Bob Ellis Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I wanted to create the light blue '61 Corvette used on the Route 66 TV show. The only kits available are the annual '61 Corvette kits by SMP in 1961. Unbuilts are expensive and the others are usually gluebombs. My solution was combining a AMT '62 rear to a Revell '60 front. Edited April 11, 2015 by Bob Ellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I believe it was the '62 Corvette that was used on the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik548 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I believe it was the '62 Corvette that was used on the show. shh dont tell him till he finishes the model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 This is a great solution on how to get a '61 Vette if it works. I am surprised the two would match up, I've never had any luck with that, useing issues from two different companys. I'll be watching, good luck. On the other issue, I also believe it was a '62 used on the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 You can google it, but here goes; Pilot show- 1960 Corvette, light blue First season- 1961 Corvette, light blue Second season- 1962 Corvette, light brown Third season- 1963 Corvette, light brown Fouth season- 1964 Corvette, light brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 RMVW- They did match better than I figured they would. The Revell is a multi-piece body that is easy to cut My biggest problem was getting the AMT '62 interior tub to fit into the '60. Actually, the '60 Revell is high tech compare to the SMP/AMT '62 Corvette. The Revell does not have an interior tub and uses the frame as the interior floor. So there was a fair bit of grinding material away inside. Original '61/'62 annual Corvette models had opening trunks and a larger interior tub. This means I have to make a new trunk floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Chernecki Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Looks good! I am doing the same conversion except using the Revell new tool '62 and '58/'59 kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Mike, I think the Revell '58s/'59s and Revell '62s might be easier since they use an interior based on the frame, instead of a tub. I would be curious how your conversion goes. Fell free to post it here as a comparison. All in the interest of creating a kit not currently available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 You can google it, but here goes; Pilot show- 1960 Corvette, light blue First season- 1961 Corvette, light blue Second season- 1962 Corvette, light brown Third season- 1963 Corvette, light brown Fouth season- 1964 Corvette, light brown Bob, It makes sence now as they would have used a brand new, at the time, Corvette for every season. Maybe one of their sponsers was Chevrolet? I remember seeing the '62 featured in a Hot Rod magazine where they retraced Route 66, probably what made me think that was THE car. I was a fan of the show when I was a kid so I should have known. Anyhoo glad to see someone building a '61, a real void in most Corvette collections. The 1:1 was a rarity also. A friend of mine had one not too long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Yes, Chevy was the show sponsor. The show was filmed all over the country and Route 66/Chevy worked with the local dealers during the filming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLMFAA1 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 And I thought all corvettes had luggage racks greg Light blue filmed better in B&W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Episode:To Walk With The Serpent Route 66 filmed in Boston. With a crew of 50 people and 2 Corvettes, a lot of the show was filmed on location. These photos compare Tod and Buzz driving a '62 Corvette on North St in 1962 and a later photo as it is now in 2015. Building a '62 Vette would have been easier than a '61 Vette. but I like a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 A '61 Vette from Season 1. This one is light blue with no white or color accent on the side. The wire wheels don't appear on the later episodes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 My favourite show when it was new - and I still love Nelson Riddle's theme music. Interesting to know the year and colour of the cars as I only ever saw it in b&w. I couldn't resist Revell's '62 diecast but I'd rather have your 61 in blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Peekay, I like the Revell '62 also. I just bought one recently. The driver in this model is clearly Martin Milner or his character Tod Stiles. The guy on the right is a generic passenger as Revell could not obtain a license from George Maharis for a representation of the Buz Murdoch character. No where on the box will you find Buz Murdoch or George Maharis. You have to paint his hair black by yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Peekay, I like the Revell '62 also. I just bought one recently. The driver in this model is clearly Martin Milner or his character Tod Stiles. The guy on the right is a generic passenger as Revell could not obtain a license from George Maharis for a representation of the Buz Murdoch character. No where on the box will you find Buz Murdoch or George Maharis. You have to paint his hair black by yourself. Interesting - I did wonder about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 I decide to rob the bumper grille and front pan from the ERTL issue of the '62 Corvette. The fit was better. The original annual trunk floor was trimmed to fit the 56 year old Revell frame which is better than the old 53 year old AMT frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 The conversion to a 1961 Corvette is about done, except for painting. In 1961, some of the AMT/SMP annual kits had wide white walls and the others had thin white walls. These are original wide whitewalls from a '61 Corvette kit that I scrapped/ The wire wheels came from the original AMT '57 Ford T Bird. The best I could do to match the TV show car. Trunk rack is from my stash of parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Your vette is really coming along nice Bob. Nice conversion. I always loved that show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLMFAA1 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Nice project, was a fan of the show when I was a kid and built many a rte 66 vette. Nice luggage rack you have. The real one has wooden cross slates The picture is from the 63 but the rack was consistant through the series. I would take the rack and use toothpicks to make the rack, they looked funny as the were tapered. greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geemoney Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 man, I can hear the theme song now! great build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 All done with up top for rainy days. Just needs paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) Looks good. I always enjoy seeing otherwise unobtainable models created from what's available. Edited March 27, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Darby Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Wow, talk about Deja Vu! I started this exact same same conversion 25 years ago, using the Revell Skip's Fiesta kit and an 80's molded in red issue of the 62. Got as far as you see here pretty quickly, but then over complication-itus crept in, with all kinds of grandious plans of extra detail.... Like a better chassis, steerable wheels, etc... Just kind of holdong the AMT grille in place behind the combination AMT and Revell bumper.... Kinda like it better than the photo-etched pieces. I'll be watching your progress. Maybe one of these days I'll get back to busy on mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFchronos Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Very nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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