geetee66

Here’s my latest build, the AMT 58 Impala.

I decided to build this as a mild 60’s custom, with all the chrome, badges and scripts and dropped the suspension as low as it would go without cutting into the chassis/floorpan.

 

I saw a few images online of 60’s cars with Bellflowers, so I made some with alu tube and plumbers solder.

The wheels and tyres and rings are from the Galaxie 48 Chevy, I made the bullets from silver 3mm wire.

 

I made some braided water hoses from woven chrome craft ribbon , some fuel lines to the carbs and added wires to ignition, alternator and battery. I added a little PE alternator bracket, too.

The interior is flocked and BMF’d with PE details. New gear and turn signal levers were added and the 59 Caddy taillights are from Modelhaus.

 

Paint is from rattle cans. The blues are Tamiya with dark blue glitter on the lower/rear  side panels.The roof was sprayed Audi silver then given a dusting with glitter spray. Paint was cleared, wet-sanded and polished.

 

I plan to do less chrome and easy paint on my next build!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking

I think this was one of the quickest builds I've done.

Probably due to the age of the kit, it had a simple chassis with moulded rear axle, tailpipes and front suspension. I made stub axles for the front wheels and got rid of the metal axle that would've gone through the holes in the engine, which I filled.

I bought some Fujimi wheels for it, but I had to grind out the rear wheel tubs to get clearance for the wider rears. The Advan tyres are excellent, with a fine asymetric tread and really nice lettering on the sidewalls.

I made an electric fan and a bracket, as the blown engine option didn't have a fan belt or fan. I added hoses to the radiator and made some bellflower type mufflers.

The vinyl roof was done with two thin lines of masking tap to mimic the seams, then 3 light coats of with 3M Spraymount, then primered and sprayed matt black. I was chuffed with the results.

Here are some pics:

I don't know why the picture doesn't show up. If I use the 'image' button to add the url, I just get a red X in a box and no picture.

 

http://public.fotki....gp-038-jpg.html

 

http://public.fotki....gp-021-jpg.html

 

http://public.fotki....gp-004-jpg.html

 

Comments/critique welcome

thanks for looking

 

I got my inspiration from the www.1948chevy.com website. A good resource if you're going to build one of these.

I liked this kit, despite some warp in the floor/chassis and the metal transfers had weak adhesive. Apart from that, it was a fun challenge.

I tried my best for a good paintjob. i used a lot of clear and wet sanded it before 3 stages of polishing.

BMF was tricky as the lines were feint, but after a bit of sweat and frayed nerves, I got it done.

I wired the plugs, added fuel lines, battery cables and swapped the kit wheels for some lowrider rims from Pegasus.

I got the ride height as low as I could without chopping up the chassis and floor. I admit i wasn't feeling brave enough to risk ruining the kit as it was a gift from someone special.

I decided it needed a pimped interior, so it now has glittery seats and a white flocked carpet.

The windows were replaced with acetate, as the kit glass was scratched despite never having been out of the bag(??) and the windshield glass had a prominent bubble inside the styrene, so that was binned.

Thanks for looking

I hope you like it

 

 

Got the images sorted now. Thanks to all who gave me tips and advice. Much appreciated

This was a nice kit to build. Good fit and nicely engraved.The decals were a bit fragile, but they're 20+ years old I guess.
I have never seen a real one of these cars, but I love the lines. Very unusual.
I added the usual: PE brackets, ignition wires, battery cables etc. I used rattle can paint and a bit of elbow grease for the finish, a bit of flocking and BMF, topped off with some wheels from Pegasus.
I thought of going for a mad paint job, but I haven't built anything near box stock in a while, so I admit I went for an easy time, without getting bogged down in experiments.
Anyway, enough blurb. Here are the pics:




more pics to follow

I bought htis kit on a whim a few years ago...didn't really know what I was going to do with it, but it was only a tenner.
google rersearch brought up the well-known Biohazard 1:1 car.
I decided that all chrome should be black and it needed a roll cage. (which I made from styrene rod)
Wheels are Aoshima Watanabe's. I dropped the suspension, added plug wires, battery cables and wires from the dynamo.
The paint is rattle can (A Chrysler hue: Snakeskin Pearl Effect) and has a nice gold glitter inside the lime green.
There were two engines in the kit (I think there's a pro street version as well as the stock version) so I opted for the Hemi and the more racy looking headers and pipes.
There was a bit of filling and bodywork to do, in order to get it all straight. The chrome was actually some of the best I've encountered on a kit and in a way a shame to destroy it, but once I decide on an idea, there's no going back....


I also added heater hoses and drilled brake discs (Pegasus)