'82 Vette Snap-kit

[scalemodelworld]

So I managed to pick up this little gem for the grand sum of $10. Given it's a snap-kit, I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could make it into something worthwhile.

The parts have been sitting on my bench for a couple of weeks, while I've been cleaning up the body (it was atrocious!), and trying to work out what to do. At first I was just going to try and make the lights pop-up and wire up the engine, but last night I came up with something slightly more adventurous.

The plan AT THIS STAGE is to:

Wire the engine;

Make pop-up headlights (using a lever underneath so they raise and lower together);

Remove the "grilles" on either side of the license plate and use mesh instead;

Lower it and give it larger wheels;

Give it some funky pin-striping (inspired by Chris Thobe's work - although mine will be basic); and

Give it working, gullwing doors!

So it's going to be slow going, and I'm only half convinced I can pull it off with any real semblance of quality. But hey, it cost me 10 bucks, so who cares if I fail. Right?

[scalemodelworld]

After my post the other day, I got a bit excited about the magnitude of this build, so I knuckled down and got started. I'd already cut out the headlights, so I set about filling the T-panel lines in the roof, removing the front grille (just one for now so there's a comparison) and then marking and removing the doors. I got one done last night, so thought I'd post photos of my progress.

By the way - if anyone has ideas on hinges for headlights, please let me know!

[cobraman]

Interesting project. I will be watching.

[Scuderia]

Lookin' good, that era of snap kit had crisp details and lent themselves to some deep additions. Good start!

[scalemodelworld]

Thanks to our huge storms in Queensland again, I've managed to get some serious work done on this project. Over the last week, I've finished removing the doors from the body and the interior tub, painted and wired the engine, and started building the body of the doors.

So far, the only major issue I've had is that the door pillars snapped when I cut the doors from the body, so I've had to remake my own from styrene.

Still stuck on a way to make the headlights raise and lower though.

Happy to hear any comments

[Dogfish_7]

Body work looks good. You might be able to hinge the head lights like you would the doors, because of their size.

[scalemodelworld]

Thanks Dogfish. I might be going with that plan, but I wanted the lights to be able to pop up together by making a lever under the body. The lights attach at an angle, so making the hinges is the easy part - getting them to work together is more difficult.

The build is still on track: wire mesh front grille; gullwing doors; pin striping; pop-up lights (maybe). While I struggle with exactly how to do the lights, I've done a "tuxedo" colour scheme for the interior (to go with a black paint job). How does it look?

[Zarana-X]

I had the Devil Vette version of that kit. Monogram snap-kits are a bit more detailed than usual. I was surprised it had an actual engine.

[scalemodelworld]

Managed to get some colour on the body today and polished it up. Still needs a clean up, but I think it's looking good. You can see the outline of the gullwing doors, and also the pin striping I did. I'm not 100% happy with the pinstripe design, but this was more about learning the technique than anything else.

Hope you like it.

[Dogfish_7]

Just use one rod and run it inbetwene the lights, like the trunk lid.

[scalemodelworld]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Sadly, I can't make these hinges the same as a trunk, since the lights do not sit square with the body. I tried doing it that way and the lights go on a funny angle when they lift up.

I already tried Dogfish's idea (I think that's the most obvious way), but it can't be done as a T piece - imagine the cross piece running back at about 60 degrees to the lift handle. So if you run a lift handle like that, the hinges don't move properly.

I'm now toying with making the individual hinges and then trying to work out a lift handle afterwards - although that might not work. I've also ordered some door hinges from Detail Master, so thinking of waiting until they arrive and see if I can incorporate them somehow.

Sadly, I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that they might not be able lift up together (just like a real corvette, lol).

[scalemodelworld]

I spent AGES working on the headlights and I've conceded that they aren't going to pop-up unless the door hinges I ordered can do the job. So instead, I focused on the doors and wheels and this is where I'm at. Mags are from a '70 Firebird.