bisc63

I love funky cars like this. Is this kit 1/24 or 1/43?

Very nice. Beautiful replica, and that color is SO nice on this. Very well done.

"These aren't the beers you're looking for..."

That's the curse of building models!

Thanks for the encouraging words, fellas. As I said, this one will unfold somewhat slowly but surely. Working on interior mods right now. Doing some mild custom work inside, just don't want the Fury panels, so reworking those and adding pleated inserts to seats. Replacing front bench with junkyard buckets from 69 Olds. Also working on engine, which will be a 440/4-speed combo, with maybe an aluminum intake, single 4-barrel, and headers if I find some to fit without much fuss. Are there any good 1/25 intakes for a 440 that mimic an aftermarket unit? Will post photos when there's something more interesting to see! Just need to move a little further along. Am I the only one that thinks these look like entirely different automobiles once you remove the side trim?!

Very cool stuff. Really digging the frame, but why not go high-boy style to actually show off the frame!? Good looking build, at any rate. Will be watching!

The tail end needs some attention, too. The tail lights don't fit correctly out of the box, but it's not immediately noticeable if you haven't seen the real thing. Most cars have a bright housing surrounding the lens, sitting ON the outer surface of the sheet metal. These Plymouths have the bright housing tucked IN the opening on the back of the quarter panel. You can actually see body-colored narrow ends of the fin surrounding the taillight when viewed from the rear. Slow work with a fine file and sanding sticks lets you gain a very precise fit. Once again, there's plenty of plastic inside that opening, and I actually began with an Exacto knife. Another sore point is the panel below the trunk lid; it's too short. It looked off to me, so I did a little measuring, and found that a 1/25 plate wouldn't even fit as it should. The kit plate fits because it is too small! For this one, I just started filing and cutting with a Dremel tool to drop the lower lines down, adjusting the bumper down a little as needed (not much at all). I also filed the undercut just below the trunk lid a little deeper and more sharply defined.

Another area that needs some material removed (IMHO). The outer corners of that lower valance up front looks too squared to my eye, compared to pics of the real thing. I backed up the inside of the piece with some epoxy, and then took a big file to it. I think it's better...

There should be a serious roll under of the rocker panels, but AMT made them near vertical. No problem, though, as the kit plastic is thick enough to let you scrape, file, and sand to a much better contour. Use a small round file near the wheel opening lips to roll them under as well. Patience is key keeping those shapes right!

My bumpers, once I did away with their "wings". I prefer this cleaner look, as was used on the cheaper body styles.

Poorly pictured above also is some reshaping on the ends of the front lower valance panel. I added some styrene to the ends, then began filing to a more accurate contour. ( Still roughed in as shown) I had to think on this for a while. That seam between the fender and valance should be visible when using plain-style bumpers (which I will be), but the kit sets the bumper too high. First I added .020" shims to the top ens of the valance to drop everything a scale half inch down from the grill. Next I slotted the bumper mounting holes gently to drop it a tad more, but ran into interference from the filler panel forward extensions. Next step, superglue some .020" to the bottom of those extended areas, giving me enough "meat" to file them down from the top, thinning and sloping down at the same time so they tuck under/behind the bumper as they should.

Another sore spot for me is the front view of the hood. It's much too flat across the front, rolling like a later model hood might. It should have a bit of bullnose. If you have a '59 Imperial kit in your stash, look at the hood on that. That's the look. Bondo to the rescue, and a relatively simple improvement.

...and then I decided to lose the trim altogether, after seeing another build that did that!

I started this one way back, then got distracted by other matters. Recently, Smitty's excellent build of this kit inspired me to make an effort to get back on this and finish it! It will be slow progress, but progress nonetheless. Instead of box stock, I'll be doing a sort of home-built hot rod with a 70's vibe kinda thing. We all know this kit has its issues, and there are many ways to approach improvements. It'll never be perfect, but it can be much better than it comes out of the box. First and biggest improvement is to get that drooping rear quarter panel up at the tail. I sliced down the door line, then rearward just under the lower trim. I stuck a small section of square styrene bar in as a spacer, and that gave the lift I was looking for. This solves raising not only the trim, but the top of the quarter panel as well, as it should. On the real car, the quarter begins sloping upward to the back as soon as it leaves the door line. A few pics to show where I am and how I got there:

Good info. I was under the impression the base coupe had no back seat, radio, nor heater. I once owned a 47 Plymouth Coupe that was plain like that.

Really fun build going on here! I like what you're doing, and I LOVE the idea of the Akroyd concept. I had never heard of that, but I can see that looking all kinds of cool!

Nice work. This kit can look good with a bit of work. You are on the right track. The body is looking very good in that metallic gray color. I've been working on one (stalled project) and I'm doing away with the T-tops as well. Will be watching; I always enjoy your builds!

That's a good looking funny car, and a great looking model! Color came out nice. You say it's Testors metallic red, did you spray it over a dark primer? It has a dark appearance. ( on my monitor anyway ) I love how it looks, and would like to try to get that look myself on an upcoming build.

Good muscle-car color!

Fun project, will be watching this one! Love those big Chevies!

Welcome Stefano! We'll be watching for your builds.

Thanks for the response!

A business coupe, if Chevy made one in '51. Did you leave out the back seat like a proper business coupe? Cool build, and the color is nice. Well done.

Don't recall the last time I saw one of these actually built, and it didn't look nearly this nice! Great job!

That is a striking red. LOVE IT!