The Model Car Showroom

1962 Chevrolet Corvette

This is a review of the AMT ’62 Corvette Stingray #6489

This is one of those cars that I loved as a child and felt ambivalent as an adult. As a car, this Vette is as good as any and looks like a gem amongst coal, but it just has no appeal to me. Still, I wanted to give this one the showing it deserved. I made it a few years ago, and the champagne color never sat well with me, and what’s more, the tan interior did even less. It was time for a revamp.

Like most of the Corvette line-up, there is no shortage of ’62 Corvette kits, and the options get pretty deep—from stock to gasser to racer. Stock is EXACTLY where I like to be, but for others, there are a ton of different ways to build this beauty. Now, that would be good if that were the whole story, but these kits are merely average. Everything from bad glass, bad flash, non-whitewall tires, fitting issues, tree problems, and more. Don’t get me wrong, these are certainly buildable and besides the windshield being tricky to not ruin, is almost foolproof.

CAR BACKGROUND :: It is extremely difficult to be the older model. The one that was one year before the greatest offering in early Corvette history (I only say that because I don’t believe the ’63 IS the greatest). I know… sacrilege, but honestly, there is more to greatness than a split-window (I look forward to your letters). Anyways, the ’62 was the last year of the original style, and that was good as a decade is long enough for any shape (though don’t tell Porsche that). The last version of the shape was fantastic, however, and it was one that I believe is the best of the C1s. The two-light front and rear look excellent, and in the rear especially, it beautifully finishes off the slope. The fun didn’t stop there as the engines were the most powerful to date, making the little car book it down the street. Not that it was the big reason to buy one, but it was a REALLY nice perk.

This was my previous attempt, and though it isn’t too bad, there is enough that is wrong that I needed to redo it. As I said above, I didn’t like the color very well, and to make matters worse, the tan interior was also bland and uninteresting. Worse than the previous “worse” the kit (and most of the ’62s by AMT) didn’t come with whitewall tires. It doesn’t sound like much, but it just made the bland, a complete snoozer.

Here is the redo. Tamiya Silver and some satin red from Krylon make this one POP. I also stole a set of whitewalls from another kit, which indeed finished the look. I think the newest release of the ’62 MAY have them or at least red line / white-letter. Better than nothing, but these look perfect. I had to add a side mirror as well as the kit doesn’t include one.

Here’s the engine bay, which is pure AMT garbage. The engine is small, the detail is weak, the radiator is a flat piece of plastic, the battery is on the floor of the engine bay, and there is no big-block option to make it better. I’ve seen others shoehorn in an LS6 or the like from a newer Vette, and even though I hate non-matching engines (WITH A PASSION), it’s still a better fit than this dud of an orange tic-tac. That said, the motor is a gem IRL. The 360 horsepower was super potent, but their more moderate offerings kept this little car moving as well as you needed.

The underside of this one is the worst thing about this kit. It is reasonably detailed, but the exhaust is molded, there are no exhaust tips, there are no shocks, springs, or anything else to work on, and there’s nothing extra to add to make it better. You have little to worry about with the exhaust manifolds matching up with the rest, and it still ends up looking very clean, but don’t look for a lot of work or entertainment with it.

The red turned out sooooo much bolder than the tan I did last time. The accents look fantastic and even though AMT kits don’t have the detail that you really want, they still are bold when covered in red paint. There should be an on-dash rear-view mirror, but I don’t have one that is shaped correctly for the dash, and it wasn’t included. I did the chrome around the interior and had to chrome the windshield surround as well. I don’t have any idea why, but I didn’t chrome it on the champagne one I most recently did. Forgot, I suppose. I felt so blaze’ after that build, I guess I just didn’t remember to do so.

Ultimately, this isn’t a kit for the “first try” builder, but it isn’t all bad, either. You almost cannot screw it up. The exhaust is molded and is right where it needs to be to meet the engine; the interior fits like a glove; there is only one glass to ruin, and it isn’t the toughest to glue in if you use tape, and the underside has metal axles so there is no suspension to work with either. Easy-peasy.

On the flip side, the tires are black and dull, there are no side or rear-view mirrors, the hood sometimes needs bending to fit correctly, the front of the car is BADLY attached to the tree (and will ruin the front if you’re not careful when detaching it), and the engine bay is the epitome of mediocrity.

It is also not an excellent investment at this point because it was just reissued, and a slew of kits were made. I think it displays very nicely, though, so I’m glad I made it… again.

7.0 – Average