carbuilder1950

This was a fun project. The body shell is a 1955 Belair, but the interior, chassis and everything under the hood is late model Corvette, as is the windshield and windshield frame. The Corvette chassis was stretched and modified, as was the drive tube and exhaust. The top of the front and rear fenders, have been given a "slight" Chezoom roundness, but the rest of the body was kept pretty stock looking. Any feedback would be gladly accepted. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Much appreciated👍.

@Claude Thibodeau Pretty fancy. I like, but way to complicated for this old boy. I don't think I'm smart enough to build hinges like that. Here's my simple take. I make mine out of all brass, so if something doesn't line up or work right, I can pop it loose and re-position it easily. Just my simple way.

@Claude Thibodeau my friend. That's a really simple hinge I used there. I use several variations of that hinge with still a simple design. I make them so the hinges are poseable. A simple little trick I've used over the years. I'd love to see your version. Dave

@Hoffman Yeah, I just noticed this morning that the radiator hose was MIA. I'll have to find a hose and get my old girl in working order. Thanks for the heads up Tim 👍

You sure are right there @ChrisBcritter Mine for sure isn't the first 1960 chevy wagon. It's just my take on how one would look, and the fun I'd have building it, and I threw in the continental kit to see how she'd look, just for fun. Not very practical, but I like it. Thanks for stoppin' by and checkin' my old girl out.

This is a lower portion of the1960 Chevy Impala body from a Revell kit, and the upper half with all the windows is from a Jimmy Flintstone resin body, and I married the 2 together to get this hardtop wagon. I've never seen a station wagon with a continental kit, so I thought I'd give it a shot and see what it looks like, and I gave her a hardtop look also. Paint is nothing fancy. Just Tamiya white and rubbed out. I think it's OK. For the rear side windows I used clear ear swab packaging that has the perfect roundness to fit where the body is rounded. Gotta be imaginative sometimes - LOL Thanks for taking the time to look. So much appreciated 👍.

Thank you John @Chuckyg1 It was an amazing kit to build, because of the high quality of the parts, and the design and fit was excellent. Dave

@Dave Van Your one lucky guy. This is such a rare and amazing kit.

I love the paint on all three. Very perfectly smooth and well done👍.

Back story. This was my Holy Grail for many years after it came out, and then close to Christmas of 2018 as I was browsing through Ebay, it suddenly popped up as a buy it now, right in front of me. The price was high, but I'd never get another chance, and the guy that had it was 20 minutes from my house. He hand delivered it to me at home. How much better could it be than that?. The black chrome moldings are engraved with a theme of elephants and a few cows. Very India looking. Quite a wild movie ride, especially if you saw the movie.

@TransAmMike Thank you Mike. I have never tried Future so I have no advise for you, but would sure help if I could. Maybe what I share below will help. What I've learned from being on several forums and being in several clubs, as well as talking to guys at model car shows (Contests), is that everyone I talked to has their own way of getting the paint finish they are most satisfied with, and it took them all a long time to get the perfect system of painting, they were pleased with. I got tired of my paint finishes not being up to my standard, so I quit building for quite some time and just did nothing but paint scraps of plastic and spare body parts for months, until I found something that seemed to work, and then just kept after that until it was really easy to get the finish I wanted, over and over again, repeatedly. That was time well spent, as it was the final piece of the puzzle to accomplish the level of building I wanted to reach. You go to a contest, and paint is the first thing that gets people's attention, or they just walk past, the cars going un-noticed. I hope what I shared here helps you and anyone else struggling to get that perfect paint finish they are happy with. All the best my friend - Dave

@TransAmMike Yeah, that's one of the love/hate parts of model building, is those times we continue to struggle until we finally get things right. I haven't stripped a bad paint job of mine for a long time, but it took me an equally long time to get there. Painting is definetly not plug -n-play, but I love the challenge presented to get it right, by everything done in the past brought to mind, and checking to see if I have done everything my best again, before I begin - And then I just go for it full steam ahead with no doubts, because I prayed first - ALWAYS.

