209 replies to this topic

[Art Anderson]

I've got 3 of the kits, plus a couple of the sedan deliveries. One of my Aerosedans is slated to be backdated to it's first version, the 1942--grille and trim change, then done as a December '41-January '42 "Blackout" version.

Art

[horsepower]

I've got 3 of the kits, plus a couple of the sedan deliveries. One of my Aerosedans is slated to be backdated to it's first version, the 1942--grille and trim change, then done as a December '41-January '42 "Blackout" version.

Art

It will be easy to do the '42 version, since the only real difference is that with the war going on there was no stainless available for the auto industry, & all of the "shiny" stuff was stamped in plain steel & painted in body color, (the original monochromatic paint?).

Edited by horsepower, 13 April 2010 - 02:05 PM.

[Art Anderson]

It will be easy to do the '42 version, since the only real difference is that with the war going on there was no stainless available for the auto industry, & all of the "shiny" stuff was stamped in plain steel & painted in body color, (the original monochromatic paint?).

A bit more complicated, actually: The grille is different, twice the bars, each half as thick, and no, the body trim wasn't just painted body color, but rather one of several shades of grey, silver or tan, depending on the actual body color itself.

Art

[Danno]

I'm looking forward to watching this 'buildatorial' unfold, too.

I've got a couple of the kits in the warehouse, and I've been putting off and putting off a build ~~ shame on me.

I just enjoy pulling one out and gawking at the parts ... wow!

So, build on, dude! You've got our attention!

[Billy Kingsley]

I love the Galaxie 48 Chevy kits. I have only ever had the Sedan Delivery though I have been looking for a copy of the Aerosedan. I hope they get reissued some day as I would like an Aerosedan and another shot at the Sedan Delivery. While the kits do have a lot of parts and a lot of detail, they are actually quite simple to build. The hood fit issues are actually the only thing that is keeping me from declaring that these kits are perfect. Literally, they are THAT good! A few years back, I had started my sedan delivery and painted it Model Master Lacquer (MML) Phoenecian Yellow but didn't really like the paint job so put it back away. Jairus came on here asking for photos of the built kit to run in a Galaxie ad in MCM. I pulled the kit out and took it from a painted body to a finished model in two days time. Sure it had a lot of parts but they all fit so perfectly that it was a snap to build the kit!

Here are some pictures...




Here is a whole album of pictures:
http://public.fotki.com/ElCaminoBilly/individual_models/1947chevysedandelivery/#media

To this day, I consider it the best model I've ever built. It was also the 200th model I built, but that was a total coincidence, as I didn't discover that info out until I had finished three more models that week and typed them into my charts!

Edited by Billy Kingsley, 13 April 2010 - 11:06 PM.

[george 53]

WOW Billy, an NOW yer a published Prop builder too???? You NEVER fail to amaze me Brother! I knew Stock racers wasn't all you could build! Yer TOO good! This came out REAL smooth,Billy, it looks SHARP!!

[midnightprowler]

Add another kit to my started pile, lol, this thread has got me fired up to start mine. After all, I've only had it for 12 years now.

[MikeMc]

My only issue with these kits is the stick-on chrome. The adhesive isn't strong enough to hold the fender trim pieces in place, even if you pre-shape them, as the instructions suggest. And, even if you can get them to stick, they simply don't look very good, IMO, because of the lack of raised detail.
If you want to build a car with fender trim, you are MUCH better off, IMO, cutting the pieces from Evergreen strip, using the kit stickies as templates, gluing them in place and covering them with BMF.

This is one of my major concerns,as the design calls for all that chrome and more on the skirts...that I was planning on ....but thats a lot of foiling...new and improved or not!!!

[MikeMc]

WOW Billy, an NOW yer a published Prop builder too???? You NEVER fail to amaze me Brother! I knew Stock racers wasn't all you could build! Yer TOO good! This came out REAL smooth,Billy, it looks SHARP!!

thats a random street car......a very sweet random street car

[Casey]

I love to see a company step up and produce a world-class model kit such as Galaxie Limited has done with these, but I'm just not into post-war Chevies, so I'll patiently wait for their next offering...unless Jarius wants to tease us with a bit more info...

Edited by Casey, 14 April 2010 - 06:40 PM.

[charlie8575]

My only issue with these kits is the stick-on chrome. The adhesive isn't strong enough to hold the fender trim pieces in place, even if you pre-shape them, as the instructions suggest. And, even if you can get them to stick, they simply don't look very good, IMO, because of the lack of raised detail.
If you want to build a car with fender trim, you are MUCH better off, IMO, cutting the pieces from Evergreen strip, using the kit stickies as templates, gluing them in place and covering them with BMF.

Thanks for the building tip, Ken. I'm hoping to get one of these this summer if work picks back up again.

Charlie Larkin

[Billy Kingsley]

Hey George where you been man that was 32 issues ago! LOL! Thanks though! LOL @ Mike.

Ken has a good point with the chrome too. I had forgotten that. I wanted to build a mild custom when I did the Aerosedan (note the raised rear suspension, and some of the kit custom parts on the engine if you looked at the album!) but for a factory stock build-what I would do ideally if I had the Aerosedan- would prove to be a little diffacult.

I would suppose that is why no other kits have done the trim like that since then, if I am correct!

Maybe I will nab an Aerosedan at the NNL East this weekend!

Edited by Billy Kingsley, 14 April 2010 - 09:06 PM.

[Harry P.]

