Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Monogram ‘55 Bel Air Convertible


radiohd10

Recommended Posts

I just finished up a ‘55 Bel Air by Monogram…an old but awesome kit.  From start to finish this thing was a joy to build. 

It’s pretty much box stock except for the engine bay detail. I also added a bit of trim here and there.  I did have to lower the front suspension a good 4-5 mm to get it sitting nicely, but it wasn’t too bad. At some point I’ll probably scratch some new vent windows for it - they’re the one poorly made piece in the kit (I sanded them down as much as I could but they’re still too big and clunky).

Paint is all tamiya rattle cans - exterior is clear blue over silver leaf in the front with racing white in the back, all under a few coats of ts-13 clear.  Interior is the same, but I used white as the undercoat for the blue parts and then cleared it with tamiya semi and mr hobby matte finishes. The carpet is adhesive suede - my new fave. 

All chrome is kit chrome with tamiya smoke dusted over it (aside from the side panels which were dechromed and attached before paint and bare metal foiled after). Emblems are foil under paint. I think that just about covers it! 

Sorry it’s so pic heavy but it was really nice outside I couldn’t help myself 😆 

63C6CBE4-A891-4063-8D10-A4A5C0D990E5.jpeg.21d557c666da8fa8a2ba30057c28620e.jpeg450E204E-75E5-434C-8FE9-40EEB5D86C71.thumb.jpeg.3492fabb8672baf25a0709740ddedd8a.jpeg91A56C55-7008-424E-A3D2-689389C9500D.thumb.jpeg.b10e80f4368a38197c304a3ec85ed5dc.jpegEBA9A0A6-3A85-4B30-AB02-0FC29A9EE0D0.thumb.jpeg.1935c0e32bbb8890f50360d26db35a59.jpeg92BBBBCC-93C5-4C52-8768-D6283F1B947C.thumb.jpeg.cba6e5b3c807f032d59397fa473f0dd5.jpegD5F40AB0-7C18-400D-B617-1398A6EC8AFD.thumb.jpeg.01ed838a564dcdf1f5b215e821de185f.jpeg89E84423-4629-49FB-9083-880D0D2F0E09.jpeg.1d3202d215111bb998c5da9b274d7e99.jpeg987F6ADD-6A74-4491-A45F-5DC921523862.thumb.jpeg.1f707b953a8e1665bfecae5e64cacf40.jpeg8899DEC8-B1E9-451E-8435-00357A86179E.thumb.jpeg.9b8ec0740326d74084bf88ca9ad78487.jpegA7D8AB9B-2C5D-452C-BC3A-F6E57E2FA5C9.jpeg.96ea41bb03695dec9465451911d4b234.jpeg55B32EC7-C681-4F86-A661-92A210EC961E.thumb.jpeg.ddbb1720a463cd3fcefbc41a49e991fc.jpeg9F6179D7-DDF8-48C8-B6F4-7CAED88DB13C.thumb.jpeg.2dfcce9f469fecc46ca786be25fb4ec5.jpeg83294A18-6A95-494F-B54E-D47A619C9422.thumb.jpeg.29590650c765e3a8e9a89f43a3aa11fb.jpegB34454E7-C6F1-4C6F-A6EC-C84389201416.jpeg.de06e9685c9f3031559d42b23eda3032.jpegA8546212-89C9-466A-81FD-3950A78FA5CB.jpeg.e132fdab9c141616780466f7b3e1ce26.jpegFF2A27E1-2055-4F70-BA7E-81E53D3A0056.thumb.jpeg.9f260e82571ea9443cc5ddf27bd0363f.jpeg

Edited by radiohd10
  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beautiful looking paint work and the two tone always looks good on the '55's. Great job matching the interior to the body colors. While not a big fan of the continental kits of old, this looks right on this with the top down and cruise'n the river front. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, avidinha said:

Nice build! I really like that color combo.

2 hours ago, SpikeSchumacher said:

Beautifully done!

2 hours ago, TooOld said:

Wow that's super nice , very well done Ryan !  I've got two original flat box kits to build , I can only hope they are close to as good as yours  . 

thanks dudes!

2 hours ago, espo said:

Beautiful looking paint work and the two tone always looks good on the '55's. Great job matching the interior to the body colors. While not a big fan of the continental kits of old, this looks right on this with the top down and cruise'n the river front. 

thanks - yeah im with you on the continental.  i looked everywhere for a flat rear bumper but no luck.  I used PVA glue on the parts i wasn't crazy about so i can swap them out down the road if possible.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oooo! Very very clean build and gorgeous paint and toning down of the kit chrome. I like to decal the emblems but not every kit comes with them and the after-market emblem decals are expensive and not available for every kit; I need to try this “BMF under the paint then sand” technique, 

I have a soft spot for shoe-box Chevies, my first two 1:1 cars (1,000 yrs ago) were a ‘56 210 followed by a ‘55 Bel Air. Both were wonderful cars and both less than $400.  I recently picked up the Revell ‘56 210 kit at Michael’s for $25, after seeing your build now I want this Monogram ‘55 convertible as well.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...