46 replies to this topic

[Jdurg]

Just a small update to let you know this is still in progress. Just had to take a bit of time off to re-figure how I'm going to get the headlights to rotate properly as my first calculations were WAY off. (Got some of the styrene bonded into the body shell, but the alignment of the rods on the side aren't working right, so back to the drawing and measuring board).

I did get the hood with its final coat of clear on today. The large black decals really wrinkled up a bit and the sanding of the earlier clear coats used to soften up the wrinkles just resulted in some issues with the decals. So I had to take a black Sharpie marker to coat over the black decal and then spray another wet clear coat over. End result? Preliminary results say "success!" Still not pristine and perfect, but a careful application of rubbing compound and polishing compound should due the job. Just want to let this fully cure for a week in order to ensure there are no marks made due to handling.

[vintagedragfan]

the vette is shaping up nicely, very nice work Justin!

[Len Woodruff]

Great build looking frowad to mere progress pics!

[Jdurg]

Thanks guys. The impatient part of me couldn't wait so I went and applied the "427" scripts on the side of the hood scoop. Looks good thus far. I'll take pictures once I take pictures of some other components as well. Working on the tires which are a bit of a trick. They aren't perfectly round so the red-lines I painted on them kind of show this off a bit. Not much I can do. The chrome wired wheels got a dose of black paint in between the spokes which I quickly wiped off the actual wire parts using a damp rag. (A joy of using acrylic MM paints). They look REALLY good in there. Just going to work on the center emblem part. Got the red paint in the side portions which I'm carefully removing overspread on with a toothpick, then will need to put the black into the center Chevrolet symbol.

Once the wheels are all set, which will include valve stems, I'll attach them to the chassis and take a photo of the bare chassis with wheels prior to adhering the interior to it. At that point, I'll just need to get the headlight stuff worked out and will be ready for body paint. Still have about 1.5 cans of the Goodwood Green Metallic paint from automotivetouchup.com to use, and a full can of the clear coat for the copious layers of clear that I'll be using.

The hood isn't fully perfect due to wrinkles forming on the decals due to what I believe was too thick of a clear coat over it, but it still looks VERY good and in most lighting conditions it looks perfect. I'll try to get some photos up as soon as I can. Right now I'm just in SEVERE job search mode as my final paycheck from the job I was laid-off from back in July was deposited today, and frankly, it didn't turn out to be as large as I was expecting. (Basically, it all dissolved immediately into my mortgage payment). It'll be 2-3 weeks until they pay me my severance check, so I am going to be spending all of my time looking at spending and finances and figure out how to survive these next couple of weeks. God I hate the company I used to work for. Hope to find something soon, but thus far have only found jobs that basically insult me with their salary offers. (And before someone says "just take it since a job is a job", the salary offers would not cover my mortgage payment each month and taking the job would remove time needed to find a new job. It's basically akin to taking a job as a grocery store cashier when you have a mortgage to pay. Yes, I'm just ranting now but am frustrated and slowly developing some concern).

[Jdurg]

A couple more photos here. The chassis is basically done and the interior tub has been bonded to the chassis as per the assembly instructions. I got the first color coat on the driver's side headlight done, and while the headlights won't be perfect matches of each other, I think for my first ever attempt at something like this it's turning out fine. I will put another, and final, color coat on the second headlight assembly tomorrow (weather permitting) as well as the second primer coat on the body. The first primer coat did not show any flaws in the body work which is great. After the second coat goes on, I'll be able to sand that down a bit and start putting on the color coats for the body. I'm pretty psyched. Yeah, I'm still a bit upset that the black decal on the hood crinkled up a bit and so it doesn't have the perfectly smooth look to it, but it's good enough for my tastes. If I can get the body paint job to come out as glass smooth as the passenger's side headlight assembly came out, I'll be really happy. The test fit of the headlights and their rotation in the front part of the car was perfect. Will be quite excited once I get this thing done.

