exnyman

Looks great! Love the comversion work and the color! I agree with you on the dash, I did a conversion to replicate my 1:1 68 Nova SS, but left the dash alone...even with the actual car sitting in the garage, as a reference, I still don't know that I can get the dash right, my scratchbuilding skills aren't that advanced. I did have to fabricate front and rear bumper guards though,as my car has them. I used the chrome headers from the AMT 70 Impala kit, cut them and filed the back to fit.

The other base you might consider for the project would be the 82-83 Cavalier from MPC, they seem to be relatively cheap to obtain, and even though it is the hatchback, the general shape of the wheel opening flares, the windshield and rear tail panel areas are somewhat a good starting point. the side profiles are similar with the lower tuckunder as well. The Chassis should be the same save for the wheelbase stretch, Maybe combine the Citation, Volvo and Cavalier to create a Celebrity? This picture shows A hatchback and convertible along with a Celebrity sedan and wagon, when seen together, you can see the similarity in the basic design of the Cavalier and Celebrity http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1987_Chevrolet/1987_Chevrolet_Cars_and_Trucks_Mailer/1987%20Chevrolet%20Cars%20and%20Trucks-01.html

I'll bet you do have the skill levels to fix those parking lights! Would the front bumper from the old AMT/Ertl kit work? If they are both correctly sized, it has the 70-72 stlye parking lights, so maybe you could cut the grille section off and just use that bumper? Just a thought. I know I have one around somewhere, I'll have to find it and see if it would work...

A great build on this one!, Personally, never cared for the 61 Plymouths, but never thought the 62 Plymouths were too bad, the 62 Dodge wasn't bad from the rear but never liked the front or the confusing sculpting on the sides...that said, any of 'em look a heck of a lot better then that horrific Nissan Juke! That thing is uglier than an Aztek, 61 Plymouth, or 58 Edsel!!!

The price is certainly a little steep but....look at the photos, this has an enormous amount of detail and is of a subject not yet done. And if Juha in fact used a 70 Impala as his starting point, all I can say is he did an amazing job in transforming one to the other. I would think the front end of a 69 Impala would have been easier to convert as it also used a loop type bumper but either way, Juha once again, has proven he has extraordinary talent. While it isn't in the budget right now, I can see getting one of these in the forseeable future.

Looking good! You definately have the framing around the windows down!

A great project! I am going to keep a close eye on your progress as I would like to do a model of my old 68 Chevelle 300 post coupe. I owned it from 1979-1992, should never have sold it. Here is a picture of it as it looked back in the early 1980's, whitewalls, 65 Impala SS wheelcovers and dual exhaust system..

An exceptionally clean build! I like the facy taht you chose to model the base model Mustang.

I would like to see that , and I'd really like to see somone convert it to a coupe...I think it would look better as a 2 door. It is still a long way from my favorite shape however.

strangely enough, as a little kid (like 5) I loved Falcons and they, along with Impalas, were the first cars I learned to recognize. I have always liked them and in 1965, My father actually had a 65 Falcon as a company car. It was a bottom of the line 4 door sedan, black with a red interior. He hated it because from new, the heater barely wortked and he really hated the black and red color scheme. He always said it made him feel like he was inside a Panther's mouth. He complained about it so much, they switched it out for a Danube Blue with light blue interior 65 Chevy II 100 4-door sedan, which he really liked. But as Sophia Petrillo would say, I digress.....I would love to see Trumpeter do this kit right as I really like this bodystyle but I too, will wait to see what it is actually like before taking that leap of faith, strictly on pricepoint.

Here is the one that I most would like to see; I own a 79 Malibu Classic Landau, mine being a rather oddity as it has a factory v8 and factory 4-speed, factory sunroof, buckets, console, and factory black over silver two-tone paint. I want to build a model of this car as it is one of the few I own that there is no kit of or a kit that could easily be modified. The others I own:67 Impala Sport Coupe, 68 Impala Convertible, 68 Nova SS, 69 Impala Convertible, 69 Impala Sport Coupe,80 Monte Carlo Landau, 86 El Camino SS, and 2010 Camaro. In the past I have owned: 65 Impala Sport Coupe, 65 Impala SS Convertible, 68 Chevelle 300 2 door, 69 Chevy Longhorn pickup,83 Chevette 2-door,84 Caprice Classic Landau Coupe, 89 Cavalier Z24 Convertible, 95 Beretta 4 cylinder, 95 Beretta V6, 98 S10, and '07 Cobalt SS Coupe. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing a kit of the Cobalt SS and the Caprice ..

