14556.

Over the years of modeling I’ve built many aircraft, tanks, spaceships, and even a few real ships. However, the one subject that has been my biggest challenge is car models. And within the past few years, I’ve picked up a few car model kits, and I’ve been studying a lot of car modelers methods, but I’ve never totally had the confidence to just pick up a kit and build it.

And I don’t entirely know why I feel this hesitation but it might have something to do with the Tamiya 1:35 Citroen Traction 11CV that I built many years ago that quickly became an overwhelming project that I never really succeeded at building. But here is an old Arii 1:32 Honda N360 that I built that I built nearly 8 years ago. It’s not going to win any awards but I don’t think it looks too bad, and I think I’m ready to improve on what I learned all those years ago, and I’m going to try and build something really special.

And speaking of special, let’s take a look at this kit. This kit was released last year by Revell Germany, and this is the “American Boxing” which comes in the traditional style brick box that most of us are used to. And I actually like that they have done this, as I think it will appeal to most modelers.

I’ve seen several of these over the summer, and it’s a real head-turner for sure. As good as it looks on the box, the contents are even better!

The car body is moulded in white, which made taking the pictures a bit difficult, but the molding is really crisp and clean. I was able to only detect a faint seam line that will need to be sanded on the back. Also worth noting is that because of the complex shape of the car, Revell used some slide molding, and it’s quite good too.

Each of the sprues is easily identified with a large lettered tab, in this case, sprue P has some of the clear parts. And I don’t know what Revell is doing differently with their clear parts, but these are very, very clear. I’m excited by this as the interior of this car is unique and colorful, and it will be nice to have these seen through the windscreen.

I’d like to mention that on the windscreen there is some frosting around the edges. This is done on the inside of the part and is meant to be painted black. Once this is painted it will look incredibly realistic on the model. It also has quite a pronounced edge that will make masking a lot easier.

Sprue N has the rest of the clear parts, and you can see more parts have the frosted effect.

The rear hatch is a pose-able part, and should the modeler choose it can be opened to show off the engine details.

I wanted to show off this small detail on the back of the hatch. Revell included a small Stingray detail. This is also included as a decal, but if you are feeling ambitious you can paint it on instead.

One interesting feature of this kit is that Revell has included the option for right or left sided steering. This also includes different windshield wipers. This part also features some slide molding with a faint seam line that will easily be sanded down.

The rims are really nice and will be easy to install with the small pegs on the back that will fit into a socket on the car.

The parts are really clean, and will only need a bit of sanding to smooth out the edges. I’m very impressed with the quality of this kit as it’s a big improvement from some past Revell kits I’ve built.

I also really live the instructions that Revell have drawn up. The parts colors are easily identifiable, and it’s very easy to read and understand where the parts will go.

Revell were also very clear to highlight the differences with the left and right side.

The decal sheet is beautifully printed, and contains many small optional decals for whatever version of the Corvette you decide to build. There are also some racing stripes that you can use instead of painting them on.

We also Canada represented with this kit, included are these Ontario licence plates.

Given my trepidation in the past for car models, I’m very excited to begin work on this kit. Revell have beautifully broken down the complexity of this subject into what I believe will be a fun project when it’s completed.

My end goal with this Corvette is to work slowly and methodically so that I can properly learn how to build car models. And if I’m successful I’ll be able to tackle that pile of car and motorcycle kits that have been collecting dust.

So if you are hesitant about building a car model, I hope that this will be a good guide that we can both learn from.

To be continued…

Jared Demes is a modeler from southern Alberta. He has been building models since he was 4 years old when his Dad first introduced him to the hobby. He has written for several magazines including, Fine Scale Modeler, Scale Aircraft Modeling, Phoenix Scale Models, and others. He has an interest in all modeling subjects, with a focus on WWII Japanese aircraft and Science Fiction.

Jared has won several IPMS awards for his modeling, and currently operates his YouTube channel rebelsatcloudnine, where he showcases model builds and product demonstrations.

Next Post: Part 2