Skip to main content

Corvette C5-R Compuware

For several years I've been a member of the Dutch IPMS division.
To get a bit more involved with the IPMS and to restart (again..) my hobby I decided to do a build (and review) of a model offered up for review.
My choice fell on the Corvette C5-R Compuware by Revell.

Model specs:
Subject:  Corvette C5-R Compuware
From:  Revell
Kit no.: 07069
Scale:   1/25

Image source: Scalemates.com

About the original car: (excerpt taken from Wikipedia)
The Corvette C5-R was part of a plan by General Motors and their Chevrolet brand to create a factory team to participate in grand touring races not only in North America, but also elsewhere in the world, most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
General Motors chose the Pratt & Miller group of Michigan to build and develop the new racing cars, as well as to organize the racing team in preparation for a debut in 1999.
The C5-R initially used a 366 ci (6.0 liter) V8 engine based on the road car's LS1. This was replaced with a larger 427 ci (7.0 liter) engine several months later during the 1999 season, and became the standard engine for the C5-R for the rest of its career. Katech Engine Development constructed the C5-Rs engines, although they retained elements of the production LS1 units.
Eleven C5-R chassis were built by Pratt & Miller between 1998 and 2004, with ten being used directly by Corvette Racing and one built purely for privateer use.
More information can be found here: Wikipedia

About the kit:
This particular kit is a new release from Revell for the year 2014.
Which doesn't mean that the kit is new. Revell issued their first release of their Corvette C5-R in 2000. And it shows...

With this kit the entries for the 2003 Le Mans event can be built. More specifically the starting no.'s 50 (2nd in the GTS class) and 53 (3rd in the GTS class).
Revell has released this livery before in 2011.What the particular differences are between this release and the 2011 release I don't know, although I do know that the decalsheet is new (copyright 2014) and the box has a new image/design.

When I opened up the box I was pleasantly surprised at first. The kit is spread over 7 sprues in white plastic and one clear sprue for the windows. There's also a tiny sprue in clear red containing the rear lights. The kit comprises 93 parts (and 4 tires naturally).
As mentioned a new (?) decalsheet is present with sponsors and carbon fibre decals for certain parts. Sadly the Good Year decals are missing.

Looking at the kit in more detail it soon becomes clear that this is already an older kit and that the moulds have seen better days.
Quite a few parts have flash. Several parts appear to be misaligned and really don't look that great.
As I already have started this kit I can also mention that the fitment of the parts isn't the best.
Also the instructions are quite a challenge. It isn't always clear which section of a part needs what specific colour.
Or maybe I'm just too spoiled by all those Tamiya kits I've built...?

Images of the sprues:

Instructions:

Decal sheet:

More to follow in the next update !

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Citroën Xsara WRC - Francois Duval, ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2007 (part 5)

As promised in the previous part in this update I'll show what I changed on the roll cage. The roll cage as included in the kit is far from complete. When looking at on-board footage and reference images found on the internet the roll cage needs some extra tubing added.  Over the years the roll cage of the Xsara WRC has had several variants as I've noticed studying my reference images. Which isn't that strange as the crash test and safety regulations have changed over the years.  The reference images I have of the specific chassis (#28) which Duval raced during the 2007 ADAC Rallye Deutschland are sadly inconclusive about which version of the roll cage was fitted. Which means that the adaptations I made are at best a good "guesstimate"... As long as it looks and feels right, it is right I guess... I used Evergreen styrene rod of 1.6 mm in diameter for the added sections for the rollcage.  The added sections are highlighted in the images below. Another section I...

Benetton Ford B190B, F1 season 1991 (part 6)

After preparing all the sub assemblies and parts I gave them a good wash with lukewarm water with some dish washing soap. While the parts were drying I decanted Tamiya surface primer (white and grey) into some paint jars. All the parts received a grey primer coat to check for blemishes or spots that need to be reworked. After everything is checked the wings and body will be primed with the white surface primer. After the grey primer, this is how everything looks. Apart from the front wings and the rear wing, everything looks ready for a splash of color. The front wings need some extra work filling and sanding to get rid of the ejector pin marks. The ejector pin marks on the rear wing are hardly visible anymore. Only a few short shot spots on the back of the rear wing need some attention. After sanding, the front wings, rear wing and the body got a coat of white primer in preparation for the color. In the meantime I already painted the suspension, cockpit and engine/g...

Benetton Ford B190B, F1 season 1991 (part 5)

Well. I can hardly believe how long I've been silent here on this blog. Not counting the two show reports I posted earlier this week, the last posting here being from November 2021... But, since I went from a 5 to a 4 day work week at the beginning of this year, there is finally some more spare time to spend. Oh, and a good cleaning of the modelling "cave" did also help in motivating me to dive into the cellar and do some building again. To start a (fingers crossed) longer stint of modelling activities, I decided to (finally) continue with this particular kit. It's been lying around for almost 10 years, so you can say it's desperately in need of some attention. Luckily all parts are still accounted for as I had the parts nicely packed away (for a change). Upon inspecting my work I couldn't quite look past a few things that weren't so neatly done. Especially the engine/gearbox and rear wing assemblies were a bit wanting. Also, upon cross-checking ...