I noticed the box art for the Bonneville says 1/24th scale. I knew these were not 1/25th but thought the "66" Impala actually looked physically smaller than the 1/25th scale original AMT 65 Convertible I have.

I probably miss my father's 74 more from a sentimental standpoint,because it reminds me of when he was still with us, than for any other reason. I also thought it was a nice looking car, but by no means as nice as the Impalas of earlier years.While ours really wasn't very troublesome, it wasn't as well made as my father's 68 Custom Coupe, which he kept until 1991, with close to 200,000 miles on it. Our 74 was a special order car, with about every option possible, save the factory vinyl roof. Ours had a 400 v8 which had a tendency to run hot, not overheat, but still close to it a number of times. (Dad always felt the 68 ran better too, and even with a smaller V8, had more get up and go). Unfortunately, that 74 was also about twelve different shades of the same Aqua Blue, had a really sharp edge on the rear bumper that I religiously cut my fingers on almost every time I waxed it, had runs in the paint on the glovebox door, which itself never lined up properly. Not a single body panel lined up anywhere on it. The one thing that drove Dad nuts was an annoying squeaky rattle coming from under the right side of the hood by the cowl, from day one. Of course, the dealer could never find it and claimed to never hear it when my father took it in to be serviced, Dad took a piece of rubber and glued it to the cowl, which solved the squeak but it always drove him crazy that a special order car was so poorly screwed together. Even though he referred to it as his Chevrollac, he refered to the 68 as "The Good Car" and actually drove it far more than the 74 because he trusted it more. I actually had the same issues with my 89 Cavalier Z24 Convertible. IT was a sporty looking, quick little car....when electrical gremlins weren't causing it not to start or just stop running at random. I bought it new in April 1989 and kept it until March 2009, when I traded it in on a 2010 Camaro I had on order. At that time, the car had a grand total of 11,600 miles on it, most of them put on in the first 3 years, I just never trusted the car as it left me stranded too many times so, it spent all it's life sitting under a cover in the garage. And for all those who think Japanese cars in those eras were so great, they weren't, either. My sister had a 90 Toyota Tercel that she bought new, which religiously left her stranded due to a poorly designed fuel line/filter setup. this thing would clog every time she put gas in it and just quit running. She became very proficient in changing a fuel filter on it. It also ate exhaust systems like they were free. Prior to that, she had an 86 Toyota pickup, new, that was a total rust bucket within the first 3 years, frame rust, and the notorious rust at all the welds on the side of the pickup box every one of those pieces of junk had within the first three years. Her 93 Nissan Sentra was no bargain either, what with its appetite for brakes and exhaust systems.It too, was a rust bucket within the first 5 years, with some serious structural rust going on. So, overall, everyone has made junk, and everyone has made good stuff, sometimes, it just shows up later on.....after they have been in use

Odd place to see a 73 GTO for sure! I have seen one, back when they were new at Korey Pontiac in Amityville, NY. It was Jade Green Metallic, and had the chrome baby moon style hubcaps with chrome trim rings. A neighbor of mine had a 73 LeMans Sport Coupe new, a horrid orangy yellow color with a buckskin interior. A nice car but a terrible color combination for it.

An exceptionally clean build! Even though my own 1:1 68 is a Super Sport, the overwhelming majority of Novas around were not, they were just like this one. Great job on making a realistic version of this kit!

For me, that Hasegawa kit was only purchased because of the subject matter it depicted... or was supposed to depict. At the time, it was far more expensive than most other kits and I was older and not really building much during that point in my life. To spend that kind of money and be that disappointed in the quality (or in this case lack thereof) for the price, led me to not even consider the Buick, Pontiac and Cadillacs that were in this series. I am sure the quality has gotten better over the years but, I guess none of the subject matter has really appealed to me so, I just never purchased anymore Japanese kits. I thought about the Trumpeter 63 Nova but, the proportions on it are all wrong, the rear bumper hangs down like an afterthought,the rear wheel openings are off, and the rear 1/4s too short. The convertible is even worse, with its cartoonlike too tall windshield frame. For $40, I think I'll pass on all that inaccuracy. The same is true of the Trumpeter 78 Monte Carlo. Yes, it looks a lot better than the Nova kit does but, it is off in so many ways, that I can't see spending $40 on it, $15 or even $20, maybe, but the extra cost just because it is made in Japan is not justified by its lack of accuracy in my eyes. I can say I am dissapointed in all the inaccuracies in the current Revell 69 Nova kits as well,(who is it at Revell who thinks every car has squared off wheel openings????) and if they were sporting a $40 pricetag, I wouldn't have bought one, either. Just my own opinion

