MrObsessive

I'm not a street rod kinda guy, but my curiosity got the best of me, and all I can say is WOW! I would never have thought about using a bubble top on a street rod! I'll definitely be a lot more curious to see where this one goes!

Thanks John! This is something I've been wanting to do ever since the '60 kit came out (mid '90's?). I can think of another Impala of theirs that could stand to use a roof swap--------their '63 comes to mind as the roof always appeared exaggerated to me. The roof from the '64 would look soooo much better IMO. As far as those roof channels, originally when I thought about doing roll-up rear windows, I knew that some kind of trim or channel should be on those C pillars. The roofline out of the box always appeared too "thin" to me without 'em. Of course, there's no roll-up windows (this time ), but I'm glad I added it anyway as it looks more complete to me. As of now before I head back to the busy work week tomorrow, I got the wheels detailed and I'm about to put those on permanently, and then it's on to the little stuff-----taillights (have to add some chrome "teeth" to them), front and rear bumpers, and other little things that get tedious when you get to the end of a WIP.

I could Jim, but then I'm relying on their "judgement" to determine what they send me is good enough. The next time I order from them (I still may end up doing my own), and it's like this, I'll probably do just that. I don't know what's happened to them over the years------this used to not be a problem but like everyone else in business these days, it could be that they're trying to get by on other methods (read: cheaper) to get by, and quality is suffering. Unfortunately, the prices keep going up however.

Uuuuuuh......No you don't want to iron it! That might make for more trouble than not. One thing I may get practiced on (again) is using very cheap thin kitchen foil and do my own foiling that way using an adhesive. A while back someone did a tutorial on doing that very thing (Lovefordgalaxy?) and it may be time to go that route if the BMF quality continues to be inconsistent. BTW, I got my foil straight from Bare Metal Foil Co. out of Michigan through the mail. It does stick very well, just the entire sheet has that stippled appearance.

The fins (particularly the corners) would be done in basically two sections. As you've seen, the sides have been done, then it's just a matter of foiling the rear most sections with other pieces of BMF. On the 1:1 as you can see below, GM used long pieces on the sides, then used wraparound pieces near the corners which went to the deck lid. I extended my BMF to the very corners, and then I'll just use a straight piece to finish up the piece that'll go to the trunk. In this scale, the joints won't be seen much if at all, as I try to burnish everything down to be as seamless as possible. If I do have a complaint about this particular sheet of BMF this go round-------it has a stippled look on the model as well as on the sheet itself. No big deal, but the effect is still there somewhat as I try to sand and polish the areas that the BMF will be laying on. And yes, I'm planning on having this done in time for NNL East! Barring anymore SNAFU's I'll have it done sometime during this week. One issue I might have but I'm not going to fret over it------the bumpers have slight mold lines on 'em. Well, I'll see if I can sand those off lightly, and cover any bare spots with strips of BMF. No time to send stuff out to be plated, not to mention it wouldn't be cost effective just to send out two bumpers when it's better to send out a whole rack.

That is true. I'd tried using one of those sites a while back to track down my '69 AMX (I still know the V.I.N.#) to see what became of it. No dice.........the car's too old to be tracked using those.

I'm no expert as resin, but I can tell you that my experience has been that when you heat up resin (hot water, hair dryer, etc.), it's best to immediately lock the shape into place by putting it in cold water. Also contrary to popular belief, resin does have a memory, so it's also a good idea when you're washing the parts, to NOT use hot water again as guess what??.............the resin will go back to the shape that it originally wanted to be ie: slightly warped. I'd use very lukewarm or cold water to wash things up. I would also paint both sides of the hood so that the solvents won't pull one side away from the other-------not doing so can lead to the same type of warp you're seeing. Hope this helps as that can be frustrating........others may have different methods to help out.

Whoops! Thanks for the heads up Tom! I booked a room at the Comfort Inn, but was thinking about switching to this one since it's a bit cheaper. From the way you've described it though, guess it's a better idea to stay where I am.

