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Corvette ended the 8 year run of C5’s in the latter part of 2004 and began producing the much ballyhooed C6. The coupe was first released, followed shortly thereafter, by the convertible. Love it or hate it, Corvette purists and automotive styling experts all agreed to disagree on whether the new ‘Vette was a positive or negative departure from the previous iteration. Part of the argument stems from the front end and the fixed headlights. They no longer flip up for the first time since 1963. My initial thought, upon seeing the C6 for the first time, was that the front end looked like the resultant offspring of a Viper and Miata tryst. The edgy styling is much more sharp and defined than the previous C5 and some say more aggressive. Engineering on the car was extensive and the new handling platform and running gear have been well received by enthusiasts and auto journalists alike even if they do not agree on the styling.
This is the first new FM tooling in quite some time. Was it worth the wait? Let’s take a look and try to answer that question. The Magnetic Red paint is beautiful. True to 1:1, it has just a hint of metallic base and you have to look hard to see it on the model. It is thoroughly glossy and evenly applied. As with their many C5 replicas, the stance and overall shape on the C6 is good. The removable roof panel is diecast, not plastic but there are no locating pins or subtle detents to hold it in place. A slight movement in any direction results in spilling the top. I would have liked to have seen the visors function too. And despite the lacking inside rearview mirror, the interior is a whole other thing. Once you get past the old dog leg door hinges, the interior is a delightful place to visit. The seats have deeply detailed impressions and fold forward. This will reveal fabric seat belts. The steering wheel, dash, center console and foot pedals are well portrayed. And although the gauge package is a stick-on, it blends in well. The stickers affixed to the driver’s door jamb add a nice touch and so do the door sills. The rear window hatch opens and provides a storage facility for that pesky fly-off roof panel. The carpet material is standard FM fare and looks good throughout.
Under the hood, you won’t see an abundance of plumbing and plug wires on the real car and FM replicates the engine bay appropriately. With miniature instructional stickers and battery cabling, the engine area is capably represented. The suspension works in a similar fashion to the C5 models and the exhaust with chrome tips was fashioned well. The chrome wheels were done correctly and the brake rotors and calipers show through. The tires are stamped with Goodyear Eagle. That was an unexpected bonus. It would have been nice to see the external crossed flag emblems done in photo-etch metal but the tampos are done to scale and look crisp.
I give FM good marks for bringing out a new image and for doing the C6 so quickly after its debut in 1:1. It backslides a little, tech-wise, in the same areas, mentioned above, that were previously lacking in previous offerings but in overview the model is relatively well done. The issue price is $105.
(12/07/2004)
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