freddy_fo

Well the adventure has begun. I've taken a 4 year hiatus from model building but the bug has bit again after dusting off my neglected ones recently. My re-entry is a 57 Chevy nomad which I first built as a young kid. I loved that car so much I used to take it everywhere with me. Eventually it met it's end when I left it on the dash of my aunt's car during a hot summer day. Back then I just assembled the kits without paint but was still deeply upset when I found the twisted/warped remains after a day at the zoo. So off to fleabay and I found this opened kit for a good price and pulled the trigger. For the past 20 years I've built primarily tamiya and fujimi kits because they are straight and require little work to get them to piece together correctly. Having started on this nomad I'm reminded how terrible these older kits are in comparison. Some of the injection molding did not take completely and the chrome is awful with satin mottling everywhere as well as excessive flashing. Then there is the molded trim which is uneven and blends into the body at places. Fortunately I've been able to correct most of the body issues but the engine which suffered most from the improper injections is going in the garbage. Instead I've order a resin kit of a 400 small block chevy from BNL resins. I'm also going to try my hand at re-chroming the trim parts with molotow and an airbrush. I've never used that stuff before so this will be an experience that I hope brings satisfactory results. If not I'm going to black out the car so I haven't yet decided what the paint will be yet. I'm also going to try my hand at building leaf springs for the rear suspension using styrene strips and am pulling out the stops for all the other detailing items I typically skip over. This means it will be a slow build. So far I'm happy with the shell after 12 or so hours of filing, sanding and fitting parts. As a kid I recall it was tricky to get all the opening parts to line up so this time I've spent extra time to ensure I get the gaps even. Getting the headlight trim to sit flush has been a challenge. I'm going to have to fill and my 15 year old tube of model putty is no good so back to the hobby store. Going to toss the hood and get a resin high rise with chrome delete instead. This will allow me to toss the hood hinge and fill in the firewall where the hinge openings are currently. Finally I need some wheels. Don't want to go 20" low profile but would like to get something a little more updated. Haven't decided on anything yet so if there are suggestions please let me know your thoughts. Anyways this is the start of what I hope to be my best build yet.

Nice indeed!

Wow! Love it. One of my favorite subjects.

I stand corrected David, great job thinking outside the box. I look forward to seeing the final product. Proper way to build a pacer!

I was going to say jerky dispenser... seems more in line with the manly post apocalyptic theme.

Good idea. I'm not too keen on popping out my windows to do that so I'll live with it for now. Maybe I can get a sharpie in the gap and at least do that part. Did you have a problem with the windshield not matching the contour of the body? On mine the lower right corner tends to pop out more. I need to come up with a plan to fix that somehow. Looks terrible the way it currently is. I like your idea of carpeting using felt. I think I may do that to mine as well. May even try and retrofit a headliner in there. Will be kind of fiddly with the car being assembled but that would clean up the car interior real nice.

Another nice build. How does this compare to the other tamiya/fujimi kits?

Very nice! Your build has inspired me to pull mine off the dusty shelf (built 14 years ago) and clean it up a bit. I too dislike the rubber seals around the windshield and hatch window. The edges of the window appear rough and are not hidden by the seal which I think is the most unattractive part. In retrospect I think I would have sanded the edges then coated with liquid cement to take out some of that look.

Ah yes... I was raised in North Ogden myself.

Thanks! One of my favorites as well. I'd love to have a real one... I understand caterham makes a version for us taller folks but but the closest car to test drive is 700 miles from me (when/if they have one in stock).

Ouch! That's considerably more than I paid for mine. Where are you seeing that price? eBay?

Thanks all. I'll definitely share what little I know when it comes time. I recently picked up a 57 Nomad (revell) that I built as a kid with the hopes of turning out a nice little car this time. My brain is on overload with all the possibilities of how to turn out a sweet little hot rod. Once I get a plan I'll post that in the cars/workbench area.

It's a nice car. I bought one back around 2002 and assembled it shortly after I got it. Beautiful model.

Nice! I did the tamiya 360 spider with the same body color. Wasn't sure if I would like it but I knew it was a winner as I was cleaning the airbrush after spraying it on:) I'm impressed!

Hello all. Every once in a while the bug bites to start another project and now is that time. I've built models since I was 8 but have only built 2 in the last 12 years and those were about 4 years ago. I've got about 40 unassembled kits with the idea if I don't get around to them till I retire then I'll have something to do Lately I've been distracted by R/C airplanes but I have no more room to build and store those things so fly what I got and start building some cars again. I came across this site several times researching detailing tricks to up my game. Have found many wonderful examples of outstanding builds so thought I ought to get in on the fun and join. I primarily build 1/24 cars but am a sucker for any complicated or highly detailed kit that I come across. Here is some of what I've done in the last 23 years.

Outstanding detail. I've been meaning to get one of these kits for years and I finally pulled the lever. What size bolts/nuts are you using for the master cylinder and accelerator linkage?