You know @TransAmMike my friend, It all depends on what makes you satisfied and happy with how you enjoy the hobby. Sometimes I use really inexpensive paints myself, like Krylon spray enamels, because I love the color, and I have learned over time how to use a lacquer clear coat over it, and get the final finish I want. Some of my models I share here, have very inexpensive rattle can paint jobs, but because I have spent years practicing painting and knowing the chemical make up of paints, the conditions I should paint in, and what to use for that final polishing, and when to do it, they usually come out pretty fair, but don't forget, it took me years to make my paintings look simple. Dave

I agree with everything said here because like many said here, there are so many variables. What kind of paint are you using? What brand of paint are you using? Will you be using a clear coat, and most importantly for me, do you have a simple repeatable formula for the basics that you can use to work from. Like 3 coats of color starting with a light coat, then a medium coat and then a wet coat. Which in most every case depends on the car you are painting and the details it has that you don't want to bury in paint. Every paint job will have it's challenges, so there's times when trying out your painting technique on a spare body or scrap of plastic will come in handy. As many have said here, painting is part skill, art, and science. So practice, practice, practice, is my motto. Once you have a basic painting formula your comfortable using, then you'll start finding the freedom to experiment with other styles of paint like urethane auto paints, like House of Color paints candies and flakes and pearls, not to mention how you prepare your car for a paint job and the primer you use. It's all part of a personal process that can take most of us years to work out to our satisfaction. I like this one especially.

@Claude Thibodeau , exactly my friend.

@kjohan Love your 2 Pontiacs!! I had a couple Pontiacs back in the day. One was a '60 Ventura super stock I found in the back of a used car lot, covered in dirt so thick you couldn't see through the windows. A good car wash and she had people standing all around her when I came back to get her, after the paper work was done. That tri-power and four speed really made her run. I miss that ol' girl. Your Pontiacs are both beautiful. Great job man!!!

@Phildaupho If you look at the first Corvair 4 doors, you'll see the similarity to both the, full size flat top hardtops, and the first El Camino.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for your comments. Model building has been a joy to me since I first started. All your comments make it just that much better for me. thanks again 👍. Dave

@Venom It's hard for me to imagine these kits becoming rare and expensive. There was a time, it seems like yesterday, when these kits were in abundance, and easy to come by. I hadn't been on Ebay for several years, and when I went back, it was shocking to see how things had changed, in what seemed to me to be such a short time. I could see it coming, but I didn't think it would be, what seemed, so fast. But there are still a lot of nice kits for a decent price. It's just that they aren't the older kits. Good luck to everyone building. Dave

Thank you everyone for all your great feedback, and nice comments. It's been a joy to share my builds and hear such nice things said. Thank you all very much 👍.

In all my years of painting, I still use my old Testors plastic cheapy airbrushes. Never could get the hang of using a dual action brush. I just crank the air pressure up and blow 'er on. Works great for me 👍.

Hi @Misha Thank you for your nice comments. I'm sure many of us knew at the time, that the Modelhaus team couldn't keep on going forever as they were in their 70's, so I'm sure many of us here knew the end was near. R&R vacuum Craft and a few others were already gone, so the writing was on the wall. I'm so grateful I got to know them, as they were very nice people, and they had a high quality product line. Now the models I bought for $5.00 are going for a fortune. Funny how life changes

It's to bad Modelhaus is gone, but many of us got to enjoy their services before they retired. Like many of us, I bought and put away many of their pieces to finish projects in my stash, to restore or just finish a build. I bought a couple sets of these tops with the F&R glass. Many of us saw the writing on the wall and stocked up, before the ultimate happened. Too bad, but that's the way life works sometimes. I was being lazy, so I didn't do the 4 door, door panels.

@kjohan Oh yeah. This is nice. I love 62's. Interior is very nice, and I like the engine bay and it's cleanliness, and your foil work is supreme.

@TonyK Thank you. It was a lot of fun Tony.