Testors 1/24 2006 Dodge Charger R/T Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The muscle car has returned. In the last few years, Detroit has gone retro with the production of a number of 'modernized' muscle cars. Dodge is no exception and in 2006, they released the Charger R/T that has some resemblance to its namesake, but with the new standard Dodge grille.

Under the hood is nothing but power. The engine is a V-8 340 horsepower Hemi that drives a five speed automatic transmission. The 2007 Charger steps this up with an optional 425 horsepower Hemi! In this day and age of front wheel drive, the Charger returns with rear-wheel drive and a curb weight over 3700 pounds, this is certainly no compact car.

Chrysler specifications say that this machine will get 17 mpg in town and 25 mpg on the highway, but you can bet your mileage will vary while you're out there having fun peeling the paint off the slow-movers as you put the car through its paces.

This kit is released in Testor's Lincoln Mint line-up and comes packaged in an end-opening box. The kit is very well packaged inside with many of the parts trees individually attached to cardboard carriers to ensure that your kit will get to you with no wear and tear. Once you get that kit out of the box, you're going to have an interesting time getting it back in there again.

As you can see in the images to the right, the kit is molded in white styrene and is presented on ten parts trees, plus two trees of clear parts, one tree of chrome plated parts, the car body, interior tub and chassis. The four tires are rubber. The molding on this kit is several notches above what I'm used to seeing in the usual car kit. The detailing is sharp with no sign of flash. According to the specs, there are over 150 parts that make up this project. Nice!

The model begins with that V-8 Hemi engine and it is quite detailed on its own. By the time you drop it onto the chassis motor mounts, you've got quite a detailed start to the model that even has radiator hoses connecting the engine up to the radiator. You're still going to need ignition wiring if you're an AMS modeler, but that is no problem.

The drivetrain and suspension are also nicely done. So far you'll want to pose this model with the hood up and sitting on a mirror so you won't miss this detailing.

Moving into the interior, the bucket seats actually have backs provided. That may sound odd, but I've seen too many car kits that have nice front seats but no provisions to cover the hollow rear of the seats. Once the front and rear seats are installed, you build up the dash board and side door panels next. The door panels have separate door handles.

Another sign that this isn't your average car kit is the separate headliner with overhead center console and separate rear view mirror and sun shades. To accommodate the headliner, Testors doesn't mold the windows as one part nor even the windshield and rear window as a single part. Each of the six windows are molded separately which means that you can choose not to install the side windows to make that nice interior more visible.

Construction rounds out with a realistically hinged hood and still more details under the hood. These include the brake master cylinder, battery, Hemi air cleaner, fuse box, and more.

This is definitely not your average car kit. I saw some of these kits built-up at the 2006 Chicago Hobby Show and they were impressive to look at but they didn't give you any idea how detailed they truly are until you see the kits on their sprues!

For a look at the build-up review, go here.

My sincere thanks to Testors for this review sample!