After decades in the Monogram “tomb of doom” Atlantis has saved some of the Route 32 kits from the crypt and reissued them for us to enjoy once again. This model of the 1982 Z/28 Camaro was initially issued in 1982 and is now available as brand-new stock.

Back in the day, because these kits were relatively inexpensive and perfectly sized, many of these kits were primarily adapted to serve as slot car bodies. As fashionable as that was, they were also nicely detailed models when built with moderate detailing. If you collect a lot of models, or you’re concerned with space, 1:32 scale car models are only about 6” long but are good representations of the real thing.

The kit consists of 47 pieces for the single-purpose version of the 1982 Camaro Z/28. It is molded in color and includes a detailed one-piece body, interior, and engine, along with scripted rubber tires, chrome-plated and clear parts, instructions, and waterslide decals.

Construction starts with the engine which is split longitudinally and meets with the lower half that is molded into the chassis. The exhaust is added and includes dual mufflers and a catalytic converter as a separate part so detailing is easy.

The wheels are next with a nice chrome depth and quick assembly to the tires. The tires had a little too much flash around the ridges of the tread so they need trimming. The front and rear one-piece suspensions fit perfectly into place to accept the snap-on wheels. Picking out the details with some brush painting makes the undercarriage look as good as larger models do.

The windows are next in the instructions, but I elected to place them last because they are very thin and fit from the outside, barely catching the contoured shape of the window openings. The windshield rests in the cowl area but for the backlight I added a piece of strip plastic on the underside to mount the rear edge.

The dashboard is pretty basic, but if you add some aftermarket decals, and highlight paint, it really comes to life although it’s hard to see through the small side windows.

The interior has enough detail to make it look interesting. To add some zest, I painted it dark blue with silver accents to compliment the silver exterior. It has the vibe of the car used to represent Chevrolet as the pace car for the 1982 Indianapolis 500 race that year. Note that one of the seat’s headrests is significantly taller than the other. In most photos that I’ve seen it appears to be located on the passenger side.

The body is very clean and free of flash and parting lines. The proportions and detail are very good. I determined that the front and rear fascia could be added to the body to eliminate shading issues, so I glued those into place and taped the hood on after painting its underside. After it had dried, I did some brush painting of the flat black areas on the body including the engine bay.

The decals come off the paper quickly in warm water, but they still have trouble conforming to corners, so I cut those segments and joined them up at their edges. Still, some gloss white was needed to cover some of the small gaps.

The interior nestles into the body perfectly and the front edge of the dashboard matches up precisely with the rear of the cowling for a gluing location. The chassis then can be started slightly at the rear and drops right down into the body. Just watch the clearance of the alternator in the engine bay. It fits so well that no glue is needed.

There are a few details left that require painting like the taillights and the sideview mirror. Add the headlights, engine-bay items, and carefully place the window glass into position with some clear glue and your modern deuce will make a proud addition to your shelf with room to spare for the companion Highway 32 kits – all in 1:32 scale!

Many thanks to Atlantis Models for saving and providing this kit and IPMS for making space for this review.