63 replies to this topic

[Ramfins59]

So after I painted the '58 Edsel body I've been working on, and had nothing to do, I opened the '58 Cadillac Eldorado that I got in a Trade from Dan Helferich (Thanks Dan) and started in on it...  Yeah it's another 1958 car...!!  I've been saying that "I'm on a mission" to build as many cars from 1958 that I can and so far I'm sticking to my plan.  The scale difference (this is a 1/24 scale kit) doesn't really bother me.  

 

I sanded off the mold lines on the body...

 

 

and painted the chassis dark gray...  i'll do the chassis rails in semi-gloss black and metalizers on some of the other parts.  The box art shows whitewall tires but the kit tires are blackwalls and since it's a 1/24 scale I really can't use 1/25 scale tires with whitewall inserts.  I'll have to paint on whitewalls with white acrylic paint (happy happy joy joy..!!)

 

 

and I glued together the engine block...  I'm thinking Gold valve covers and air cleaner...

 

 

I think my plan for this car is to keep it pretty much Stock, as it kind of looks a little Custom to start with.  I'm thinking Duplicolor Champagne Gold color for the body.  A friend told me about a '58 Eldo that he saw on an Overhaulin' show that was done in Gold, with an Orange (tuck & roll) and Cream colored interior.  I've never seen that episode of Overhaulin' but that actually sounds pretty cool.  The kit seats are molded with a tuck & roll pattern on them.  I'll have to spray the interior pieces with a good primer/sealer coat because they are all molded in a turquoise color plastic and I don't want that to "bleed through"  whatever paint I use.  I'm also thinking that Brown carpet would look pretty good with the body and interior colors.

 

Here we go again.  This is odd for me because I usually don't start another model until I completely finish the one in progress.  I guess an old dog CAN learn new tricks.  

 

Thanks for looking in on this new ride.  All comments and/or suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.

 

   

[Dan Helferich]

Rich,
I love the sound of what you have planned. I'm glad it went to a good home and I'll be following along with the build.

[Ramfins59]

Thanks a lot Dan.  Once I received it I couldn't wait to dive into it.  Many, many thanks for adding to my '58 madness..!!

[John Teresi]

Richard.......love Caddys........one of my next customs is a 59 Caddy by,Gene Winfield........called 'Wild Cad"........can`t wait to see this come together.......and you build fast too!

Edited by John Teresi, 09 March 2013 - 02:29 PM.

[Doobie]

Good to see your still cranking them out Richard. I love caddi's too Ive been thinking of getting one of these kits for a while so I will be watching yours till I can find one of my own to build .Hows the edsel coming on any up dates?

[Doobie]

Ha ha Doh Just found Edsel up date

[Ramfins59]

Thanks John and David.   John I've been amazing myself with how fast I've been able to crank out my models lately.  As I've said, I've fortunately (since I am retired) been able to put in about 4 to 5 good hours each day on my builds which gets the work done pretty quickly.  While I seem to get a lot done quickly (like YOU seem to do also) I give everything time to either let the glue, or flocking, or paint to dry so I don't screw things up by rushing things.  I've learned to develop patience in building as I've gotten older so at a point each day I'll sit back and look at what I've done and say "Good progress today Dad."  Then I'll shut off the lights and go back upstairs...  Tomorrow is another day and doing all the assemblies and painting chores, etc. in the proper sequence, without rushing it, has seemed to get the job done right for me so far.  That seems to work for you too..!!

[Ramfins59]

Richard.......love Caddys........one of my next customs is a 59 Caddy by,Gene Winfield........called 'Wild Cad"........can`t wait to see this come together.......and you build fast too!

 

John, that "Wild Cad" car looks awesome.  I can't wait to see the work you do on building that model.  I LOVE the color Purple it was painted by Winfield. 

[Ramfins59]

Finally I'm able to post some progress pictures.  It seems like I've been working on this "forever" and not making any progress.  i've been doing a lot of painting of parts, drilling holes, and researching google reference pictures for details.  Today was a GOOD progress day, in that I was finally able to assemble a bunch of stuff.  Here goes...

 

First of all, here's a picture of the almost completed chassis.  I still have to install the front end/suspension, the rear shocks, the wheels and aluminum tubing exhaust tips.

 

 

Here's a front shot of the engine and radiator.  I had no idea what the canister looking piece was in front of the radiator support and when I googled some pictures I saw that it is for the A/C system.  Since I was adding extra detail to the engine and engine compartment area, I decided to go a little further and try to add some detail to the A/C piece.  It's not perfect but it resembles what was in the reference picture.

 

 

The engine in this kit is not very highly detailed so I added an M.A.D. pre-wired distributor and an oil filler tube (which you can't see in front of the engine anyway).  I added heater hoses along with a radiator hose (because there wasn't one in the kit..!!)  I also added a radiator overflow line and a PE radiator cap, along with a couple of PE bolt heads.  The snorkel on the air cleaner was drilled out and some flat black applied inside. I painted the air cleaner and valve covers the Champagne Gold body color and the rest is detail painted mostly semi-gloss black.

