Ferbz

You have a good eye as you're right about the wheel openings as they did indeed raise them back in the day. I actually like the factory height of the front wheel openings. I like how the tires look 'stuffed' up under the fender when the car is lowered. Not too practical as it limits the turning radius of the car(I know this from personal experience with my lowered 1:1 51 Shoebox) I did drop the front gravel pan a bit and reshaped the rear curve of the opening for a different design decision though. I may try to explain the reasoning behind that when I post more recent pics soon. Please stay tuned!

Nice work! Great color for that car. By the way what kind of thinner did you use with that nail polish and what was the ration of paint to thinner?

Very cool! I really like your creativity. Which ones are concepts for real cars?

Thanks everyone!

No engine shots, sorry. I got on this kick building curbsides because my projects were taking too long to finish. It would have been cool to have a crazy early Hemi in that car though! Multiple carbs, chrome, etc.

I posted pics of this Chrysler in my introduction but decided to share it here as well. It's an AMT 57 Chrysler 300c which I chopped and filled the rear window area using an AMT 50 Ford custom half top. I modified a Testors Chezoom hood to make a Windsor style hood. Emblems and trim were shaved, the license box in the trunk was filled and smoothed, and taillight bezels were molded in. 57 Caddy hubcaps were appropriated from a diecast car. Interior was painted with Createx white pearl while black inserts were made by using black BMF then sprayed with Dullcoat. Body was painted using Plastikote automotive spray can lacquer: Metallic Gold base, Candy Apple Red, and Clear. Black nail polish was used for the fogging under the candy and I sprayed a little gold pearl mixed in clear over the candy. The Cliff Inman 1:1 car was my main inspiration as was Larry Watson's paintwork!

This curbside model has a good story: In 2000 some friends mentioned how they liked the new(then)VW Beetle. Since I preferred the style of the older VWs and having owned a couple, my last one being a Cal Look 57 Oval Window, I mention how I had some reservations about the new design. To me, it looked like it was based on the rounder, 'poochier' mid 70's Super Beetle. My friends thought I was just being a hater--How could I not like the fact that the beloved 'Bug' was back in our automotive culture? Jokingly, I told them it would probably look better going backwards! Needless to say, my opinion was laughingly disregarded. One day, seeing the kit in my local hobby store gave me an idea: If I could prove my point somehow by building a model the way I saw it in my mind, I might be able to convince my friends! I bought it, took it home and work began in earnest: I turned the body around so the front became the back, cut the top off which included the rear trunk lid and filled the gaping hole in the body with sheet plastic and portions of 32 ford front fenders(to complete the front fender bulges). A hole was then cut out to accommodate the interior while I widened the hood(which is now the rear of the car). The interior was shortened eliminating the front seats and using only the rear seats made the car a two-seater coupe. The interior also retains the original dash and steering wheel. Using an old Revell Parts Pack bubbletop, I scratchbuilt a lip for it from sheet plastic similar to the Beatnik Bandit(see the overall influence here?)and mounted the bubble top to the body. I picked out a set of Pegasus Wheel/tires, painted the car with some spare Summer Yellow automotive lacquer with Gold Pearl mixed into the clearcoat. I normally don't name my models, but 'Beatnik Beetle' seemed appropriate. My friends saw the point I was trying to make even though they didn't have a problem with the 'new' beetle to begin with. No offense to you that like the 'new' beetle but I still personally like my version better!

In the past I used Plastikote auto spray can lacquers quite a bit but have noticed they are getting hard to find in the auto stores. Are they being phased out? They used to have a nice Candy Apple Red that went really well with their metallic Gold base(I used this combo on the Chrysler I posted pics of in my intro if you feel like looking that up)

While I personally try really hard to work through the setbacks a project can bring, sometimes it is actually better to start fresh. It would be great to see that vision you had for that car come to life again. Lots of tasteful modifications. Keep us posted when you start again....

Too late! I've already sanded, reprimed and begun repainting. Thanks though. You're not the only one who's suggested building it as a 'barn find' or 'patina'd custom. Someday I really would like to build something like that, but this one is destined to be a freshly painted custom.....stay tuned!

Agreed. It's not the first time I've had problems with model spray cans. Years ago I switched to automotive spray can lacquers and have had much more consistent positive results. In many cases, automotive spray cans like Duplicolor and Plastikote are nearly the same price or cheaper than model spray can like Testors and Tamiya, AND you get more paint for your money because of the bigger cans!

Thanks! Unfortunately, I dont have any progress shots. This car was built before cell phones(!) I am starting to document my builds more often though. Seeing cars in progress are more interesting I admit. That goes for 1:1 cars as well. Seeing them finished is also magical for me because I know the work it takes to get everything smooth and seamless after all the surgery

That's looking cool! I also posted my in-progress chopped 53 Ford custom in 'On the Workbench'. I'll be sure to keep tabs on yours to keep me inspired....

