Amateur Adult Build

[DugE]

Well it is under glass.

What it is

Revell 69 Z-28 Camaro RS

Rust Oleum Red rattle can exterior

Testers tan brushed interior

All other colors are Testers brushed.

My experience

This little thing was a pleasure to build and detail, but assembly was nothing short of total frustration. I could not get the glass set properly, the body did not fit in the chassis without disassembling the radiator, the rear spoiler and mirror was almost impossible to get in place. The decals were very good but no matter how much I rubbed and arranged they ended up misaligned and wrinkly. I snapped one of the Z28 emblems while trimming it and it flew across the floor so tiny it will never be recovered, the exterior mirror, kicked my rear end trying to get it glued in place so badly I gave up. I held the model by the roof/side window area and wheel trim areas so often while assembling that I rubbed the trim paint off.

What I learned

The builders on this forum are artists.

Actually the list is a mile long, but in summary my next victim is a Plymouth, I’m simply not a Chevy guy, I enjoy the painting the best, sanding and dry fitting is a must. Windshields require extra special attention. Take sub assembly pictures (the windshield glue globs are not visible to the naked eye but showed up in pictures). I have to master the 000 brushes or bare metal foil,

Summary.

It may look like an incomplete inaccurate bomb to some but for me it was one hour a night for three weeks where I did not think about work, bills, the economy, the snow, or anything else. Thanks for sharing all of your absolute incredible builds; you guys/girls are nothing short of amazing

[Lyle Willits]

LOL. We're all amateurs and we all keep learning things. You did a good job.

Enjoy the hobby.

Edited March 23, 2008 by Lyle Willits

[Smart-Resins]

LOL. We all started somewheres! I am sure all of our first models were really no better. We all have to learn somehow. You are in a good place to learn from others. No matter how good we are, theres always at least 10 others that can prove they are better. But they may say the same thing too! We all inspire each other here and we all learn new things here! Because of another thread I even saw how to make a flathead become suped up. I saw throttle cables on another. I am always taking pics for reference later to help me. Even if it is way beyond my experience, maybe in a few months I will look at it and give it a try and succeed! Thats the fun part!. Start with the basics, good paint job. No glue spots. Getting things aligned.After that you will be on your way to exelence my friend! Above all, alway always always have fun and always remember, it will never be perfect, even the best are not perfect! I know I have seen show winners with smudges! LOL. Jody

[Clay]

You and I are alot alike, I was always in a hurry to get these things done, trying to fit peices on the car while the glue was drying, and I too need alot of practice with the BMF, Raul told me it is best to practice on an unpainted body, I have also learned that painters tape is a god send, I use it from painting to holding pieces together that were just glued. We all have things to learn and I am no where near most of these guys on this forum. Enjoy all your future builds and remember, there is nothing wrong with having 10 or so projects going

[randx0]

welcome aboard.I usaully pick a particular skill I want to work on for a model be it decals,bmf,paint ,detailing a particular area or just improving all of the above. it is really fun to look back at where you started and see how far you have come. you will find that your next will be better than the last one.and you also have like a million years worth of building experience to tap into here when you want to try something new. so good luck keep at it and when all else fails no matter how sure you might be ,the instuctions that come with the kit are there to read.

[lizardlust]

Looks great, Dug - compared to my first efforts upon re-entering the hobby, it's a Rembrandt!! As long as you enjoyed yourself and did something positive instead of vegetating in front of a television, everything else is just gravy.

[Mal.au]

Dug

If what I learn't here in Australia at school in maths is right that is a 21 hour build, I know I can't even put together anything close to most on this board in a year, I would imagine working door locks and windows, ( Bill Geary stand up and take a bow) would take me a life time, 21 hours isn't very long to build a model be nice to yourself

Regards Mal

[Kenny]

Or maybe only 15 hours. It looks great! Especially for the little time put into it. I wouldn't be ashamed to have that on my shelf.

[DugE]

Dug

If what I learn't here in Australia at school in maths is right that is a 21 hour build, I know I can't even put together anything close to most on this board in a year, I would imagine working door locks and windows, ( Bill Geary stand up and take a bow) would take me a life time, 21 hours isn't very long to build a model be nice to yourself

Regards Mal

Working door locks???? Are you serious? I’m pretty sure no matter how many builds I have under my belt there is no way I’ll ever pull that one off. Thanks to all who replied, you guys really are a wealth of information and inspiration. My goal is to have fun building with my son and get good enough to redo some old kits my Dad gave me from his youth. I really like the suggestion of several kits going at once, during this build there was times I was not really into the next step at the moment, starting a few would defiantly allow continuous progress doing what I’m in the mood to do at the moment.

A bit off topic but does anyone have a trick to remove the mold lines from the center of rubber tires? I have tried to get them close with a knife and sanding them but they still look poor compared to what I see on here.

[Brian Fishburn]

Doug,

Nice work on the Camaro. I'll let you in on a little secret- You won. You enjoyed building it, and while you were working on it, you didn't think about work, bills or snow.

Congratulations, that is the whole point!

I know people who take modeling too seriously, turn out gorgeous work, but get so wrapped up in turning out something that will win on a contest table that they forget to have fun with it. As you build more and more, you will find yourself being more and more pleased with the final results. Just don't ever forget to keep having FUN with it.

My models aren't bad, and they usually get a bit of attention at contests. On occasion, I'll win an award. But I dare ANYONE to enjoy themselves building more than me.

I'ts a hobby, it's fun. You've got a great grasp on that fact right now. Always work to improve your skills (that's part of the fun) but don't ever lose sight of the fun of building.

[bobss396]

It looks good from here. As long as you learn something and take it to the next build and so on. I don't do factory stock builds, they never look right for me and somewhere I digress from what it should look like.

But test fit, test fit and do more test fitting, with the glass in place! I'll trim the chassis so it fits without a fight, do the wheel wells and between the rear most quarter panels and it fits a ton better, you'll never see where you trimmed. Pin things in place rather than relying on the "factory" glue points. You use less glue and it will (should) be a guaranteed fit.

Overall you're on the right track, what's the next project?

Bob

[bsoder]

Hey as long as yur enjoying it....that's the main thing!..that Camaro looks fine and that kit can be a bit tricky

[Mal.au]

Hi Dug

The tires are an easy fix, just take some rough sand paper around 120 or 100 grit and sand the surface that comes in contact with the road, this will illuminate the mold line and also give a used look to the tire surface

Mal

[m408]

Hey Doug,

You are doing great. Here is my first "glue bomb" after a 40 year lay off. Makes yours look pretty good huh?

You are going to find a bunch of builders here that will go out of their way to help you succeed. Ask anything that you want. One, or several, folks will have an answer.