MI6 reviews the third 1:18th scale James Bond car from RC2 - James Bond's Chevrolet Corvette from the 1985 film "A View To A Kill"...

RC2 1:18th Chevrolet Corvette Review
21st September 2005

A View To A Kill saw not only the return of Roger Moore for his final mission as James Bond, but also the appearance of an American muscle car in the form of Chevrolet Corvette.

Exterior
The model has a metallic silver finish that is lifelike to the actual car. On this model even the parts that are not metal such as the wing mirrors and front plate carry the same colour as the rest of the body. Its obvious that a lot of attention has gone into making sure that this is the case, as with the reflectors in the mirrors themselves which are separate inserts. The paint job on the model leaves a little to be desired with slight blemishes, however this could be a one off fault with this review piece.


Above: The 1:18th scale The Chevrolet Corvette by RC2

The hood sports a Chevrolet logo thats sit in between the two flip top lights, although there are represented by simply byindents. Logos can also be seen on the top of the trunk and on the rims. Moving down the side of the car we can see black beading with faint text saying "TUNED PORT INJECTION", so RC2 have paid attention to the more subtle details - something that is not always visible on all models. The cars wheels move independently and freely as well as being well crafted with realistic tread and are made of firm rubber.

The only moving parts of bodywork are the doors, which open out, and the hood, which when opened reveals a basic yet well thought out engine design. Both doors and hood can remain opened without any additional force. The car initially comes without it's roof in place (this can be found in the box). Once fitted it fixes snuggly into the recess. Front side and taillights are all made out of clear coloured plastics that give the model a more realistic feel.

 

Interior
The cars interior is made solely out of black plastic. A textured back window hides away most detail in the back, which is minmalistic yet well finished. Both seats are modelled to look like black leather and are low to the floor, as you would expect from a real sports car. One aspect of the model that seems to be missing are the seat belts, neither the drivers or passengers side have them like the earlier models.

Modelling on the dashboard is well done with the controls clearly visible. Some items on the dash have their displays represented using stickers. When used to represent such small details they work very well and is a credit to RC2. The steering freely moves the front wheels, however there is not much movement allowed due to the size of the wheel arches. It seems obvious that RC2 are primarily concerned with the cars look as apposed to the functionality of the steering. Once again they have to be given credit, both the wheels and the cars ride look very realistic.

The engine is made up of several individual pieces, of which some have different finishes. Primarily made up of plastic with a matte finish, two parts are chrome making them look realistic, as does the gunmetal finish on the upper section of the engine. One potential flaw to the design are the fixings located behind the headlights. It would have been nice to have these covered by a separate fixture, however being as they are black and generally located out of immediate sight they don't detract from the models appeal.


Above: The packaging displays all of the Chevrolet Corvette features.

Packaging
Clean collector friendly packaging the box has windows on four faces. A small montage of clips of the car is show on the front and side faces. The rear face gives pictorial details a little information on the car. There is no documentation on the car and its famous role in "AVTAK". Even if included on the Q-CD it would have been a welcome addition.

The car comes taped up and screwed to a hard plastic base. The plastic base fights snugly into the box and only allows the flaps to be closed in a securing order. There is no tape seal on the externals of the box which ensures your don't damage. A finishing touch would have been a inscription on the base.

Gadgets

Unlike previous models the Corvette has no gadgets. This is a shame but RC2 have to work with what was in the film.

Q-Card
With RC2's second attempt at this new business card size CD-ROM, it features 2 wallpapers, an interactive gallery of stills and a 360 degree view of the car with images of the cars features. The quality of the presentation and images are still poor, requiring a re-think. Sound is lacking and would be a big improvement to the cards.


Above: End face packaging

 

Overall
The Chevrolet Corvette is RC2's fourth attempt at a 1/18 scale Bond car. The model is impressive and realistic - but not perfect. Some of the smaller details need to be looked at, especially paintwork, which on this model contained several minor flaws. That being said the colour of the car is realistic, which for silver is something RC2 should be very proud of.

As with previous models, the Q-Card needs some improvements, however it's still a nice little extra to have in the box for rainy days. Something out of RC2's control are the gadgets featured on the car, which equal a staggering zero. This is a shame because it leaves the Bond fan with a feeling of emptiness, yet for the collector owning this car is a must. It has some nice fine detail added to it and the problems with paintwork blemishes could be a one off with regards to the model under review.


MI6 Rating

Other Models
Joyride Entertainment (part of the RC2 group) secured the James Bond license in 2004 and plans to release twelve cars over the two years. The range will visit a mixture of famous cars from the 20-film canon. The models are expected to retail at £34.99 in the UK, and $39.99 in the USA (prices may vary). Updated release dates are estimates and are subject to change. RC2 had a proposed Bond 21 car for a 2005, but due to the film being moved to 2006 its unclear what will happen. Expect a further four cars to be announced in the near future.