In looking at it, I'd say you are correct. You can almost still see the Cutlass lower body lines. I'd say this one is about 3/4 of the way there but still needs work. It definately looks like a LeMans, but is not entirely there yet.

I have the original 1976 issue of this kit, that I built way back then...it is due to be re-done. Guess I have a fondness for these cars as I began driving in December of 1974, and learned how to drive on my Dad's 74 Impala. His was a Custom Coupe but he hated the huge triangular side windows so, he had the dealer do a landau top with small opera windows like a 74 Eldorado. He also had a sliding sunroof put in. He pretty well went all out with it options wise, as he said it was going to be the last brand new car he would buy. He was 46 at the time and it WAS the last new car he ever bought. Everything after that he bought used and kept the 74 with low miles for a long time. So many people mistook that car for a Cadillac Coupe DeVille that he referred to it as his "Chevrollac". I'd love to someday build a model of that car but my skills aren't such that I could change an MPC 74 Caprice into an Impala. Plus, the only 74 I have is a promo my Dad got when he bought his Impala, so, I wouldn't change that one. My guess on changing the 76 Caprice into a Olds Delta 88 is that you'd be better to start with an R&R 71 Delta 88 as it already has the correct lower body lines and proportions as well as the general lines. Only problem is, it is a pricey proposition if it doesn't work out. Here are pics of my Dad's 74 Impala when it was brand new. I wish he and the car were still with us.

I don't think I have ever seen one of those but the Hasegawa "66" Impala I had was actually a 65, and the front and rear bumpers were warped when I opened it from new. The kit had generic wire wheels and honestly, the interior wasn't much better than those old Palmer kits of years gone by. The plastic whitewall inserts split as soon as I put them in the tires and overall, the kit just didn't do the real car justice. needless to say it was my first and last experience with Japanese kits.

I haven't seen a re-issue of this kit but remember my cousin having one when we were kids. I can't say how it builds up but it has to be better than those old Palmer kits were back in the 60's to mid 70's. They made some unusual subjects in the 70's like a 75 Mercury Marquis (which oddly seemed to have shared molds with of all things, a Chrysler Cordoba). Trouble was, the box art was nice but the kits were awful. they usually only vaguely resembled the actual car they were trying to replicate. And they all had seperate body sides, generic wheels and chassis. I had a few over the years. The one that seemed really odd was the 68 Impala....it depicted a standard, non-SS Sport Coupe, but, had Caprice hidden headlights. The front bumper really more resembled a 67, and the side had 67 moldings rather than 68s. I still have remnants of that kit stored away...

Yes, even in 1:1 parts, there are still things they haven't done repros on for 68's. Oh well, just makes owners of 68's feel like they have something a little out of the ordinary. I took a look at the photo for the COPO Nova kit, I'm thinking this one has some possibilities with a 6 or small block, to make some neat Plain Jane versions.

Well, at least I can use the bench seat minus the head rests to replicate my 68 SS with bench seat and column shift. The dash is going to take some work though as 68's have a one year only dash. I never have understood why all the kit makers and diecast makers ignore the 68....it WAS the start of this body design, the first to have a 396 or 350, the last to use the Chevy II designation, the last without head rests, or ignition lock on the column. 68 SS models were far rarer than any of the 69-72 models as well. Here is my 1:1 68 SS. I am the 2nd owner, I bought it in 1977 from the family who bought it new. It has been restored back to it's original Butternut Yellow.

I know of no 73-74 Novas in any scale,unfortunately. About the only thing I know of, that has been done in any scale of the 73-74 body (which is based on the 68-72, and the 75-79 actually is as well but has a lot of differences.)is a 1973 Oldsmobile Omega. It was in about 1/32 scale or so, made of red plastic, and was a cereal promo that you had to send boxtops and $$$ in for. My Mom sent for one for me and I still have it all these years later!