Nice Job Bruce! This kit has been somewhat underrated as it was one of Tamiya's nicer efforts in this particular genre of cars. I wish they would have done more such as a full detail E-Type coupe or convertible. And yes, those wire wheels are typical Tamiya excellent quality! I can't think of any others that get that close to scale fidelity without looking clunky.

Lookin' Good so far Steve! Yeah, nothing beats those old Johan bodies for accurate lines! I've got two of those, and the color of yours gives me some inspiration. But you know me, I'd have to do something with the chassis------I just gotta have more detail than what the kit gives. Keep up the excellent work!

Steve, I was a little reluctant to answer your question because I know that I used Alclad on an '05's 'Vette's wheels years ago, and I do remember clearcoating them. In agreement with what Gerry said, it wasn't Alclad's clear, it was I believe Future Floor Wax I used which is an acrylic. Here are a couple pics to show......... I didn't care for the super bright chrome the wheels were done on the chrome tree. I had stripped them, airbrushed Alclad's black enamel on the wheels, and then airbrush very light coats of their chrome on. Afterwards, I brushed the Future on which to me didn't seem to dull the finish. The wheels look more like polished aluminum than that super bright chrome which to me doesn't look right on this gen Corvette. As always, you might want to test it out on some spoons or something. You know how things change, and it was close to 10 years ago when I built this.

If you're unable to get ELO in Canada, eBay has it here. Amazon may carry it, but I haven't checked there. I've used it also in the past, and it's good stuff.

I swear there are folks that lay in bed, beat their knuckles against the headboard, staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, wondering how to beat you and I out of our money. Too bad they can't put that same energy into doing something productive.......as in getting a job or learning a legit skill to earn what they need. No, they want to take the easy way out and try to scam others out of their money. Thanks for the heads up Vince. Folks like this won't be stopped until they're in jail, or someone takes matters into their own hands and does something drastic.

Thanks Jim! Yeah, that's one of those "chassis" items I mentioned among other things. I still have Parafilm covering have of the bottom to keep things from getting scratched up (again) till she's permanently on all fours. Another item that I have to find------I think it's still attached to the chrome sprue is the little fake roof vent. It's one of those things that make a '59 Impala, well a '59. I have another junker kit in case that one got lost.

Just a few "beauty" shots before I can call this one done and out of my hair! I've been off since Friday, and don't go back to work till Tuesday, so I hope to get it totally done before next weekend. There's some things to put on yet------bumpers, head and taillights, driver's mirror, etc........ I finally got the interior all together, and got the rest of the BMF done save for the very rear of the trunk and its spine up the middle. The car is just sitting as a mock-up for now as the wheels have not been totally snapped into place just yet. There's a couple minor chassis items I want to take care of first before I totally snap them on. Not to mention, I want to paint the remaining three wheels' red rings on to represent the outer diameter of the wheel which would have been showing on the '59's. I may try to detail paint the cross flags on the wheelcovers, but it'll depend on how steady my hands are, and if I can see where the little checkerboards are. I thought I had the passenger door side hinge problem licked as I was able to solder a new hinge, but as I thought, the dimensions are not quite the same as I had originally, and the door won't open without some severe binding. So, it'll stay closed as there's now epoxy around the inside perimeter of the door. OK, on to some pics! Hard to believe that after nearly four years, this gal is about ready to face the world!

Well, I'm going to be the mean guy in the room and say if something isn't right, it's not right. Shrinking demographics notwithstanding, kits are costing too much to have things not "look right" and have to go back and fix it. Sure I could fix what's wrong------and do it without expensive computers and blueprints. I really shouldn't have to though when said kits are costing $25+ a pop, and I haven't even gotten to the detail stuff I may want to get for it yet. Obviously, there's no perfect kit, but Revell has been missing the mark too much lately with errors that shouldn't get past the folks that ostensibly know what they're doing. All the more I'm glad about the growing popularity of 3D printing where who knows............we might just bypass the kit manufacturers someday with making our own parts and even kits that us "rivet counters" know will be correct. OK, rant over------back to our regularly scheduled program.

