103 replies to this topic

[Danno]

Anything New on the Olds, Len?

[Dr. Cranky]

I was thinking the same thing, Danno.

[midnightprowler]

I only wish he would use thumbnails instead of a hosting site, as I cant see any of his pics.

[Len Carsner]

Well, I'd planned to update you sooner on our progress with these new Oldsmobiles but I'd forgotten about this weekends events in Toledo. Hopefully tonights extra-large post will make up for it.






Here I've highlighted a small raised mold line that will need to be addressed before priming. A quick swipe with a foam backed file here and along the fender edge and your done with the front of the car.




At the rear of the car we have this mold line that runs side to side on the trunk lid. Again, nothing more than a quick workout with the foam backed file to clean this up.




There was a question asked about the contour of the upper door frame at the windshield. This image hopefully answers that question.




A quick coat of primer, then some wet sanding to smooth things out. You'll notice I opened the two holes on the hood for the ornament. They're marked on the underside of the hood so there's no guessing where they are supposed to go.




Bill likes to keep his parts on the trees to paint where I like to separate them and put like-colored pieces on a paint stick wrapped with tape. This keeps them together and gives me a handy way to handle them.



Here I have my Olds engine primed, waiting for paint. Since Bill is further along than I am we'll check in on his build from here.


continued....

[bryan_m]

nice work!

that engine has some really nice engraved detail on it, a little added detail and it should look amazing!

thanks for updating this, im sure i speak for everyone when i say we are all drooling over this kit!

cheers
bryan

[Len Carsner]

Here the 50 Olds 303 is coming together nicely with all the component parts identified and assembled into their proper locations. Found on the extensive kit decal sheet are some tiny decal labels which increase the appearance of a factory look to engine accessory items like the breather cap, generator, oil filter and valve covers. Also shown here are the battery, the right air duct, the air chamber and air cleaner, and left air duct.





Here are four views of the nearly completed 50 Olds 303 V-8 engine. You can begin to see how the tedious attention to detail painting of the various parts is now paying off in the final presentation. One lesson we’ve learned as a result of using digital photography is how noticeable minute things appear at 5 to 6x their actual size. We now know that it’s a good idea to take close-up shots to make sure all the "Ts have been crossed and Is dotted". In other words, it obvious there’s some touch-up work to do that isn’t always easily visible with the (dare we say) naked eye?



At this point the nearly completed power plant has been successfully test-fit into the engine bay and carefully nestled down into the front chassis rails. Please note any clearance issue and the locator pin (front of pan) and slot (front cross member) before gluing anything permanently into place. You will need to make sure the driveshaft has been inserted into the rear end snout and lined up with the incoming transmission tail shaft before doing so.


continued....

[Len Carsner]

From this perspective, nearly all the major (and some minor) chassis/frame/floorboard components are in place. Please exercise caution when snaking the exhaust system into its proper location as shown here. Note the depressions in the right-side frame rails, front and rear, and how the tailpipe dips down to the floor pan, back up and straight out the rear of the chassis. The X frame member is shown here not as yet installed in place. There’s a definite reason for that as all of what you see assembled here must be completed before attaching the X member in place. Also note the strips of masking tape that are temporarily holding the frame/floor board together. It’s always best to go this route and make absolutely sure everything is where it should be before permanently gluing major components in place.


This is what a typical straight from the box (with the exception of paint etc. of course) build of the Revell 50 Olds undercarriage should look like. Certainly quite well engineered with considerable in-depth details and attention to accuracy from what we’ve been able to confirm from references. The chrome metal exhaust tip is a nice final touch.






Here are a variety of angles and views of the nearly completed interior for Bill’s Buck Baker No. 87 NASCAR 50 Oldsmobile. Note that the unpainted firewall is temporarily in place simply for the purpose of test-fitting the interior pieces before attaching everything permanently in place. There is some difference of opinion as to when etc. the GN rulebook required removal of the rear seat as well as the installation of a four-point roll bar. Obviously there was a time before and a time after exactly when that moment was…not everyone agrees on. Tom Moody my NASCAR go-to guy on questions like this agreed with me on one thing. The Revell kit obviously used the cloned/recreated Baker racecar for reference. We decided the safest bet was to build it this way. Builders have the option of installing the rear seat, not using the roll bar or going the route shown here.

continued....

