Round 2 has gone through the archives to bring back this classic AMT 1/25 scale Scorpion mid-engine drag coupe plastic model kit. First released in the late 1960s, the chassis may look familiar because it was also used for the Piranha drag car, which has been re-released in the last few years with original box art. With the Scorpion back, it’s the best time to build this futuristic-looking drag car.
The kit instructions start with the Hemi engine, but I suggest piecing the body together first. The body is central to the kit, so it makes more sense to begin there and get it right.
Seven parts make up the car body, and you’ll need to start with the left and right rear quarter sections and rear panel. Make sure to line up the rear panel to meet the inner body panels. The inner parts, once glued to the body, leave some pretty wide gaps. Be ready to apply putty to smooth out those areas.
The front pan lines up well without gaps. I found the two lower side body panels tricky to attach. I recommend taping them from the outside so they don’t move while the cement sets up. There were some gaps I needed to fill, but nothing terrible, and nothing I wouldn’t expect from tooling going back 50 years. There were no challenges assembling the body that patience and basic modeling skills couldn’t overcome.
Turning to the Hemi engine, its 20 parts assembled without any issues. I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of flash or necessary cleanup. The headers appear small to me, but it wouldn’t be difficult to upgrade with replacements from your spares or the aftermarket.
The kit provides a set of pad-printed wide drag slicks with matching narrows for the front and five-spoke mags. Or, if you wanted, you could go completely old school and assemble the two-part plastic tires that you’d then have to paint. The kit provides six-spoke wheels for the front, but I suggest using the plastic tires if you choose those.
You really start to see the car come together when assembling the chassis and suspension. Make sure to test-fit before gluing the chassis parts — the locators can be a hit or miss. The front of the chassis assembly includes the tie rod, radius rods, and steering plate, and went together pretty easily. When it came to the rear end, I needed to test-fit the chassis to the body. This allowed me to align the rear axle so it wasn’t off center.
I held out as long as possible before painting the body because of the amount of test-fitting. Once I finally got to that point, I chose to paint it like the box art. There are plenty of decal options, and they laid down without any issues.
The AMT 1/25 scale Scorpion mid-engine drag coupe plastic model kit has challenges that you’d expect from a 50-year-old kit. However, your modeling skills are more than sufficient to overcome them. Early drag kits have been rising in popularity, and this one is an unusual car to add to your collection. It kind of has a Hot Wheels appeal and a futuristic appearance that is sure to get people to wonder, “Was that ever a real drag car?”