1951 Chevy Bel Air

I'm building this into a replica of a car my family owned when I was a really little boy, so far very little clean up with no fit problems, this is a fun build...

I purchased this car partially on a whim, but also to serve as good practice in preparation for another car model I purchased to assemble as a birthday present for my wife. The following OBSERVATIONS should be taken in the following context: (1) that I am not an experienced model builder and make no pretence toward being expert at it, and (2) that this is only the second car model I have ever completed. OBSERVATIONS: (1) The parts in general were very well-made with little flash to address. With a couple notable exceptions, I had little or no trouble with taking parts off the sprues and assembling them together. (2) Painting with enamel paint and brush was pretty straightforward… until you have to put some of the painted parts together. I learned the hard way to be careful not to paint – or at least find some way to carefully scrape the paint off of – certain aspects of certain parts before assembly lest the assembly process gets pretty messy between the paint and glue. As a tie-in to this observation, I recommend the would-be modeler – at least the rookie, not-so-proficient sort - read and study the instructions in their entirety before starting painting and assembly as it might save him from an occasional frustration or two… or three… or more… down the road. (3) My biggest frustration with the kit was that I found several steps in the instructions to be brutally vague, particularly regarding proper placement of certain parts. Most significant to me were when dealing with the installation of the rear window, the inner fenders under the hood, and of the front and rear parts to which the bumpers would ultimately be attached to: they would come back to haunt me during the final assembly procedures involving the body. I imagine more experienced and proficient modelers would end up taking this instructions quirk in stride, but for relative rookies like me… um… FINAL ASSESSMENTS: Overall I thought it was a very good kit. If I were to attempt this kit a second time, I am sure I could complete it without most of the frustrations I endured the first time around… and in the end do a much better job. Most of the issues I had with the kit were probably a result of my inexperience. With these benefits-of-the-doubt in mind, I would rate the kit four stars out of five, perhaps even four and a half out of five if that were an option, with my biggest issue being the instructions.

This was a nice kit to build but I had a few issues with the fit of the front fender wells and the interior didn't fit well into the body leaving gaps. I was able to eliminate most of the gap by placing the interior side panels on the outside of the designated slots. The kit comes with a straight six with drag options. I opted to install a V8 instead. The interior was easy to detail. The seats are not molded in which is always a plus for modification. I replaced the bench seat with a pair of buckets. Overall a very nice kit with lots of opportunity to modify it to your liking.