I grew up in a blue-collar St. Louis neighborhood, a stone's throw from the hulking Chevrolet plant on the North Side, the real home of the Corvette, never mind the newer Kentucky factory.

I've gone through there many times every year since I was five. Everybody from the plant managers to the janitors practically knew me by name, waving as they saw me tour the plant for the hundredth time, dragging my poor, hapless parents in my wake.

I used to sneak over the sheet-covered fence to spy next year's models, and had three lifelong loves -- the 1957 Bel Air, the 1965 Impala and the 1967 Impala SS 427.

So you can imagine my delight when I came across model maker RC-2's 1967 Impala SS 427 hardtop from its Authentics line. Here is a model that offers prized detailing, accuracy and content usually reserved for models costing at least twice its under-$50 price tag.

Its version is jet black, with a black interior and plenty of polished chrome-plated parts. It has a workable rear antenna, a functioning gearshift, a turning drive shaft and a perfect rendition of the 427-cubic-inch engine, down to the maze of soft rubber hoses, copper parts and engine decals.

There's even that blue GM emblem that appeared on the door jambs of all their cars in that era.

This is one huge, heavy model, and every detail from taillights to parking lamp lenses in front track accurately with pictures from my prized 1967 Chevy catalog. But the parts are extremely delicate -- be careful!

Criticisms? It was almost impossible to raise the antenna, and the gearshift in my model was either crooked when it was installed or on the verge of breaking, so I didn't touch it. Also, the paint finish was a bit cloudy in spots from where tape had touched surfaces. I'd remove the tape upon delivery.

But overall, this is a model likely to be sought after in years to come, so you might want to salt away one, if you can find it.