I hope it helps someone! I am actually just getting back into modeling again after a 15 yr absence. Am in the process of moving from Ohio to Tucson and moved my stash of models that was stored in the basement. I spend 10 days a month in Tucson and have started building models again when I am there.

By now, I am sure you have made a decision on whether or not to buy the 69 Impala kit from MCW, or the R&R kit but, thought I'd add my two cents in case you have not or in case anyone else is considering these. As an avid 69 Chevy fanatic (I currently own a 69 Impala Sport Coupe and a Convertible, have owned another sport coupe, convertible, Custom Coupe, and my father had a 69 Biscayne when they were new) I can't get enough of them in any scale. I have purchased 2 69's from MCW, and one from Star Models (the R&R kit). First off, if you want a Sport Coupe, MCW is the only one who offers that body style. The quality is quite good, needs a minimum of cleanup. The only minus on this one is that the master used must have been either the AMT 69-70 Buick Wildcat or MPC Pontiac Bonneville roof, grafted to the Impala body. All the GM 69-70 B body coupes DID use the same roof BUT....the Chevy had a slightly wider Sail panel and slightly smaller, more upright,side window, not shared with Pontiac, Olds or Buick. The rest of the roof, and the convex rear window is correct for the Chevy, and the decklid and 1/4s have been corrected and look accurate. For me, the correction for the sail panel/side window was easy, especially since I am replicating my 1:1 car, which has a vinyl roof. The kit has either the 15" wheelcovers or Rally Wheels to choose from...both are included. I also purchased the 69 Biscayne 2-door from MCW, and again, very good quality,with a minimum of fiddling to build. This particular kit doesn't replicate the 1:1 car exactly.....the rear sail panels are too wide, the side windows too long at the top, and the side 1/4 kickup at the base of the side windows is not accurate. While this is in contrast to the real car, this kit DOES match the illustration of the car in profile in the 69 Chevy sales brochure,and matches the illustration of the Bel Air, which did not picture it as it really was. I don't possess the skills to modify the roof on this one to be 100% accurate but it is close enough that I will live with it. Both MCW kits do not have any plated parts. The third kit I purchased is the 69 Chevy Wagon from Star Models (R&R). This kit needs a considerable amount of cleanup, and the interior does not fit the body at all. The chassis appears to be a repop of the 69 promo. It and the interior fit together well but neither fits the body well. The body is a fairly good representation of the 69 Kingswood for the most part. There are a few errors....the rear 1/4s are too short at the bottom, the rear side lights are too high and too far back, the taillights are too close together, and they should all be the same size. On the kit, the outers are smaller than the inners. The rear bumper does not have the step cutout that is characteristic of all 69-70 GM wagons. The roof has the "slats" that would only have been used with a roof rack. The Chevrolet nameplates are missing from both the hood and tailgate, and the Kingswood name is also not present on the 1/4 panels.The bumpers are plated but the front bowtie grille emblem is missing....looks like the SS from the original master was ground off but not entirely. The upper rear door kickup area looks accurate but the detail is very soft. The only other issue lies in the very rearward section of the rear side windows. They slant upward on the model, they do not on the real car. This one presents a challenge for me as my scratch building skills aren't too great. I have not purchased any resin Custom Coupe kits as I have the original AMT & MPC ones. In looking at those, I can say neither was 100% correct even then! BOTH are missing the molding that ALL Custom Coupes had at the base of the sail panel, whether they had a vinyl roof or not, and both are missing the "Custom" nameplate below the Impala script on the sail panel. The MPC kit has duplicate Impala scripts on the front fenders,and is missing the SS on the trunklid. The AMT version is missing the block CHEVROLET letters across the hood, and the front valance panel really isn't correct. I think AMT made the convertible promo in 69 and it too, isn't right. They used the Custom Coupe and sawed of fthe roof. I think it even used the Custom Coupe trunklid... The actual convertible 1/4's are much closer to the Sport Coupes, and the decklids are the same..... There is an R&R repop of the convertible but it is as incorrect as the original. So, to make an accurate convertible, you need to use the MCW Sport Coupe and cut the roof off....which is a project down the road for me. Whichever you choose to buy, Both MCW And Star Models provide great communication, and fast delivery. I cannot say enough about how good they have both been in that regard.