I've had to take a break for a little while due to a small accident while using my router table. I was testing out embedding a groove into a piece of solid white oak for a base for the Vette once I'm done which will be encased in clear plexi. The bit bound while I was cutting the piece and flung the wood straight back at me catching me on the side of my face. My safety goggles prevented any serious injury, but I did get a concussion from it and a black eye with a split lip. The swelling and concussion symptoms have subsided, but it looks like I went and said something naughty to Mike Tyson at the moment. lol.

Anyway, here are two photos. One from a top angle, and one from a lower front angle. A few more tweaks are needed to clean up wiring and the hoses, but overall I'm very happy with this.

[Jdurg]

First color coat is on and drying. Body work came out beautiful. Just need to pray that there are no issues with the final assembly. Will post a photo once the final clear coat is applied and polished out, and the headlights are installed. (The preliminary checks on the installation show that they will work great. They didn't come out spot on perfect, but it's the best I could do at the moment.).

[Jdurg]

Another quick little update here. I got the second, and what looks to be final, clear coat on the second headlight assembly as well as the second color coat on the body. I appear to be done with the color basecoat application now. The first clear coat went on the body as well. It cured pretty quickly and therefore has a lot of orange peel on it, but since I plan on putting MANY more clearcoats over the top it doesn't really concern me too much. The plan, like I did with the hood, is to put down two clear coats, smooth them out via wet-sanding and rubbing compound, apply the decal to the nose, let that dry for a good few days, apply a light clear coat, let it dry, apply a wetter clear coat, let it dry and cure then use wet-sanding and rubbing compound to remove any other orange peel, take a black Sharpie marker and go over the black part of the decal to provide uniformity with the hood (as I was forced to use black sharpie on that to fix a decal issue), let that dry and then go and put a final wet clear coat on.

With the final clear coat on it will cure for a week or so (even though a couple of days is fine, I want to be super sure), then use progressively finer grades of rubbing compound and polishing compound in order to bring out a high gloss sheen like my first headlight bucket and my hood now have.

I've got three pictures to show off. First is one of the four finished wheels attached to the car. If I go ahead and make a convertible version in the future, I'd de-chrome the wheels, spray an aluminum colored lacquer to it, let it dry, then do what I did with the chrome kit wheels; take flat black acrylic paint and brush it over the entire wheel, then using a damp rag wipe off the excess from the raised area and the exterior ring and the hub. I then used a toothpick to carefully rub away the paint from areas it shouldn't be. Painted the center area with the red acrylic paint I used to paint the red-lines on the tires, and again used a toothpick to clean it up. I finally used a fine toothpick to paint the black Chevy Bow-Tie in the center of the wheel. Just need to finish up the valve stems and apply them to the wheels.

The second one is a view from the top showing the headlight buckets resting in place. I haven't permanently affixed them yet (that will come when I am preparing for final assembly), but wanted to get a test to see how they fit in there and if any paint needs to be carefully scraped from areas. The gaps around the edges are fairly large, but this is the first time I have EVER tried something like this so I think it's acceptable. The body, as mentioned earlier, had its first clear coat on there which has been lightly sanded and rubbing compound used to take away the roughness resulting from the first clear. I did it very lightly as I didn't want to sand down to the color layer and I know that I will be putting on MANY more clear coats later on so with a thicker layer of clear gloss on the body I can be a tad bit more aggressive with the sanding/buffing.

The final pick is a view of the headlights in place in the raised position. They aren't perfect. The spacing between the lights on the driver's side bucket isn't the same as that on the passenger's side. But it's too late to correct that now and again, this is the first time I've ever tried doing anything like this so this is good enough for me. Still need to get the concave part of the lights painted silver, the plastic lens cut out of a CD case cover, and the black ring and plastic lens installed into the headlight assembly. The front grill was washed using black paint and I think it looks pretty good to me. The license plate frame was from the Model Car Garage photo-etch set, and the plate itself was printed on Testor's White Decal paper here at home. I found a 1967 era Connecticut License plate pattern and put my own license plate numbers on there (hence why it's blurred out in the photo ). The rear license plate is the same but with the registration sticker on it too. Kind of makes the Corvette look like it's a car I would have had my whole life if I was around back in 1967 and bought it then.

