W-409

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words! You're right, the orange car on the box art looks killer. I'm sure an Impala was a pretty rare sight in the Gas classes, because like you said, most of the '58 Chevrolets were either Bel Airs or Biscaynes. But that picture proves that there was at least one! Well, the progress continues. I started working on the body, and the first thing to do was to glue the doors shut. Someone might wonder why I did that, but honestly the opening doors usually don't fit as well as they should and the detail in the door jamb is not up to the level it should be if the doors did open. Sure, that all can be fixed, but I don't want to go through all that work with this project, I much rather have it finished sooner than later... Plus that the doors have incorrect type hinges anyway so they would need to be scratchbuilt as well. Anyway, after a bit of sanding and smoothing out mold lines and mold flash, I was able to glue the doors on place. This required a bit of work for the door panels so that they could be installed from the inside. See the original one on left, modified one on the right. Now the door panel goes on place even with the door closed. Then it was time to do a mock up to see how it looks. I was also going to test fit the hood, but soon I realized that the Cal Custom scoops are not going to clear the hood. So, after some measurements I had to cut a hole to the hood... Starting point for the hood scoop was found in my parts box. I believe it's from an old Monogram kit. It required a bit of shortening to make it fit the Impala, but after that I think it'll work so I glued it on place. Now I think I can start cleaning up the mold lines etc from the body to get it ready for paint.

This turned out fantastic. First of all, my hat is off for even attempting to build one of these "modern day, front engined Top Fuel Dragsters", because despite sharing the same basic idea as the old Slingshots these are very different than anything that has been offered in model kit form ever. So with that said, congrats on building one, especially when the end result is this high quality. The attention to details is incredible and I think you nailed the overall look perfectly. I can almost smell the nitro from here. Can't wait to see your next project.

This looks interesting. I'd think the '68 Coronet will be a pretty good seller as that kit hasn't been available in a very long time. I also will definitely need one of those. The Nova is another kit that I need to have, because I like those cars a lot.

Thanks for the kind words! Daniel, Yep, I think that the amount of research that is needed to create an accurate race car for a certain class is minimal compared to the amount of actually building... So when one is already building a model and trying to add some details on it, why not make it accurate at the same time. Here's the last update for this week. Tomorrow I'll be leaving to London UK to be at the Rockers Reunion in Aldershot on Saturday night. So the progress will continue next week with the Impala. Anyway, I got the engine and driveshaft installed to the chassis. The driveshaft was painted gloss black with silver U-joints. Looks like everything fits nicely on place even with the body on. I guess next I'll need to start working on the body and interior...

Thanks Ricky, I appreciate the kind words! Yes, diode, that's what it was... I can remember when I walked into a store that sells electrical components and went to the counter to buy those diodes. The salesman asked about what resistance etc I wanted and the looks in his face was priceless when I told him that those doesn't matter, it just has to look right. But he then understood it when I told him they'll be used in a scale model as fuel filters. The idea of using them as a vintage fuel pump is actually a good one! I'll need to try that. Now that I'm on my Winter Vacation this week from work, I've had some more bench time as usual. And I'm making decent progress with this thing! Brake lines were the next task. '58 Impala has a single circuit brake master cylinder, so I had to build a couple of distribution blocks to the frame to get brake fluid on all tires. They were made out of hex-shaped plastic rod. Brake lines theirselves are thin "copper-wire" and brake hoses that go to both wheel cylinders are made out of Scale Productions' spark plug wire material. Fittings between the brake pipes and hoses are also made out of Hex-shaped plastic rod. In the back everything was done the same way, except that it was just much more simple... Brake pipe is copper wire, brake hose is spark plug wire material and the fitting in between is made from Hex-shaped plastic rod. In 1961 NHRA required Gassers to have a parking brake. So I had to fabricate parking brake cables as well. They are quite simple actually on an X-Frame Chevy (it's easy to check for reference material as we have a '60 Impala 2D HT in the garage). So the cables were made out of the same spark plug wire material as the brake hoses. The cables have a rubber/plastic covering on the rear, but they don't have that in the part that goes inside the X-part of the frame. This was replicated by simply painting the spark plug wire material silver where necessary and the fittings in between are also hex shaped plastic rod. The chassis is coming together pretty good. Tie rod was a little too narrow, but I cut the other inner tie rod end apart from the rest and glued it to a new position, making the assembly a bit wider. That fixed the problem...

Really nice and clean work on the Camaro. Everything looks so good, but that front spring & shock modification is one that I need to try out at some time. It looks excellent. Really nice work, keep the updates coming.

