GMasterG

Thank you. A relatively simple kit. Just pay attention to the warped hood and also the decal for the auto shifter on the console. It’s a lot neater if you hand paint the trim and just cut the decal and use the letters/numbers that tell you what gear you’re in.

Thank you. I have another to build in white so I will pay close attention to the shaker on that one.

Thank you. I was very happy with the colour. I’ve come to enjoy working with genuine automotive paints.

Thank you.

Thank you. Close to my best paint job. And definitely the best clear coat that I’ve done. There’s real depth to it.

Thank you. I spent quite some time trying to figure out what went wrong. In the end I chalked it up to user error

I had an automotive paint shop mix the Lucerne Blue from the original paint code. Despite a successful test-fit the hood wouldn’t clear the front of the shaker once everything was glued in place so I’ve left the hood off the latch. Disaster struck when I dropped resin all over the windows but I successfully polished out the blemishes with a range of sanding sponges and polishing pastes; the process has proved a very valuable experience in many ways. I enjoyed making this one. It came together easily after two failures that preceded it.

The body gets its first round of clear coats. Outlaw Paint’s 2k Diamond Finish Clear. It smells like crushed ants.

Finding the missing exhaust part (in a place I would swear in front of a jury on penalty of death that I’d looked a dozen times previously) inspired me to add spark plug cables, a 3D-printed solenoid and wire to the distributor and similarly 3D-printed oil filter with hoses to the oil sump. I used 90-degree spark plug boots under the oil filter base plate as hose connectors. and the interior is done:

I'd be keen to see the blown drag-car version of this car. Thank for the comment.

Thanks Noel. Yes, Fiats have the reputation of being prone to rust here in Australia as well.

Thanks Sonny. The colour call-out gives yellow as an option and it is the color of my friend's modern version of the 500

Thanks John

A friend just bought a 2018 Abarth 500. He'd longed for a 695 ss since he was young so I decided to make one in honor: All the parts sprayed: Some early work on the chassis and engine: The engine installed: A little progress on the interior: .....and the dash: The body gets a base-coat:

Thank you. I’d have to agree with your sentiment.

Thank you, Stephen. I'd say that overall this is my best work to date. I've done better paint work. For some reason the paint fought me all the way on this one but it's an opportunity to hone skills.

Thank you for your kind words Todd. I seem to be - and all because a hobby store heavily discounted some Salvinos kits and I thought: "What the hell. I know nothing of the sport and I know nothing of the cars or the drivers but I'll build one." I've caught the bug. And I find that period from the mid 60s to the mid 70s to be the most interesting. As was the case with touring car racing in Australia, the cars you saw on the track on Sunday were the cars you could buy in the showroom on Monday - their rawness and authenticity appeals to me as do the men who drove them.

Thanks Bruce. Yes I have no problems with the decals at all. A generous amount of water to begin with so that I can push them around, and then once I have them where I want them and they have dried a little I give them a coat of regular Mark Fit.

Be sure to pass on my compliments.

It’s finished and it did fit

Now ya tell me!! I see the error of my ways. Thanks. Nice build too. You’ve set the bar for the chrome finish. Very impressive.

Approaching the end of this project and I’m feeling very satisfied with the quality of the individual sub-assemblies as well as the overall build. These side farings took a little time and patience so as not to dull or scrape the chrome: I don’t use the axles that come with the kit. Instead I use a couple of short lengths of 2mm brass rod. You can gently force it into the small holes in the hubs of the rear wheels to achieve a nice tight aligned fit and then you just slide the other end into the axle until you have the wheels aligned in the way that you want. Here is a picture showing the wheels sitting prose revealing the two pieces of brass tube that serve as the axles: And here are a couple of pictures of the stance that I’ve achieved on this build: I’m always holding my breath once the engine gets locked in hoping that there will be enough clearance for the hood to sit flat once the air filter is on top of the intake manifold: But that’s a task for another day.

Using UV light-activated clear resin to fix the clear glassware has become my preferred method. By sitting the glass in place you can then run a bead of resin along the top edge of the glass and the underside of the body and the capillary action of the resin will let it flow into whatever groove or seat the glass panel is sitting in. It avoids unnecessary handling and the risk of panels sliding over surfaces that have already been prepped with some form of adhesive. You can see below where the resin has seeped into the grooves of the plastic body and the window and even managed to run up the back of one of the blow-out bars just for good measure and all without getting a drop or a smear on the clear panel itself.

I’m not sure if I find this process as meditative; I’m certainly glad when it’s over and there are minimal casualties. Whilst it’s not perfect I try and make each successive model in some way the beneficiary of its predecessors and I’m a lot happier with my choice and application of chrome paint this time around.