I'm pretty sure it was Tamiya that first used the stick-on mylar chrome like what's found in the Galaxie kits. In fairness, it should be noted that it works extremely well for emblems and for other pieces, so long as they're applied to flat surfaces. The problems come in when the pieces have to adhere to curved surfaces, like the fenders of the Galaxie Chevys.
Also in fairness, it needs to be pointed out that it's obvious why Galaxie designed the kits this way ... not all '46-'48 Chevys had the Fleetline fender trim. In fact, very few of the sedan deliveries did, since those were intended as workhorse vehicles. In the final analysis, it's probably better that Galaxie didn't offer the kits with the chrome trim molded on because sanding it all off to build a plain-Jane vehicle would have been a MAJOR chore!

Should have been separate chrome pieces.

[Harry P.]

Perhaps, but, history has shown that it's very difficult to produce separate chrome trim without having it look clunky and out-of-scale. Revell's '55 Chevy kit is a prime example _ it looks a hundred times better if the separate chrome side trim is stripped, glued into place then covered with BMF after the body is painted. Plus, had Galaxie molded separate trim pieces for the '46-'48 Chevy kits, it would have needed to have incorporated some means of positioning them correctly into the bodies, such as holes or slots, which would have required filling to build a trimless vehicle.

So flat 2-dimensional mylar stickers look realistic??? Stickers that don't even work all that well???

The chrome trim should have been on the chrome tree... no slots or recesses needed on the fenders for placement. This kit was obviously intended for adult builders... pretty sure they could handle gluing some chrome trim in place without "help." Better yet, include both styles of fender, with and without chrome trim. An extra set of fenders would not have broken the bank, seeing as how the whole kit was new from the ground up anyway. I mean, if they can do multiple grilles...

Or better yet, mold the chrome trim on the fenders and let the builder decide whether to keep it, or sand it off.

[Harry P.]

The kit could have been engineered so that the fenders are separate, like on the real car. The fenders could have had the chrome trim molded in place, allowing the builder to decide whether to keep the trim or sand it off.

When you tool up a brand new kit from scratch, especially one aimed at adult modelers, "sweating the details" should be part of the process. The addition of the mylar stickers to replicate the chrome trim seems like a bad last-minute decision. The kit should have been better engineered in the first place, and since it was designed to offer the builder the option of building several different model year and trim level cars, the trim/no trim issue should have been worked out. Seems odd that they went to so much effort to get the kit right in terms of detail, yet they totally blew it on the fender trim.

[Harry P.]

Yeah, I guess nit-picking an overall nicely done kit isn't going to change anything; it just bugs me that this kit wasn't thought out a bit better before the tools were cut.

But overall, I also would like to see more from Galaxie.

[horsepower]

I'm pretty sure it was Tamiya that first used the stick-on mylar chrome like what's found in the Galaxie kits. In fairness, it should be noted that it works extremely well for emblems and for other pieces, so long as they're applied to flat surfaces. The problems come in when the pieces have to adhere to curved surfaces, like the fenders of the Galaxie Chevys.
Also in fairness, it needs to be pointed out that it's obvious why Galaxie designed the kits this way ... not all '46-'48 Chevys had the Fleetline fender trim. In fact, very few of the sedan deliveries did, since those were intended as workhorse vehicles. In the final analysis, it's probably better that Galaxie didn't offer the kits with the chrome trim molded on because sanding it all off to build a plain-Jane vehicle would have been a MAJOR chore!

The first stick on chrome that I can remember is the IMC/Testors '48 Fords, it wasn't worth trying either.

[mikelo]

Oh my! I remember that kit. I almost forgot about that one. I did mine back around 86, so the chrome wasn't too old then. Its still stickin, but I will have to redo it soon. Heres a pic.


Mike

[midnightprowler]

But, it's nothing some very carefully applied ca wont fix!

[Jairus]

Maybe Galaxie explored this option and found out that doing separate tools would have been prohibitively expensive. I don't know. I wasn't there when the kits were being designed. That's why I generally prefer to not get involved in the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" game where model kits are concerned.
On the whole, though, I think Galaxie did a tremendous job on the kits, the fender trim issue notwithstanding. I certainly hope they do have more projects in the pipeline, as Jairus alluded!

This is exactly correct. The metal trim pieces were the most logical alternative. Many ideas were considered and I believe all avenues completely thought out. The fact is that many versions of this body and fender unit were considered (and still are). To engineer and create a new mold for each version would have been prohibitively expensive considering the costs for making molds today. It just made no sense to mold in the trim strakes on the fenders when the fenders would need to be used for the Sedan Delivery! Likewise a pre-war version of the same car never had such trim.

I truly do not know what is coming down the pipe from Galaxie. Gary would not provide details but my intuition is that they are probably versions of the same Chev kits. Either alternative bodies or different versions of the two cars we already have as lower line cars. Although talk has continued regarding the production of a coupe and pre-war versions of the two cars... the costs completely outweigh the possible sales due to the current economy and the shrinkage of the hobby. There are just not enough buyers out there anymore to drop the needed investment money like there was 15 years ago.

The one think I do know... Gary is very happy that all the Aero Sedan kits sold out. But... on the flip side, he is very disappointed so few of them show up built in the magazines and on the forums. He also speaks of the article in SA and his complete astonishment that the reviewer, instead of building the car stock, choose instead to install a "Camaro front clip"!!! It was suppose to be a review of the kit! And yet the build up showed up on the cover and inside the rag like a prize as though the builder (name escapes me) thought it a great accomplishment. THAT story I have heard more than once...

I will tell you one more thing, I have built 5 of those kits and all of them got some form of the fender trim applied. Not a single one has had the trim pop off or come loose. If the instructions are followed, ie: a pre-bend placed in the pieces, the trim stays put! This is the very reason for the 3.5 skill level.