AMT Model Car Kits and Trucks

What AMT makes

AMT makes plastic model kits, mostly American cars and trucks at 1/25 scale. Scale means how much smaller the model is than the real thing. At 1/25, one inch on the model stands for 25 inches on the real car.

Round 2 lists AMT among its brands on its own site. The AMT kit it features there, the 1966 Chevy Nova Pro Street, is described as a 1:25 kit with more than 110 parts, skill level 2 for ages 10 and up, with glue and paint required.

On Amazon US, our data holds 60 live AMT listings:

• Car and truck kits: 45, all 1/25
• Science-fiction kits: 11, Star Trek and Star Wars
• Aircraft kits: 5 by our filing, including a 1/48 Grumman F9F Panther
• Ship kits: 1, the Star Trek USS Reliant at 1:2500

For the record: the newest trucks in the grid include the 1963 Ford F-100 Four Sixes Ranch Pickup, a 1/25 kit like the rest. The 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I John Wick kit is 1/25 too.

AMT model car kits: the 1/25 lineup

Every AMT car kit in the grid is 1/25. That makes AMT easy to shelve. Every car you add lines up with the last one.

Most of the cars are American, from the 1950s through the 1970s, with a few later ones. Here's how the listed car kits group by subject.

Muscle cars

The biggest group. Our data tags 11 AMT kits as muscle cars, including the 1968 Shelby GT 500, the 1966 Chevy Nova Pro Street, the 1968 and 1969 Chevy Camaros, the 1972 Nova SS Old Pro, the 1964 Chevelle Malibu Super Sport and the 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT. The Cyclone lists 103 pieces, a finished length of 7.8 in and ages 14+. The Chevelle Malibu lists 63 pieces at skill level 2.

Who they suit: a builder who wants the classic American shelf. Who should skip them: someone after a European sports car. AMT's list on Amazon US doesn't have one.

Classic cruisers and custom builds

The 1957 Chevy Bel Air (ages 10+, skill level 2), the 1955 Chevy Nomad, the 1951 Chevy Bel Air, the 1962 Chevy Impala Convertible and the 1960 Ford Starliner Custom fall here. The Impala lists 116 pieces and ages 14+. The Starliner lists 118.

Two kits give you a choice of builds in one box. The 1955 Nomad is a 3-in-1 kit, ages 10+, about 7.5 in long. The 1951 Bel Air is a 2-in-1 Retro Deluxe Edition. Build options mean extra parts for different versions, such as stock or custom. You build one. The leftover parts go in the spares box, which in my garage has its own label and a waiting list.

Race cars and drag cars

The 1962 Pontiac Catalina Super Stock is tagged as a drag-racing car, and the 1964 Ford Galaxie Modified Stocker is filed as a race car. Neither listing states a piece count or skill level, so check the box photos before you plan the evening.

TV and movie cars

Two AMT car kits carry a TV or movie name in the listing: the 1967 Chevy Impala 4-Door Supernatural (ages 10+, skill level 2) and the 1970 Chevy Chevelle John Wick (82 pieces, skill level 2). We name the line the way the listing does, and that's all we say about it.

Police and service vehicles

The 2021 Dodge Charger Police Pursuit is the newest car subject in the grid. The 1959 Cadillac Ambulance with Gurney lists 82 pieces at skill level 2. Service vehicles are a nice change on a shelf full of muscle cars. They also tend to come with extra small parts, like the gurney, that need careful handling.

AMT model trucks: pickups and big rigs

AMT's trucks are where the 1/25 scale starts to take real shelf space.

The pickups are the easy step in. The 1953 Ford Pickup and the 1978 Ford Pickup both list decals in the box. The 1960 Chevy Custom Fleetside comes with a go kart in the bed. The 1965 Chevy El Camino comes with a camper: 144 pieces, skill level 2, 8.3 in finished. That's a model of a truck carrying a model of a vacation.

The big rigs are a different project:

• Western Star 4964 Tractor: skill level 3, ages 14+, 13 in finished
• Peterbilt 359 Wrecker: a 1/25 tow truck
• International Transtar 4300 Eagle Sprite: a 1/25 tractor

The Western Star is the only skill level 3 kit in AMT's listed lineup. At 13 in it's also the longest finished length in our AMT data, longer than my forearm. I checked. Of course I checked.

Lucho looked at the wrecker listing and said, "A wrecker is the truck everybody is glad to see exactly once." He wants one for the engine end of the shelf.

