Modlbldr

That is good to know. That qill help me to make sure the sizes are right. I'm glad you posted that pic. What I have made with those strips I installed was supposed to be the center post of what looks like three bars- what is actually the window frame (opens with the door) and a center stationary post. My work above depicts the narrow stationary posts and now I need to go back and create the window frames. So, what I scratchbuilt above may not be too narrow after all. Later-

Went to a small model show this morning. Ony about 10 people entered but we had 75 models entered. A few guys brought kits to sell. I walked away with these kits (All complete and sealed or sealed inside) for $68 and a second place for my 67 Impala lowrider. Nice day! Later-

Thanks for the pictures. Those are cool. The window frames are not finished. These are just the posts between the actual window frames, although I may need to go a little bit wider. . Later-

I haven't had any time at the bench this week. Last night I got a bit of time while packing things for a model show in Somerset, KY today. While looking at pics of a 72 Suburban and planning how to build the side windows I saw that they have a slim post between each window frame. I measured out the locations for these. Using thin strips of styrene doubled up to approximate the thickness I glued these in place. I cut small grooves in the half round at the top for these to slide into so that it would add a bit of strength. Then, on the passenger side, I trimmed the bottom of the half round to shape the opening for the windows a bit better. Next will be the driver's side and then adding the strips for the actual window fames. Not much progress but I'm moving forward. Later-

It has been a very busy week for me and last night was the first chance I've gotten all week to sit at the bench. I had wetsanded the hood a week ago to try and remove the faint lines left by the tape. Eventually I resprayed another light coat of clear and stuck the hood in the dehydrator for a couple days. Last night I polished it and then added the PE letters using Future floor polish as glue. (I see now that I need to reposition the L. It is sitting too high.) I also installed the chrome hood strip on the front. That's all I got done on this project for now. I boxed it up to take with me to a model show today in Somerset, KY. Later-

Heather, I, too, am sorry for the untimely loss of your Father. I only knew him from this forum but he was a great model builder and influence on many of us here. I moved to Kentucky a couple of years ago and was looking to visit and make contact with him shortly before he passed. I wanted to see his work up close and get some tips from him. I was really interested in the GTO wagon that he was working on since I was also working on a GTO at the time. Unfortunately my plans to come visit him and see his GTO were too late. He is very much missed on the forum and, again, I am sorry for your loss. May you and your family be comforted knowing that he was looked up to by all here. Tom

Yes I am. Thanks! Later-

Man, I like what you have done and glad to see you have gotten this far on it. The paint color is perfect for it. I am currently building a 72 Suburban on here but I went a different route by using the 72 Pickup. I'm hoping it will work. I had to use it as it is for a common kit build-off. After seeing that your starting point was the Blazer I am curious if the height of the sides of the lazer are taller than the sides of the pickup bed. I ask because I had to add a square styrene rod the length of the bed in order to match the height of the cab. I like your idea of using the Blazer roofs. I am using flat sheet for mine but I am also including a sliding canvas roof so I won't have to worry too much about curves. Later-

That is a thing of beauty! Your work throughout has been fantastic. I love seeing this one built. Later-

I'm liking your ideas on this so far. Like you, that front 60's styling caught my attention. I have this and the hardtop version. I'll follow along and see where this goes. Later-

Thank you! Tonight's progress. Starting from the front. I removed the inner wheel wells to allow for tire clearance and to allow the 3d frame to sit where it needs to. I added two strips of plastic for roof panels instead of one large piece since I am building this with a simuated sliding soft top. I then added a piece of half round for the rolled side of the roof. This will be sanded to shape later. I removed a part of the bed floor for clearance of the c notch on the frame. The 3d printed frame needed some work as it was warped and the part behind the c notch did not extend far enough to allow the frame to sit flat. This pic shows how much I need ed to press the frame to get it into shape. This will not work. After modifications the frame sits as it should. Well, that's it for tonight. Next will be to widen the rear tubs and start some sanding. Later-

