Luis Ayala

Thank you all for your comments, I really appreciate that you are taking time to follow up this one. Bill - Peter, I totally agree with the rear bumper replacement, I am just waiting for a friend who will dig one out of his parts box for me. So far everything is in place and the only things left to do are: 1- Repaint the hood, polish it and install the ornaments. (Next Saturday) 2- Install Rear bumper & license plate. I am very happy with the results and it feels great to be back again... Here are a couple of pics with better light, hope you like them and again THANKS very much for looking !!!! Next week I will post the final pics on the "Under Glass" section.

Here are a couple of pics I took this morning while test fitting the engine & bumpers. Nothing is glued yet, just wanted to see how it will look when done. I am thinking on replacing the rear bumper, but suggestions are welcome !!! Hope you like it and again thanks for looking !!!

Thank you all for your comments !!!! Here are a couple of pics of the engine progress. I will take a few pics with better light later today. Hope you like it and again, thanks for looking.

I just finished polishing the body and the interior is almost done. The hood will get an extra coat of paint tomorrow and will start to work on the engine tonight. So far I am very happy with the results. Hope you like it and thanks for looking!!!!

Thanks for your comments guys!!!! Hi Bill, I am glad you like it!!! Thanks Marcos, I will drop you a line if anything comes up. The weather was very good today so I managed to paint the body. The color is a mix of “Testors Dark Blue & Testors Yellowâ€. Here are a couple of pics. Hope you like it and thanks for looking!!!

Hope everyone had a great Holiday and best wishes on 2009. I have been away for a while, as many of you may know, after having to sell most of my collection after loosing my job about a year ago. Sometimes is better to set things aside for a while before you end up messing it up. I still have unfinished projects from 2008, but those will remain on the back shelf for a while. My workbench hasn’t seen much action lately, so I decided to clean it up and start from scratch on 2009. This kit is one of my favorites, the 1955 Bel Air Convertible. I started it last week and this is what I have done so far. 1- Sealed hinge openings on firewall 2- Installed front and rear disk brake suspension. 3- Finished Chassis assembly 4- All parts received primer and are ready to paint Here are a couple of progress pics so hope you like it and thanks for looking.

Real...

Hi Ismael!!!! I don't know why but... this kind of reminds me of a movie... "Are we done yet"

Hi Kerc!!!!!!!!! Nice project bro... Your originality is one of the things that always make your work stand out… Thanks for sharing !!!

Thank you all for your comments guys!!!! After using flat black for a loooooong time I decided to try a new product to see if I can get the “satin†look you see in brand new metal parts. Since this model has a totally black underneath, I thought it was a nice place to start. After a small talk with our local automotive paint store, they suggested this product: All the parts were already primed so I gave it a try and these are the results: The “satin†look stands out from the usual “flat†look I have always seen in my models. This product is very good and the best thing is that it won’t crack. With just two wet coats the parts were fully covered and no details were lost. It dries fast with no drips and so far I believe it is a very good alternative for painting interiors. Hope you like it and thanks for looking!!!!

Thanks Ismael!!!!! I remember a lady near us with a kid that suddenly disappeared and left the food on the table… Now, seriously we had a really good time today. As I always say, the best thing about this hobby is the good friends… Thanks for your blessing on the project bro..

Here you can see a couple of pics of the chassis and some test fitting on the chrome trim. Here all the chrome parts have been stripped and will be re-chromed later on. The remaining parts are clean and ready for primer. Again, thank you all for your time guys and for more pics just visit my “fotki†album.

Thank you all for your comments guys!!!! Tahks gbk1, I really appreciate your thoughts about this build. I still have a couple of details left on the body work, but I decided to prep all remaining parts for primer so when I finally paint the body, I can move forward while the paint dries. I started to work on the front & rear suspension last week and while test fitting the parts I found that the upper A- arms are sitting “on the air†where they are suppose to match the front spindle, as you can see below. There are a couple of missing parts like the coil springs and shocks, so besides the fitting issues I decided to dress it up a little bit. Here you can see all the front suspension parts that came with the kit. The first thing was to align the upper A – arms to drill and install a piece of aluminum tubing to add support. Then I inserted a plastic sleeve that will fill the gap behind the tube and will make al the parts blend together. Then I reworked the cross member to accommodate some coil springs from the parts box. To align them I again drilled and added aluminum tubing support. Then I added some “over coil†tubing for the finishing touch and this is what I ended up with. On the next post you will see some progress on the chassis and trim. Thanks!!!!!!!