[stump]

This is looking really great Justin.
The effort you are putting forward into the finer details will really pay off in the end mate, excellent work.
I'm kinda partial to that shade of green you used too, it seems to just suit so well. Keeping that in my think bank for later on.
Thanks for sharing mate.

[Jdurg]

Thank you for the kind words. I love the green as well. Yes, the two 12 ounce spray cans of the Goodwood Green Metallic cost about $38 total, but the expense is well worth it as the paint is super sturdy, dries really quickly, and is a spot on perfect match with the real car.

Today I went and got my second coat of clear on the body and ran into a nasty little issue. Just as I was finishing up my second coat, the can started to sputter and fizz around where the nozzle meets the metal can. A few seconds later and a fountain of clear was spraying out of the can into the air. A defective product, and the second such defective can I've gotten from automotivetouchup.com. Thankfully, the first time this happened they replaced the can no questions asked. I'm hoping they'll do the same here as some of the spatter got onto the clear coat and I'll need to rub that out. I'll also need to put on the decal for the front nose stripe and add a couple of clears over that. Something is definitely funky with their manufacturing process with the clear coats. I haven't had any issues with the primer or base colors I've purchased from them (and I've purchased quite a few), but their customer service is really good and the first time I had the issue they rush delivered a new can to me. On the bright side, this will give me plenty of time to let the existing clear coats fully cure.

[Jdurg]

Hey guys. Sorry I've been so "slow" with my posts in this thread. The project went on a temporary hold when the last can of Clear Gloss Coat I had from automotivetouchup.com had a manufacturing defect which caused the paint to literally fountain out of the can. I called up the company and they were VERY apologetic and immediately shipped out a replacement can. I have to say, this is the second time I've had a defective Gloss Clear Coat aerosol can from them, but each time they have immediately sent out a replacement. I LOVE the clear coat from them, and even if every other can of Clear I buy from them has the same defect, I know that their customer service is top notch and their product is the absolute best. The replacement will arrive tomorrow, and with the weather looking good for the rest of this week I should be able to get the final clear coat on the body this week. That means I'm very close to finishing this thing. The only thing I can hope is that a potential surgery in my future doesn't negate my work. I had a roommate move in back in May and while moving some furniture around I felt a sharp pain in my left groin. I figured it was just a strain and did nothing about it. The sharp pain has been there ever since then, and only recently did it start causing issues again. So I'll be getting an MRI in the next few weeks and then need to decide if I want to go through physical therapy or surgery to correct it. So I may be a bit slower, if that's possible, with my updates.

Regardless, this is still turning out great and I LOVE how the headlights are turning out. Can't wait to finish this thing.

[Jdurg]

Just wanted to post a photo of the main body after I had applied Bare Metal Foil to the trim, and put on the final clear coat for the body. I'm AMAZED by how it has turned out. Tomorrow, once the clear coat has had 24 hours of curing, I will apply some rubbing compound and various grades of polishing compound to level off the little bit of orange peel that is on there. It looks incredible. I am so happy with how this turned out. Below is a photo of the body as it sits on a tall can of truck bed liner that I had taped the body to when applying the clear coat. Tomorrow I'll get to install the headlights permanently, and hope to get the body attached to the chassis later tomorrow night. My back and hernia issue are still bothering me, but this model is helping me forget the pain and discomfort. I'm really happy with how this has turned out.

Yes, I am a bit upset that the headlights didn't turn out perfect, but this is still a great build by my standards. The finished product is coming up soon. I'm just deciding if I want to keep the chrome plated front and rear bumpers, or remove the chrome and paint it the silver chrome trim MM paint that I have. Based on the mold lines and the issues with the kit plated chrome, I'll likely do the MM silver chrome trim paint just to keep things consistent. I'm REALLY happy with the bare metal foil I applied. And the wet coat of Gloss Clear over the top of it will allow me to buff out the paint job without worry of it lifting. I can see the end, and I'm very happy. (The photo below was taken in my living room where I have had to temporarily put my work spot due to my renovation of the work room upstairs into an office so I can work from home in the job I recently applied for).



