Revell 1969 Chevy Nova SS

1969 Chevrolet Nova
Revell Kit #2098
1/25th Scale
140 Pieces plus decals

As a muscle car enthusiast, I was very excited to see this kit when it was announced earlier in the year. It’s good to know that Revell is still producing new tooling of classic Detroit iron that we grew up with.

After building an AMT Nova kit several years ago, I didn’t know if I would ever build another, as it isn’t one of the their better efforts. The biggest issue is the separate front fenders, which were never well engineered, and after several reissues require lots of patience and body filler! I won’t dwell on the past; after all we have this all-new Nova kit to assemble. And it’s a real gem!

The folks at Revell really did their best to give the modeler a fun and enjoyable model to build. There is little or no flash anywhere on this kit! I know, it’s all new, so why would there be any? Well, I’ve seen plenty from the domestic manufacturers.

The model is a “2 in 1”, so you can build it as a stock ’69 SS350, or as a legal bracket racer for the drag strip. As is always the case, I chose the later.

Starting with the interior (which is a separate floor pan), the individual side panels are nicely engraved and include air vent pulls on each side! The front buckets and rear bench are individual units, and the panel behind the rear seat is nicely detailed with all of the support structure you would find there. The dash is a one-piece unit, and the decals give you two options for gauges – stock or as a drag race version. Either way, it’s nice to have a choice! There is even a decal for the SS badge on steering wheel, and the pedal mount is nicely done- you won’t have any problems getting it to stay in place. The console is also a glue-in item, and includes the gauge decals. There are two different shifters to choose from in case you omit the console (which I did).

For my model, I omitted the rear seat and used the optional four-point roll cage and painted it to match the body. I left out the stock buckets (I can’t leave anything alone) and substituted the fiberglass buckets from the Revell ’67 Chevelle. I also added some seat belt harness decals from a Dupont Monte Carlo kit. All of the interior items were painted with Tamiya Matt Black.

For the chassis, I built it almost completely straight from the box, except I scratchbuilt a driveshaft safety hoop and lowered the front suspension by drilling out the mounting holes approximately 1/8” up higher from there original location. The kit includes a nice rear axle with separate pumpkin, and although there is no bolt pattern on the cover, it looks great once you assemble it with the leaf springs. Front and rear sway bars are provided, as well as a nice set of traction bars, which I also used. I must say that the rear shocks are engineered to go into place in a certain configuration, and they fit beautifully! The wheels included in the kit are the stock rallys (which are some of the best I’ve seen – decals are provided for the caps) as well as aluminum racing wheels.

Since they were plated in this kit, I sprayed them Tamiya Aluminum. Tire decals are another nice feature, and the Hoosier logos mean they don’t have to pay Goodyear for royalties! The optional rear slicks are beautiful and just the right size.
The engine I built was right from the kit; they give you two different intakes as well as stock exhaust manifolds or two-piece headers (the nicest ever, bar none!). Revell even included two different upper radiator hoses depending on what version you’re building.
Someone really took the time to make sure everything fit.

The carbs for this mode are the only weakness to what is a great kit. I substituted two from the Revell T-bolt, cut apart and turned 90 degrees. I also added plug wires and used Machined Alum. Speciaties valve covers instead of the chrome ones, as I wanted something a little more realistic.

For the body there is a choice of two hoods, stock with the chrome inserts and a Camaro cowl induction style hood that looks perfect for this application. As far as the body itself goes, just a mold line along the tops of the rear roof pillars and the tops of the front fenders. Clean up of these took all of a couple minutes, and it was time for paint. Tamiya Candy Lime Green was the color of choice for this application and Bare Metal foil for the window trim. The decals include everything, and I mean everything; Nova emblems, SS emblems for the grille and trunk, door locks, trunk lock, sponsor logos, and even rubber from the rear tires which builds up on the rear quarter panels after several burnouts! The Mighty Mouse decals are Fremont Resin items made a few years ago.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to have some fun give this kit a try. I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it! There has been much discussion about the accuracy of this particular kit, but if you’re like me you’ll make your own conclusions.