This is a review of the AMT ’67 Camaro Z-28 #6638

Another of my youngster builds, the ’67 Camaro is a favorite because it was a simple-looking sportster with classic lines. The kit was a tougher one when I was little and is still a slight challenge for the semi-pro. Still, I had to have this one and it had to be in the same look as my early build. Needless to say, I am happy with it – or it’d not be here LOL.

The 1967 Camaro – the progenitor of the species – is a famous one and a muscle favorite. They ARE over-seen at car shows, are overvalued, and are WAY over performance exaggerated, but they are still very prevalent. The AMT versions are about all the same and typically have just a few differing pieces. The one I did and the other 3 newer AMTs above have the good decal page that includes the stripes in black and white, and other stock stuff. The top right is older and I am not sure about its sheet. The Revells are not ones I’ve ever seen in person as I’ve always gone back to my AMT that I made years ago. It isn’t the better of the two, but it is remembering for me.

These kits are just a smattering of the 1968s available for building. They are 98% the same car as the ’67 and, in most cases, less expensive. If you need a gen-1 Camaro without paying through the nose, the ’68s are the way to go. Unless you NEED the antique kits, they are a steal in pricing – somewhere around $16.

CAR BACKGROUND :: What do you do if you are Chevrolet and your rival, Ford, produces a small sports car that sells some 600,000 units? Well, you come up with this car. The 1967 Camaro was Chevy’s answer to the Mustang phenom and though it wasn’t the supreme seller the trick pony was, it did bring Chevy into the small muscle fray. With a string of peppy engines, the Camaro did command performance (like the ad stated above). it did NOT, however, command it to the elites. Meaning, if you were in a Z-28 and found yourself next to a 440-6 Coronet, you were pretty sure you were taking the right on red to avoid being destroyed. Not that the Z wasn’t quick, at 14.9-ish in the ¼, it was cresting 100mph in a scant 16 seconds. Add a cam and some beefy tires, you were in the 13s in a jiffy. Pretty toey for the cheap Chevy.

My first one of these was white – painted with a paintbrush and done with older white Testors Gloss. It was lousy.. but it was mine. I used the stock stuff, added mag wheels, and changed the bad, dangling exhaust. Too funny. This one is done in Model Master Classic White and it looks like what I had hoped mine would’ve looked like some 30 years ago. I will say if you are thinking white, be ready for primer or extreme patience as this car is typically molded in a horrible grey, and the typical white paint sticks as good as a child’s reused scratch-and-sniff sticker. Ruined one body and had to strip another to get this one right. UGH. Stripes did work out – even with this being a 20+ year old kit.

Stock rims, red interior, and this one even had its own side mirror. Bueno.

If you look really close you’ll see the right valve cover reads “telrovehc”. Yup, upside down. Oh well… apparently I’m still too quick to build 😖. The engine bay is decently detailed for an AMT kit, but the engine is absolutely TINY. Even the real 302 to the right looks snugger. I know there are no hoses and it has white inner fenders, but it is just a TINY engine. The radiator shroud is decent; the battery is too small, the brake boost is a bit on the small side, but overall the engine is decent for the model type. I’d assume the Revell kit’s would be better. Who knows?… maybe I’ll buy a junker and swap out the bigger 302?

Most AMT kits have lackluster interiors and where I can say this isn’t an “A+” by any means, this is a decent-looking cockpit. Done in Red with red carpet, the inside certainly “pops” and I think it looks perfect with the white. Door detail is MEH and the dash is a bit lean there too, but it is a solid display.

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The underside is a mix of decent and average. The overall detail isn’t too bad but the car suffers from a lousy looking exhaust that happens to be a difficult placement. The over/under muffler goes under around and between for a complicated setup. Tough to pin down and get centered. The exhaust tips are a bit on the small/thin side as well. And those mufflers… off a 10-speed bicycle? Miniscule and toy-looking. It came out really decent, but not a fan of the overall quality.

In the end, the Camaro ended up being exactly what I wanted and has made me smile more than once. Reminiscing staring at this car when I was little and I can say I hope it isn’t the last build for it. It was too enjoyable to walk this memory through. The kit is medium-priced as it has far fewer than the ’68 & ’69 models and is probably a good investment as it isn’t likely to be redone further. It is also the time to get one to build as the pricing should go up from here. And it isn’t a bad kit neither.

8.5 Very Good