Wow! I definitely did not expect to see that offered in resin or 3D, but I'm glad I saw it now...And ordered one immediately. I've had Shirley Shahan's Drag-On-Lady SS AMX stalled for years because of the lack of proper engine bay. I was trying to find a decent starting point for making one myself, but never got to it. This looks like it will make things a lot easier. I also ordered a set of those Dragster wheels. Interesting to see how they look in person.

Really nice work as always Steve! Glad to see a convertible with the uptop, because a) the top itself looks fantastic, and b) I think most of the convertibles look the best with the top up anyway. Excellent work with the details. This will be another stunning model when finished. I'll be watching.

Wow! Very nice work so far with the Riviera! The body proportions look excellent, like someone said, it's really hard to modify a car that is originally as beautiful as the 1st gen Riviera, but I think you pulled it off. I will be following this with great interest.

Thanks Jeff and Trevor! I finished the wheels and tires. I wanted to paint the wheels with metallic silver, I think it should work well with the body color that I have in mind. After primer, paint and clear coat, I painted the center caps gloss black, gave a light black wash in the middle and painted lug nuts with bright silver. Tire treads were lightly sanded to make them look a bit used. Front axle parts were painted and installed on place. The fitment on them was really good. Then I glued the wheels and tires on place. Of course I had to throw the body on place for a couple of mock ups, as well.

Well here's a small update. Engine oil dipstick was one of the details I needed to add because the kit didn't come with one. For the dipstick tube I didn't have a proper size round plastic rod, but luckily I had hex-shaped plastic rod that was about the right size. So I sanded it round and bent to shape. The end of the dipstick itself is made of photo etch material that I just bent to match the shape of a dipstick end. Testing, fits like it should: Then I painted the whole thing with gloss black. It's kind of hard to photograph it now that it's painted, but I think it was a good addition. Then I did some work with the chassis. I mocked up the engine and found out that co-driver's side header was hitting to the crossmember making the engine not fit properly on place. I sanded some material off from the crossmember and now everything fits on place. But obviously, some repainting needs to be done. Then I moved on to the rear suspension and started by adding a brake line to the rear axle. Control arms and rear springs were painted gloss black and now the axle is glued on place. I need to fabricate brake lines and handbrake cables next. It's strange how dusty the chassis looks in the picture. Need to clean it up before the next photos. Then I did some finishing touches on the engine and I think now it's ready to be installed to the chassis. Headers were painted flat white and installed on place, then I just painted some nut and bolt ends with silver, added a bit of black washing here and there to give some depth to certain areas and did a few touch-ups. More details will be added during the final assembly, but for now I think it's pretty much done.

You are correct, it's actually not that hard to scratchbuild headers, and then there's no need to modify the kit headers to fit because, like you said, it can be a lot of work, too. ...And a couple of years has gone since the latest update, well this project has been stalled so many times that I can't even remember anymore... Let's see if this time I can finally finish it. But while parts were drying on the B/G '58 Impala, I decided to dig this one out and continue working on it... A bit earlier I built a small hood scoop for it. I mocked up the body and engine on place, took a couple of measurements and cut a hole to the hood. The scoop was built from sheet styrene. Needs a bit of cleanup but then it should be good to go. The next step was to modify the kit inner fenders to fit on place with my scratchbuilt Fenderwell headers. I'd be happy to run without any inner fenders at all, but while they are required in NHRA Rulebook, I'll need to install them... So I cut some material off so that they clear the headers. I also sanded all molded-in wires etc away from them. Some detailing will be added when this thing is going together so it's best not to have any molded-in wires on the inner fenders anyway. On the other side I had to use a bit of putty to cover a couple of ejector pin marks... Then I figured the best way to mount these things is probably to glue them on the body. That way the inner fender to body fitment will be flawless in the final assembly, because, after all, that's what everyone sees on the finished model. So I mocked up the body, engine and chassis all together and after a few times of trial and error I was able to glue the inner fenders where I wanted them to be. I also mocked up the radiator which will also be from Revell's '40 Ford like the engine, and it looks like it'll fit under the hood just fine. That way I get a radiator that has the right inlets/outlets for the radiator hoses, because a Flathead Ford has two upper and two lower radiator hoses on it.

Thanks Bob and Daniel! The kind words are appreciated! I built throttle linkage on the driver's side as well. All that is left is to connect this linkage to the actuating rod that comes from the gas pedal, through the firewall. I will add this when the engine is mounted in place, but otherwise the throttle linkage is done. And while I was at it, I added a generator bracket as well. The engine is not that far from finished, once paint dries on the headers, I'm able to install them and add the rest of the detailing. Then I can move on to the chassis.

