Scale-Master

I’ve done some additional modifications to the body trying to lessen the prominence of the Camaro styling details. The ridge in the hood and header panel was turned into a soft peak. The side louvers are being made into small scoops. The front valence has been filled and smoothed and a center bar was added to the grille. I also changed the name to something more befitting a pony car.

Yes, last year was an especially fulfilling year of building (and finishing) for me. Thanks!

It was actually pretty easy, a lot like applying Carbon Fiber Decals. Now when I drew the artwork for those camo decals... that was another matter. And thanks all.

In no particular order; all of these were started and finished this year, except the Unique Seven that was started in 2012 and finished in ’15. Unique 7 California Cruiser Van ’72 Chevy Truck ’73 Kammback Nova SS 327 ’63 Corvette Olds Aerotech AeroVette Cherry Bomb Go-Kart MB McLaren 722 Iced “T” ’68 Camaro Camaro Mule ‘70s Corvette GeeBee Pacifique Gremlin SSR 426 Hemi And then I started these this year and plan to finish them next year. ’73 Camaro Mustaro

I made wire looms like I have on the real car and wired the engine before permanently installing it into the sub-frame.

Thanks guys. I'm not sure how feasible it would be in 1:1 though, at least not with these proportions. Keep in mind the Camaro parts are 1/25th scale and the Mustang parts are 1/24th. I added inboard lights and made a ’68 GT500-esque grille for another ’69 Camaro several years ago. That project stalled so I borrowed it for this car. I reworked the windshield trim and A-pillars. I also rescribed all the trim and panel lines.

Thanks guys. The cowl hood is just too common (in model form) for this one. So I started making some adjustments…

It needs the quarter windows to keep it from looking too bulky in that area. I'm not disguising any of it's origins, just seeing if the two cars can be combined into something somewhat balanced. I've thought about putting a 429 Boss engine into it too.

Because I stole the headers for my ’73 Camaro from the ’69 Camaro kit, and I had a ’70 Mustang kit at my feet… Getting the Camaro fender accent lines to work with the Mustang rear took a little figuring. I added some styrene strips to extend the lines and faired it all together.

I tried TS-30 Silver Leaf instead of the Chrome Silver I used before thinking it would go on thinner and still be bright enough. But decanting and airbrushing did not give the desired look. Rather than build up more paint I opted to strip the headers as I had done in the past. Unfortunately this time the plastic disintegrated, not just at the glue joints, they crumbled like rice. Set number three came from a Revell ’69 Camaro and were also significantly modified to fit the engine/sub-frame.

I used the slivers out of the can except for touch-up/blending. That requires an airbrush. I also airbrushed the gray.

Thanks guys. Del - This at the time was current/leading edge tech. I'm fine if new stuff comes along, no need to try to fix this one, it works. The real car is so harsh (even without solid motor mounts) that swapping beefier subframe bushings on this one is past overkill. It was built to be a daily driver. This car has been "done" for over a decade; suspension and current set up is about 25 plus years old. I drive the "it" out if it; it's what I built it for. (It was a good daily driver for a twenty-some years.) Now a door ding in one of our plastic cars is much easier to deal with than this one getting carelessly damaged, so grocery shopping in a Corvette is safer... I didn’t like the way the headers fit under the car after mocking it all up with the suspension and wheels. So I stripped them and shortened them. First I cut the three tubes that were closest together. Then I snipped the single tube and re-bent it to fit after cementing the three back together. Time for reshaping… Primed …

I just sanded the "tread" area of the tires. Part of the way they come out with that texture is the material they are molded from I think. Thanks guys, and Dan, remember this is a very rare 1/43rd scale metal kit, not the 1/24 mass-produced Monogram plastic kit.

Flying mile record setting short tail version. WIP thread: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/108486-olds-aerotech/

The engine and cockpit have been mounted into the main body for the last time and most of the suspension is installed.

The valve covers are resin copies I cast from a Revell Supertruck. I used talc to texture them. The first set of headers I made proved to be too tight of a fit into the sub-frame, so I modified a pair from the AMT ’66 Nova. I’ll finish the look of the ceramic coating after they are installed onto the engine.

I went back to working on the engine. I textured and finished the valve covers…

The paint with clear looked fine until it cured and a divot appeared in the silver on the nose between the right front fender and the Olds emblem. (It looks like a bump in this photo, but it is a depression.) I sanded it smooth and blended in the silver, but before I reshot the clear I installed the canopy and last two decals that make the seal around it.

I blended the gunmetal paint over the gray decal stripes, applied the rest of the decals and clear coated the body.

Thanks guys. It is interesting that while the gray decal stripe is not metallic, or even the same shade as the light gunmetal paint I used, depending on the light it actually is a close visual match. But at the same time it is clearly off too. I already have a plan to address the discrepancy…

I used Mica Silver for the main color and Light Gunmetal for the gray. I can’t tell how well the gray matches the decals so I might have to do a blend job after the decals are applied.

The Goodyear decals for the tires were funky and the lettering was crooked so I sourced new ones from my spares. The Eagles from the kit were OK.

Your workmanship looks really good. That haze/silvering is probably the decal glue that got trapped under the decals. That era of R/M decals had some usability issues due to the printing process back then. No solvents worked to help them conform, but you were on the right track with heat. And the decal glue left white gunk that needed to be cleaned up before it set too long. I've had it leave marks on enamel paints too. At least a clear coat resolved that.

I've never seen one of these built ever either... Some of the rear framework pieces did not fit as well as the rest has so far. I’ve run into the same type of fit issues regarding those parts with larger kits as well, (the AA McLaren comes to mind…)

Thanks. It is a little slow going but I think I am getting it sorted out. The instructions are a little hard to decipher, (images are sketchy and location call outs vague), until you get the parts in place and then they make more sense. Luckily the parts fit very well. The PE cam covers are a nice touch.