Internet Modeler : First Look : Automotive RSS News Feed

Revell 1/25 Corvette C5-R 2000 LeMans

By John Jameson

Introduction

This kit from Revell represents the Corvette C5-R as raced at the 24 Hours of LeMans in 2000. The Corvette CR-5 finished 3rd in class that year at LeMans behind both Dodge Vipers, something I am sure that didn't sit well with Chevy fans. The Corvettes showed well in qualifying by placing in 2nd and 3rd on the grid for race day. However, a 24 hour race is a race of attrition and the #63 Corvette had to stop for a new gearbox, losing six laps and a lot of time that eventually proved to be the difference, leaving the car with a 4th place finish. The #64 Corvette was able to avoid a lengthy pit stop but still had problems with a starter and consequently a 3rd place finish. This Corvette is powered by a 600 HP aluminum small block Chevy V8.

The Kit

The kit is in the 1/25th scale and is rated a skill level 3 by Revell. Revell Kit #85-2354. The kit contains 94 pieces. The kit is molded in white except for a set of clear windows and clear red tail lights. There is a set of four rubber racing slicks and a molded body. The rest of the kit is contained on eight white parts tree sprues; one white sprue tree containing the floor pan, one small white sprue tree containing a set of wheels, one sprue tree containing the engine block and brake assemblies, one parts sprue containing the transmission, shocks, and rear wing, one parts sprue containing the suspension and valve covers, one containing the roll cages, one parts sprue containing the dash and interior, and the last parts sprue containing the exhausts, seat and netting.

The decal sheet contains sponsor markings; tire decals, driver names, and some pre shaped carbon fiber pieces. The decals look excellent, sharp and crisp.

Another very nice feature of this kit is its full engine detail, which adds a lot of detail not found in other sports car kits, but a bid odd in that the hood is not removable to display all this detail. I suppose the option always exists to display the car with the body off of the Chassis, but this isn't very accurate because the real body isn't a one piece affair and the real car would never be displayed that way. The base content of the kit is ripe for super detailing and scratchbuilding. This kind of base kit is much appreciated by the more experienced builder because its limitations are endless and will result in much higher sales for Revell.

Conclusions

The kit looks excellent and is a welcome addition to Revell's offerings. As a testament, I've got 4 of them in my stockpile. The price is excellent, at almost half of current Japanese kit offerings, yet has just as much, if not more detail. GM has made a serious commitment to world sports car racing and Corvette fans finally have a kit available to them.

I will say however that the kit is not entirely accurate for a LeMans 2000 car. Right from the box art it is evident that the body molding is different. There are subtle differences such as the NACA duct locations and vents. From the box art can be seen two NACA ducts adjacent to each headlight assembly but the molded body with in the kit contains none.

There is also a discrepancy between the box art and the over the cockpit scoop. The box art shows no scoop as supported by some of my references but yet the molded body contains the scoop as raced at Daytona. It appears Revell created a new set of decals and kept the original moldings from their 24hrs of Daytona kit.

Some other differences for the LeMans car include a different set of disk brakes with a different hub assembly. What's builder to do? There are a few options, build the kit as is and let the nitpickers say what they want or look to the aftermarket.

Scale Designs makes an excellent transkit that supplies a set of white metal wheels, brake disks, photo etch and hub assemblies with decals for the car at Daytona or Sebring. This transkit requires no changes to the body but will not build an accurate LeMans racer.

For an accurate LeMans racer you may need to either modify the supplied Revell body or look for a Resin Molded correct body produced by Harold Bradford. This resin cast body contains the correct body with correct NACA ducts for a Lemans Racer. This resin body also contains a separate hood to display the car with all the engine detail provided in Revell's kit. For a better look at Harold Bradford's resin body conversion see the review.

I'd prefer to use after market carbon fiber decals such as Scale Motorsports because I believe the pattern to be more realistic, but for a few of the carbon fiber pieces, logos are pre printed on the carbon fiber decals. GM Millennium Yellow is the color of the real racing Corvette and may be available from GM dealers for an accurate color match.

Regardless of all the nitpicking I have done the kit is excellent. Good detail at low cost. The fact that the aftermarket is supporting the kit with many variations makes it a kit that you will want to include in your collection.

A big thanks to Revell for the review sample.