kennb

I almost bought this car but older version............................................................. i was surprised then as to what is is.............................................

You are correct on that,,,,,you will also note there is a larger "bubble" on the top of the glass. I will most likely form my own glass. I will probably straighten the a pillar in construction. The width is determined by the track as noted in the Hemming News article. There is a lot to work out with the build ,ost will have to be figured out as I go.

found some more information that I will pass along,,,this is from Hemmings Motor News Dec 2011....lot of good pictures including one of the terrible back side...........................................................i would love to fix that but then it would not be authentic......maybe do one how it should have been also.. I do hope it is okay to post giving credit this way I have seen the color as blue before and some pictures look blue. I trust the information from Hemmings more than any other source so what is here will be used.

picked this pile up at a flea market today.......................I will be posting them for trade today.............boxed stuff is all still factory bagged

The Stud engines were the same configuration as the Caddy,,,,,,when I rebuilt my 1;1 52 Commander i had all Caddy kits to rebuild the engine....a natural install

sisters together

thank you...I may contact him for that.

I love the Duster....I bought a new 72 built with bucket seats,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then bought a 74 3 years later and did custom paint on it..........wish I still had them both. ..http://www.flickr.com/photos/22767382@N08/4131099189/in/set-72157607108274429

The first thing I need to do is to get a scaled side elevation of this build. I did find a side veiw that is close to being corrected. Since it is a publicity shot they most likely used a Graphlex 8x10 view camera to correct the perspective you would get with a typical 35mm camera of the time period.This picture is show cropped to the parts that I need. Then I had to get it to scale. Since I will be using both 1/24th and 1/25th cars to start with I will choose 1/24.5 scale which means the 116.5 wheelbase comes out to 4.76" . I imported the picture to word and sized the car using the scale to get the correct size. I just made a small box the correct length and then enlarged the wheel base to fit the box and printed it out. Making several copies so that I have a clean copy at all times. Using this photo for reference I laid out the planning car over the photo and was amazingly close. I noted that there are some thing that need to be addressed as I work the build. The wheel wells are all wrong and need to be redone. The heights are dead on as is the curve on the back. I am going to have problems using the 59 Chevy front window since it is too wide so I will have to narrow it, resulting in the need to form a new front window. About 2 months ago I picked up an old Mattel vacuformer so I am going to try to vacuform a new front glass for it.I have never tried this before so it should be interesting. most of the chrome will work right off the tree except for the grills and side lights. Normally I would just Alcad this but for this car I think I will send this part out to be chromed properly. I go through all of this to give a hint as to the amount of planning I go through before I start a build that is not custom. Planning before cutting saves a lot of time in the long run. I am sure that I will run into things along the way and may have to redo some parts as I go along to fit within the scale constraints.

That is a very good possibility and one I did not think of. Since GM apparently worked on all the cars in the same studio there are a lot of similarities within the entire line. The cross pollination between lines was very evident suring the 50's. I do have parts coming from all over the US and Canada at this point to work on this car. Others may be needed or wanted for this project and up coming project that fall within this series that I am planning. The Cadillac is one I will be looking for also but the one you pointed out could work in this specific car also. It is, at this point, a wait and see. I will be posting want lists in the future for this projrct and others. Thank you for the input to you and all those to date that have given me ideas, information and parts. I have some wires on the way that I think will work but will keep these in mind if they trun out to be the wrong type or look,, they are, of course, the knock off hubs. thank you for the information. it is all appreciated. I will be starting this up in detail starting next week as the parts start rolling in. hopefully I have enough coming for this project. Time will tell.

the Testors 48 looks very nice,,,,,,Barrish

rat-at-at-at,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,rat-at-at-at-at......................................................bwaaaaaahaha (I need some 34's now....sans bullet holes) should know to paint in humidity but I was too gung ho (foggy time)

pictures show up every little flaw,,,,,,,in the 50's there was a model railroader that would take pictures as he did his models to find all the minor flaws....some older models might remember John Allen........one of my modeling mentors.

looking good

frame and fenders going to paint...body final primer.....................

a little more sanding to do on the seam........................everything else looks good......if I was to do it again I would make the cuts differently,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

pm me with addy and i will do i have some extra parts

yes they would................................

Jim...that is great.... :) :)

your comments are very good and appreciated....I will consider them and try some out......mentioning gangsterish,,,,,,maybe someone can lead me to a place I can get some figures for that theme

One of the biggest problems is that the bodies are not the same thickness......you would think that these 2 related cars would be closer than they are... here it is cleaned up a little more....still more to do...

I got these kits about 6 months ago to build this.While waiting for decent painting weather and the arrival of parts for my 56 Impala I got them out.. My first thought were to cut through the roof and reassemble things but then the better got to me so I kept the top in tact,,,,Slicing the coupe on the door line and the 2 door to match so when put back. . The sedan got the post cut out to move back for the back door/rear window. The coupe pillar that was left was cut and reunited with the front door. I should have cut them out together in 1 piece..harder to cut but easier to put back. Some finish work and new hole for the rear door handle and then assemble per directions using the 2 door sedan for interior.

i might have some interest but not sure how to do it,,,,,i have a cam with sound in my laptop,,,,,,not sure how that would fit in................would at least give it a try.

very nice build.................................