Review: GMP Camaro Trans Am #36 Penske- Donohue

 

 

 

 

Highs: One of my favorites, despite some flaws I detail below. Beautiful paint, best rim detail I've ever seen (other than the wire wheels on my CMC Mercedes), you can even see the little air nozzle. Engine is gorgeous and very detailed. Full wiring and plumbing, with braided hoses that look so real. Great hood hinge design. Love the removable chrome air cleaner assembly (Note: my hood does close flush with the air cleaner in place, though the air cleaner doesn't fit tightly and basically just sits on top of the carbeurator.) Interior gauge cluster also very nice. Car sits right, looks great. Outstanding piece, which I'm very glad I bought.

Lows: I've never handled more than the one that I own, so I can't say if these flaws are particular to mine, or indicative of the model in general. The front tires have very little turn to them, and my left front has too much wobble, enough so that when I set it down I have to position the front tire so it doesn't sit awkwardly. The hood closes flush at the front of the car, where it meets the front assembly, but it doesn't close flush at it's rear where it meets the sheet metal below the windshield. If you look closely in the photos below, you might be able to see where the hood sticks up a little too much at its rear. No flaws or complaints other than these, and again these might just be particular to my particular car.

*Review update: Since posting this review, I went on a hunt for closeup photographs of both this Camaro, and the Brushed Aluminum, on other websites to see if the non-flush alignment at the rear of the hood was a problem particular to my car only, or representative of all cars. From multiple photographs I've seen, it appears that they all share this characteristic. I don't know if this represents accuracy...maybe the real racing cars' hoods didn't line up either? Maybe that's giving GMP too much benefit of the doubt! It may just be a flaw of the design; it's possible that the hinge system used on the hood prevents the hood from closing flush with the frame. If anyone out there has this model, and does NOT have this problem, maybe you could drop me an email and let me know so I can add further commentary to this review?

Summary: I wouldn't pay full retail of $100+ for this, but for the $65 I paid it's a nice diecast. It's heavy, and feels solid and substantial. Plenty of meticulous detail to hold your attention, nice paint job, and everything opens (hood, trunk and doors). I can recommend it, but shop around as these go for a wide range of prices between ebay vendors, online vendors, and hobby retailers.

 

 

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