Spottedlaurel

Thanks Randy and Rob. I keep a lookout for any cheap 1990s Corvettes, Mustangs and Vipers for these engine swaps. They aren't cars I'm particularly interested in building, so I don't feel bad about using them for parts. That being said, this AMT Corvette looks like it would be a quick, simple curbside build so I might try to do something with it. They're definitely the Firestone Wide Ovals. I think they'd be OK for a truck or a van, just not a car. I'm sure I'll find something else, there's plenty of room in the arches. Haven't spent a lot of time on it, but the odd half hour here and there has got it moving forward nicely..... 1:25 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I was pleased with how the flat clear knocked back the shine of the plated engine and gearbox. That was a tip I picked up on here. Also, the way the engine fits is remarkably close to the original, this is going to be much easier than the LT5 into '65 Corvette swap. 1:25 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr The biggest difference is the length of the gearbox and the extra depth at the back end. 1:25 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr With that support removed from the crossmember the engine and 'box sit dead level. I'll reattach it to the back of the crossmember instead, and shorten the propshaft slightly. 1:25 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr After priming I've given the interior a bit of metallic bronze paint - not sure exactly what colour it is, just a generic automotive colour I picked up recently, although possibly Ford Roman Bronze (popular on late '70s European cars). Without a clearcoat it seems to have a suitable sheen but not too much shine, so I probably won't give it any semi-matt clearcoat which was an option. 1:25 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I'm going to use some white under the Sandalwood Beige, in this case it's Tamiya Racing White. I know that the floorpan probably wouldn't be finished like this from the factory, but let's say this is how it was painted when restored and modified. It also gives me a chance to see the colour before I get the shell painted.

Well done for persevering with the doors, looks good.

They look great, I wish I could do weathering and rust like that. They must look fantastic parked-up together. Firebird is my favourite.

A fine collection of builds there Steve. Particularly good to see the Anglia/Popular again.

That's a lovely thing, nice work there.

What an excellent idea Steve, great progress on it so far.

The Soarer looks like a really nice kit, I got one in a trade some years ago. Keep thinking about putting a Lexus V8 into mine. I got this one a few weeks ago, but handed it over and my son wrapped it up as a Christmas present for me - they never know what to get me otherwise: 1:24 Monogram Chevy Luv Stepsider kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Has been lightly started, but nothing major and the bodywork is just detail painting on the unpainted shell. Will sit nicely alongside the AMT Ford Courier and Dodge Ram 50 kits I have to do one day.

Wow, I knew you'd rattled through a few but there are some here I'd missed - great to see them all. I particularly like the '70s cars, but that's just my personal taste.

Very nice work there Roger, I'd never have known it wasn't meant to be like that from the outset.

Great work Alan, some clever kitbashing and the finished result looks excellent.

Thanks everyone. The damaged shells will eventually get used again in one way or another. The Silvia will donate its front end to a Nissan 180SX to create a SilEighty. Nice work on that one! Not sure if it looked quite so English that day, there was some blue!

Thanks Mike, I'll do my best. It won't be a faithful replica, but just something I'd be pleased to see. There's something a bit too square about the MRC Wide Ovals. I'm not so worried about the the sidewall height, I think a car like this needs it. Would also be good to have something a little wider, at the back at least. I'm hoping the colour will be something like this: I won't be going for the vinyl top however.

Looks like a lot of fun to be had there. A great-looking combination, both car and boat built really well.

Got these in yesterday's post, as much for the AMT Matchbox box art nostalgia as the quaility of the kits: I was hoping the Monza could be built near-stock, and it could if it wasn't for only having the IMSA-style front end. I like the look of these and their similarity to some European GM cars of the time like the Opel Manta B, and I have no desire to build it with the big arches. Might have to get creative with spare bumpers and spoilers in the parts box, unless anyone can suggest a source for the standard offering or has one spare? I presume this Mustang is similar to the recent issue Warren Topes kit that I also have? I'm looking to build something with an early '80s Street Machine look as I used to daydream about when I was a teenager. Looks like I now have another option on what to do with it.

Another couple from my ongoing batch of builds to replace those that got damaged a few years ago. 1981-83 Nissan Skyline Turbo EX Q289 LEW (c.2000) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr This was the loose inspiration for the Skyline, it was owned by a friend and I saw plenty of it when a group of us convoyed up to a show in Norway. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Skyline R30 4dr kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr This one got particularly badly affected. I used the same Tamiya TS-18 spray paint as before, but changed the wheels to a Shadow Spoke accessory set by Fujimi. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Skyline R30 kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Skyline R30 kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Skyline R30 kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Finished the Silvia on Sunday: Again I was a bit unimaginative and kept it the same TS-75 Champagne Gold as my original build, and also used the ex-BMW M635 wheels and tyres. I realy like the look of this generation of Silvia and this is pretty much how I'd have one at 1:1. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr They're from opposite ends of the '80s but they look well together: 1:24 Tamiya Skyline and Silvia kits by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Skyline and Silvia kits by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Thanks for looking.

