Chassis and Crossbows
1August 5, 2018This is my first AMT kit. I like the stiffness of the plastic parts. It feels like a solid, durable kit.
2August 5, 2018
3August 5, 2018Engine build is underway. I didn't have Chevrolet engine red, so I used a base coat of X-7 Red and went over it with a coat of Clear Orange.
4August 6, 2018I went for the custom option and added the velocity stacks and Offenhauser valve covers. I will have to cut a hole in the hood to make room.
5August 18, 2018Starting on some rusty wheels. First is a base coat of Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red with some dashes of X-26 Clear Orange.
6August 18, 2018Globs of liquid masking film go over top to provide something for chipping and scraping once the overcoat is applied.
7August 18, 2018Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum goes overtop and gets plenty of drying time.
8August 18, 2018The masking film is scraped off haphazardly with a finger nail in spots to provide a rusty look. I did wind up dabbing on some light bits of Clear Orange again with my thumb and rubbing it around to get a little more variety to the colour.
9August 18, 2018The wheel on the left has been distressed with a rough grade file. It adds a nice dusty and worn look that will look even better once some brake dust is added and they get some dirt on them.
10August 18, 2018Some paint tests for the cloth part of the seats. After sorting through a bunch of colours, the sequence on the left has won out. Olive Drab, Khaki, Buff, and Deck Tan for the stitching.
11August 18, 2018Hope this works. The cloth portion has been painted over with XF-57 Buff, being the lightest of the three weaves. When it's dry I will mask off some stripes and start with the next tone.
12August 23, 2018Masking off some stripes. Tried to get a consistent 10th-inch width for each colour, but they ended up a little uneven.
13August 23, 2018The stripes are pretty close in tone to the originals, if not to perfect scale. There's some bleeding through under the tape here but it got cleaned up afterward.
14August 23, 2018Using a knife to paint the embroidery and stitching, and coating the vinyl areas with MicroFlat to give them a different sheen from the cloth inset. Not perfect, but after 4 hours it's close enough.
15September 2, 2018Started on the door panels. Fiddly business painting some of that trim, and with just a bit more touch up I'll be happy.
16September 3, 2018Trying to match the carpet colour I wanted, a base of Khaki with some Gold drybrushed in and a thumb-grimed brushing of Olive Drab/Flat Brown mix over top.
17September 3, 2018Interior assembly, stage one. Side panels and seats are in place.
18September 3, 2018The interior has taken me more time than all the rest of the work so far. The dashboard is going to be a tough one to paint as well. Lots of fine details.
19September 9, 2018Double-coat of drybrush to highlight those raised speedometer numbers. First a brush of white, followed by clear green. And of course it will never be seen once installed.
20September 9, 2018Base dash is done. A mix of Olive Drab and Hull Red for a chestnutty wood finish.
21September 9, 2018Custom gauges mounted, steering wheel installed and all interior components finally in place.
22September 9, 2018My modeling club approved of the interior. At least they (unlike my wife) don't think I'm crazy. Not that they'd admit anyways.
23September 22, 2018Had just enough Semi-Gloss Black leftover in the can to spray the chassis.
24September 22, 2018Front end assembly in place and the engine has been mounted.
25September 22, 2018It was really fiddly trying to get the kingpins to stay in place during assembly.
26September 23, 2018Teasing the body colour here with the firewall, before I go in and paint some more of those details. It's going to be wonderfully horrendous!
27September 30, 2018The completed radiator assembly.
28September 30, 2018Rear suspension and exhaust have been installed. Waiting now for the body paint to finish curing before installing the glass.
29October 6, 2018The body coat doesn't have to be high-gloss because it's going to get roughed up and weathered before I'm finished.
30October 7, 2018Chassis, interior and body have come together. It was a bit of work to get them to come together but it's a good enough fit for what I need.
31October 7, 2018Interior looks better when viewed through the open window than when it was on its own.
32December 17, 2018Starting on the next kit for the project, a 1941 Ford Woody. Nice to finally build an engine that looks a little different.
