smellyfatdude

I've got the interior 85% or so finished on this. Evergreen was added to the console for trim, as well as to the panels. Lots of tiny foiling . . . A bit of work remains on the dash and wheel, then it'll be time for putting everything together.

Beautiful resto! I'm curious, did the promo have the Ambassador script molded on the hood, or did you add it? The one I built from the kit lacked any script. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72490&hl=

Here's the chassis, all done. Actually, it's just a painted up hussy masquerading as a chassis, since there's nothing accurate about it at all. But, ehhhh . . . . . eye candy, right?

Looks like you've recreated that moment, when you discovered the "mystique" of the automobile. And beautifully, I might add!

And here's the interior started. Just black, with Testors flat rust for a lighter woodgrain look on the panels and dash. Flocking is done, and lots of foiling lies ahead. I'm going to use the column and wheel from the Gremlin kit as well.

Just a quick update on this, for now. Here's the body, foil done, front fender emblems painted, glass in. The only thing left before final assembly, is glue in the rear view mirror. Here's the finished engine as well, minus the coil. I used a mixture of parts from the Jo-han kit, the AMT ' 76 Gremlin re-issue, and carbs/air cleaner from the Revell Thunderbolt. The emphasis might be on looks rather than performance, but there'll still be plenty of the latter.

Thanks. When I built my ' 67 Ambassador, I had just the opposite problem. There was a little too much room for the interior tub, so I had to add some thin strips of Evergreen to the sides. That kind of engineering problem is easy to solve, versus an interior that fits snugly during a test fit, and not at all during final assembly. Not to worry, these kits were tooled a litte better, fit wise. I swear, that morning I got the kit in the mail and opened it, and sniffed all that air. Later, at work, I found myself singing "Jumping Jack Flash" out loud. I never do that, so it was obviously pretty powerful stuff.

So since this is being built as a (very) mild street machine, the emphasis ought to be on looks rather than performance. Then I thought, "why not do a Moparesque underside treatment", and make it eye candy. Being that the chassis is as simplified as it is, it might as well look pretty, so I sprayed it with gray primer and shot it with a few coats of Icy Blue. Once the gas tank and the few recognizable molded in components are detail painted, it'll be time to start getting to that interior. I have colors picked out, I think.

Oops, sorry. Should have updated this one, or sadly announced it's end. This project met a fiery death a few weekends ago, while I was trying to join finished body and chassis. The mating was unsuccesful, resulting in crushed "a" pillars and a crack in the roof to boot. The body resides at the dump now, and I've saved the rest of the parts for other projects. Result - fail! Current project status - terminated# Shameless plug - if you haven't seen my current project, click here. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=76409&hl=

Thanks, and here's the rest of the passenger side done, minus the window trim. I wanted to get the scripts and emblems foiled, before I added a black wash above and below the woodgrain, like the 1:1's.

That tends to happen to some people. Myself, When I opened it, I just sniffed all of the 1969 air in the box. That cleared my head. Nothing's set in stone, but I do think this wheel/tire combo looks awful nice.

The first few pics are me opening this kit, which I bought recently, still sealed. The last two shots are how it looks today, after starting the passenger side trim. Paint is Testors One Coat Icy Blue, over a white base. The "woodgrain" is self adhesive shelf liner, measured and trimmed to fit. I darkened the panel lines with a bit of acrylic ink. I haven't picked an interior color yet. Perhaps silver with woodgrain accents.

The ' 56 Delray I posted not too long ago, was donated by me to a charity auction at work. The guy who won suggested I do a ' 57 for him to try and win, so I said sure. I let him pick the colors, and everything that got added. So it ended up being Tropical Turquoise and white, fuelie, 3 spd, plus full wheel covers and bumper guards. I added the back seat and all the pe pieces from yet another AMT ' 57 Pro Shop kit (that's three, lol!). He must've liked it 'cause he made sure he won that one, too.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I forgot to mention that the chrome on the rear bumper was worn off in two spots, when I opened the kit. So I dechromed the whole bumper/rear panel, sprayed it with Testors Aluminium metalizer, and foiled the bumper.You can't really tell, even when you look close. Just wish I'd remembered to do the center bar between the tail lights. Oh well, the next one I build I'll remember, and that one will be done using the kit engine.

This was another of my very early completed builds, from a few years ago. Six coats of Duplicolor Electric Blue metallic, four coats of clear lacquer, and after a good session with Micromesh the paint was as smooth as glass. Lemans blue on the interior, and I added ignition wires. The only flaw that really bugged me, was I forgot to paint the bottom of the interior tub!

Build #3 after resuming the hobby, a few years ago. I was going for a survivor look, as if someone had substituted a six in place of the original V8. So I kept the "V" emblems, and painted in Lemans blue. Topped off with a set of ' 69 Sask. plates.

A few more.

This was only the second kit I completed, after taking up modelling as an adult. Ten bucks on ePay, and still sealed. Since I'd built this same kit as a kid, my goal was simple. 1. Build it the way I'd wished I could've back then 2. make it look exactly like the one on the box, which is what made me want to buy it when I was eleven. Duplicolor white lacquer over Testors Fiery Orange, and a 421 Pontiac from a ' 62 Catalina. Even chromed the windshield frame, as per the one on the box. But more of a backyard built street racer, as opposed to a strip car.

Beautifully detailed, and a very interesting color combination.

Thanks, everyone. You're right, some variety is in order. Here's a shot on the black trash can.

And a few more.

I finished this up late yesterday, and took some pics just after dawn, this morning. This was a fun project, and definitely me building out of my "comfort zone".