Scale-Master

I started making a GM HEI distributor for it and when I mocked it up on the engine block I realized I’d better check for clearance under the hood before getting too far along. That meant I needed to first address the transmission cross member since on my car the factory one is modified and installed 180 degrees to accommodate the 700R4. I sawed the cross member out of the subframe and filled the two holes. I drilled and pinned it for a positive fit. I also began filling in the top of the subframe with filler. (The orange one is the way the kit comes.) After test fitting this subassembly into the body/chassis I can see it does have enough clearance and is similarly tight like the real counterpart.

I started building up the interior; I used embossing powder for the carpet.

These are little one piece resin caricatures, a little larger than a Hot Wheels car. They have some casting issues, like not being too symmetrical and this one had a lot of pin holes that affected some of the finer details. After the base color is sprayed (White and blue in this case) the rest is hand painted. This one has some custom decals as well.

I should be easy enough to find... There should be plenty of time to talk.

I'll be there...

After I installed the engine I fitted the exhaust to line up with the body and pinned it to the chassis then made the pipes from the manifolds to the Y-pipes. The Y-pipe will come off and be installed after the body and chassis are assembled.

Thanks guys. These are the front wheels & tires. Finished the same way as the rears…

I don't want to darken it. I think the slight lightness will compensate for the smaller size. Gray primer is speced for the color to look correct in 1:1, I'm using a lighter gray primer to hedge the color, and diminish some of the flake.

Thanks Fred. This one will also get the RPO D-90 stripe you describe.

In ’68 the rear stocks were staggered, ’67 were not. This is the way the kit comes. I changed the rear shock mounting points on the left side and filled the hole for the left shock and mounting holes for the stock exhaust. I modified a pair a of traction bars I copied from an MPC ’76 Nova. I made the rubber snubbers from pin heads.

The kit provides a ’67 console, (on the right); the ’68 used a different style. I slightly modified a console from the Revell ’69 Camaro (on the left) to fit the ’67. I also used the shifter boot from the ’69 and cut off the shifter. I made a Hurst T-handle and shifter when I was making the console assembly for my ’73 and cast a resin copy (far left). I used the decals from the ’69 for the gauges and hand painted the wood accent. I also made a Hurst decal for the T-handle.

At one point a couple-few years ago I think it had two blowers stacked on top.

I too have a thing for blue. All my cars are blue, (except the white one with blue stripes). Although, I have never been a big fan of Le Mans blue, I've always preferred Marina Blue over it. I'm wondering if it isn't a tad too light after seeing the real car this paint was used on, but at the same time I think it will work in my favor on the smaller model.

I was able to get some Dupont ChromaBase Le Mans Blue so I don’t have to mess with mixing it.

Good eye there Steve. I could not photograph them in my normal way outside due to the afternoon breeze; didn't want to deal with them blowing away. So I shot them sitting on a glass shelf in the garden window with a gray cutting board under the glass.

With all the jokes about a giant ruler I've heard over the years, I thought "What if I made a little ruler?" My camera is having a hard time capturing the details.

Brake fluid bottle. Machined aluminum and custom made decals. Not as dirty as the oil bottle, but a little smudged and scuffed up from being stored in the trunk.

Might as well have a funnel to go with the oil…

Thanks guys! I was surprised at what these kits are going for now. Maybe a good thing I didn't check until after I started it? Nah, they are meant to be built... But $100.00 and up is more than I'd pay for one, even with good decals. And the decals are what make it.

Got another trunk item going...

Thanks guys, it is in the truck & van finished section now.

Original issue Revell kit from 1976. Been meaning to build it someday, and that day was about two weeks ago when I found the decals I had filed away needed to replace the water damaged originals. Tamiya TS-16 Yellow for the body color. Built straight out-of-the-box. The only real change was to make decals for the tire side wall lettering. WIP thread: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=100387 What better setting than a real California sunset?

Thanks guys! The side pipes have a different color of metal in the main center sections. Since the mold lines were heavy and the chrome was clunky I did a little clean up and shot those areas a light pearl gray. It’s not like the parts really match the real ones… Hopefully the next pictures of it will be in the finished section...

It's so old the can says Medium Acrylic Reducer, I got it when I was painting my (real) Vista Cruiser with Dupont Centari. So yes, it is for acrylic enamel.

Yellow is what it is supposed to be, so... it is. I am finding the final chrome parts are not only poorly chromed, but some are very delicately molded; and worse, all have heavy mold lines. Still the overall fit is much better than I recalled from the last ones from this series I built.