Reviews : AMT 1955 Chevy Cameo Pickup (Coca-Cola)

Other reviewers frequently say that the windshield and backglass are too small for their openings in the cab. I have not found that to be true, but it may be that they are trying to install the glass from the inside (like the vent windows), instead of following the instructions, which say to install from the outside. All I did was run a black Sharpie around the frames, and then used some Mod Podge to hold the glass in place. I found very little flash, which was surprising because of the age of the kit and knowing how reluctant the new owners of AMT are when it comes to replacing the molds. In the bed area, I tried something new, similar to suggestions for wooden steering wheels. First I gave the bed a black wash of Tamiya Panel Liner. The excess was removed randomly, and a coat of acrylic light brown was airbrushed over it, to give it an overall look of wood. Then, I followed up with an airbrushed layer of Clear Orange acrylic by Tamiya. The extra effort made the woodgrain molded into the plastic really pop, something I have not been able to attain when using actual stripwood. I did have some trouble assembling the bed module. Although the floor itself fit perfectly to the bottom of the 3 stationary walls, and then to each other, the tailgate needed some work and muscle to get it close to what the designers had originally intended. The outside frames were supposed to be glued to the uprights using nubs molded underneath. This actually made the whole thing look a bit out of alignment. I also decided to remove the tabs from the rear turn signals, since they just did not look like a good fit to the frame. This way, I was able to sand the frame completely flat, and the cement allowed me to get the turn signals perfectly aligned. So, this was not a 100% trouble-free project, but it was worth the time to test fit the parts before gluing them together. (If you would like to see my final model, I posted several photos of the finished kit. It's the one painted Butternut Yellow with red accents.)

This kit was really awesome on almost all levels with some distractions This is a Round 2, made in 2021. It’s molded in white, with about 120 parts. It really doesn’t come with any mods, other than a vintage diecast coke machine and a dolly and a decal sheet with lots of neat Coke-centric choices. It has a 265 ci V8, which builds up really nice. The coke machine is a really neat extra, and can be painted and decorated in many different ways, as well as the truck. The truck detail is really, really nice, and would have been perfect if it had separate door handles, interior handles and wipers. The details are sharp, and most of the chrome flashes and logos are really detailed. The instructions are really well done and descriptive. Neat plus – the tires options are red well, wide white wall and gold lettering and really nice. The interior tub paints out well, and I scratchbuilt the door and window handles. The front and back windshields are nice, crystal clear and fit great – but there are gaps no matter how you fit it. Test-fitting is mandatory, but worth it. Loved the gap fillers in the engine bay. Neat feature and they fit perfect. Trimming is required on the radiator so the hood will fit flush. Had to scratchbuild the top radiator hose to make it fit. Tip: if you notch the bed bottom AND nip the tops of the forward bed posts on the frame, the bed will fit flush with the cab. This kit builds into a real beauty, and this is one of Round 2’s better offerings. Highly recommended.

The '55 Chevy Cameo is an interesting modeling subject, representing a turning point in the evolution of pickup truck design and appeal of the pickup truck to the general public. This kit is reasonably well designed, nicely molded, and the parts fit is good, with a couple of exceptions. First, the rear fenders take a bit of work to fit properly to the pickup box, but a good fit can eventually be achieved. The bigger fit problem is with the front and rear windows. The clear parts are about 1/2 mm too short to fit properly in the openings. The gap in the front can be hidden by the visor, and the gap in the rear could be filled with a careful application of white glue. My solution, however, was to chop the top by about 3/4 mm, and then carefully fit the glass. Aside from these two fit issues, the rest of the kit went together nicely, and the subject of the kit makes it an interesting addition to my collection of pickup truck models.