[bryan_m]

beautiful!

bryan

[Len Carsner]

No styrene plastic kit body is free of surface imperfections especially mold lines. This new Revell 50 Olds body and hood are about as good as it gets these days. Some preparation is required along the top horizontal surface of the front fenders, around the head light openings, the horizontal surfaces along the top of the rear fenders and horizontally across the deck lid. Also, toward each rear hood corner, there are minor sink marks visible caused by the under hood locators for the hood hinges. We recommend working cautiously and taking care not to scar-up those surfaces but to gently remove any lines and get all those areas smooth and ready for primer and paint. Note the hand tools shown here and an old discarded toothbrush, which we use to do a final clean up of all the door and panel lines.


We continue to recommend automotive primers like this Plastikote T-235 gray sanding primer. Years of experience, has taught us that many light coats and careful wet sanding with fine automotive papers results In a very suitable surface for just about any type of paint. The Buck Baker version will be a two-tone using Testors enamel and lacquer.


We have found another good use for BareMetal foil is as a masking agent. Here the paint separation line (which runs along the trim break line on the door/window sills) has been addressed with a strip of BMF followed by thorough burnishing. From that point on a combination of masking and trim tape along with paper hand towels has this 50 Old ready for it’s first trip through the paint booth.


Just as much care should be exercised in removing the masking as there was in preparation. We recommend taking your time and slowly peeling each layer of tape away by pulling it back against itself until all of it is removed.


At this point, down to the foil removal, we recommend carefully lifting an edge or end of the foil strips and gently peel each away from the paint separation line with needle nose tweezers as shown here. Lacquer was applied to the top of the body. After a through cure time, the body will be re-masked in preparation for the primary enamel body color. We recommend masking the two colors (different mediums) separately to avoid any issue with compatibility.

continued....

[Len Carsner]

At this point, we’ve re-masked the Revell 50Olds body once again but this time to benefit the lower part of it. Again, BMF was used to mask a fine line along the horizontal trim strip that encompasses the body’s greenhouse. A combination of masking tapes were used at this point, one with a very low tack so as not to disturb the cream colored top done previously in lacquer.


Once the new enamel paint begins to cure we like to begin removing the masking material, with extreme care and very gently making sure not to touch any of the freshly painted surfaces. Initially, fingers and needle nose tweezers do the job very effectively.




Here we’ve managed to remove all the masking material including the BareMetal foil that has left us with a nice crisp and clean separation line. In this case, we found a sharp pointed, wooden tooth pick to be quite handy for nudging the foil up enough to grasp it with tweezers.


Now the freshly painted two-tone paint treatment will be allowed to dry thoroughly and cure out to the point where some slight wet sanding with extra-fine papers and white polish will prepare for the final steps of applying BareMetal foils to all the exterior bright work and the Buck Baker No. 87 decals.



Well, that was quite an update! We'll be making more progress during the week and are shooting for another update late in the week or over the weekend (we'll be in Cleveland for IHobby on Thursday so our schedule is a bit unpredictable).

Things are looking pretty good, so stay tuned for our next installment!

Thanks for looking,

Bill and Len

[bryan_m]

thanks for the great updates Bill & len, i am thouroughly enjoying this!

cheers
bryan

[Gluhead]

First new kit I've bought in almost 10 years...watching your progress and taking notes as I get ready to dig into mine! Thanks much for taking the time and effort to post the build.

[frozono]

Love the color. The engine looks awesom. Need to see more.

[Dr. Cranky]

Beautiful work and progress. Thank you.

[Danno]

Wow!

[Len Carsner]

Love the color. The engine looks awesom. Need to see more.

I think we'll be seeing this engine in a lot of builders projects in the future.

[frozono]

I think we'll be seeing this engine in a lot of builders projects in the future.

Yes. You are right............

[daveparker]

I am enjoying this so much, the '50 Olds was such a cool car, this kit is high on my todo list, thanks for sharing, great work!

[Shardik]

I just picked mine up this past Sunday, and you are making it very difficult to not tear into it immediately!

[Deathgoblin]

This is definitely going to be the next kit I buy. You're doing a fantastic job so far.