Edit: I decided to de-chrome the bumpers and side molding and use the MM Silver Chrome Trim paint to keep everything consistent. I will not be able to do the Silver Chrome Trim on the wheels as those are already painted, but I'll live with it. The BMF Chrome Trim on the window molding has the same type of coloring and sheen as the MM Silver Chrome Trim paint, so I think this will match better. There are still some items that will have the kit plated chrome, but I'll just have to deal with that. At this point, I'm just happy with how the paint came out (and again, I will FULLY support www.automotivetouchup.com for their selection of paint colors and customer service), and my first ever attempt at body modification came out satisfactory to me. Those are the headlights I cut out). In the future, I will plan on doing another of these kits, but cut the roof off and make it a convertible. That will be many years in the future as I need to conserve finances right now, and model building has really helped me beat some nasty "issues" that I brought upon myself years ago but do not want to get into detail right now. I'm just happy at how incredible this is turning out.

Edited by Jdurg, 18 October 2012 - 07:19 PM.

[Jdurg]

The end is near! I rubbed out the final clear coat, and while there is still some orange peel present, it's close enough for my tastes. The headlights have been permanently intstalled, and the photos below show them in the raised position. I also got the emblems attached to the body and the rear work done. The front and rear bumpers are still undergoing the silver painting, but it's looking REALLY good right now. Cant' wait to finish this.

[brodie_83]

Wow, looks incredible! I can't wait to build mine!

[jaydar]

It is really a great build.

Are there any aftermarket pieces for this big guy??

Thanks,
Joe.

[Jdurg]

The only aftermarket parts I know of are the Model Car Garage photo-etch set which includes the pieces for the 1967 build, or if you wanted to do some modifications to the kit, the 1966 model year Corvette as well.

[Hawk312]

Niiiiiicccee! I can`t wait to see it finished!

[Casey]

Are there any aftermarket pieces for this big guy??

You can always kitbash with parts from the 1/12 Monogram '69 Camaro Z/28 and '57 Chevy Bel Air kits, too.

[Jdurg]

Thanks guys! Went out today and got some silver spray paint in order to properly paint the bumper pieces as the brush paint just left way too many brush strokes and an uneven finish. While there will be an issue with not all of the "chrome" parts having the same finish to them, I'll just have to deal with that as the work involved in getting everything to be the same sheen of silver would be way too much. Something to put on my list of "lessons learned" when I tackle this project again. (In the future, I do plan on doing a major conversion on this kit into a convertible so that I can reproduce the L89 Rally Red with Black Interior version of the car that is my dream car. That one would included opening headlights, opening doors, and an opening convertible hood with an actually expanding convertible top that I would make using self produced photo-etch metallic frame and fabric material).

But that build will be quite a while in the future.

[Jdurg]

Today I finished up this project. The paint job on the exterior has cured, I was able to wriggle the chassis into the body (Though this didn't go quite so well as planned and some fit problems arose making it not look perfect from underneath (as one of the exhaust pipes didn't match up with the engine due to the fit issues, but I don't notice it when it's being displayed so I don't care), and I got all the exterior trim on. This one is now finished and proudly sitting on top of my cable box in my living room right now for a temporary display spot. Now here's the pictures.



Overhead view of the engine bay.



Top view with the headlights down.



View of the driver's side of the car.



Back view with my custom decal of my license plate numbers which I've blurred out of the photo.



Front view with another of my custom license plate decals. This one has the headlights down.



And finally, another front view but this time with the headlights up.

I really enjoyed building this kit, and the paint job turned out amazing. It's rock hard and took the polish so very well. I am quite please with it. My first attempt at some true body work scratch building and it worked. In the future, I will likely build this kit again, but instead of as a coupe I'll chop it and turn it into a convertible with opening convertible hatch, properly functioning convertible top (which I'll be able to make out of fabric and custom made photo-etch hardware), and working headlights again. This time, I'll cut them out a bit better and ensure that the headlights on each side are the same size. Thanks for watching!

[Hawk312]

That looks great! You should take it outside and get some outside pics!