Revell 1/25 '66 Chevelle El Camino

The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupe utility vehicle produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1959 through 1960, with production resuming in 1964 and continuing through 1987. The El Camino was introduced in response to the success of its rival Ford Ranchero. The El Camino was based on corresponding Chevrolet car lines, though in North America, the vehicle is classified and titled as a truck. It has a variant, the GMC Sprint introduced for the 1971 model year, and renamed GMC Caballero in 1978. In Mexico it was sold as the Chevrolet Conquistador.

1966 brought added a 396 cu in (6.5 L) V8 engine to the lineup rated from 325 to 375 hp (280 kW). The 1965 327 would run low 15s in the 1/4 mile (at some 90 mph), while 1966 to 1969 models were easily into the mid- to upper-14s. New sheetmetal highlighted the 1966 El Camino, identical to the Chevelle forward of the B-pillars. A new instrument panel with horizontal sweep speedometer was featured. Inside, the standard version featured a bench seat interior and rubber floor mat from the lower-line Chevelle 300 series while the Custom used a more upscale interior from the Chevelle Malibu with plusher cloth-and-vinyl or all-vinyl bench seats and deep twist carpeting, or optional Strato-bucket seats with console.

It has been rumored for years that GM may bring back the El Camino. GM already has a vehicle ready in Australia in the form of the Holden Ute, save for some minor changes necessary to make it available in the U.S. This may have been backtracked within the past couple of years, however, as the Subaru Baja, the only "pickup car" recently available in the US, didn't sell well at all and was dropped after the 2006 model year.

Molded mostly in white plastic, the quality of the kit parts is just what you'd expect from Revell. Crisp molding with minimal ejector pin marks and those will mostly be hidden when the project is complete. There are several chrome sprues that are very nicely done with a good layer of chrome and no thin spots. Clear parts are equally well molded and there is a small red sprue for tail lights.

The engine appears to be a 396 with a single four barrel carburetor and chrome air cleaner and valve covers. There really isn't all that much to the interior, but Revell does supply inner door panels, a dash with pedals and two bucket seats. Decals are used for instruments. The chassis consists of the usual pan with framework molded in place. The suspension parts are separate and attach to the chassis pan. This is where the 'custom' part of the kit comes to play as one has a choice of stock or custom wheels. I found it neat that there are decals for the brake rotors for the custom version as these will be easily seen through the spokes of the 'bling' wheels. The major parts of lower body and hood chrome trim are provided by separate pieces the one glues in place. Now I realize this is a bit of a time saver, but some may prefer this to be molded in place.  Typical of modern Revell kits, small pieces like door handles are separate.

Instructions are very well done with all the parts identified and color information provided for them. The decal sheet is well printed and provides plates and logos for the stock version and a nice set of flames for the custom build. 

This adds very nicely to the growing garage full of car kits that is really the staple of Revell USA. It is well molded and should make for a superb model when done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_El_Camino

June 2010