Revell Tri Chevy kitbash ?

[57peppershaker]

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anybody had kit bashed a Revell 56 / 57 Chevy sedan with a (new tool) Revell 55 Chevy coupe to make a 55 sedan ?

I know it wouldnt be a quick build but the Revell Tri's are far better then the AMT 55 sedan.

[Snake45]

Haven't done it but I want to try grafting the front end of the Revell '55 onto the AMT '55 2DS, because the more I work with the AMT body, the worse the whole front end looks to me. I just haven't yet run across a Revell glue bomb to experiment with, or for that matter a cheap unbuilt kit. The rest of the AMT body looks okay to me. 

[Plowboy]

About all the AMT kit needs is a better chassis and dress the front end up a bit. The head lights, turn signals, tail lights and grille from the Revell kit will fit the AMT kit easily and makes a big difference. I would rather do that than deal with the separate body chrome on the Revell kit and having to do a roof swap.

[89AKurt]

I owned a real '57 4 door wagon last century, and have a few kits in the stash.  Be careful about mixing, most people think the only change was lights and bumpers, but the cowls are different.  Dash is different too.  I'm going off fading memory, for a model it might not be a big deal.  All I really know, not a simple swap of bumpers.  Future project:

[espo]

I think 89AKurt makes a very good point about the ability of changing many parts between these kits. The '57 was almost a stand alone body in many ways. The '55 and '56 are closer together but even those were limited on some major body panels. Depending on how much body work you're comfortable doing it can always be done. There're even differences between the Revell '55 Hardtop and the '56 210 sedan and the earlier Revell/Monogram kits. I would hold the two bodies side by side and just study how they different or not before you get out the saw.   

[Snake45]

27 minutes ago, espo said:

 I would hold the two bodies side by side and just study how they different or not before you get out the saw.   

I plan to take a lot of measurements with a dial caliper before I cut. I don't know if it will work or not, but I suspect I can make it work. 

[espo]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

I plan to take a lot of measurements with a dial caliper before I cut. I don't know if it will work or not, but I suspect I can make it work. 

That's what I had in mind. A couple of years ago I wanted to make a model of the '67 El Camino I had for many years, see my Avatar. I used the Revell kits '66 El Camino for the basic body. I removed the front Fenders and Hood and then removed the same body panels from the '67 Chevelle 396 SS kit. They do not directly interchange the way they do on the 1:1. Besides the lower body side sculpture being different, the Firewall and inner Fenders are done differently also. This is why I was suggesting study everything carefully be fore you start cutting. I'm sure you are able of this transformation but I just encourage anyone doing this as it can go wrong. 

[Plowboy]

37 minutes ago, espo said:

That's what I had in mind. A couple of years ago I wanted to make a model of the '67 El Camino I had for many years, see my Avatar. I used the Revell kits '66 El Camino for the basic body. I removed the front Fenders and Hood and then removed the same body panels from the '67 Chevelle 396 SS kit. They do not directly interchange the way they do on the 1:1. Besides the lower body side sculpture being different, the Firewall and inner Fenders are done differently also. This is why I was suggesting study everything carefully be fore you start cutting. I'm sure you are able of this transformation but I just encourage anyone doing this as it can go wrong. 

I did the same swap some years ago on the El Camino. I recall the lower side sculpture issue. But, that was it. I can't remember how I did the cuts. But, I later put the '66 front on the '67 body and converted it to a '66 sedan.  

[57peppershaker]

On the 1;1 sedans the centre of the car is almost the same. Front are rear glass are different & yes the front and rear of the car.

I read an article many many years back about using the amt 55 roof on the amt 57 coupe to produce a 150 Black Widow, this lead to the old resin kit. Remembering this, lead me to ask my original question.

[Plowboy]

It should be a simple roof swap between the two. Get the cuts right and you could have a '55 sedan and a '56 hardtop. 

[espo]

21 hours ago, 57peppershaker said:

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anybody had kit bashed a Revell 56 / 57 Chevy sedan with a (new tool) Revell 55 Chevy coupe to make a 55 sedan ?

I know it wouldnt be a quick build but the Revell Tri's are far better then the AMT 55 sedan.

I apologize since some of my interaction with others here and soon I realize that we're getting off of the question you were asking. I agree with Plowboy as having the best way to accomplish what you're after. Both of these kits are the same scale so that shouldn't be a problem. I would suggest making the cut lines for the roof removal slightly below the body trim below the side windows. My thought is that this would give you a good area to do any reinforcing of the roof and this would be clear of the interior panels also. One nice bonus is you can also make a nice '56 Hardtop with the '55 roof section. Please post your build I would like to see how that goes.   

[afx]

Wasn't Casey working on a drag car based on this kit bash idea?  Can't find the thread at the moment.

[57peppershaker]

Just found the original AMT / MPC article & im mistaken as it was an AMT Coupe with a MPC flip front roof. From Car Modeler jan 1991.

I can scan & post if anybody want it but is only text and the completed model.

[Plowboy]

3 hours ago, 57peppershaker said:

Just found the original AMT / MPC article & im mistaken as it was an AMT Coupe with a MPC flip front roof. From Car Modeler jan 1991.