Great model! Awesome period piece and I especially love the 'metal' finish.

Thanks! Larry Watson certainly influences my paintwork as you might see in my other builds. The engine in it's entirety is from the Galaxie 48 Chevy kit which I believe had all the high performance 'Wayne' stuff in it. I scratchbuilt the triple carb intake to accommodate the 3 sidedraft carbs.

Thanks guys. I guess I should've been more specific: I wanted to know how much(if any) people reduce 3 part urethane paint down in order to get it to spray with an airbrush. Joseph, if you've had good results with doubling the reducer, I'll give that a try.

Welcome Ted from another Texan! (even though I'm a transplant from Northern California). I'm new to this forum too and so far have found it to be a great community of modelers not to mention a source of inspiration and info.

Great car, John! Very cool period piece. Either wheels work in my opinion, but the chromies really "classy" it up!

Sometimes I like to do fun, quirky stuff and this curbside pickup is one I did years ago. I got inspired by Dave Deal's awesome caricature cartoons and there's even a little bit of Zinger-esque sub conscious weirdness going on here too I think. I started with the AMT 55 Chevy pickup and removed vertical sections from the bed/rear fenders, cab, and through the hood/front fenders. I had to move the wheel openings of the rear fenders rearward so that they centered around the rear wheels(the stock location of the openings were too far forward). I customized the parts box bed cover and interior by adding tuck n roll and piping and filled the tailgate smooth. I used the hood scoop(also shortened) and wheels/tires from an old Revell Pro Stock Beretta(because it has the Chevy Bow Ties on the rims). The vertical exhaust stacks are from the parts box and I think the taillights were from the Revell Stone/Woods/Cook Willys. The paint is nail polish lacquer over a white base. The paint was supposed to look more Apricot Pearl but turned out kinda human skin tone-ish, but overall I'm pretty happy with the result. I dare someone to build this in 1:1 scale!

Very cool! I really like the fogged paint job.

I really dig it! I went to an NNL West some years ago and someone brought a handful of those Deals Wheels cars modified and detailed similar to yours. They inspired me to do one and seeing yours is putting me over the top about the idea!

Thanks for the compliments everyone! This car is as crazy as I've gotten on a project and I really felt like I got in over my head with it early on, but putting it away then seeing its potential years later gave me a determination to push through that 'sticking point' as some of you have experienced. David - Your story about that 50 convert is great! The late 50's/early 60's style was exactly what I was after. Chris - All you need is to get excited about the vision of those two kustom projects the way you want them and they'll get done! Ron - Haha! Yeah, a Snap Kit would be much easier. I've built curbsides because they don't take as long or have to be as involved as a full build. I don't know if/when I'll ever get as ambitious as this Chevy again. Rob - This site has been such a cool place to hang out! I've been inspired by and have learned quite a bit from many members in a really short time. I've posted a couple projects in the 'On the Workbench' forum and will try to keep them updated until they're done. Richard - I've been at that concrete block stage! Glad you found out the problem and was able to finish that 51 Chevy. Very often, just finishing a tough project is rewarding enough, but receiving awards for them is really satisfying, congrats!

This model is a few years old and is the last full build I've finished in a long time. I started doing all the custom mods, got discouraged because of the time/energy it was taking, and put it away for almost 10yrs. One day, I dug deep to regain interest in it thinking that it could be a pretty cool car if it was completed. I took it back out, started working on it. A year later, it was finally finished. Let's hear it for perseverance! If anyone else has a story like this, please share! This car proved to me that any project setback can be overcome with determination. Top is chopped, hood/trunk pancaked, 60 Vette side coves and rear roll pan, rear fenders extended, sunken license plate, AMT 49 Merc custom front roll pan, Revell 53 Chevy grill shell, frenched parts pack Lucas headlights, AMT 49 Merc interior customized with tuck n roll and modified door panels, narrowed 64 Impala dash. Straight six motor from Galaxie 48 Chevy is hopped up and detailed with period parts. The paint is Duplicolor Mirage over black AND white base(except for the side coves which are plain white). I designed/made my own scallop patterns and used BMF for masking.

I recently learned how to use automotive acrylic urethanes for 1:1 projects, but would like to know what mixture ratios you guys are using for scale model work? For 1:1 projects, 3:1:1 or 4:1:1 is typical(3 or 4 parts paint to 1 part reducer and 1 part hardener). Do you use the same ratio for scale models or is it different? Thanks in advance!

That came out pretty dang cool! I've always wanted to try to build a leadsled out of a Willys. Thanks for the inspiration!