ReduitRetro

Okay, okay...I know you all must be getting tired of all the GM F-body 3rd-gen builds I've been posting lately, but c'mon man!...these things were some of the coolest cars on the road in the '80's. But here's a question for you my fellow modelers out there; How many of you still have three decade plus old survivor builds still hanging around? Well, I do, and this is one of a handful that I have. Built in 1988, this Monogram '82 Z-28 was built as an '83 model by simply painting the engine block black, as GM no longer used corporate engine blue. I wanted to test my scratch building ability of making under hood components, and what better subject than a Camaro, especially since my farther owned an '84 Z-28 at the time (which I own today) that could be a captive audience for detailing references in the evenings when he returned home from work. As any of you may know, large models (in this case 1/8 scale by Monogram) were simply blown up 1/25 scale offerings with about the same level of detail...i.e. sparse at best. And the detail omissions in these large scale kits stood out like a swollen thumb. With that task in mind, I set out to fully detail the engine (code LU5) "Cross-Fire" Fuel Injected 305 small block V-8. I began to scratch build everything I could easily see from the under hood of my dad's car, sensors, relays, vacuum switches and lines, fuel lines, the emission system including the A.I.R. pump and manifold tubing, cruise control and wiper motors, electrical harnesses, hood release cable, oil and trans dipsticks, HVAC hoses, power steering hoses, and much more. I can't say honestly everything was done, but real close. The interior was built stock, but with the addition of seat belts (shoestring) front and rear, sun visors, and dome light. The exterior color was originally a bright white, but over the last 35 years its faded to a yellowish color, scratch built and added the rear window wiper (which GM eventually did away with) and of course added the body/door rub strips. This kit is again one of the oldest and dearest in my collection, along with its sister an '85 IROC-Z which I will be posting soon. Thanks again for stopping and taking a look, and of course happy modeling!

Hello again friends! This is another youth build redo I actually done back in '09. My first crack at this build was in early '83, and like many of my early projects back in the day it had its shortcomings, but even so I enjoyed having it on my shelf...flaws and all. I happened to find this kit on Ebay in '05, and quickly snapped it up. I'm aware that this kit was reissued just a few years ago, but this one is the original MPC offering. Built primarily box stock, this 1/16th scale Firebird had a few issues that had to be worked out to make the model present better. Door fit and operation had to be corrected, as well as the t-top panels for better roof fit. Rear "glass" hatch, taillight panel, roof panels, and upper windshield were treated to a few coats of clear smoke enamel. Interior floor and rear cargo area, lower interior doors, along with the sun visors were flocked in red. The t-bar roof also was treated to a scratch built dome light assembly as well. To complete the outside of the car, I added the black door/body rub strips that were usually always present on highly optioned units of the time. The stock "bowling ball" style wheels in the kit just did not appear accurate to me, so I opted for the custom BBS "lace" style wheels that were provided in the kit instead, painted the centers black, and decided against the white letter look on the tires for a more formal sinister look. The "Cross-Fire" Injected 305 V-8 was finished in authentic corporate GM blue, and is backed up by the mandatory WS-6 4-speed manual transmission. The cars underbody was lightly sprayed body color over gray primer to somewhat replicate the factory overspray "look", as they were back then. As always, thankyou for stopping and taking a look, but I just have one question...has anybody seen my Van Halen cassette? lol!

Very nice, I finally recently added one of these kits to my stash, and you've given me some Idea's for sure. Adding the vinyl top is just about mandatory for this kit as well, and your execution is spot on! Again...nice job!

Hello again friends! Question, how many of you still have builds from over 30 years ago? As in say the George W. Bush Presidency era. Well, I do for sure. Now even though this kit has been reproduced in a few different forms since, I purchased and built this one back in '91. I can remember looking most all summer for detailed pictures of the famed optional Chevy cross ram dual carb 302 small block high performance V-8 featured in this kit, just to be as accurate as possible in my detailing plan. Remember, back then you had to find information the hard way, not like now with the help of the internet and smart phones. Anyway, I built this Monogram 1/12th scale Camaro Z/28 completely box stock, adding the kit supplied Goodyear Eagle Radial tires, and Cragar SST wheels for that classic weekend cruiser look. Dechromed and painted the front bumper to replicate the optional "Endurance" bumper, bare metal foiled the exterior trim, and added the woodgrain accents to the dash to better replicate the Deluxe interior package. I also used authentic automotive DupliColor "Glacier Blue" paint that would've been an available color choice for '69 Camaro's. Engine detailing include spark plug wiring (in the correct firing order) heater hoses, carb linkages and return spring, fuel lines, battery cables, vacuum and crankcase vent hoses, and a plumbed brake master cylinder. Since I've been a member here for now more than 10 years, I've seen several much nicer examples done of this kit, and most were simply stunning to see. I just hope my old prehistoric build can at least stand in the back of the same room with them. Thanks for looking!

Nice build! And you are absolutely correct about losing small parts, my absolute mistake was having carpet in my building room! I've a couple times in the past literally had to go buy another whole kit just to get a small replacement part.

Beautiful Duster there my friend, nice job! But for some reason I feel the need to purchase more auto insurance...hmm, lol!

Very very nice Mercury Comet build! It's somewhat rare to see these kits featured...in ANY form. Glad to see I caught this one. Is this the Caliente version by the way?

A very nice super clean build! One of many pending build projects on my to do list that await my attention in my stash.

