1959 Chevy El Camino AMT #6897 SnapShot Review

RoR SnapShot Review 20120130* – 1959 Chevy El Camino AMT #6897 Review
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SnapShot Review by Marty and Stephanie Oberman

The AMT 1959 El Camino kit (#6897) has always been one of my favorite subject matters to build, and this is the third time I’ve built this particular kit.

Despite its aged tooling the kit is remarkably detailed, especially the engine and chassis components. It offers three building versions: stock, drag, and custom. I chose to build mine stock in a Testor’s “50s Aqua” scheme with white roof. Assembly overall was accomplished without a hitch. The poseable steering is a nice touch. The stock 348/409 V-8 (depending on whether you believe the box art or instruction sheet) assembled nicely and looks great. There is also an optional Cadillac 390 supercharged engine included for the drag/custom version.

 There were no major issues encountered during the build, although I wasn’t pleased with the location of the mounting points for the chrome pieces…they interfered with the finished look. Again though, this is an old tooling, so these types of issues are to be expected. I built mine according to the instruction sheet with little deviation. However, this modeler suggests leaving the large “double-snorkel” air cleaner off the engine until the upper radiator hose has been installed. Other than that, the build went smoothly.

 Final impressions: I give this model a rating of 3 1/2 stars out of a possible 5. The age of the tooling and chrome tree contact points prevented it from obtaining a perfect score. Would I build  this kit again? Absolutely. I love the ’59 El Camino, and it’s a shame the aged AMT kit is the only one available. Revell makes both a modern-tooled ’59 Impala convertible and hardtop…why can’t they go a step further and tool an El Camino version? I would give my eyeteeth for one of those!

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