bisc63

Ha! These days, yep. Back in the days of this kit's first run - nope. Read the article, and it was the proliferation of 400 cranks with smaller main journals from the 80s that makes these strokers possible. C'mon man, Monogram just threw us an old 283 because it was already on the tool. Shoulda been a 265 (slightly different) for 1955 anyway. Snake, interesting note on that graphic. Would you happen to have a scan, or a link to share?

The biggest goof with the Badman kit was the side graphic boldly claiming "396 cu.in.", while the kit contained the same old small-block chevy engine from previous versions of the kit, thus your perception that the engine looks "too small" is correct in one way. It is fairly accurately scaled for a small-block, however, and most engines look small in those old cavernous engine bays, even big-blocks!

That's a very classy shade of blue! Diggin' this build, can't wait to see more.

Oh yeah, keep it coming...

You did a fine job. Kudos for not giving up on the project; it says alot about you that you kept coming back to it to make it look the way you envisioned. As for the finished project, taste is personal of course, but your execution is very clean and professional. Great build! Personally, I love the look you've gotten here; very aggressive rod. It looks like a 1980s period piece, that's the way we were building street cars then. It was cool to black out the chrome, if not remove it. it was considered a very "European" look.

Lookin' GOOD!

The body does look a bit "stumpy" as someone mentioned, especially at the front. To me, 90% of the perceived flaw(s) lie in the front fenders; they appear just a little too short front -to-rear. They also slant downward from rear-to-front too abruptly, thus the "banana" reference, though that implies a curve, and it really is an angle issue. Sight down the top of the front fenders as they align with the door belt line and you'll see it. I think the old 1/24 Monogram kit is much more accurately proportioned. My 2cents!

I'll buy it when I see it.

Best of luck with regards to your health. Hope to see you finish this beauty, and many more!!

Glad you're back, Niko. Are you documenting your 1:1 build anywhere? I'd love to see what you're doing with it. Good luck on BOTH projects!

LOVE how these bodies look in yellow! I'll be following this one.

Sweet and different color combo! I can envision a pearl white interior with dark green carpeting and green piping accents on the upholstery. Pale gold interior could contrast nicely as well! Can't wait to see YOUR choice, though. Lookin' cool!

A matter of personal preference, either way could look good. Can't go wrong!

Any progress on this?!!

I think there are so many options available today for this kit, that not many people even bother with the kit's chassis; just snag another from your kit stash or check the "Trading Post" or other sources for a better chassis solution. The Revell '66 GTO is the first obvious choice, but look at the AMT and Lindberg '66/'67 Cutlasses, AMT,Revell,Lindberg '66/'67 Chevelles for example. Any of these and many others offer much nicer detail and realism. I've found them at swap meets for cheap, where the owner had other plans for the body; slammer build, or racing chassis swap, etc.

Glad to hear you haven't given up on this one! Looking forward to your progress, and congratulations on scoring a dedicated model workshop.

About as nice a job done on this model as I've ever seen. Just beautiful!

( Can anybody tell me what the long thin tank on the chassis in front of the fuel tank is for) As posted by "early iron", the front object IS the fuel tank, and the large rectangular area behind it is the recessed trunk floor. I've owned and done restoration work on the real deal over the years. You need to repaint that trunk floor to match the rest of the chassis pan. To look stock, you may want to knock down the shine of the fuel tank as they were galvanized, which makes for a really dull silver/gray color. ( Flat aluminum works well) Off to a good start, though! Hang in there.

Cement may be your problem. I get fewer ghosting problems using thick CA (super-glue) and baking soda to do seam-work. Definitely getting some good advice to use a sealer/barrier coat between primer and paint. Ghosting may also be coming from dissimilar plastics, soft styrene from Revell against harder formula from R2/mpc. Don't let it whip you, it's just plastic and you have the skills and tools to make it happen. Good luck!

Tom Geiger's comment about the rear side marker lights are spot-on, and correcting them will give this model the bone stock look you're going for. Otherwise, I love Impalas, and these two models are beautiful! Keep it up!

Great story, great plane, great model.

Beautiful car overall, but I especially like your engine; VERY realistic metal finishes. NICE!!

Great start! Keep it up and keep us posted...

Nice model of a beautiful and underrated automobile!

Fun kit! I did mine in green as well, though a darker shade. Looking forward to seeing your treatment of the subject.