Revell Corvette C5-R - any advice?

Hello all,
I'm about to start Revell's LeMans C5-R kit and I'll be using SMS's carbon set & photo-etch set.
Having read through several posts about this kit on this forum I think I've identified a few issues but I wonder if anyone here can give some further clarification/guidance/advice about this build - either the Revell part or the SMS part?
The issues as I understand them are:
1) Fit of the body to the front splitter (or whatever it's called).
2) The LeMans version needs window glass added.
3) The ride height should be lower - is this the front, the rear, or both?

Is there anything else I should be aware of before I dive in and start building?

Thanks in advance,
Jon.

For the missing side windows try and scratch built them with some plastic from a package or something.

For the ride-hight... Not sure. Still haven't finished any of my C5-R kits (Quite some :eek: 2x LM2000 kits, 2 2004 Transkits and a couple of normal C5-R 2001 kits with aftermarket decals)
The Revell, Historic racing Miniatures Transkit and Scale Productions Body are all the same in order when fitting it onto the chassis. They all struggle with a clean fit onto the chassis.
(Both TK's seem to have a more perfect body with details and are a bit nicer to handle with thickness and other material compared to the normal plastic revell body. But that is just a feeling I get when handeling them, but As stated earlier I haven't finished any one yet completely)

The front end of the car can sometimes not quite fit perfectly because the front inside parts and rollcage keeps the body a bit higher from the bottom part apart.

I'm still struggling to deform the rollcage a bit in order to get the back end of the body lower onto the diffuser.

Be carefull with the PE parts, they are quite thin and can deform easily.

http://public.fotki.com/schotsman/hobbystuff/dsc02750.html
You can see here that the body stays a bit higher from the table

http://public.fotki.com/schotsman/hobbystuff/dsc02751.html
Here you can see that a little scratchbuilding can make a difference. I cut two pieces from the plastic strip, sanded them and glued them under the dashboard in order to create a bit of the authentic look.

HI

three transkit pics

http://www.scaleproduction.de/htmlbilder/bilder/100_2793.jpg

http://www.scaleproduction.de/htmlbilder/bilder/100_2796.jpg

http://www.scaleproduction.de/htmlbilder/bilder/100_9227.JPG




Mikezibit:bananasmi

Kingkai & Mikezibit,
Thanks you for your input and for sharing the photos. My budget doesn't allow me to buy a transkit but those photos are still useful to me.
I'm trying to modify the original Revell parts as best I can, so I'll have to struggle with the poor fit! And now I've seen your photos Mikezibit I'm wondering if I should cut off the front hood. Hmmmm???
One aspect that's causing me problems at the moment is finding any photos of the cars at LeMans 2001. Plenty of photos from ALMS etc but hardly any of France. If either of you could point me in the direction of good reference photos I'd be very grateful - I need to know if (amongst other things) the side windows should (or should not) have that bolted frame around them, if the side windows are one-piece, or two-piece with NACA style openings or plain circular openings.
Lastly, do you know what the two small circular cut-outs between the doors and the rear wheels are?

I've made a start on the kit plastic, maybe I should start a WIP thread?

Many thanks,
Jon.

Here is a link with a grab out of my C5-R reference pictures.
There is also a map in it with my own pictures of the Luc Alphand Aventures LMS 2007 Spa C5-R. I took the liberty of taking quite some detailed pictures of the car when the hood, door and rear deck where of the car. (Of course with permition of one of the mecanics :evillol: )

http://www.filefactory.com/file/af7b68a/n/Corvette_C5-R_rar

The circular cut outs on either side between the door and the real wheels are the fuel fillers! Instead of the 2000LM Revell kit where they are in the rear window (as they where)
The 2001 LM Revell kit has them on the buttocks which wheren't there on the 2001 (and onwards) on the LM cars. Not sure where they did actually race with the fuelfillers on the ass...?....
I actually don't like either Revell kits because they lack a lot of detail. Ofcourse they provide engine and cockpit detail. But no side windows... and no good version of the dashboard. They took the 1999 car?.... But as I did just glue a plastic bar under it and sand it a bit and detailing is coming nicely along. Placing wires again is a good option. For a cheap version of the ducks just take does strawes for children's limonade or use a metal wire and losely wrap it around a pensile and place some plumbering tape (for plastic water pipes etc) around it and you have flexible ducking for the brackes and air intakes.