I love it! I've got a couple Ranchero kits buried in my stash somewhere, looks like you've given me a few ideas...nice!

Great looking build, and in a nice period correct color too!

Hello again friends! Once again, I have a very old build from my collection to showcase while current projects are coming together on my workbench. I originally built this kit back in 1982 when MPC put it out, and being a high school kid with lack luster modeling skills at the time produced some...let's say very interesting models, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one, lol! At any rate, I decided years later to revisit and rebuild some kits of my youth in an attempt to right the many mistakes and building blunders I had on my way to hopefully becoming a better model builder. I came across this particular kit at a garage sale some 25 plus years ago, and decided this would be the beginning build of eventually many that I would make right...finally. Built in '99, I decided to copy the original exterior/interior colors I chose back while in high school from my original build, paying attention to details, and adding other subtle details such as the window filler triangles behind the mirrors on the "A" pillars, some styrene strips to replicate the side window rear weatherstrips at the "B" pillars. Added the "blackout" surrounds on the front windshield and rear hatch window, detailed the interior with the period correct black instrument panel and side door arm rest and door details, along with the center console. '82 was the last year GM used corporate engine blue on their engines, so as I had some on hand that's what I used. The model as you can see was otherwise built box stock, and I feel even today that MPC really nailed the overall look of the then newly redesigned Camaro. We Gen X people remember these cars well, as they were absolutely everywhere back then...uh, just like that infamous mullet hair style was too, lol! Thanks for looking.

Bravo sir!!! Beautiful build!

Very very nice work! Clean details, and what looks like an authentic available factory color too!

Very nice build! I may have to reconsider not having one of these in my stash.

A beautiful clean build! And the custom wheels and tires really put it over the top.

Excellent build!! Who's the kit manufacturer?

Thats a nice one Michelle, glad you were able to get that bumper. Love that color too!

Thats a wild ride!...great job!

I like It!...nice execution of a somewhat ho-hum kit. I have one of these in my collection, and you've given me some great ideas. Great job.

Hello again! This is yet another survivor build from nearly 30 years ago. GM back in the day would occasionally put out particular vehicles to showcase what their gear headed engineers could come up with, and the '93 Silverado 1500 SS-454 pickup was no exception. From a long line of factory "specialty" rides, such as the Buick Grand National and its more sinister version the GNX, the GMC Typhoon and Syclone, and the Chevy Impala SS, these vehicles carved out a special place in the hearts of automotive fans everywhere. Recently this kit has been reintroduced with a few improvements over the older version, but in my opinion totally unnecessary. Built completely box stock at the time, as I felt the kit was just about perfect as it came. Apparently many agreed with me indeed. PS, anyone interested in a closer look at Chevy's rival the Ford F-150 Lightning pictured with the featured truck, please refer to my "Forgettable Muscle" post for details. Thanks for looking.

Back in '97 when the newly redesigned pickups from Ford hit the market, some say they completely caught GM asleep at the wheel. With bold, rounded, but completely recognizable appearance as a Ford product, the trucks took on an even larger appeal to truck buyers, and again helped Ford to stay the number one selling domestic truck in America. This kit was built sometime in '98 over a short stay at home vacation week and was yet another quick easy build to get out of a modeling slump in between projects. I started with the AMT/ERTL Snapfast Plus kit, found a way to give the truck a slight suspension lift, which was interesting because this is a promo style kit that featured all the chassis and suspension details molded in on one slab of plastic. I didn't like the choice of wheels/tires in the kit, so I replaced them with a set from the Revell '97 Ford F-150 XLT Flareside kit instead. Other than those changes, the kit is box stock. Thanks for looking.

Looks good. I have a few models that I too took a compilation of parts from other kits to make my own unique ride.

Yes, you sharp eyed modelers would know this is actually Revell's '99 Silverado kit from way back when, but since I didn't get around to building mine until late 2000, I updated the truck a little. The Silverado when it went to the now proven bullet proof GMT800 platform for the '99 model year, the extended cab model featured here was ONLY available with the curb side right rear door that opened. This of course eventually started the "door wars" of all the pickup manufacturer's at the time, and I believe by the model year 2000, all the major players offered a full 4-door extended cab pickup. I eventually made my model an '02 because that was the last year the Silverado had this front end design, as the '03 introduced what is now known as the "cat eye" Chevy's. This kit indeed had its share of problems when introduced by Revell, but with a little patience and care the model can render a very nice example of a pickup that's still all over the place today. I decided to feature this very old build because rarely do you see this kit built anymore, and if you do, its never usually built box stock. The scribed in the street side left rear door was to bring the model up to the 2000-2002 truck specifications. Thanks for looking.

Yes, you sharp eyed modelers would know this is actually Revell's '99 Silverado kit from way back then, but since I didn't get around to building mine until late 2000, I updated the truck a little. The Silverado when it went to the now proven bullet proof GMT800 platform for the '99 model year, the extended cab version featured here was ONLY available with the curb side rear door that opened. This of course eventually started the "door wars" of all the pickup manufacturers at the time, and I believe by the model year 2000 all the major players offered a full 4-door extended cab pickup. I eventually just made my model an '02 because it was the last year the Silverado had this front end design, as the '03 introduced what is now known in the pickup world as the "cat eye" Chevy's. This kit indeed had its share of problems when introduced by Revell, but with a little patience and care the model can render a very nice example of a pickup that's still all over the place today. I decided to feature this very old build because rarely do you see this kit built anymore, and if you do, its never usually built box stock. Thanks for looking.