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Revell 1/25 Corvette C5-R 2001 Daytona 24 hours

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview (from the box)

In January of 2001, the Pratt & Miller Corvette C5-R Team made racing history in more ways than one. They not only won the most grueling road race in America, the 24 Hours of Daytona, they also fielded an historical driver line up. In addition to team members that were outstanding road race drivers, they had the giants of the stock car world in 7-time NASCAR Champion Dale Earnhardt and his son Dale Jr. who finished a creditable fourth overall.

The Kit

This is the same Corvette kit reviewed recently by John Jameson (February 2002), but with new decals for the 2001 season. Rather than rehash the same review, I’ll refer you back to the first review and just talk about the new decals. The only notes I’ll mention about the kit are in regards to the earlier review. The first release of this kit was for the 2000 LeMans and as such it had some inaccuracies. The kit more accurately represents the 2001 season vehicle and as such you won’t have to make any of the changes mentioned in the earlier review.

That said, let’s take a look at the decals. There are a total of four options from two races. The first set is for #2 and #3 from the Daytona 24 Hours race. Of course #3 is the one Dale Earnhardt drove, with Dale Jr., Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim also getting their names painted on the roof. Number 2 have Johnny O’Connell, Franck Freon, Chris Kneifel and Ron Fellows on the roof. Other specific decals include the large black numbers and Grand-Am markings. The other set is for LeMans 2001, with car #63 and #64 represented (winning first and second place, respectively, in the GTS class). In addition to the usual number placards and name plates these cars also have a black sash for the left front fender, applied in remembrance of Dale Earnhardt. In addition to all of these there is a large section of common decals covering the majority of stenciling and sponsor markings as well as carbon fiber areas. The decals are well printed and are in excellent register.

Conclusion

This is a very well detailed model kit and a memorable one as it marks the last time Dale Earnhardt raced in the Daytona 24 Hours race. That alone makes this a worthwhile kit to pick up, but the nice molding and beautiful decals will ensure that the finished model looks great as well.

Our thanks to Revell-Monogram for the review sample.