1957 Chevy Rebuild

[Spottedlaurel]

It took longer than it should have done, but I finally finished this quick-ish refresh of an old build this morning.

I first built this Monogram '57 when I was about 14-15, back in the mid '80s. It can just be glimpsed here, alongside the Camaro High Roller that would eventually donate its running gear to another '57.

Looking at the shiny rims this must be when it was wearing the wire wheels from the Monogram Corvette America kit. I brush-painted it with black Humbrol enamel and built it with most of the street machine accessories and the raised rear end, and the wheels changed several times as they became available from other kits. Not many years after this I moved away from home and it got demoted to a box, slowly fell to bits, parts got robbed and it ended up in pieces across various parts boxes.

Feeling sorry for it, and needing an easy completion as I haven't fully got back into building since a house move last year, I thought it deserved a second chance especially after @disconovaman mentioned he was replicating his old '57 that was first done about the same time. Short WIP thread here:

And here it is in 2022:

Only the hood got repainted, the rest is the original enamel polished and with the odd touch-up as necessary.

Brightwork treated to BMF this time around, I think it was previously done with silver enamel or a Tamiya paint pen. Headlight lenses had disappeared, I replaced them with spotlight lenses from an Esci Mercedes rally car. The front bumper and grille had to be robbed from my other '57, they'd been swapped for complicated/forgotten reasons.

I had to build it with the raised rear end to give it that early-mid '80s street machine look, and I think the newly-fitted Centerlines suit that really well. It's certainly how people were building them here at the time. The wheels came from the Monogram '70 Chevelle, given a squirt of Tamiya semi-gloss clear to tone down the shine. A friend on a 1:1 car forum kindly sent me a replacement rear axle and leaf springs.

Paintwork or detailing at the back end doesn't bear close inspection!

I think this is most of the original engine and transmission, it didn't even need a repaint. However the carb's have been used on something else and I couldn't easily find any replacements so I just used these intakes which I think came from the Monogram Plymouth GTX.

Is it perfect? Could I have I have significantly improved upon my original build? No, and yes! That wasn't really the point, it's just good to have another one of my older builds back on display again. I like its period look, reminding me of the cars that were in custom/street machine magazines in my formative years.

As a compare-and-contrast exercise, here it is with my other Monogram '57:

 

Thanks for looking and putting up with my waffling - far too many words for such a simple exercise!

Edited February 20, 2022 by Spottedlaurel

[crazyjim]

Gorgeous.  Nothing like SHINY black.

[PappyD340]

Looks great!!

[Bainford]

Very cool '57. You nailed the period street vibe. That side profile pic is dead-on period cool. Well done, and nice resto of an old build. 

[bisc63]

Good save, and totally on board with the nostalgia of keeping the  old kit on display. Who doesn't have a Monogram '57 in their stash?! I bought a few of them back in the 90s, when K-B Toys stores were blowing them out at like $3.99, buy-one-get-one-half off!

[disconovaman]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I like its period look

Me too! That looks fantastic! It looks like the side of the box art kit but with Centerlines, which really fit the 80's style. I love it ... and to think it was painted so long ago is just incredible. The trim work and classic Black 57 Chevy paint job is a timeless look, this build proves that even after 35 years it still looks Awesome!

[AMT68]

Looks great and not the easiest model to foil. The new headlight lenses are a nice touch. 

[happy grumpy]

Very cool restauration. Beautiful finish too.

[slusher]

Great looking 57 Chevy!

[ewetwo]

nice build

 

[lazlow]

That's great. I just pulled the same model out of closet that I built as a kid in the 70's and am going to "restore" it also . I just have to find that scoop, I lost mine

[Spottedlaurel]

Thanks everyone!

On 2/24/2022 at 1:26 AM, lazlow said:

That's great. I just pulled the same model out of closet that I built as a kid in the 70's and am going to "restore" it also . I just have to find that scoop, I lost mine

That'll be good to see. Perhaps make a scoop out of some sheet styrene? Or adapt something from another kit, like I did on the purple '57?

On 2/21/2022 at 12:12 AM, disconovaman said:

Me too! That looks fantastic! It looks like the side of the box art kit but with Centerlines, which really fit the 80's style. I love it ... and to think it was painted so long ago is just incredible. The trim work and classic Black 57 Chevy paint job is a timeless look, this build proves that even after 35 years it still looks Awesome!

Thanks Anthony, and great to see the old box art. I'd forgotten that, but I imagine it must have been my inspiration back when I first built it. I did use the rollcage as well.

On 2/21/2022 at 12:20 AM, AMT68 said:

Looks great and not the easiest model to foil. The new headlight lenses are a nice touch. 

Despite the thick paint in some places making the trim less than distinct I managed to get all of the foil down first time.