Claude Thibodeau Posted April 7, 2019 Posted April 7, 2019 Hi! I was a fan of the Lincoln X Concept car rear end styling, based on the 2005 TBird platform. I noticed that I could recreate the same style using the Avanti, but modified to a roadster, and reconfigured front end backward(!). Lots of slicing and finishing, but the end result is amusing. I call it the Avanti Inverso. See if you can spot: The Dodge Challenger hood, the 60 Styline Galaxie optional custom rear end used as a grille, and the Dodge Concept car (AKA Copperhead) interior, windshield & rear deck, and the Foose Eldorod rolling stock... The rest is fromt the AMT Avanti, albeit very modified. Just a curbside to fight the winter blues... CT
Oldcarfan27 Posted April 7, 2019 Posted April 7, 2019 (edited) I think the design works better backwards. The reversed wheelwells always bothered me, now they look right. Good eye! Edited April 7, 2019 by Oldcarfan27
Spex84 Posted April 7, 2019 Posted April 7, 2019 Brilliant! Very effective re-design and exceptionally clean execution..I'm seeing a little Porsche 924 in the nose, too. Neato! That Copperhead interior looks very natural in the Avanti, which is surprising.
Koellefornia Kid Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 Really like what you did here! The interior and the wheels fits the reversed styling perfectly!
Jim N Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 Great work. An interesting design as it took me a couple of looks to catch the end for end flip.
espo Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 Beautiful looking custom. With all of the body changes everything flows perfectly. Great looking paint and interior.
Jantrix Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 18 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: The reversed wheelwells always bothered me, now they look right. I quite agree. I think this looks like a mid-engined desgn to me. It works very well.
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 8, 2019 Author Posted April 8, 2019 Hi! Thank you for the comments. The hardest part was the doors and doors cut lines. On this actual AMT kit, the doors opened, which was a rare occurrence on a kit of this era! They are quite bulky, and were glued shut, filled smooth, and new door lines were traced. As you may know, scribing a smooth and consistent door line in a surface that alternate from styrene to catalized putty under a thin coat of primer is nerve wrecking. The rear quarter panel was pie-sliced, lowered, aligned and filled as well. It is now the front fender, of course. Would have been too tall and thick if left as is. Hours of fun with styrene, that's the goal, right? CT
NOBLNG Posted April 9, 2019 Posted April 9, 2019 Nice work! That does look a bunch better than the original design
89AKurt Posted April 9, 2019 Posted April 9, 2019 That is very cool, well done! Would like to see the ugly stage of when you wondered what you were doing, the point of no return.
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 9, 2019 Author Posted April 9, 2019 Hi 89AKurt! Well, actually, I tried to avoid panel joints other than the joints you see on the car: hood, trunk lid, etc. And since some of those had styrene glue a the bottom of the seraration lines between panels, it made for soft plastic when I accent-scribed the lines prior to primer & paint... Had to finesse them, and it wore my nerves. With a curbside model, there is a certain amount of hours you should not reasonnably exceed, isn'it? Being a Boomer, I am partial to the "blade" school of design so prevalent in 60's cars (67 Eldo, 66 Riv, etc.). The front blades of the Avanti tickled me, and mooving them to the back end allowed the blade style, as on the Lincoln X concept of a few years ago. So the general mess-up of the standard Avanti was at no moment a source of "WIP Anxiety"... Besides, I think I will eventually move the tires outward a bit. They are fine for a 60's car, as was the style back then. But in 2019, our eye expect tires and wheels almost flush with the wheelwell openings, as on BMW's and Audis. We'll see... CT
Snake45 Posted April 9, 2019 Posted April 9, 2019 Absolutely outstanding! Too bad the old Car Model Custom Contest isn't around anymore. This would have been a sure winner, and I don't see much in the design that Mark Gustavson could have nitpicked! VERY well done and model on!
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 13, 2019 Author Posted April 13, 2019 Hi! Thank you for the comments, guys! And to Snake 45 suggestion that Mr. Gustafson would "approve"... I have my doubts about that! He has an eagle eye for design proportions, although I don't always agree with his comments. But I would be curious to submit this curbside to his critique. Had I disposed of two Avanti kits at the time, I would have grafted two rear ends together mid-door, since I favor the blade design first and foremost. Then maybee drop the standard hood lower and move the headlights to the front bumper. Might have been les "balanced" that way, however... Maybe next time! CT
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