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1958 Plymouth - - W I P


Ramfins59

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Well as part of my "goal" to build models of all of the gorgeous 1958 cars that I can, I started working on a '58 Plymouth Belvedere kit. So far I've built a '58 Chevy Impala, a '58 Buick Roadmaster and a '58 Ford Fairlane.

Without looking to start a new discourse on the merits and/or discrepancies of the Belvedere,kit, let me just say that it looks enough like a nice '58 Plymouth to make ME happy......enough about that...!!!

This is where things stand on this build at the moment. Since most people have tried to build a model of Christine with this kit (and Christine is probably one of my very favorite car movies and " star cars", I decided that I would be a little different (nothing new for me..!!). I'm going to paint this car Duplicolor Arctic White with a mostly gray interior. It will be built stock and I'll be using some of the pieces from the MCG PE set for this car. So far I've painted the chassis / floor pan and the chassis parts, but it is not completely assembled yet.

CHASSISPANANDRAILS1024x749_zps0bed4e54.j

The engine has been completed but not installed yet.

FINISHEDENGINE11024x747_zps1c1b99be.jpg

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Work on the interior has been started. All the pieces have been preliminarily sprayed gray and the side panels and back of the front seat have BMF trim applied. The handles and cranks still have to be detailed along with the upper door sills, and then I can apply some gray flocking. The interior floor has been sprayed flat black and I will flock the floor in black. The only part of the interior that is "almost" finished is the dashboard. I'm just waiting on a dashboard gauge panel decal courtesy of member Magnum4342 (Thanks a bunch Kevin..!!), and that will be the crowning touch after which I can attach the steering wheel.

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I prepped the body, attached the skirts, sanded all the mold lines and primed it with Duplicolor white primer.

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Further progress pics will come as it happens. Thanks to all for looking in on this.

Edited by Ramfins59
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Rich, I just got the notice the guages shipped out today. They're coming from California but they should be here this weekend. Either way I have an envelope all ready, and if they should show up while i'm in the hospital my mom has complete instructions what to do. That way I won't hold up your project. You have a great looking engine. Can't wait to see the rest.

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More progress today. The chassis is completed, the engine is in, and the wheels are on (and all 4 touch the ground - - WooooHoooo..!!!)

FINISHEDCHASSIS1024x748_zps18e0a0fa.jpg

ENGINEISTALLED1024x713_zps2b9cdf4d.jpg

For those who haven't built this kit yet, I gotta tell you that the exhaust system is a P.I.T.A. to install. The instruction sheet is vague about placement. After you install the engine (don't attach the air cleaner until AFTER you get the exhaust all connected and installed properly...... I knocked the air cleaner off 2X and lost the breather..!!) You have to attach the front part of the exhaust to the engine manifold and the locating holes on the bottom of the chassis floor pan. THEN attach the chassis frame to the chassis floor pan. THEN snake the tailpipe pieces under the rear end and around the shocks (not hard to do) and THEN glue the tailpipes to the rest of the exhaust and the locating holes at the back of the chassis floor pan by the gas tank.

The interior side panels have BMF on the trim, and the handles & cranks are painted chrome silver (I can never get BMF to cover handles & cranks properly). The upper door sills are painted white. Once all this dries properly I'll apply the gray flocking to the textured areas on the side panels, seats, and rear package tray.

INTERIORSIDEPANELSFOILEDANDHANDLESANDCRA

The body and hood are painted Duplicolor Arctic White. The paint lay down nice and smooth with NO SCHMUTZ OR DUSTIES...!!! I'll give it a day or so to gas out and then I'll paint the side trim insert aluminum and then clearcoat it.

BODYPAINTEDWHITE1024x703_zps30be0c4b.jpg

Tomorrow will be flocking day for the interior. This build is just rolling right along. Thanks a bunch for looking in and/or following along.

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Looks great in white!!! This will be a nice model when done and it is nice to see one of these in a colour other than red or black - although they do look great in those colours too. The interior colour choice is one that will look good with the white exterior. Still, white will be pretty - very pretty - and different :) .

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Thanks a lot Jim, Kevin, John and Gary. Yeah Gary, I like to be a little different than the crowd with my builds. More progress made yesterday...

I flocked the seats and interior side panels in gray and charcoal gray...

SEATSANDINTERIORSIDEPANELSFLOCKED1024x74

The front seat back has been BMF'd and flocked in gray...

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The side trim insert on the body has been painted with aluminum metalizer..

.SIDETRIMINSERTPAINTEDALUMINUM1024x748_zp

Today I'll clearcoat the body and start painting all of the engine compartment pieces. Thanks to all for following along.

Edited by Ramfins59
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Hey Tom...... I just think that ALL of the cars from the 50's are cool, but for some reason I like the looks and styling of the 58's best. I love all the "chrome-laden land yachts". While I'm "on a mission" at the present time to build as many of the 58's as I can, once I've gone as far as I can go on them, I'll pick another year from the 50's and try to build as many of the cars from that year, and so on, until I have a pretty large collection of 50's models built. I just bought a '58 Edsel with the continental kit online, and I'll be picking up a '58 Oldsmobile from The Modelhaus at the NNL East in April (I preordered it). I have a '58 T-Bird and Corvette in my stash yet to build. There are a few more '58's that Modelhaus makes that I want, but I only treat myself to their stuff 2X a year......my Birthday (April) and Christmas. I'd also like to find an IMEX '58 Cadillac kit. Between plastic kits and resin offerings I've got a lot of work ahead of me on all the great 50's cars..

I really like the '59's too, as you do, and have already built a Chevy, a Dodge and an Imperial. I also just bought a '59 Caddy online too. The '59 Buick is on my wish list too.

Then I've got a few '56 cars to build... an Oldsmobile and Pontiac (Promos), Chevy DelRay & Nomad and a Ford. Then there are the 57's... and so on... down the line.

By the way,I'm hoping to post more progress pictures of this Plymouth tomorrow. I polished the clearcoat, painted the interior headliner and finished detailing the engine compartment pieces today. Tomorrow will be BMF day and hopefully some assemblage. .

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Well it's great to see that this Forum is up and running again. I finished the BMF on this Plymouth and it kicked my butt for some reason. I had to redo it in a couple of spots but it came out great. I used a sheet of foil that my friend Mike, who I built the Rambler for, gave me, and this is probably the SHINIEST BMF I've ever used...... it almost looks like chrome plating..!!!

BODYCLEARCOATEDPOLISHEDANDFOILED11024x69

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BODYCLEARCOATEDPOLISHEDANDFOILED31024x75

I also detailed the interior headliner with some flat gray paint, flat white on the visors, and BMF strips.

HEADLINERDETAILED1024x741_zps6d5d4647.jp

I'm itching to just throw this thing together but I'm restraining myself to be patient so it comes out neat and clean...Slow and steady wins the race. Today I'll glue in the front and rear glass, and do some touch ups on the interior side panel flocking. The engine compartment pieces are all painted and detailed, ready for installation. I even added valve stems to the wheels. It won'y be very much longer and this baby will be done.

I duplicated the side view picture so here's a picture from the rear

BODYCLEARCOATEDPOLISHEDANDFOILED21024x75

Edited by Ramfins59
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