Scale-Master

The rocker has more trim molded into the car than the real car had, so I need to remove the top piece. Unfortunately just removing the trim does not make it correct, rocker contour needs to be added “under” the trim. I scribed in the line where the contour should be. Then I removed the lower trim spear, (I’ll replace it later), and scribed the door lines deeper. Then I shaved in the contours. Still some fine tuning needed…

Thanks Tim! The trunk latch/lock is installed. Only a few more parts to go…

The windshield and wipers are installed as well as the roll bar.

As tragic as I felt the loss was at the time, the reality is I would likely never found the Camaro (that I still have) had that not happened. I learned a lot from that Vega, and I while I've wanted to make this model of it for a long time, I don't want another real one.

I cut a hole to match the one I cut into the hood of the real car. And cemented and faired the scoop into the hood.

After blowing up the car’s original 3 speed automatic back in the 80’s, I installed an (at the time) “exotic” 700R4. For the model I sourced a 4L60E from the Monogram Impala SS. I cut the transmission from the engine and the torque converter/inspection cover from the pan and assembled the trans and pan so I could fill the seam above the pan because of the way it was molded. I cast that and the plastic cover as two pieces for easier painting.

I wasn't planning on casting it. It only fits the Revell '67 Camaro. I tested it on the AMT '68 and Revell '69, no go. It will be a while before it goes to paint, and I have other things I need to make molds of first. Who knows, I have been swayed to make things for money before...

Looking at the photos I'm going to put this one right at 1982, a few months before it got totaled. It's death stemmed from the lower right ball joint going out and the control arm went through the tire, fortunately I was just pulling out so that was all the damage. I called for a flat bed and the driver said I needed to remove the driving lights or they would be removed forcibly, since I was only a few blocks from home I ran and got a couple wrenches. When I returned the car was in flames, a moron decided he could nurse it up the bed. Considering the control arm was embedded in the asphalt, I have no idea what logic he was using. When he tried to start it he flooded the side draft Webers fed by an electric fuel pump and then the car backfired. Dumass left the key on so the pump fed the fire plenty of gas. I was told flames came through the defroster vents and hit the idiot in the face. Served him right. I sued him won the case and bought the '73 Camaro with a few hundred left over.

Thanks guys. Done… Well at least ready for paint.

Thank you Tyrone. The car had a Baldwin Motion fiberglass hood with a Corvette style scoop and stinger. Again I cast a copy to work with, this time from a Revell ’67 Corvette hood. The stinger is shorter and stubbier than on a Corvette and the front center peak still has to line up with the body contour on the header panel. I was a little disappointed that the hood from the Revell ’69 Camaro did not interchange with the ’67 kit’s hood. I have a bunch of those ’69 cowl hoods and thought it would be nice to have another option even if factory incorrect for a ’69. Just need to blend the stinger to the peak in the hood.

I continued to scribe out the hood until I removed it.

My Dad and I saw that when it came out. Very disappointing, especially after Star Wars. Ice Pirates.

No CNC anything, all old school manually.

I only have test shots and I have not received a copy of the production decals. So photos of what I have will not be of help. You'll just have to trust me.

Death Race 2000 for the one to the left of the Falcon.

I made the center caps for the wheels out of aluminum.

The hood that was engraved into the body was the wrong size and shape, even for the body being a bit stubby. I filled in the missing cowl and hood area then rescribed the rear edge of the hood (with an arc instead of a straight line) as well as adding the fender lines and scribing the windshield frame.

There already is a positive locating system engineered into the parts that the decals also work with for proper registration. While you are welcome to build yours however you'd like, maybe you should wait to see the actual parts before dismissing the way it is designed or suggesting a process that would work poorly compared to the way it is already engineered.

They are semi gloss black on my car, (a photo of which is on page 1 of this thread).

My car has ’92 Trans Am GTA wheels. They are 16 x 8s. The front wheels on the TA were offset by 16mm making them a little deeper dished. On my car I put the “fronts” on the rear and vice versa to give it the appropriate look of a ‘70s car. I cast two sets copied from the Monogram ’89 Trans Am wheel. They are close, but they do not have the proper offset, (or even different offsets), the offset appears to be an approximate average of the front and rears. From one set I made the outer rims with the proper depths. This is a front and a rear. The other set also had the outer rims removed so I could use the centers. I found a set of tires that look about right size wise; the rears are larger than the fronts.

The front wheels were Americans. I found a wheel in my stash that would work and cast a couple copies. I think it was from an AMT or maybe MPC kit, because of the stub for it to fit on a wire axle, but I have no idea which one.

Thanks guys. I installed a Harwood Corvette styled scoop on my Vega. I made a resin copy of a 427 scoop/hood to start with. Cut the scoop from the hood copy. And since it was a smaller than the factory Corvette sized scoop, I narrowed and shortened it.

Here are the copies I cast of the modified wheel.

Agreed Dan, creative writing not based on actual fact.

The rear wheels were 5 slot Halibrands. I cast a copy of a wheel from a Revell Ford streetrod. I modified it to look like the real wheels and machined some lugnuts and washers for it. Then cast a pair.