Thanks guys for the kind words, I appreciate it! Bob, I also remove most of the locating pins and sand the mating surfaces flat each time I'm working on the engine (and often in different areas as well). Usually when kitbashing parts from different kits to create something that didn't exist in kit form as far as the engine/intake combination goes, I end up doing several test fits to make sure everything goes together as should. This time I didn't do that because everything was from this kit and meant to fit each other, but as I found out it wasn't the case. Well, luckily it was an easy fix. My plan was to add fuel lines to the engine next. But in order to do that, I had to make the carburetor linkage for the co-driver's side, which is basically just a couple of metal rods that keep the carburetors synchronized with each other. That was quite simple and actually it can't be seen very much from under the fuel lines, either. The fuel lines are metal wire with fittings made out of hex-shaped plastic rod. I drilled a hole to the center and cut the fitting to desired length, then paint it with Revell 91 silver, covered with Humbrol's Clear Orange. It was a bit fiddly to build the fuel lines, especially the three that go from the junction block to the carburetors, but I think it came out decent. Fuel filter is somekind of electric part (not sure what, I don't know much about electric components). I also installed some Cal Custom scoops on top of the carburetors. They are made by Maple Leaf Modelworks and they are very nice. They just required some sanding to get rid of the 3D printed texture, but once that was done I painted them with "Chrome Silver" from spray can.

You can also find them in eBay pretty easily. Scoop Hood

Another masterpiece from your bench Cliff! Nice work on the modifications and finishing, everything looks really good. Very well done!

One thing I love about these old kits is that they often come with some cool Vintage speed parts. This kit has two choices for distributor, a stock one or a vintage Spalding Flame Thrower Ignition. I did some research on the Spalding unit, and it's pretty cool. If interested, see more here . Anyway, I removed all mold lines and flash from the Flame Thrower and drilled holes for plug wires, vacuum hose and for coil wires, because these things had dual ignition coils in them. I think I will install them on firewall when I get that far. The unit was painted gloss red like the original. The areas where the spark plug wires connect to the Flame Thrower are black and vacuum advance can is of course painted with silver. Then I added spark plug wires and while I was at it, I installed them in the correct firing order too. The wires are made out of Pro Tech spark plug wire. A couple of other misc parts are also installed on the engine, plus the vacuum hose from vacuum advance can to the bottom of the middle carburetor.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words! Bob, I think I will probably end up gluing the doors shut on this one. The hinges and the door jamb detail is not on the level that I would like it to be if this thing had opening doors on it. Sure, all of that can be fixed, but I still want to finish this some day during the next year or so. You're correct, this kit is still pretty good after all of those decades and several reissues. Even though, there is plenty of cleanup required on the parts, all of the details are still pretty sharp. Bill, I've thought it this way: It takes a whole lot of time and effort to try to build a nice looking scale model. And while almost everything did fit in one racing class or another some time in the past, I think it would be just crazy not to do the quick research on the class rules and see what class the build fits in. Francis, yes, those are one of the small things that make the model stand out in my opinion. And you're right about the kit being a bit fiddly especially considering when it came out the first time. But it sure looks good finished. After the clear coat on the engine parts had dried, I glued the crankshaft, oil pan, timing chain cover/water pump and heads to the engine block. I had a bit of struggle to make the crank and oil pan fit correctly, but after a bit of sanding I was able to make everything fit. The biggest issue was the fitment of the intake manifold as there was a huge gap between the engine block and intake bottom. Of course I should have mocked it up before painting, but they are all kit parts so I assumed they would fit... Well, some sheet styrene to the rescue, I cut a piece of styrene to the size and shape of the intake manifold and glued it on... ...A bit of putty to smooth out the glue seams and then some touch up with silver. After that the intake fit nicely on place. Valve covers are also from the kit, but I removed the chrome plating and painted them with "Chrome Silver" out of some automotive spray can. I had a small issue with the kit carburetors. I stripped the chrome plating from them as well, because I was going to paint them, and the paint doesn't stick very well on top of the kit chrome. When I took them out from the paint stripper, the carbs flew off from my tweezers and despite spending quite a bit of time searching everywhere, I never saw them again. Luckily I had a "glue bomb engine" from the same kit, so I took the carburetors from that one. The only problem was that the small stub where the air cleaner is mounted, was missing from the center carburetor. So I took the same size plastic rod and made a new one.

Anyone? I bet someone has used these paints before. Or do I have to start experimenting...

