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GMP 1968 Chevrolet Nova S(S) COPO 396

5K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  Dave7872 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
There I was last month thinking I'd never buy a car with any sealed openings. At the same time I've wanted a GMP Nova but for that reason never bought one. Then this deal came up... and I changed my mind. Was my purchase worth it even though the hood is the only opening feature? That's what these reviews are for, so let's get going..



The box is pretty unusual, as in pretty boring. It's all white with a silhouette of the car on each car and information on each end. Personally I think it could use some color but it gets the job done.

Opening the box gives you.





Another box....

At least I know why the box, or "outer box" was so boring, this so makes up for it. While this inner box shares most of the information with the outer box, the rich blue and view window make this the definite pick for display. The back of the box gives you a multitude of information about the car and engine which I wish was on more diecast boxes.



Of course these cars come with a Certificate Of Authenticity..





Good, no third box.. Since we finally got to the car, looking past the doors and trunk, we see a very nicely done model. The (what I believe to be) Astro Blue paint is applied even with no paint bubbles or drip, though I think some overspray would have been cool. The window trim, mirror and wipers are clean cast and fit properly, but the lower line trim, door handles and badging are just painted, which is a slight disappointment. One thing I didn't expect is the door windows to be down instead of up, as this car obviously has sealed doors.



The front end is semi detailed with realistic headlights, grille and (painted) badging. Personally, the COPO license plate to me should be changed to something related to the cars history, like the GMP Road Runner models. Also note that I have the very rare "S" model Nova. It's like an SS, but way more rare, expensive and fake.



The rear end is mostly the same as the front, except the license plate holds the serial number, which is slanted a bit.. weirdly.



The wheels are color-matched "Dog Dish" rims with Firestone Wide Oval pie crust style wheels. These feature a deep cut realistic tread pattern which compliment the car perfectly. The only nit-pick I have is that the hub cap is painted instead of an individual piece, but it is barely noticeable.





While mostly inaccessible, the interior is a little detailed with various gauges and patterns. I could say more about it, but I can barely see it. One thing I can see is that the shifter could have been cast smoother. Is it too big? Or is that just me?





Under the hood (without real hinges), is the infamous 396 Turbo-Jet. This engine is moderately detailed with spider plumbing and a few non-engine pieces. For the only opening feature on the car, it's good enough. I'm just glad they let you lift the hood. My only criticism is that the cast pieces should have been more tight.



Yeah, this doesn't open... like it would be hard to do.. Moving along.



The undercarriage for this car has some detailed features including full exhaust, brake lines and detailed suspension. Like most newer GMP's, you won't find a rotating driveshaft or perfectly replicated suspension here, but what's presented is nice and sharp. My bug is that there's too many visible screws and holes on the chassis.

Overall, I like the car very much. Yeah it's not worth the price most people want for it, but for what I paid, I believe I got a very good deal. Don't buy this expecting your usual GMP quality, or else you'll be very disappointed. Would I recommend it? Of course. Is it better than the Autoworld Nova with opening everything? No idea.. I'd say no. I'd recommend it though and If you can find one at the right price, there's no reason to pass it up.
 
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#3 ·
Looks good and I always wanted one. The sealed doors always bothered me. The engine looks very clean. Overall, I like it, but not sure I would get one. My custom Maisto is pretty damn cool and I am happy with it.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
Another great review mate & very nice looking model, the colour is perfect for this car. The Nova is one car that I desperately want in my muscle car collection but the GMP sealed doors & trunk put me off while the ERTL/Autoworld doesn't look right to me at all, I'd go for the GMP but for the sealed bits & think GMP shot themselves in the foot by not doing this model justice (no disrespect to yours as it looks great).

Cheers for doing another great review, pleasure to read & look at as always.
 
#6 ·
I've gone back & forth on adding one of these. I like the styling on these early Novas & have been tempted by the blue Rally version.

This was one of GMP's first models & like their Buick GN series is fairly low on detail...still, they do look fairly good on display.
 
#7 ·
Regarding those with doubts about this model due to sealed doors and trunk, I used to feel the same way about both this and the Buick GNX, but now that I have them both it does not bother me much. You can easily see everything in the interior with the windows "down" and who really needs to see whats in the trunk. This mold, and the Buick mold were developed by GMP in the late 90's, at a time when ertl, maisto, and even Lane models had some door gaps big enough to fit a quarter in, rather than trying to find a way to tighten gaps, GMP chose to keep costs down and leave things sealed, thereby creating a model with better shelf presence than the contempoary ertls, etc.
 
#8 ·
Like it has been said, these and the Buick were made in GMP's "salad days" as before that all they did was commission Ertl tooling to do their releases. When these were released, the detailing had no comparison in 1/18 muscle car models.
When first released, the Nova was not panned by the purist because of the sealed doors/trunk, but because of the roof shape. IIRC, the windshield is too tall, pushing the roof back and making the slope of the back window and the "c" pillar to be inclined too much. Compare the profile of the 1/18 and a 1:1 to see what I mean.
 
#9 ·
Great review Rush... Looks like a very nice model... Thanks for taking your time to post this...


 
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