2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 NASCAR William Byron Raptor by CDW - FINISHED - Salvino's JR - 1:24 Scale - PLASTIC

[CDW]

A newcomer to the model car manufacturing scene is Salvino'sJR. Their initial offerings are a big series of contemporary NASCAR racers in 1:24 scale. Being approached by NASCAR to produce modern race car model kits that could be sold to fans who attend the races, they wanted the company to gear the models to attract those who may not have extensive experience in building models. As a consequence, Salvinos mold their kits in the basic colors of the 1:1 cars then provide extensive decal sheets that feature all the wonderful colors and graphics of the livery fans see at the race track. No painting is required except for small details the builder may want to add to dress things up a bit but would still look entirely presentable without any painting at all.

For the most part, I will only add small painted details here and there and build the model as it was intended, for an average modeler with little to no previous experience. I don't intend to take a lot of photos throughout this build, but instead will photograph major component assemblies as they are completed, then final photos. Here, you see the chassis pan, the roll bar, rear bulkhead, rear sub frame and fuel tank. I only painted the red items as shown.

As the title says, this is the 2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 #24, the Raptor, driven by William Byron.

[Egilman]

1 minute ago, CDW said:

they wanted the company to gear the models to attract those who may not have extensive experience in building models. As a consequence, Salvinos mold their kits in the basic colors of the 1:1 cars then provide extensive decal sheets that feature all the wonderful colors and graphics of the livery fans see at the race track. No painting is required except for small details the builder may want to add to dress things up a bit but would still look entirely presentable without any painting at all.

And I'm here to say they hit the nail on the head, easy building, relatively high detail, (some of the cleanest molding I've ever seen) and intelligent color choices in plastic.... They put a LOT of thought into the model design and make a believable model ready for anyone's shelf....

 

Not so much into modern Nascar but the 60 and 50 year old RP stuff is very enticing.... {chuckle}

[king derelict]

This looks like a great idea. It should be a fun build with a presentable result.

alan

[Canute]

They've got a good plan to attract new modelers. 👍 Just hope the decals are well thought out for easy application. Model builders are getting rare. 🙁

[CDW]

3 hours ago, Canute said:

They've got a good plan to attract new modelers. 👍 Just hope the decals are well thought out for easy application. Model builders are getting rare. 🙁

The decals are Cartograph. High quality for sure. An extensive decal placement sheet guide is included.

[CDW]

Engine, headers, front chassis, brakes, with this basic assembly, it's easy to see the model's potential for super detailing. Light-years ahead of the old school NASCAR kits from Monogram in years gone by.

Their formula for the plastic the kit is made from is very good. The plastic performs extremely well using Tamiya thin glue. It's a different type of plastic than I have seen before now. Hard for me to describe except to say, it's "different". 

I did do a little detail painting on the engine. Nothing overboard, just little touches here and there to make it look more interesting and not completely stock out of the box. Engine component parts were molded in a silver-colored plastic.

In the future, I will do some detailed versions of these NASCAR kits. My goal here is to see how it goes together, how well or poorly it fits, what things need attention and to generally get the feel for construction of the model. Keep in mind, all contemporary NASCAR vehicles are template built to NASCAR specs. Except for the livery and slightly different bodies, they will all look alike on the inside, differences being only skin deep.

[CDW]

These will be the last photos I take of this model with the top off the chassis. It's clear to see the enormous potential for the model to get high detail with this basic platform. My intention is to permanently attach the body to the chassis, with this one, but future, high detailed versions will be left with removable body shells to reveal all the detail that's inside.

[yvesvidal]

I like the four jacks provided with the kit. It is a nice touch.

 

Yves

[CDW]

42 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

I like the four jacks provided with the kit. It is a nice touch.

 

Yves

The Jack stands are from another vendor who sells 3D resin printed accessories. MCV Products. I included a photo os some of the items I bought from them. Prices are very reasonable. So much so, it makes me more inclined to buy what I want rather than try to make this stuff myself. The photo shows a complete rear tub and differential setup for a drag car, a quick release harness system. The tub sells for $20 and the harness kit $4.99.

