Part 2: The Build

I decided to build my Nova as a factory-fresh model. For some reason, most of the Novas I can recall from my childhood were gold, so that's what I went with. That pretty much dictated a black interior as well, which would work just fine. Body prep proceeded with no major problems. There are only two minor seams on the body, where the C pillars meet the roof, and they were easily removed. Engraving of the drip rails, door seams, and scripts were nice and deep and stood up well to several layers of paint and clear. Once that was done, I set it aside to dry for a few days. The engine was next, and it went together quite nicely. Every part had a definite hole to fit into or pin to fit onto, so there was little doubt about where something should be located. Even the cylinder heads were keyed so they could not be installed backwards (don't laugh, I've done that before). One down side of building the stock version is that I could not use the drag version's "spaghetti" exhaust headers, which look to be quite nice. Mounting the engine to the chassis was quite simple, aided again by solid contact points that left no doubt as to the correct position of the engine. The air cleaner does not go on until after the chassis is installed in the body, and that is an excellent idea - no worries about knocking it off or having it interfere with the fenders during installation. It is chrome, but that is actually correct in this case. Revell did an excellent job of limiting the chrome on the engine to pieces that actually are chromed (or polished) on the real thing. Follow the painting directions (adding a little flat black to the bracket on the alternator) and you will end up with a good-looking engine. Chassis assembly was pretty straightforward. The two-part dual exhaust system is designed so that the seams are pretty well hidden from view on the finished product, and the ends of the exhaust pipes are drilled out. The system attaches via several pins that fit into holes in the chassis. The fit is good, but the pins are rather long; I painted them flat black so they would "disappear" against the rest of the chassis. Pins on the engine end of the exhaust pipes fit into grooves on the ends of the exhaust headers, making the mating of the two assemblies almost foolproof. The simplified two-piece front suspension does its job and goes together nicely. The rear suspension is somewhat more complicated; but here again, every piece has a definite hole or slot to fit into, making for a solid finished product. I was very pleased with how well this went together. The drag version adds risers and traction bars, which could also be useful for making your standard 1970's-era hot rod. A three-piece radiator assembly mounts to the front edge of the frame against a pair of stops. The upper radiator hose connects clearly to the engine and radiator; the lower radiator hose has a pin that goes into a hole on the radiator, but the location of the other end is nearly impossible to see at this point in the assembly process. I put some glue on it and tucked it in until it seemed to stick somewhere; for as little of it as can be seen, this was close enough for me. The picture in the instructions is of no help whatsoever. The interior builds up on a separate platform that also contains the front fender wells and transmission tunnel, so be sure to paint the bottom as well as the top of the platform. The two-piece front bucket seats and one-piece rear bench have accurate upholstery patterns, as do the side panels. A console is provided for the transmission hump, but it could be omitted and still result in an accurate interior. There are decals for the dashboard and console gauges, and the steering column has the turn signal stalk and ignition detail molded in. A decal is provided for the SS logo on the steering wheel, but it is mislabeled in the instructions; it should be decal number 13. The four pedals mount to the separate firewall. Throughout the interior, engraved details are crisp and accurate. As with everything else in this kit, all the parts fit together with no doubt as to their correct positions. In the engine compartment, a washer bottle and battery mount in front of the wheel wells, and the brake booster and master cylinder mount to the front of the firewall. If you choose to build the drag version, the rear seat is omitted and a roll bar assembly mounts in its place. Mounting holes provide the proper location, and the interior pan has the sheet metal detail that would normally be covered by the rear seat. A Hurst shifter is also provided in place of the stock shifter. A different set of gauge decals is provided for the dashboard, as well. For the wheels and tires, a nice set of Chevy rallye wheels mounts on four no-name blackwall tires. There are "SS" and bow tie decals supplied for the hubs of these wheels, but none of my references showed any such markings, so I left the decals off. Metal axle stubs attach the wheels to the front and rear suspension and allow them to rotate freely. I found I had to file down the ends of the differential slightly so the rear wheels would not rub against the body. An additional pair of larger diameter slicks is provided