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1960 Impala- My First Build


MILD

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I've done a bit more on the car recently. Please don't hold back with the constructive criticism- I'd love any help you can offer. Being a first build I know I have a lot to learn so turn to the more experienced heads to help me along.

Onto the pics and a few comments:

bay01.jpg

bay02.jpg

The bay with the radiator support in place. I had painted the support black before realising it would be better in gold. I tried my hardest to unwarp it! I have tried to add a bit of detail with the paints on the radiator cap and the battery posts. The second photo is more to show the decal on the battery. There is an imperfection in the paint, however the decal is nice flat and silvering free!

tub01.jpg

tub02.jpg

tub03.jpg

I need to do a bit of clean up with the paints here. The dash needs a second coat of paint and smoothing around the edges. I am happy with the instrument decals which I was fretting about getting wrong. The instructions suggest doing the interior in white which I'd guess blends the white on the upholstery decals. Personally, I like the contrast between the black and the white. I think it ties in well and adds a little interest to an otherwise drab interior- I deliberately chose the semi-gloss black to minimise the effect any obvious mistakes I made :angry: I couldn't get embossing powder so very thinly flocked and painted the carpet.

gettingthere01.jpg

gettingthere02.jpg

gettingthere03.JPG

gettingthere04.jpg

I figured I'd throw the whole thing together as it stands to take a look at the progress. The white ring in the back is my attempt at a white vinyl spare wheel cover. Again I wanted to add a little interest to that area of the car.

This build has taught me a few important things. The first being patience is a virtue! Patience to better clean imperfections from parts before painting, patience to build up the paint on parts slowly and patience to wait until the glue is dried before trying to get too far ahead. Ideally I would have spent the time to break out the putty and fill a few minor gaps where parts did not line up particularly well.

Gentlemen, I turn to you for advice and pointers to fix any faults with this model and better prepare me for my next attempt.

Thanks for looking at the thread!

I realize that by now you have it figured out, but the decals on the front seat cushion (bottom) are on backwards, they should match-up with the upppers where they meet at the back of the cushions. Keep up the good work, looking good.

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G'day Del- I just checked the instructions and it seems the decals are placed correctly. Further to that, the tapered edge of the decal follows the moulded recess on bottom of the seat. If I had put the decals around the other way, they would have to be applied over the moulded contour rather than following it.

I just assumed the decal would follow the recess as it is in the pics but would love further clarification on the point. Either way- I'm running with it now. Thanks for taking the time to check it ou and leave input though. I do honestly appreciate it.

I don't suppose anyone else has pictures of the upholstery decals done reversed to the way I have done them?

edit- I've done a search of the board for pics of other builds... you've definitely got me thinking now ;)

Edited by MILD
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G'day Del- I just checked the instructions and it seems the decals are placed correctly. Further to that, the tapered edge of the decal follows the moulded recess on bottom of the seat. If I had put the decals around the other way, they would have to be applied over the moulded contour rather than following it.

I just assumed the decal would follow the recess as it is in the pics but would love further clarification on the point. Either way- I'm running with it now. Thanks for taking the time to check it ou and leave input though. I do honestly appreciate it.

I don't suppose anyone else has pictures of the upholstery decals done reversed to the way I have done them?

edit- I've done a search of the board for pics of other builds... you've definitely got me thinking now wink.gif

I havent got to my front bench yet but I will be watching my build for this.....

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The kit is quite close to finished now. I intend on applying the body decals tomorrow, sorting out the bumper sub assemblies and applying some black wash to the rims and grille tomorrow. The next day will see the clear go on, and I will be delving into the black art of foiling over the weekend.

I am going to try my hand using kitchen aluminium foil and white glue. It'll probably be a bit more than I can handle but I'm figuring nothing ventured, nothing gained so I'm going for it. The one question I have is where exactly should I be foiling on the A pillar? Did the 1960 have a solid chrome A pillar or was it just the window surrounds themselves? I have tried looking at a few pics online but nothing is jumping out.

If someone could point me in the right direction it would be awesome.

Thanks gents.

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This is looking really good, especially for a first build. I use a black wash from Citadel paints; they're acrylics designed for gaming figures. Their black wash is basically India ink which you could use as well. It might take a few applications to fill the voids in the grille and hubcaps. The advantage is that since it's totally water based, it won't remove the clear lacquer on the plated parts, and if you mess up, it can be completely rinsed off in water before it dries.

If you use aluminum foil for the trim, use the cheapest, thinnest stuff you can find. I cover aircraft models that way, and use Micro Metal Foil Adhesive from Microscale. I don't know if it's available near you, but is superior to white glue. It's a latex type adhesive, and dries tacky, not unlike spray adhesive (which I have used before I discovered the Microscale product.) When using household foil (or Bare Metal Foil for that matter,) keep a large supply of fresh knife blades, or sharpen them as you go along. The blades dull VERY quickly when trimming the foil, and will tear it when dull. Putting a strip of masking tape right up to the edges of the trim (roof, body side, etc.) before you apply the foil will give you a "trimming edge" and guide for the knife blade. Hope this helps, and looking forward to your finished model.

Edited by Jim Gibbons
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I did a rush build of this kit for a museum exhibit, and it builds really clean. The only thing to be aware of is that the interior needs some filing to make it, the chassis, and the body all line up properly.

I really like what you did with the engine. It has just the right amount of shiny to be interesting, and not so much that it looks like a toy.

For the wheels, you can thin the paint a bit, and just let it flow in to the recesses. Then gently wipe the highlights with some tightly woven cloth, like a sheet. If you muck up and need to start over, just drop the wheels in a 50-50 mix of windex and alcohol. That will remove acrylic paint without harming the plastic or the plating. It's also good for cleaning (air)brushes.