Thanks, but no. There is a small bit of sanding that needs done. I sprayed the final clear on Thanksgiving and have let it sit to harden. This past Thursday I taped the hood off to spray the underside and the tape still left faint lines in the clearcoat. Could have sworn it was dry by now. I got a used dehydrator yesterday. After I clean it up I am going to put it in the dehydrator for a good day before I wetsand. Later-

Yeah, they had one door on the driver's side and two on the passenger side. Not sure if this was all of them or just some. Later-

Thanks. The frame I got from a guy on FB named Brandon White. It comes in two pieces so it is adjustable. Comes with the rear axle, front a arms, rear 4 link and bags. For the bend I am thinking about soaking it in warm water and then bending it from side to side over the edge of a table, similar to using an english wheel. Nothing fancy, just need to work it a bit. Later-

I did a bit more on this one last night for about a half hour. I think I've settled on this 3d printed frame. I set the wheelbase on it as it is adjustable and glued the two pieces together. I added some styrene bits for a bit of strength where they join. I then measured the height of the window opening on the front door from the top of the door to the bottom of the window opening. 21/32. I then tacked two 21/32 strips of styrene at the rear of the body at what will be the side window opening to act as temporary rests for the rear roof while gluing it in place. This way I am certain that the rear roof is level and the window openings match front to rear. Last thing for the night was to cut a roof panel to fit the giant opening. This is just sitting in place for now as it needs to be bent into the curved shape of the roof. That was it for the night. Thanks for looking. Later-

Thank you! Much appreciated. Later-

Been pecking away at some.of the finer things over the last couple of days. The grill emblem decal broke into 5 pieces on me. That was fun trying to piece it back together. I'm down to needing to do the wetsanding and polishing of the body before I can move on.

Had a good chuckle on this one. Later-

Not a bad idea. I hadn't thought about that. Thanks! Later-

I'm not set at the moment on that. The timeline on this is sometime in March. Depending on how long it takes to do the top I may stick with the promo chassis but I have a 3D printed lowered chassis that I'd like to use. Thanks. I'm hoping I don't lose steam. Lol. Later-

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, it's not sitting exactly where it needs to be yet. That pic was taken right beforw heading to bed and I just have it tacked in place. Later-

While waiting for things to dry on my 65 Chevelle I have another "common kit" build for our club. The chosen kit is the re-release of the 72 Chevy pickup. As my normal plan is I am always looking for something a bit different than what other guys in the club will do. I landed on building a Suburban from the kit. I began by removing all of the body side trim. Before I started the mods I had a plan to lower the front of the hood (pancake). I sliced the bottom off and sanded what I felt was a considerable amount and then reattached the bottom. I also sanded the front to lean the leading edge back a bit. After getting it all back together I can't tell much difference. It's noticable enough next to the stock hood but as a stand alone it isn't very noticable. I began by cutting off the rear of the cab to use as the rear of the Suburban top. As I looked at the picture of the 1:1 Suburban I saw that the slope of the rea pillars was more angled than the rear of the stock pickup cab. So, I made a relief slice in the pillar a d added a bit of styrene sheet to change the angle. This angle was just eyeballed. I calculated some measurements of the wheelbase of the Suburban and it appeared to be no different than the wheelbase of the longbed version (right about 5 inches in scale) so I only needed to add a bit of sheet plastic between the cab and bed due to length removed from removing the rear cab wall. I am not going for complete accuracy here anyway. I then glued the cab and bed together. Next I had to add a piece of styrene square stock to the top of the bed rails to make it the same height of the top of the pickup doors. This really bothered me because in the pictures of the Suburban it doesn't appear that it is that tall through that area (directly below the side windows above where the body makes its first bump out). Oh well. As I said, I'm not going for complete accuracy. I then tacked in place the rear cab piece I removed to see if the height was anywhere close to the same as the height of the front of the cab. Looks pretty good to me. That's where I stoped for the night. Later-

Finished and installed the engine today. Added an alternator bracket, spark plug wires and the visible parts of the fuel line for some added interest. I will be painting the headliner and the engine bay next, then polishing the body and adding the emblems. Later-

Thanks! I keep thinking that there isn't much left to do but then I wake up.... Later-

Interior is finished. On to the engine while the body cures. Later-