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to all this, the firewall is painted and detailed.  I added a resin master cylinder and will also add a brake line when the firewall goes in.  The battery is paint detailed and wired and will go in when it is dry.  

 

The interior pieces are primed and ready for painting and detailing.  I'm having second thoughts about the orange color for some of the interior.  I'm thinking it might be too bold for the car, so I'm now thinking along the lines of some tan and maybe leather.  The rug will be flocked brown so I think leather and tan would work well and also compliment the Champagne Gold body color.  The chrome trim interior pieces that come in the kit, along with some BMF will really help the interior to POP..!!

 

Thanks for checking in on this ride and stay tuned for additional progress reports.

Edited by Ramfins59, 16 March 2013 - 06:31 PM.

[azers]

The cylinder up front was also used on eldos and caddies for a reservior for the level ride airbag system which was operated by the belt driven compressor on the engine which doesnt make sense on this car because it has coil springs. A lot of caddies with airbags were retrofited to coil springs because of high failure rates. Looking good making me want to start on my seville.

Edited by azers, 16 March 2013 - 07:01 PM.

[FASTBACK340]

Way cool Rich. That's a car and a half! For a kit with soft detailing yours pops nicely.

Edited by FASTBACK340, 17 March 2013 - 02:46 AM.

[John Goschke]

Good start! If anybody can make something cool out of this turkey of a kit, you can!

[Dr. Cranky]

Rich, you are making good progress.  What color are you thinking for the body?

[Joker]

Rich..your '58's build 'Mission" is Epic !

You must have bought a case of Bare Metal Foil ..

Thanks for posting those great '58s.

[Ramfins59]

Thanks to everyone for your encouraging comments.

 

John A., Thanks...  I'm hoping that I can get the interior to pop as well, since it's a convertible.  I'm thinking that it might turn out pretty nice if I take my time and have a steady hand with the paintbrush.  The dashboard should be a real adventure...  Lots of BMF work. 

 

John G., while the engine area in this kit is not the greatest or the most detailed, the rest of the kit actually isn't too terrible.  The interior looks to be adequately detailed and should really POP with some love and attention.  The body isn't too shabby either.  I'm not crazy about the tires.  They are a soft rubber, and blackwalls, which seem either stained or discolored.  Since it's a 1/24 scale kit, finding replacement whitewall tires to fit the kit's wheels wasn't easy.  I got lucky and am using some tires I got from Norm Veber (ReplMinCoMD), his Big n' Littles Whitewalls... I had recently gotten two sets of those from him.  The Bigs from these sets fit the kit's wheels perfectly, so I'm using all 4 Bigs.

 

Dr. Cranky, I'll be painting the body with Duplicolor Champagne Gold.  I feel that a classy car deserves a classy color.

 

James, I actually have to pick up many more sheets of BMF as I am down to using my leftover sheets with shorter lengths.  It's aggravating when you wind up not being able to use almost a third of a sheet of some BMF sheets due to all of the wrinkles and crinkles.  You can't cut a long piece because the foil always tears wherever there is a wrinkle.  What a waste..!!

 

Today I can finish up the chassis and hopefully start in on the interior.  Thanks again for looking in on this build.

[Dan Helferich]

Looking good Rich. Your extra effort on the detailing paid off. They are beautiful big boats. '58 was a banner year for GM styling.

[Doobie]

That chassis is looking great the PE bits bring it to life . I cant wait to see all your 58 cars in one shot .Keep up the great work

[Ramfins59]

Thank you Dan and David.  

 

I agree with you about the big and beautiful cars of 1958 Dan.  I love the looks of all of them... and all that chrome and stainless steel...!!!

 

David, I promise that when this Cadillac is finished I'll do my best to post a group picture of all 6 of the 58's that I've finished so far.  (Buick, Cadillac (when finished) Chevy, Edsel, Ford & Plymouth).  

 

I still have a few more on my list to do yet.  There's Lincoln, Mercury, Oldsmobile and Pontiac which are all resin kits by The Modelhaus, but I can't afford to buy them all at once.  Then I'd love to find a Chrysler, Dodge and Rambler but I don't think those kits are or were ever made.

[Ira]

Great Progress Richard!

[Ramfins59]

Thanks very much Ira.

 

Well, the car has been in the upholstery shop for the past couple of days.  The "crew" has been hard at work installing Brown carpeting, along with some nice dark Leather tuck & roll upholstery.  One more day in the shop should hopefully see the remaining Tan velour panels installed on the seats and door panels.  Then the door hardware can be installed.  If all goes well pictures will be available tomorrow.

 

In the meantime, it wouldn't be a good day unless I had SOME sort of progress to show, right..?  

 

Here's a picture of the dashboard.  It is painted the body color, Champagne Gold Pearl.  The BMF trim was done and a speedometer gauge decal from my stash was applied.  The clock and the gauge (below the speedo), and the radio  were detailed with a super fine point black artists pen, and red paint was applied for needles with a sharpened toothpick.  Then all of those were covered with clear epoxy for lenses.

 

 

 

 

If the upholstery work is completed tomorrow as scheduled, then the body should be heading into the paint shop for priming and prep work.   Thanks for looking in.  Continued progress reports to follow as it happens.