Ok, there are already many topics about these paints, but none of the ones I found answered my questions. So for a current project I think I'd like to go with a candy red paint job, and I'd like to try the Alclad Lacquer paints. Obviously I need the base color like all candies, but my main question is about clear coating the paint job after applying decals. So, which clear coat do you guys recommend? I see Alclad Aqua Gloss and Klear Kote Gloss are both available, but which one of these would be better for this application? My main concerns are if the clear coat will react with the decals (of course probably all clear coats react with decals if you spray it way too thick right away, but of course I need to start with a couple of light coats). And do these clear coats have the annoying yellowing, like some of the Enamel clears that will turn yellow over time? And last, do those clear coats polish up nicely, because eventually the paint job will need to be polished anyway. Hopefully someone who has more experience in these can help me out with these questions. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the kind comments everyone! Yes it is. I have several glue bombs of the original issue, but this is the first unbuilt version of this kit that I have. It looks like a fun kit to build for sure. Not much progress as haven't had a whole lot of bench time, only a few minutes here and there... Anyway, I prepped the chassis for primer. There was quite a lot of mold flash that had to be cleaned and I also had to get rid of the copyright textes that were next to the frame rail behind the driver's side rear tire. Then the chassis was shot with a coat of primer. The chassis was painted flat black and when that was dry I brush painted the frame and gas tank with gloss black to give it a bit of contrast. The rear axle required quite a bit of work to smooth out the seam between the axle halves. After a few times of sanding and applying Tamiya's Liquid Glue to the seam, it was pretty much disappeared and there was only small need for putty. Then the axle was painted gloss black and the center section with Humbrol's Metallic 53. I wish the center section would be a bit more detailed, but that's what the kit offers so I'm sticking with it. After a bit of sanding the engine parts were also ready for primer and paint. I decided to go with an original paint color on the block, heads, timing chain cover and oil pan. The 3x2 intake manifold was painted silver. Once the clear coat dries, I can start assembling the engine. For the engines I bought these cool Cal Custom style scoops from Maple Leaf Modelworks. I haven't been working much with these 3D printed items, but these look really good. I might be ordering some more 3D printed parts for future projects as well.

That's a very clean '61 Impala! Definitely one of the best builds that I've seen from this kit. Excellent work.

Found this AMT reissue while visiting Pegasus Hobbies in California a few weeks ago and had to start building it right away. The box art is so cool that I knew I had to build this one as a Gasser, even though '58 Chevrolet wasn't the most common starting point for a Gasser back in the day, but hey, someone could have built a car like this for the Gasser class anyway. As I was going through the old NHRA Rulebooks for the Gas Coupes & Sedans class rules, I decided to go with 1961 rulebook. That's mainly because in 1960 you were not allowed to cut the rear fenders in order to fit slicks on the back, but for 1961 season that rule changed and one was able to make more room for the slicks by cutting the rear wheel openings bigger. And that is one of the things I really liked on the box art, so I wanted to go the same thing on my model. It's not going to be box art replica however, because for example, the rules require that cars need to have a grill on front while the box art hasn't and overall mine will have some slight differences in appearance when it's done. I'll be using the 348 engine that came with the kit, the plan is to install an Offenhauser 3x2 intake manifold on it together with some other speed equipment. That engine will put this in B/G class. The first thing to do was to mock up the stance as I wanted to see if I need to do some modifications to get the stance that I'm looking for. The rear axle was glued together from two separate halves, and the top half of the axle was warped pretty bad. I glued the metal axle to the bottom half of the rear axle to make that stronger and then clamped the top half of the axle on place with some small C-clamps and glued it on place. I also needed to drill a bit bigger hole for the rear inner wheels to make the metal axle fit properly. Then I enlarged the wheel openings, but that was easy because on the inside of the body, there was already a template where to cut if one wanted to build the racing version. Then I did a mock up to see how it looks. Rear tires are not the ones that came with the kit as I wanted old Pie Crust slicks on this one. Those were found in AMT's reissued '49 Ford kit. Not too bad, but a few adjustments had to be made. The track width on rear was a bit too narrow, plus that the rear could sit just a little higher to prevent tires rubbing the fenders. And front end was a bit lower than on the box stop, so I thought I wanted to raise it just a little. Well, the track width was widened pretty easily as I found a pair of Racemaster Drag Slicks out of AMT Parts Pack. I liked the look of those Firestones I had earlier, but they're narrow and have two grooves on them so they are basically more suitable for a Junior Stock car. With the Racemasters that are a bit wider, the rear tires fit just about right. For the front, I added pieces of sheet styrene between the upper A-arms and front spindles and also where the lower A-arms mount on the frame. Of course the springs got a set of spacers as well. With the new mock up, I think it's better.

Not much of an update, but after a vacation in SoCal, I'm back on the bench. I removed all mold lines and mold flash from the chassis and then shot with primer and paint. The color is Tamiya's TS-102. Light coat of clear is still needed before I can go ahead and start detail painting.

Thanks for the interest everyone! This is a fun kit to build because you don't see too many of them done. And it looks like it can be built into a pretty nice model. The tires were painted flat black from spray can and then I shot a coat of flat clear on them. With the wheels glued on place I think the wheel & tire combo turned out pretty good.