A chance buy off eBay. The same seller had another set I think the Cragar SS that Monty mentions) but I got outbid on them. For American stuff I tend to rely on swapping around between kits, and the spare sets that come with some of them. For Japanese I have a reasonable stock of Fujimi and Aoshima accessory sets. I seem to be getting a few choices with the Japanese tyres. I don't know what the Keystones are meant to be but the Fujimi or Aoshima are probably 14 or 15" at 1:24. Being 'proper' rubber they have a bit of stretch if they're on the small side, and as older style tyres they still have a decent amount of height to the sidewall. Wow! I certainly didn't pay that much for them. Yes, it's that squareness that puts me off using the Wide Ovals they came with. I remember the dark paint between the spokes being a distinctive part of their look, I plan to get something in there.

I love the look of these big old things, especially that long rear end. I only got this kit in the summer but it's jumped the queue somewhat as I quickly got an idea of how I'd like to see it. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I want to keep the outside plain and simple and maintain a period look with the Keystone Klassics, but give it some modern horsepower with an LT5 from the AMT ZR-1. That recipe worked well on the Monogram '65 Corvette I finished earlier in the year. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr For the paint I want it looking like a grocery-getter that was kept in good shape so I'm going for this Sandalwood Beige, which I think was used by Austin-Rover in the early '80s. I'm hoping it will be fairly close to Capri Cream. It'll have a brown interior, need to do a quick trial of something before I commit to that. In an ideal world I'd have a flat hood without a bulge, but as an easy alternative I've filled the vents - they'd be redundant with the LT5 in any case. The badges have been shaved and I'll probably lose the wheelarch mouldings too, jut to clean up the looks and give it the appearance of a mid-range car that's been given a bit of sympathetic TLC. What I'm creating is probably something of a phantom (or a mongrel!), I just want to build something subtle I'd be happy to see as a 1:1 at a show. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Basic trial fit of a few things shows that it should go together nicely, I just need to clamp the chassis and floorpan at the back end. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I don't like the Wide Ovals that came with the MRC wheels, so I'm experimenting with others from the parts box. Some big and littles from a 1980s Fujimi or Aoshima kit will probably do the job. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr New can of primer was put to good use. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Majority of the LT5 is plated. For now I'm just going to assemble it and give it some flat clear, then I'll see what needs detailing. Interesting to see it compared to the Monogram version I built in the summer. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Looks like it'll fit in here quite happily. Hoping to make some decent progress on it over the Christmas holiday.

I like the smoother front end, and that dash works really well. Colour looks great too.

Thank you Steve. Just brush-painted matt enamel, I think the lighter shade was Humbrol #29 and the dark brown was Revell #84, with bit of Revell #9 for the 'black' details. Just spent an hour or so doing bits that need to be left for a while like PVA glue for the lights. Panel lines done, but I've been struggling with the front suspension for some reason. It's all taken from the previous build, but it doesn't seem to be fitting together as well and when I thought I'd sorted it all I managed to snap one of the struts.....

Nice one Gareth! Well done for sticking with it, funny how some builds go that way but the extra effort makes it more satisfying. The colour combo looks just right, and great detailing on the interior.

Looks excellent, a good reminder to us all just to crack on, get them built and enjoy the process. Great that your original build has survived the years so well. Coming from a place where stock Ts aren't at all common and almost all those we see are rods it's really interesting to see the starting point.

Looks excellent Steve, a great "What if......?" build.

That looks excellent, very nicely done.

Thanks all! Progress has been a bit slow on this recently for various reasons, but by chipping away at the tedious window trim painting I'm hoping to get it finished this weekend. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr One of the male pins on the back of the ex-BMW M635 wheels had snapped-off. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Drilled a hole and glued-in an offcut of spare Tamiya axle. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Interior pretty much out of the box, but with an accessory steering wheel from an Aoshima Nissan Cedric kit just for the sake of making it a little different to the first time around. 1:24 Tamiya Nissan Silvia K's kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Everything ready for final assembly. External window trims need a tiny bit of tidying-up and the panel lines need a quick wash of something darker (probably brown in this case).

This week's arrivals: 1:24 Hasegawa Nissan Sunny Truck (Early) kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I built the later version of this kit a few months ago. If I was sufficiently good at scratchbuilding I'd use it as the basis for recreating my 1:1 2-door saloon - maybe something to consider if I can find something else with roughly the right shape of rear bodywork? 1:24 Aoshima Nissan Cedric/Gloria Hardtop kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I've had pillared saloon and estate version of this car at 1:1 before, they're amusing things with a smooth V6 but dated styling. Already got a couple of other issues of this Aoshima kit so must get one onto the bench next year.