[CDW]

While the decals are of excellent quality, the body has compound curves that make perfect decal placement a slow and careful proposition. For an experienced modeler it’s not an impossible task but for a beginner it’s a bridge too far in my opinion. I spent over an hour just working these two large decals, slowly and delicately brushing them down with Tamiya Mark Fit and Mark Fit Strong decal solutions. Haste makes waste. Slow and careful wins the race. I have yet to trim around the wheel wells as the decals are not yet dry. I estimate the decals will require 8 to 10 hours to place in a favorable way.

[Egilman]

Well it's the other side of the equation, most companies just give you the lettering and require painting for the base colors, in this case black & white, becomes problematic when you do a black plastic for the base color, especially for a budding modeler, you and I can handle it either way but for the new modeler a white base decal is the easier solution and the first time will cause them to research the options on the decal process...

 

It has to be learned at some point and then experienced, we all went thru it and so will they.... (and come out the back side as better modelers)

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, CDW said:

The tub sells for $20 and the harness kit $4.99.

So essentially you got the jack stands for free... {chuckle}

[CDW]

8 hours ago, Egilman said:

So essentially you got the jack stands for free... {chuckle}

If I remember correctly, the jack stands cost $2.49 for 4 of them.

[DocRob]

This builds up pretty fast, Craig. Detail looks a bit toyish in places, but fully closed up will be more the sufficient to make a nice representation. Like others have said, these type of kits could easily attract new people into modeling, similar to those Bandai Star Wars kits.
You may try a hairdryer onto the decals after the Mark Fit Strong soaked in for a bit. Worked marvels with Aviattic decals for WWI planes and as well with my carbon decals on my stalled MP4/6.

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

About 80% complete with the decal work. The worst is done, and 20% remaining are smaller less difficult pieces.

[Old Collingwood]

very nice mate.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

Your build triggered something with me, Craig. Never have been a Nascar fan, other than I liked a PC simulation decades ago, but browsed through the Salvino´s portfolio yesterday, which I always ignored before and ordered a 1972 Charger kit.

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

Having started this kit on Saturday, July 13, and finished this morning, July 19, I estimate that a total of 20 hours were spent assembling the kit and applying the decals. The plan from the start was to do a very basic assembly with little to nothing spent to detail the model, either in extra time or accessories to detail it. I just wanted to see how it went together and observe for myself what and where are the areas that needed improvement, modifications, and/or to recognize areas where super detailing could be done on future builds to bring the kits in this series up to a high level. I am happy to say I am more than thrilled with the potential in this series. Everything is there in this basic kit platform for an excellent NASCAR model. 

Thanks to all of you for following along, for all your likes and comments.

That's it, the show is over, the monkey is dead. See you again soon!

 

 

Edited July 19 by CDW

[DocRob]

Great looking car with a beautiful finish Craig. Am I right, that you haven´t even painted the body? It´s good to have these in between projects, without too much fuss for a relaxing change and if the result is beautiful like yours, why not.
 

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

2 hours ago, DocRob said:

Great looking car with a beautiful finish Craig. Am I right, that you haven´t even painted the body? It´s good to have these in between projects, without too much fuss for a relaxing change and if the result is beautiful like yours, why not.
 

Cheers Rob

Thanks Rob. Yes, there was no paint used on the body, only decals. I did sand the mold lines off the body then polished the plastic with finer grades of sanding cloths but the color is the natural molded plastic.

I read that in years past, colored plastic was formulated using ink to achieve the color of the plastic. This modern formula uses pigment to achieve the color. There is a visible difference in the plastic from that of years gone by. 

[Landlubber Mike]

That came out great Craig!  Prisine work on the decals my friend, wow!

[CDW]

46 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

That came out great Craig!  Prisine work on the decals my friend, wow!

Thanks Mike