Congratulations Ismael!!!!!!!!!!! It's just amazing to see the "Before" and "After"... It turned out GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Your skills are amazing bro... Thanks for sharing.

Time for a quick update… I just finished filling in all the gaps on the floor pan and applied primer. Some minor touch ups will follow, but just a few scathes that will be filled with dissolved putty. Most of the parts are primed and ready for the final stage before painting. The bodywork is about 85% done with the exception of the hood hinges. From now on I will start to post pics here on the forum, but you will also find the updates on the web album. Hope you like it and again thanks for looking!!!!

Thank you all for your comments Guys! I really appreciate that you are taking time to follow up this one. I just uploaded a few more progress pics in the last two page of the album. Yesterday I finished filling in the floor pan gaps and it is ready for final primer application. The door hinges fit is done and the upholstery panels are ready to paint. I needed to relocate the trunk hinges, since I found the lift was farther up front and it was collapsing over the top compartment door. The new position works very well and gave me the clearance I need to keep them both opened. The edges of the soft top compartment door were too thick so I scraped and sanded away some plastic for a better fit. A little putty will do the rest… Now, while the putty dries, I started to work on the engine and chassis. I removed all the molded exhaust system which will be replaced later on and I am working on the positioning of the Brake/Fuel lines under the chassis. I will drill small holes to install “pins†where the support hangers will be installed. Tonight I will finish the trunk body work for primer and install the soft top compartment door hinges. Last but not least are the trunk hinges, that will have their time on Friday night. If everything goes along well and if the weather behaves, hopefully it will be ready for paint on Sunday. Well that’s all for now guys and again, thank you all for your time…

Thank you all for your comments guys, I am glad you like it!!!!!! I added a few more pics test fitting the parts and the trunk hinge assembly. Still need to add some plastic here and there to fill gaps, but hopefully it will be ready to paint next weekend if the weather is good. - robertw - Thanks!!!! and yes it is the Mono/Revell kit -Scalefinishes - Thanks!!!! and yes it is going to be "Factory Stock". I have a friend at a local paint shop who made me 1/16 of the factory color "Polo White" Again, thank you all for your comments, I will start posting pics as soon as the assembly begins.

First of all I want to thank two members of this forum who have been giving me advice on this project with lots of tips & reference material. Thanks Bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Ismael!!!!!!!!!!! I started this project about 3 weeks ago for our main event here in the island, the CSAE. I had this one in mind for a while and since my stash is very thin now, I decided to go for it. This year's theme on the CSAE is "Six cylinders" commemorating our sixth year celebrating the event, so this one will fit perfectly. I have spent about 40 hours on it in the past three weeks just on the body work. I decided to put all pics on my "fotki" page until I start the assembly because I don't want to flood the forum and get you guys bored. I was able to shoot the firsts coats of primer today over most of the body parts. Still a lot work ahead but I am really enjoying every minute of this build. I will plumb it, wire it and use the MCG detail set. Here's the "Fotk" link: http://public.fotki.com/papin1967/1953-corvette-project/ Hope you like it and thanks for looking.

Thanks Harry!!!!! That is one of the BMF details I have left. I always do them at the very end because it is a lot easier to do with the glas in place...

Thanks mikelo!!!! The paint is Duplicolor "Autumn Maple" .

Finally I am moving forward... Just finished my 55' and it turned out better than I expected. Still need to add a couple of BMF details and the ignition coil, but I am very happy with the results. The engine is very simple with not much detail but the plug wires. I decided to change the rims and put some white walls instead... Hope you like it and thanks for looking.

Here are a couple of pics of the progress of my 1955 chevy Custom. This is one of the projects I am planning to bring to our National event the CSAE. Hope you like it and thanks for looking.

Thank you all for your comments guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will post more pics in a couple of days. Hi Mike!!!!! I think that the ones that came with the kit will look nice but suggestions are always welcome!!!!! Luis

Started this one about a week ago, just after the 32' Ford. This is going to be my first "Pro Street" project. The paint is Duplicolor Super Red covered with 3 coats of automotive urethane clear. Hope you like it and thanks for looking!!!! A couple of pics after the painting was done... A couple of pics of the interiors: And here a couple of pics of the polished body:

Thanks RatRod, I am glad you like it!!!!! I thought of it, but since this was a quick project I changed my mind and decided to use the engine that came with the kit. About the Joes Diecast Shack question, nop I am not the same papin67.