Manufacturer: AMT/Ertl, P.O. Box 500, Highways 136 and 20, Dyersville, IA 52040-0500, 800-553-4886
Kit: No. 30085
Scale: 1/25
Price: $11
Comments:Injection-molded, 107 parts, decals
Pros: Separate chassis and floor pan, good shapes, details, and fi
Cons: No Baldwin-Motion stripe decals or color-combination information, dashboard is poorly molded
The 1970 model was the first of the "second generation" Camaros where more curves and rounded edges replaced the boxiness of the 1967-69 cars. Long Island's Baldwin Chevrolet was the home of Motion Performance, one of a handful of companies that produced hopped-up Camaros. They installed bigger engines and upgraded drivetrains in stock Camaros to make them faster and quicker than GM had ever imagined. Rounding out the transformation was the addition of bold paint stripes and special emblems so that there was no mistaking a B-M Camaro for a stock one.
Having owned two '70s-era Camaros, I was thrilled when I learned that AMT/ Ertl was going to release an all-new kit of this car. I appreciated that the body, clear parts, and chrome tree were all separately bagged. The kit's 107 parts were all crisply molded with no flash. Best of all, the proportions of the body look right. The wheels are beautiful depictions of the popular Cragar S/S. The rear tires are new Mickey Thompson S/Ss, while the fronts are Firestone Wide-Ovals; these do not have the raised lettering like those on the real car on the box.
The block/transmission of the 454 c.i. "big-block" Chevy engine was split down the middle in typical fashion, but I needed to trim the locating lip at the front of the engine to get it to fit well. The rest of the engine is nicely detailed and looks good when built and painted. The two-piece exhaust headers are chrome-plated but need some patience to fit perfectly. Also, the fan clutch (part No. 7A) interferes with the installation of the radiator in step 9, so I left mine off.
Typical of current AMT/Ertl kits, the floor pan and front subframe are molded as separate parts that almost snap together to produce a very sturdy unit. The front suspension consists of eight parts, while the rear has nine. Both assemblies go together well, though the rear shocks were about 1'32" too long. When I got my model up on four wheels the car sat level and had the right stance, though some modelers may want to lower the front just a bit to give the model a little more rake. The rear traction bars, when painted yellow, really complete the '70s performance image.
The interior of the model is just as Spartan as that of the real cars, consisting of 12 pieces, including the two-piece bucket seats. My sampleps dashboard had numerous swirls and flow lines on the top and very soft detail on the gauge panel.
There were no signs of warpage or flash on the body, but the fit of the front and rear fascias and the spoilers are not tight. The real car pictured on the box shows the special stripes that really made this car stand out, but no stripes are on the decal sheet; it's up to you to paint them. I chose not to. The decals do include license plates, body emblems, and Baldwin-Motion logos.
This kit was a pleasant build with no big surprises. It took me about 12 hours to complete mine. Despite the box's statement of the being a "level 2" kit, you'll need to have expert skills to paint or create decals to accurately reproduce the Baldwin-Motion striping.