Snake45 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Bought this sad looking AMT '62 Vette glue bomb at the latest toy show. I know this isn't a great kit, but it seemed to have "good bones" and the poor thing just spoke to me in some way. I thought it could be "rescued." Except for the graphics, I actually liked the decals and would have kept them; unfortunately, they weren't in good shape (lots of chips) and I knew I'd have to polish the paint out. They came right off with a thumnail and hot running water. Here's what it looked like after teardown, decal removal, and a light polish of the paint. I have no idea what this paint is. It's a bit darker and purpler than it looks in these pics. And as you can see, it's chipped in quite a few places (white spots). Testor Purple Pearl is kinda in the ballpark, as is Model Master Burgundy, but those of those are metallics and this paint is solid. At AC Moore I found some Folk Art "Berry Wine" water-based gloss "enamel" that looks darn close. Here, I've tested the Berry Wine paint by filling in a small white chipped-out area on the rear deck. Xacto points to it. It's a little lighter than the surrounding paint, so I'm going to prime all the whitespot chips with flat black enamel, and then cover that with the Berry wine, spotting it in with a toothpick or something. It won't be perfect but it will be good enough for this job. I was able to save all the glass, and I can fix the windshield frame with Fauberglass. I'll be reusing the chassis, the slicks, and all four wheels, but will replace the wide front tires with something taller and thinner. The front pan, grille, and all bumpers can be reused. It will get headlights from a new kit. It came with some of a SBC engine--no induction, no exhaust. That hood just cries out for a big tunnel ram setup, so I'll be building either a 2x4 SBC or BBC for it, depending on what I have floating around. The idea is to get it back on the shelf with less than 10-12 hours of work. So far I have maybe 3-4 hours into it. Also need to decide whether it's be a Street Freak or a straight-up Modified Production racer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewetwo Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Very promising recovery, keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 7 hours ago, Gramps46 said: Very promising recovery, keep us posted. Got the paint touched up last night. Not a perfect job but the color is darn close and it looks better than all the white chip spots--at least the touchup spots aren't the FIRST thing you'll see. Got the wheels cleaned up and the centers painted flat aluminum. Filed the chassis differential so that the wire axle can sit as low in it as possible. This should raise the back end a couple scale inches. Got the windshield frame glued back together; still have to Fauxberglass it but that's an easy job. With a little luck, I hope to have it back on the shelf this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 If you dig the original paint scheme those decals were brought back in the latest reissue of the Sock-it-To-Me 62 Vette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 46 minutes ago, Mr. Metallic said: If you dig the original paint scheme those decals were brought back in the latest reissue of the Sock-it-To-Me 62 Vette Cool! I MIGHT have bought one of those just for parts when Ollie's had them--I don't remember. Will have to look. If I do have it, I'll use it. I don't want the crazy line/flame graphic decals, but I WOULD put all the sponsor decals back on, just as they were on the originals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, Snake45 said: Cool! I MIGHT have bought one of those just for parts when Ollie's had them--I don't remember. Will have to look. If I do have it, I'll use it. I don't want the crazy line/flame graphic decals, but I WOULD put all the sponsor decals back on, just as they were on the originals. I mis-read what you originally wrote, i thought you wanted the graphics. Well, not sure if the rest of the decals originated from that set or not. But, if you do happen to have that decal set and don't want the line graphic/flames i could take them off your hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Progress report: Body touched up, mostly (I see I missed a couple spots, no big deal). Windshield frame glued and Fauberglassed. Windshield de-glued, polished, and reinstalled. Chrome trim (Silver Sharpie) started. Rolling stock done: Wheel centers painted flat aluminum. Rims trimmed of flash and sprue stubs, then "chromed" with Rub N Buff. Original slicks tread sanded. Front tires (a pair of lovely 1968-era MPC wide Goodyears, that will find a loving home on another project) replaced with hollow AMT Firestone Supreme skinnies. BTW, this is all I got of the original engine--block, heads, headers, tranny. Will figger out what to do about that later. Might be able to use if I can find a small-block tunnel ram manifold (the only justification for that tall reverse hood scoop). Attitude check: How's the "sit" look? The front wheels are in their lower mounting holes, so I can easily jack the front end. That would probably mean jacking the rear end (I don't want the nose higher than level) with either taller slicks, or a little spacer between body and frame (there's room to get away with this). I'm going for a late '60s/early '70s Modified Production look and hope to turn up another set of suitable decals, but unmarked, it could pass for a Street Goon. whaddaya think? Comments welcome. With a little luck, might get this back on the shelf by the end of this weekend.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted October 28, 2018 Author Share Posted October 28, 2018 Finished! Off to Under Glass--hope to see you there tomorrow (10/28)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
59 Impala Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Nice save Snake. I just love to see glue bombs re-built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewetwo Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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