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Jim- thanks for the kind words and tips. With the masking tape, do you apply it right up to the raised window moulding to prevent cutting into the paint or am I mis-interpreting what you are suggesting?

jjsipes- thanks for the photos. Something I have struggled with is finding good, decently sized pics. I must be looking in the wrong spots B) I would have prefered a more traditional colour like the red, but my young fella won that argument!

Dave- I think I have some Citadel black wash somewhere, provided it hasn't turned to dust. Can you remember which particular areas needed work to aid fitting it all up? Out of curiousity, did you mount the interior tub to the body before fitting to the chassis like in the instructions or mount it to the chassis and trunk before fitting the body over the top?

And thanks for the kind words about the engine. I merely built it how I'd build a real one- hopefully next time I'll go into a bit more detail and wire and plumb it!

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I was wondering about that Jim. I dare say the moulded recess pretty much dictates how the decals are placed, however I'm definitely not immune to make some very, very basic mistakes.

No pics tonight, but I did black out the rims as previously suggested and it really did bring them to life Far more interesting than a plain chrome dish! I'm in two minds at the moment but may very well go with the knock offs as well. I think it'll look a little tougher with them on. The body decalling is done- hopefully the weather will be kind and I can get some clear down.

It seems my foiling may also extend to the front bar extention that runs between the four horizontal slats on the front guard as well. I'm curious to see how I get along with it- I imagine my patience will be well and truly tested ;)

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Jim- thanks for the kind words and tips. With the masking tape, do you apply it right up to the raised window moulding to prevent cutting into the paint or am I mis-interpreting what you are suggesting?

Yes, put the tape right up to the raised edge. It will help protect the paint, and give a cutting guide. I can't stress enough to use fresh knife blades as often as needed. Household foil, even the cheap stuff, is significantly thicker than Bare Metal Foil, so will need more pressure to cut, and the blades get dull VERY quickly. If you have an old painted diecast model, or can get a really cheap one at a store, you might want to do a little practice on it before taking the foil and knife to your model. Good luck, and be patient; there's a lot of chrome trim on your 60! ;)

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I made a slight mistake last night- that being the decal for the hood badge did not match the moulded in lettering. A smarter man would have sanded the moulded lettering back before decalling but not me.

Tonight I pcked the moulded lettering out to save it. It's not really my best work and the blown up photo does it no justice but the effect on the model in real life is passable.

bonnet1.jpg

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Good job with the letters, they look just the same than 1:1 ones, wich are in the garage, on the hood of course. Great to see someone building these X-Frame Chevys. As Jason said, A and (if it's HT), B pillars are fully chromed...

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I made a slight mistake last night- that being the decal for the hood badge did not match the moulded in lettering. A smarter man would have sanded the moulded lettering back before decalling but not me.

Tonight I pcked the moulded lettering out to save it. It's not really my best work and the blown up photo does it no justice but the effect on the model in real life is passable.

Nice save! I've learned more from the mistakes I've made that from the successes I've had.

I've been watching your progress on this one, and everything's coming along nicely, keep up the good work.

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The clear has now gone on and I think the gold colour is starting to grow on me. Highlight of the pic is my very cost effective spray booth and rigs to support the panels :) I had almost as much fun relieving them of their contents as I did spraying the model!

I used Humbrol grey primer, Tamiya TS-21 gold, Scratch X to polish before the clear and then Mr Topcoat in gloss all out of pressure packs. I am waiting to see how much peel is present before I decide whether to rub it back again with the Scratch X or just go straight to a glaze and then wax. I found with the gold it really did smooth it out quite nicely so I'm confident I can get any peel from the clear buffed smooth.

Having said that, I have made a number of mistakes- more through a lack of patience in the body prep stage. The top of one of the rear wings should have been puttied and smoothed and there seems to be an injection (?) mark beneath the other. Thankfully I did remember to polish the finger oils off before clearing. I would really like an after market spray booth with closable lid to limit dust settling during drying but it's something I'll have to beg Santa for.

I'll be sure to post more pics once the clear has dried and sufficiently hardened to begin foiling.

cleared.jpg

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Thanks Rick. The photo was taken under some pretty serious halogens and the photo does hide some imperfections. Over all though, I'm happy with it. I've learnt a lot of little tricks for next time (the what not to do's B)) and that's the whole point.

Thanks again.

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The gold looks really good! I don't know if you have done it, but I'd suggest black in the section between the rear quarter trim; the 1:1 pics that Jason posted of the red '60 have it in white. It'd compliment your mainly black interior. Are you sure this is your first model?! :angry: Very nice work so far.

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I've gone with the black decal on that trim, Jim. I agree, I think it will tie in with the rest of the car better than the red or white option.

I'll be working on foiling tonight- I am very, very curious as to how it will go but I think with most of the information I can pilfer from this very site I am in good stead.

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A Panasonic Lumix (DMC-TZ15).

I leave it on the Intelligent Auto setting and hope for the best. It might take a couple of shots before I get a nice, in focus one, so I just keep shooting until I get close enough to post here ;)

It really wasn't a pricey camera.

For the car- I have foiled all of the window surrounds. I need to foil a couple of body details but I won't be doing the locks- that's a bit much for me! Hopefully I'll have some new photos tomorrow.

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A question to anyone has built this kit before- when fitting the body up to the chassis, I'm assuming you clip the back in first and then push the front guards over?

Does anyone have any advice for making this work easy? I've heard some filing may be required?

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