When I was a teen and a young man, I built more of these types of model kits than I can remember. I recently decided to start again. This one seemed about average for fit issues, molding flash, gaps in the instructions, challenges removing parts from the frames while avoiding breakage, etc. Rather than complain, I relish the challenge of attacking the flaws in these kits with my own brand of creative ingenuity, craftsmanship and determination to succeed. No two projects are the same, some with more challenges than others. As a level 3 kit there are not enough details to be a real challenge so the shortcomings can make up for this. At 65 I have learned that there are two kinds of people, those who see problems to avoid and those who see opportunities to shine. If you are one of the the first kind, maybe you would be better off to steer clear of this hobby.

This was a great kit until it was to assemble the bed. The directions were useless. I had to trim pieces that were not supposed to be trimmed. I ended up with gluing everything together and played crisis control after everything was dry. The bed is this kit was a real disappointment. I try my best not to bash AMT because they bring the industry a lot of vintage kits many companies don’t offer. At the same time AMT needs to address the fitting issues in some of their kits. This is one of those kits. Until AMT addresses the fitting issues in the bed, I wouldn’t recommend this kit at the present time.

I had my concerns purchasing this kit after all the horror stories about the glass and bed construction. Turns out they were just that, stories. Watched a YouTube video on the bed assembly and went from there, no problem thinking ahead and test fitting. My windshield surprisingly snapped right into place, no glue whatsoever, same with the vent windows. All in all everything went together quite smoothly. As for the reviewers who say they threw the model in the trash, please contact me beforehand and I'll take them off your hands!

I will start out by saying I was very surprised by the detail and the accuracy of this kit! Details like the seperate gastank behind the fold down seat back, and the seperate steering box detail, to the full and accurate suspension detail, and it all went together very nicely. This kit requires some experience and patience but the finished kit is something to be proud of, and displays beautifully, and is highly recommended.

Below average kit. I also had problems with the bed pieces fitting properly. The tailgate assembly looks like #*==||_!! The rest of the kit was ok with typical flashing and minor fit issues. It seems like the only problem I didn’t have that others have had, was the windshield glass. Mine fit perfectly. Below average on the interior details but decent on the motor. One thumb down for this kit.

Bought this kit and was really excited about working on it. Everything went along fine until it was time to install the glass. The side vent windows were misshapen and the windshield was too small for the opening. I tried multiple different methods to get it to fit but nothing worked. Wound up tossing the model at a point where it was about 90% complete. Pissed me off.

I like the Cameo pickup but wished it wasn't an AMT kit. The castings are rough and required a lot of cleaning and repair. Instructions are poor and required some guess work, fortunately I worked on several full size ones way back! I was determined to make this a nice display piece despite the assembly issues. It all came together with the interior and exterior paint.

Not a lot of flashing, and parts fit generally well. Instructions a little shady on proper placement on some parts. Glass did not quite fill entire front and back locations. Front suspension does not quite center on fender wells. Other than that it fit great and was a blast to build. I want to build several more, the possibilities are endless for this truck.

It was a decent kit till I had to put the bed of this truck together. It was quite a challenge to get it to fit. It kind of did with some trimming. Would have giving it a higher rating but front and back windows did not fit at. Didn't even try the side windows. Although I did not use, the model comes with some nice chrome side trim.

55 Cameo, fun kit to build but the usual amt fit issues are present. Some flash to clean up and the front windshield fit is lousy. You’ll need to carefully glue it in (I’ve been using mod podge or elmers white glue) and walk away. Once you’ve done that, the rest is down hill. Have fun with this!

I only had one complaint with this kit. The wheels fit very loosely and don't sit properly when the car is done. They wiggle are are out of line. I'll be able to correct it it's just annoying

This is a nice truck model, some of the parts are hard to line up This is not a model to build as a first kit but you have built a few car models, you should be able to build this one

The parts fit so bad I tried for two days to FIX it, but it just kept getting worse. The instructions were no help either. I just put everything back in box and threw it away.

I had no problems with this kit. Went together good. I will be getting another to do as shown on box top. Current is in Coke red.

Wasn't too impressed with this..frail parts. Wasn't engineered properly. Cheaply made. Parts issues.