33December 17, 2018Parts fit together snugly with little issue. Side note, this is my first engine that was entirely airbrushed.
34December 17, 2018The radiator was a bid fiddly to get into place. Trying to secure the hoses enough to hold in place while being loose enough to angle into position was frustrating until it all came together.
35December 21, 2018Should I get a set of white wall tires, are you gonna cruise a miracle mile?
36December 29, 2018Went with a tan and brown interior - the seats ended up with a nice slightly mottled pattern. Can't imagine driving with those tiny round pedals.
37December 30, 2018First attempt at a varnished woodgrain interior. A base of Flat Brown, covered with Dark Yellow, and a glaze of Clear Orange.
38January 4, 2019Interior panels painted and ready for assembly.
39January 4, 2019It doesn't look like much from the outside at this point but the interior came out nicely. There's an entire outer shell that fits over this interior cabin.
40January 4, 2019There was a bit of warping to the panels, particularly up front that made for a challenge to put these panels together.
41January 4, 2019A view of the interior. I found some good references to help inspire the painting.
42January 13, 2019The underbody on this kit feels remarkably more complex after so many NASCAR builds. A little tricky getting some of it to line up well with age and warping, but it pulled together.
43January 28, 2019Base coats have been applied but will need some sanding and polish as well as touching up in spots. The handles and hinges will also need painting before moving on.
44February 8, 2019Once the cab goes on, it's harder to see the details inside. Isn't that always the way? Doesn't matter, I know it's there. The outer cab wasn't quite sitting right when I took this photo, which is why the windows look off.
45February 8, 2019That rear driver's side wheel is a little crooked, but given that it's going into the Chassis and Crossbows diorama, it's not a big deal.
46February 8, 2019I considered going for a higher gloss finish, but this thing is going to get all dirty anyways.
47February 8, 2019I only installed the front windshield. It went in nice and clean, but I wasn't convinced that the hand-cut side windows would do the Woody any favours. They'd get in the way of combat, too.
48May 5, 2019Another engine build for another post-apocalyptic death machine. The components were really rough and don't assemble as well.
49August 11, 2019Time to start building a 1953 Corvette to add to the mayhem. Gotta love white wall tires and the Blue Flame Special.
50August 18, 2019The frame has some significant warping due to age. The CA glue is really earning its keep here. With a little weight applied, I should be able to get all four wheels on the ground together.
51May 25, 2019Not my best interior, but it's a really old kit and still a work in progress. Still have to install the front seats and the roll bar and permanently affix that steering column.
52June 1, 2019Seats installed and the roll bar has been mounted. Interior is finished.
53June 10, 2019Body is primed and the first coat of paint is drying. Meanwhile, the front end is coming along nicely.
54June 25, 2019The paint isn't perfect but it will serve. It's not the blue I had planned on, but Tamiya's Racing Blue really pops.
55June 28, 2019The orange peel is pretty visible in this shot. It doesn't seem so noticeable in person, but again, the weathering will mask some of this so I can continue practicing before I try a "show car".
56June 28, 2019Not my best work. I need to work on my painting window trim. The hood wouldn't quite stay closed either so I had to glue it shut. But it will be a nice addition to the Chassis and Crossbows project.
57October 4, 2019The decal on the plate was pretty fragile, and I lost part of the "California" - but it still works well enough once trimmed down.
58October 4, 2019The hood emblem turned out well, painted with an X-acto knife. The chrome also helps hide some of the clearcoat that pooled near the bottom.
59October 4, 2019Happy with the interior. Scraping away the paint in the creases gave me the embroidery look I was aiming for.
60October 4, 2019Looks better without the top. Overall pretty pleased with the end results. Will be a shame to damage it up for the Chassis & Crossbows set.
Comments
22 November 2024, 22:46 -
Album info
A collection of vehicles for a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It's also a throwback to my childhood. Growing up with Mad Max and The Road Warrior we used to add battle damage to the model kits we built. I will likely add a fair amount of scratch-built armaments out of the scraps left over from previous builds.
60 images
1:25
On hold
1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1
PrivateVETTE
December 1953 - California