Aren't both of those sedans?

[afx]

Here is Casey's thread that I mentioned earlier - I found it.

 

[57peppershaker]

12 hours ago, Plowboy said:

Aren't both of those sedans?

No Roger, back then the MPC flip front 57 was the only sedan kit available. The AMT is a hardtop coupe, as is the Monogram and original opening everything Revell kit.

I sure wish Revell would issue 55 sedan and 57 Nomad or wagon as good as the 56 / 57 sedans.

[Plowboy]

19 minutes ago, 57peppershaker said:

No Roger, back then the MPC flip front 57 was the only sedan kit available. The AMT is a hardtop coupe, as is the Monogram and original opening everything Revell kit.

I sure wish Revell would issue 55 sedan and 57 Nomad or wagon as good as the 56 / 57 sedans.

The AMT '55 Chevy is a sedan. The Monogram and Revell '55s are hardtops.

[Snake45]

54 minutes ago, 57peppershaker said:

No Roger, back then the MPC flip front 57 was the only sedan kit available.

Well, that and the ancient Revell '56. 

[Snake45]

30 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

The AMT '55 Chevy is a sedan. The Monogram and Revell '55s are hardtops.

He was talking about the old AMT '57 Chevy hardtop kit. 

[magicmustang]

On 1/20/2020 at 10:03 AM, 57peppershaker said:

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anybody had kit bashed a Revell 56 / 57 Chevy sedan with a (new tool) Revell 55 Chevy coupe to make a 55 sedan ?

I know it wouldnt be a quick build but the Revell Tri's are far better then the AMT 55 sedan.

What's wrong with this kit?

[Snake45]

18 minutes ago, magicmustang said:

What's wrong with this kit?

The whole grille area and front pan just doesn't look right. It's not too bad if you plan to use the front bumper, but if you want to leave it off gasser- or street freak-style, it's pretty ugly. I've spent a good deal of time trying to fix one and it's hard, delicate work and I'm still just not ever gonna get it looking right. I'm thinking of trying to graft on a Revell front end, too. 

The Nomad kit is also bad in this area, but the Sedan is even worse for some reason. It won't bother a lot of people, but it's just unacceptable to me. 

[magicmustang]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

The whole grille area and front pan just doesn't look right. It's not too bad if you plan to use the front bumper, but if you want to leave it off gasser- or street freak-style, it's pretty ugly. I've spent a good deal of time trying to fix one and it's hard, delicate work and I'm still just not ever gonna get it looking right. I'm thinking of trying to graft on a Revell front end, too. 

The Nomad kit is also bad in this area, but the Sedan is even worse for some reason. It won't bother a lot of people, but it's just unacceptable to me. 

Oh!  Thanks for your reply. I'll have to pull it out and look.

[Plowboy]

The only thing that is truly bad about the AMT '55 is the molded in single exhaust. Easily fixed with the chassis from the Revell '56 Del Ray. I would also use the floorpan from it with the seats and door panels from the AMT '55. The grille, headlights, turn signal and tail lights from the Revell '55 would be an improvement. But, not necessary.  

In comparing the Revell '55 and '56, it wouldn't be a very simple top swap. One would also have to use the tops of the doors and quarters as they are shaped different and there's a big difference in length and height. Not to mention the the trim piece that runs from the bottom of the quarter windows down to the side trim would probably no longer be long enough. Along with having to modify the interior door and quarter panels to match the different profile. To me, it just wouldn't be worth the effort. Unless, I really really wanted a '56 hardtop.

Here's a photo of my AMT '55 with the Revell grille.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Plowboy

[89AKurt]

On 1/20/2020 at 12:21 PM, espo said:

I think 89AKurt makes a very good point about the ability of changing many parts between these kits. The '57 was almost a stand alone body in many ways. The '55 and '56 are closer together but even those were limited on some major body panels. Depending on how much body work you're comfortable doing it can always be done. There're even differences between the Revell '55 Hardtop and the '56 210 sedan and the earlier Revell/Monogram kits. I would hold the two bodies side by side and just study how they different or not before you get out the saw.   

Will admit I'm rusty on the details.  All I know, for my project, the Monogram roofline doesn't look right, too tall.  There is a HUGE difference with the Revell.  I was more interested in the front bumper, my real car had the coveted California bumper, which is one piece.  The taillight trim proportions was off on one of them too.  Now back to our regularly scheduled program..... after showing off my '57. ?

[espo]

2 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Will admit I'm rusty on the details.  All I know, for my project, the Monogram roofline doesn't look right, too tall.  There is a HUGE difference with the Revell.  I was more interested in the front bumper, my real car had the coveted California bumper, which is one piece.  The taillight trim proportions was off on one of them too.  Now back to our regularly scheduled program..... after showing off my '57. ?

I think that with a little work on the front bumper you could easily emulate the "California" bumper. The kits bumper has some relief lines to represent the less desirable front bumper used primarily where streets were heavily salted. You could sand down the kits bumper and fill the lines with filler, but I would recommend just stripping the entire bumper and after making the changes to the bumper use your favorite chroming method on the bumper.