1995 Chevrolet S-10 SS – AMT Ertl

Ray

10 years ago

95s10a The last one of these pick-up trucks that I’ll be building for a while and man talk about saving the best for last. Yet again another one of those 1990s kits from AMT that just bleeds quality all over, I’m reaching the point that I gotta ask what the hell happened to AMT in the last couple of years?

You see how it reads “Photo of actual truck” on the bottom right to clarify that the actual vehicle is the promo shot? Well here’s the thing, it can actually look just as good that it’s indistinguishable from the real deal. That says something about the quality.

The S-10 itself isn’t a sporty truck, why it warranted a SS version is beyond me. Granted,
I’m a huge sucker for sport trucks, trying to complete the range(at some point the Ford Ranger if the price for a kit ever comes down a bit) and this one, despite it’s… well, lets be fair, the SS version sits at 195hp… it’s a bit mediocre. Still, it’s a sporty little guy!

Though, I just realized, this is the only kit I’ve ever build that has a V6 rather than a V8. Oh well, I still think it’s a nifty little truck. The kit does look supremely complicated in a good way, you build this thing from the frame up to what you see there, literally. The plastic is sturdy polystyrene that doesn’t bend well but is tough as nails so even the littlest pieces don’t just snap into bits and thanks to that it all just feels a lot more comfortable to build.

I went a little overboard with the detail on this kit in particular, largely cause the mold
quality was just superb. I did a custom gray/black with red trim interior that was originally the standard in GMC’s Syclone. Painted all the buttons on the console and wired up the Vortec V6 in the front. Also did the suspension in SS theme, black and red, for a change.

All in all, it all fit and went together like a charm. The whole kit already screams detail with the mold quality, that it’s a 2-in-1 kit with both the LS and SS versions having their unique bumpers, valances and trim detail, which is a extra that is very nice to have. Also the wheels I have on there are
the SS version but the kit also has the 15 inch LS solid wheels, just for the sake of choice.

There’s only a couple of downsides and they are minor, but hey they gotta be mentioned right? There’s a significant gap between the SS bumper and the tailgate and the tail gate has bits molded on it that would imply it needs to be socketed somewhere above the bumper… But there aren’t.

And oddly enough it’s missing the rear-view mirror. I mean, it’s odd cause the kit has all the details covered and yet it’s missing that.

But man, this is a great kit. The engine bay is nice and cluttered even with the smaller V6 and the interior is really detailed even with the very simplistic nature of the S-10. It sits happily next to the Syclone, another kit which is just as good and the C1500 454 SS, which is… less good, but good nonetheless.

(Edit: August 10th, 2016 – Added new, clearer pictures for clarity’s sake!)