Who the big rigs suit: a builder with one or two car kits done who wants a longer project. Who should skip them: anyone with a 12-inch-deep shelf. Measure first.

AMT science-fiction kits

AMT's sci-fi kits are licensed Star Trek and Star Wars subjects, named here as the listings name them.

The Star Trek kits include the 3 Piece U.S.S. Enterprise Set at 1:2500, the Space Ship Set, the U.S.S. Enterprise Refit, the USS Reliant NCC-1864 at 1:2500, the NX-01 Enterprise snap kit at 1:1000 and the TOS Klingon Battle Cruiser at 1:650, which lists 42 pieces and glue assembly.

The Star Wars kits include the A New Hope TIE Fighter at 1:48 (32 pieces, ages 14+, 6 in tall), a larger 1/32 TIE Fighter (13.5 in, glue assembly) and the Phantom Menace Anakin's Podracer at 1:32 (154 pieces, ages 14+).

Those scales don't share a shelf with the cars. A 1:2500 ship and a 1:25 car are a hundred times apart in scale. Plan a separate shelf, or a separate wall.

Snap kits are a real way into the hobby

Here's my one opinion on this page. Snap-fit kits, where parts press together without glue, are a real way into model building, not a lesser one. You still cut parts, clean them and follow the manual. You skip the cement and the waiting.

AMT's listed lineup has two snap kits:

• 1979 Pontiac Firebird Turbo Custom (Snap): 24 pieces, skill level 1, ages 14+
• Star Trek NX-01 Enterprise (Snap): 1:1000, decals included

Revell's own level chart puts level 1 at no gluing and no painting, for kids and newcomers. AMT's Firebird is the only level 1 kit in our AMT data. Note the age label, though. It says 14+, so that's the floor, even though the build is simple.

AMT vs Revell

Both makers sell American car kits at the two standard car scales, and Revell names 1:24 and 1:25 as the standard scales for automobiles and trucks. Here's how our data compares the car kits:

• Scale: AMT, 45 of 45 at 1/25. Revell, 17 at 1/24 and 16 at 1/25, plus a few 1/32 and one 1/12.
• Skill level: AMT, 18 of 20 stated at level 2. Revell, 23 at level 4 and 10 at level 5, of 36 stated.
• Age label: AMT, mostly 10+ or 14+. Revell, mostly 12+ or 13+.
• Build options: AMT lists 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 kits. Revell lists nine 2-in-1 car kits.

The two makers use separate skill charts, so a level 2 from one and a level 4 from the other aren't on the same ruler. Read each against its own maker's chart. More on Revell on the Revell brand page.

How to pick within AMT

Start with the shelf. Everything here except the sci-fi kits is 1/25, so a 7.5-inch car is the typical footprint and a big rig runs to 13 in.

Then use the skill level and the piece count together:

1. First kit ever: the level 1 snap Firebird, if the builder meets the 14+ label
2. First glue kit: a level 2 car with a modest piece count, like the 63-piece Chevelle Malibu or the 82-piece Chevelle
3. Next step: a level 2 kit with more parts, like the 144-piece El Camino with camper
4. Longer project: the level 3 Western Star 4964 tractor

Age labels in the grid run 10+ and 14+. Use the label on the listing as the floor. A 10+ kit is fine for a patient 10-year-old with a grown-up nearby for the knife work. A 14+ kit is labeled 14+ for a reason, and the reason is on the box, not in my guess.

Many listings don't state a skill level or a piece count at all. When that happens, look at the parts photo on the listing. A photo of the runners tells you more than the box art.

What you need besides the kit

Most AMT car kits here say paint and glue are required and not included. Plan for:

• Plastic cement: a glue that softens and joins the plastic
• Side cutters and a hobby knife: to free and clean the parts
• Paint and a primer: primer is a first coat that helps paint stick
• A cutting mat and good light

The decals are usually in the box. Of the AMT listings that state it, all say decals are included.

Safety at the bench

Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves. Cut away from your body on a cutting mat, and keep blades away from kids. Check the age label on the listing: kits with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3, and the U.S. CPSC treats small parts in products for that age as a hazard.

Where AMT sits in the model car section

AMT's 45 car kits are one of the biggest single groups in our plastic model car kits table. If you want a short list with a rule behind it, the model car kits for adults page sorts kits by stated skill and detail. For vintage-tooling American kits at mixed scales, see Atlantis.

Pick the decade, then the body style. The scale is already decided.