rastta

We were fortunate to pick up this 1964 C10 custom named "True Blue" by the original owner in January of this year. It has a lot of small custom touches which as with all good customs - aren't really visible at first. So, when attempting to build a model of it - these proved to be some of the greatest challenges. I'll start with a few pictures of the truck - then follow them with pictures of the model. This started life as the 65 C10 Stepside Kit by Revell. All of the custom touches were handmade by me and I also want to thank members “Khils” and “Sam I am” for providing some custom parts I needed such as a 59 Impala steering wheel, Impala rear speaker grill, 65 Chevelle bucket seats and an extra tailgate. While I was able to recreate the original in many ways - there were several things which were limitations due to the model. First was getting lowered enough in the front. In order to match the original, the from A-arms would have been touching the ground on the model. The other major item was the rear suspension. Our truck has had a 1978 rear leaf spring suspension adapted to the original rare leaf spring frame. I opted to just use the coil/trailing arm suspension from the model. Other than that, it's pretty damn close to the original. I painted it Testors Light Blue enamel with an airbrush which was lightened to match the truck. The first two coats came out flawless - then I got a bunch of dust in the final coat. No idea how. The scallops were hand drawn on tape on the model, scanned and then recreated in Adobe Illustrator and printed on white vinyl. The wheels consist of "Dog Dish Hubcaps Generic #2" by Parts by Parks with decals added to match the 56 BelAir dog dishes on the original. The wide whites are from Modelhaus and have the same width white walls as the original. You'll notice no vent wings or vents or wipers - those were shaved on the original and a smooth cowel was installed as well. One of the unique features of our truck is the rear "trunk" that was added by the original owner. I recreated it with the extra tailgate and making the top. The wood bed is balsa with chromed strips. The models opens as well but I need to make a prop to keep it open. The exhaust mimics the original and was made from a 65 GTO exhaust I had. The rear gas tank was handmade as well. The interior was the biggest challenge. I wound up making the console from the ends of the bench seat. Cupholders were chrome flash that were inset in it. Shifter was made from an old antenna and some scrap. The dash was shaved and the decals added just like the original. Same with the armrests. All the decals on the model were created from photographs of the original paint/pinstriping, stickers or emblems and cleaned and scaled in Adobe Photoshop and then printed on decal paper. This includes the decals on the dash, rear panel, hubcaps and engine compartment. The gas cap and cap on the overflow tube in the engine compartment were billet aluminum radiator caps by Detail Master. Definitely the most ambitious model I've done, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Thanks again for the kudos. Very much appreciated.

Thanks for all the kind words. Hoping you all have a great New Year!

Thanks! It's definitely one of my favorites. As for the guitars - it was something I would have never dreamed I would have been doing, but I love building stuff so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Thanks! However, considering what PITA build the Orange Crate was I think I'll keep it ?

Finished my last build of 2020 in June. Then decided to try my hand at building guitars, as I had inherited a storage locker full of stuff. Never had even really played one but I figured if I can build a model car I can build a guitar. Here's my eight. And a couple of my guitars ?

Excellent pair!

Thanks for all the kind words. Really enjoyed this build.

It was a bit odd that the front stayed so high. You did about as much as you could to change it - It seemed a bit complex so I didn't want to mess with it and screw it up ? I do like that style though with the front up a bit higher than the rear. Something about the lines on these cars that works with that.

I did just the kits designed lowered front and rear. If I remember correctly - you just flip the spindle and swap sides or something like that. Rear was just adding block to the springs that they provided to drop the axle. The hood ornament and badge were provided and the badge was the 1947 option, the strip below the window is foil. I also opted to add the 1948 grill shield because I liked the look. The only other trim I didn't use was the hood side badges, just liked the clean look a bit better. I'm still thinking about the "windshield shade" which is chrome and doesn't look that good to me in that finish. Losing her was tough - but just like this car - she was sleek and sexy, but a bit wide and low. ?

Beautiful!

Just finished this up this week. Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our pup Lana of 12 years to cancer. Since I knew it was inevitable - this became a tribute build, and I named the car after her. What better way than by creating personalized License plates for her. So back to the car. This was a great model kit - very nicely done with outstanding detail and good fit. Almost no flash anywhere - and they attached the chrome to the tree in a way that didn't affect it hardly at all when you removed it. I sure wish they made more different models. It's painted in Testors Extreme Lacquers, Star Spangled Blue and Graphite Dust, with Testors Black Lacquer and then a couple coats of the Extreme Wet Look clear. I tried my hand at "lacing" after seeing a car at a show which had done it. Bought some dollhouse curtains online which wound up working out ok. I do wish the pattern was a bit smaller and I was a bit less heavy handed with the rattle can, but I'm happy overall with how it came out. Not my best chrome trim job. I also noticed after taking pics the hood had shifted a bit - it fits much better than it looks - although I hadn't installed the hood hinges yet. The kit offers multiple build options but I built it lowrider style - dropped. Also tried my hand at "burlwood" painting - like the originals were done. Top of the dash came out so so - but tops of the doors came out ok. Overall I'm happy with the results - and hopefully can improve upon them next time.

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Nope - they are the Gofer 11032 Gauges and instrument panel set. They weren't a perfect fit but they were what I had. I should have painted these stripes on, would have been easier and looked a bit better. That being said - that's not always a given either. I've had really good luck with my decal strips on my Z/28 and Chevelle.

Been wanting to do this one for a while. Enjoyed building this kit - as it had a decent amount of detail. Painted it Ford Dark Moss Green Metallic - paint courtesy of MCW finishes. Also found some resin 10 spoke wheels online and picked those up. While not a great copy of the originals, they were close enough, but a PITA to paint. Only complaint about the kit was the decal set and the rear trunk lid. Decals were very thick and didn't want to "form" to well to the hood or spoiler, not to mention the rear portion behind the license plate. Also the decals for the rear area by t he gas cap and lights were way off size wise and I ruined em trying to trim em to fit. Lastly, not many detail decals, would have liked to have more in the engine bay, the horn button and wheel caps. Looked for some online but couldn't find any. Also, I opened the area under the trunk lid and while fit isn't bad, the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH thing doesn't want to stay on the car.

Nice work - love the color combination.

After I picked my jaw off the floor....

Sure - its VHT SP402 Burnt Copper. I tested it on some scrap and it didn't stick well. So I tried it with a red oxide primer and that did the trick. I think any decent primer would work - I was out of grey or white. It didn't affect the final color though.

Thanks for all the kind words. On to the next kit.

This was the reissued Lindberg kit. Really a nice kit overall, fit was excellent on most everything. Finished in Testors Extreme Mythical Maroon with Wet look clear. Really like how a lot of the trim was actually chrome which limited having to foil or molotow larger areas. Engine was done with VHT engine paint - as it was the closest I could find to a bronze.

First Mobius model I've done and really liked the kit. Generally happy with the results, but if I were to do it again - I would have done a plain white instead of a pearl white. Paints are both Testors Extreme Lacquer. I did fix the front bumper after the picture ?.

Interesting - don't remember that at all. Just looked it up. Learn something new everyday. ?

Thanks for all the nice comments - much appreciated.

Yup - Testor's Pure Gold. Love that line of paints - I'm trying to find uses for all the colors ? As for the decal - I'm not sure - I'd have to check. The original car had the V-drive - but the model doesn't - one of the things that is just not quite correct.

Really nice!