In the 2001LM map provided in the download, you can see that in 2001 LM the corvette guys experimented with the windows... There where 3 versions of them.
First: with 3/4 windows with one hole and two oval holes on the front part
Second: full window with the same holes but with a NACA style cut out on the back
Final: Only 1/4 window on the front with NACA style cut out
So which one to choice?.... No idea, pick one you like or feel comfortable of creating, We won't hold it against you :grinno:

Cutting the front of the car?... Well, be carefull. The revell body is quite thick and I messed up one Revell body in the past because of doing so. I won't stop you of doing, but be carefull when doing so. It takes a lot of patients and effort. Try a very thin scraber and go over the lines again and again...

Again on the windows. Yes the bolted frame does go over the window. If you look carefully on one of the 2001LM pictures you can see it.

I know about the price of the TK, but they offer quite some detail the Revell kit lackes.
The scale productions TK is very nice, it has got more PE parts and one to create a very nice diffuser (the bottom part at the back of the car which stickes out) and windows but the price is something which many can't/won't afford... But most of them are sold allready.
Of the Historic Racing Miniatures they are quite good for the 2000 and the 2001/2 LM cars. No PE metal parts but a near perfect body recreation.
I got the 2000 LM version which settles a great deal of the Revell faults on the 2000LM kit.
I am not sure of the second TK 2001/2 of HRM. I haven't got it yet and am still doing an inquiry if they have the fuelfillers on the side instead of on the ass... $45 may seem a lot but that is what you pay for a resin body. It is quite nice to work with. All the same sanding, primering and painting process but a bit thinner and better material to work with. Plus it has opened louvres on the hood and a seperate hood, nose and main body for a full engine exposure.

For the fitting, try and soak the two big rollcage in warm/hot water and deform them a bit in order for better fitting. That is the only tip I got for you at the moment for the fitting troubles.

If you mess up with the opening of the hood process let me know. I got a few spare body at the moment and you can have one when needed.

Ofcourse you can open a WIP thread, why not?
Being new to the hobby does not mean that your work should not be apriciated. Some may comment advise on the way (some do it with not well choicen words but ignore them. There has also been a lot of discussions here that the very very good guys take over and that the aim is to high for some to post there work. Which is b*ll*cks, just feel free. Some work may look awesome but in many occasions it took them years if not decates of learning)

Kingkai - you, sir, are a gentleman! I am now downloading your files. Thank you so very much!
Thank you also for all the advice and tips you've given me; I appreciate them all and they will all be useful to me. Your long message deserves more than this brief reply but I'm still absorbing all of what you said. You even answered questions I haven't yet asked, like what are the 2 holes in the backside? I now know they are (incorrect) fuel fillers! Brilliant! I can't thank you enough.

I will start a WIP thread soon and I hope I will continue to receive good advice and instruction. This is only my 6th build but I'm improving all the time, and I do have a lot of ambition. I come from a figure modelling background, so I do already have some modelling skills, but compared to most people on this forum I have about 1/100th experience of plastic kits.

Thanks again for a very useful reply to my questions!
Jon.

Your welcome.

Even I am not a that good. I did 5 years of preparing my models and buying them. I am still a bit scared of painting the bodies and decaling them. In a certain way decals hate me :p

I finally got an answer myself of the other HRM transkit for the 2001/2002 car but that one has also the incorrect fuelfillers on the back. Which is a real bummer, because I would have ordered a couple otherwise.

The only thing you can do with the normal revell kit is using the PE parts for the fuel fillers the ones on the top left if you look at the PE frame of scalemotorsport. Use a drill and drill all the way and place a round plastic insert and glue the fuelfiller PE into it.

Figure modeling is also great. I tried myself some and is even more detailed painting work... :icon16:
You can also place drivers into the cars which I do a lot. Very nice touch for completion of your work.

I'm sorry if I sound harsch on Revell. They are very nice cheap kits. But when looking long enough I see more faults everytime on the C5-R and C6-R kits. For the C6-R they based their kit on the presentation model which was used as a testbase for corvette which was actually a C5-R chassis with C6-R body work. They used a C6-R chassis for the kit but a lot of detail is from that same presentation model which has a incorrect diffuser and all. But with some attention to detail you can turn them into great models.

Good luck, don't underestemate yourself. With a figure modeling history you can create a lot of detail onto these kits.

kai