Something else I thought a bit odd, but didn't think much of it till now. Whenever someone mentions about a new product they have that's coming out, they'll have some pics of examples of whatever it is they're making. This fellow had NOTHING but a bunch of words on a screen ostensibly saying this is what he's producing/about to produce. No masters, no mockups, NADA! That alone shouldn't pass the smell test especially coming from someone who has a very low post count. Not that it should matter much-------they could have been a long time lurker. I also found it interesting that since his cover's been "blown" so to speak, he's disappeared like a fart in the wind.

This thread is a good reminder of why I've become very cynical of people and their "good intentions", especially in the last year or so. I don't want to badmouth any particular church or religion here------if you're interested in hearing my story, PM me and I can fill you in on all the details. I will say that it's probably a good idea to ALWAYS keep your eyes open to scammers out there. They come in all shapes and sizes, and can appear to be very innocent when they're as rotten to the core as can be. With the economy the way it is, I can expect more of this type of thing, and unfortunately, it can affect those of us in our little world of model cars.

I want to add that it looks like it'll be a bigger show this year than last! I was able to get a room less than a month before the show last year--------not the case this year which is excellent! I'll get to meet some new folks and run into others that I haven't seen for awhile.

Tom, would you know how far this is from the building where the show's happening? I also had called the Ramada and the rooms were sold out----I'll be coming in Friday afternoon/evening. I booked a room at the Comfort Inn/Fairfleld. I take it that their right down the road from each other looking at Google Maps. The La Quinta looks to be a little cheaper, but if I can get it at the NNL rate, all the better!

I keep looking at these pics over and over, and I'm impressed by how everything is so seamless and just "goes together"! When I first saw this thread, I thought "HERESY!" a four cylinder in a 'Cuda?? Well, I gotta say, that engine just looks right sitting in its bay, and I wouldn't have thought 3D printing could be pulled off this nice! Your bodywork and paint are excellent, and really helps the lines of this Gen 'Cuda than take away from it. I'm gonna add that 3D printing is the definite wave of the future! I'm looking into maybe getting one of those printers in the future as the prices are coming down, There's just stuff that won't be available..........unless we make it ourselves. Very, VERY impressive work!!

You're going to need 5 min epoxy or superglue to bond the parts together. I strongly advise test fitting each part before final gluing. Resin is more brittle than plastic, and you'll want to make sure the parts fit well before any final assembly. You'd hate to have to disconnect resin parts once they're glued together! Most of all-----TAKE YOUR TIME! I'm not a resin expert, but I can tell you that particular kit goes for no small change. You'll want to exercise much patience when getting this one together. It'll be well worth it!

While I'd love to see this one make a comeback (I have a '68 rebuilder convertible), I'm not holding my breath for any of the model companies to ever do this one. I hate to be the mean guy in the room, but with very limited tooling dollars that the model manufacturers have to spend on any one particular car these days, they have to be VERY choosy in what they decide to spend said dollars on. It's a nice car to be sure, and I can remember when it was new as a little kid, but I've become more of a pessimist in recent years when it comes to new stuff that can be released as far as kits are concerned. Heck, how long has it taken so far just to get a FULL DETAIL kit of the new Corvette? I have yet to see it! Maybe Moebius will surprise us and make this one a reality............I can almost guarantee the others won't give it a passing thought.

Steve, I don't know how handy you are with clear stencil sheet, but you could make a new windshield out of that. A '66's windshield is pretty flat without the compound curves (unlike my '59 Chevy), so one could be made fairly easy. I hear ya about paying high prices for just "parts". I have that seller on my watch list and while I've bought from her before (I use her because it's a woman's name that shows up on my PayPal account), her starting prices are too high IMO for what's being offered. OR........you can REALLY go fancy and spring for one of these! I have one, and it's what saved my '59 Chevy project from going onto the "forever" pile of projects when I couldn't get decent glass for it.

That means they probably didn't fix the much too sloping taillight panel, and the new grille more than likely matches the incorrect contours of the front fenders.