for the drag version, along with a set of four aftermarket alloy wheels. Interestingly enough, I found photos on the web of a 1969 Nova with these exact same wheels and a jacked-up rear end. Now that the body had had time to cure, I polished it and applied decals for the scripts, side marker lights, and door locks. If you plan to use the script decals, I would recommend filing down the molded-in scripts before painting, as they were a bit too prominent for the decals to go over nicely. Because the Nova was basically an economy car, the only chrome is around the windshield and back window, and, optionally, around the side windows. The excellent engraving made the application of foil in these areas quite easy. The headliner engraving on the inside of the roof is excellent, and the provided dome light is a nice touch. All the windows are individual pieces, and mount firmly in their locations. The sun visors are molded into the windshield, and should be painted to match the interior. A separate rear view mirror completes the interior package, and once again, a depression in the edge of the windshield indicates exactly where to place it. It should probably be painted black, rather than being left chrome. The interior and chassis fit snugly into the body. As will all cars of this era, some stretching will be needed to get them past the lower edge of the body. Once they are in, they will hold snugly even without glue, although I put a little along the edges of the chassis just for a little extra hold. The grille and front bumper are separate pieces. The grille bars should be painted flat black; a decal is provided for the "SS" script in the center. Clear headlights and turn signal lenses (paint the latter clear amber) are provided; the engraving on the headlights is excellent, so make sure you install them right side up (the triangle in the center points downward). The apron between the grille and bumper should be painted either body color or flat silver. The bumper attaches to the grille via two pins, and the bumper/grill assembly fits snugly in the body. At the back end of the car, there are separate clear lenses for the brake lights (paint them clear red) and backup lights. Again, the "grille" between the lights should be painted flat black, and a decal is provided for the "SS" script. Once again, the assembly fits snugly into its opening, and looks exactly right. Because of the mold marks that appear in both the front and rear license plate areas, you will probably want to use the license plates. They should be painted gloss black instead of being chrome. There are multiple decal choices for the plates themselves. The stock hood has two indentations for the fake chrome louvers, which should be given a black wash. Due to paint buildup, I found mine fit better when I filed the bottom edges off at a roughly 45-degree angle. A chrome strip mounts on the front edge of the hood; mine was slightly wider than the hood itself, but it fits perfectly in the grill opening. A decal is provided for the bow-tie emblem here. Separate hinges that look like real hood hinges glue onto the underside of the hood and help hold it in place while allowing it to open and close. The under-hood engraving is excellent, the only drawback being a couple of faint ejector pin marks in the insulation areas. A little flocking would probably cover those up. The hood for the drag version has a raised center, and uses the same front edge trim and hinges as the stock hood. It would work equally well on a hot rod buildup of the kit. The finishing touches for the body are the separate windshield wipers, door handles, and the two-piece rear-view mirror. Once again, these all had holes or indentations into which they mounted, so locating them properly was a cinch. One glitch in the instructions here: the right wiper is labeled "left wiper" and vice versa. The wipers have different part numbers, so it is unclear which is one is supposed to be which. After a bit of test fitting, I decided they were identical and didn't worry about it. Overall, I was quite pleased with this kit. The engineering and design are excellent: almost every piece fits exactly the way it should; holes are sized to accept the pins that go into them, and the pins are often extra-long for a good, firm fit. Flash is all but non-existent, and mold parting lines are few and light. The decals are plentiful and excellent, go on easily, and seemed to take well to setting solution; the only problem I noticed was a slight registration problem that left a thin white line at the bottom of the dashboard gauges. The finished kit looks "right", although the front end seems to sit just a bit higher than the rear. All in all, it is one of the best-made kits I have ever built. While I'm not really interested in the drag version, I may have to get a second copy of this kit to build as a jacked-up '70's hot rod. I just need to find some big-and-little Keystone classics to fit those tires… Needless to say, I highly recommend this kit. I hope Revell can keep supplying us with kits of this quality. Many thanks to Revell and the IPMS for providing me the opportunity to review it.

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