The Chevrolet Silverado is a popular full-size pickup truck manufactured by General Motors. It was introduced in 1998 as the successor to the Chevrolet C/K line. In the RC hobby, where a lot of people like to build miniature versions of what they own as a full-size truck, or wish they owned, we have had a handful of Chevy truck shells molded of out Lexan in the past. As technology gets better and the molding techniques improve, the quality and details get better. It’s fair to say this is especially true of the bodies made by Pro-Line Racing. P-L has made RC shells for many years. Back when the 2007 Chevy Silverado came out with new styling, Pro-line soon followed suit and released a Lexan version. It can still be found in stock at many hobby stores. Sadly though, it has been the same body for seven years. The full-size version by General Motors didn’t get a new makeover until this year, but
Pro-Line once again followed suit and introduced a new RC version of the 2014 Chevy Silverado this past fall.
Needless to say, Chevy guys are excited.
It’s a body, so the actual features don’t make for a really long list. The 2014 Chevy Silverado is technically a 1:8 Body designed for Monster Trucks such as the Traxxas® REVO®. It comes as a clear Lexan body and includes pre-cut window, pre-applied overspray outer film, masks and a highly detailed sticker sheet. It’s a one-piece body and features a shallow bed and is styled after the 4-door version.
Specifications
Part number: 3430-00
Length: 19.5 in. (496 mm)
Width: 7.5 in. (191 mm)
Height: 5.5 in. (140 mm)
Wheelbase: 13 in. (330 mm)Thickness: .060″
TESTING & FINAL ASSESSMENT
To get this body for for actual use you’ll need body Scissors (RC-specific curved scissor provide the best results) and paint. You’ll also need a body hole reamer or a drill. A small hobby knife, such as an X-Acto, also comes in handy. For this paint job, Parma Faskolor liquid mask and Tamiya and Spaz Stix paints were used.
Paint Used
Tamiya PS-5 Polycarbonate Spray Black
Tamiya PS-2 Polycarbonate Spray Red
Spaz Stix, Inc. Ultimate Clear Coat Aerosol Paint For Mirror Chrome
As mentioned before, it’s been a longtime since the Silverado nameplate got this kind of redesign and facelift, both in full-size and RC. It’s nice too see that the quality that we have come to expect from Pro-line is well delivered with this new 2014 Chevy Silverado Body. The lines are clean and the mold is crystal clear and reinforced in all the right areas. It’s hard to capture some details in Lexan. For example, the rear bumper is a little lacking. This is most likely be due to its unique design. The full-size counterpart has 3D-like bumper side steps incorporated into the rear bumper ends, and details like this can be challenging to mold. Having a separate bolt on section, however, would have be nice to see or least the option to have one like when doing a sedan wing.
The sticker sheet is top notch in detail. Sure, it would have been nice to see more grill and headlamp options to choose from and additional Z71 decal add-on would have been nice instead of just 4×4. I would love to see, at some point, pre-cut decals. Some manufacturers do this and, for the most part, they are pretty good. I know this would increase the overall cost of the body, but really by how much? Last, but not least, I’ve always appreciated pre-cut window masks and the exterior protective film.
Overall, I think Pro-Line is delivering to their customers a product that is money well spent. It’s very high quality and it’s offered at a reasonable cost. Official licensing often doesn’t come cheap, but Pro-Line has kept the cost in check. Having a large selection of branded offerings give Pro-Line an edge in body choices for consumers.
If you want a paint scheme like this, and want to add more color to your next build, check out this guide:
How-to Paint a Simple Multicolor Body.
