1959 Chevy Impala-----FINALLY DONE! 4/9/16

[MrObsessive]

FINALLY after nearly FOUR years, she's all done! Just a couple small trunk details, which I may or may not add before NNL East, but for all intents and purposes, it's done!

I had a few nits with the overall build-----I had to REALLY fight with the hood to get it to sit right. This was probably due to the roof/cowl change and I believe the hood was slightly warped as well. That's sorta to be expected as I've had this kit long before I started to build it, and it was in various temp conditions over the years ranging from extremely hot (third floor) to very cold in the same place. Speaking of the cowl, I had to take some artistic license as it's slightly different between the two model years. The '60 roof I used I wanted to maintain as much strength as possible with those windshield pillars, so instead of cutting the A pillars at the base, I left them on the entire cowl so there'd be less chance for breakage as this model had a LOT of handling over the years. Just the same, I'm not fretting over it-------the end result to me was a much more accurate shaped roofline........something I wish Monogram had gotten right when they intro'd this back in '96.

Nevertheless, I don't intend for this to be a world beater as far as contests-----that wasn't my intent for wanting to build this. Just something different for my collection, and to fix something that's been bugging me for years ever since this kit came out. Is the model dead on accurate for a '59 Chevy? Of course not, and my big thing in building this is I got to learn some new things, as this represented some "firsts" for me as far as building.

Number 1, this was my first successful attempt at doing an entire roof transplant from one body to another. I have done this before ('55 Ford Victoria) and while that first attempt was not a total bust, I learned something from that project which helped in doing this one. Another one is molding clear glass for the first time. I did do this before in 1/43 scale, but this was a first with a vacuform machine, and I learned a trick or two in doing this.

The next WIP will not be so crazy making and much more modern (BMW)-----I'll need to get away from fins and chrome for awhile!

OK, on to the pics!

................................And this is where she'll be 99.9% of the time after the show. On a shelf in a case away from the dust and nosy cats!

Thanks for following along with me folks through the time of building this! I really, really appreciate all the encouragement and helpful tips I've gotten on and offline. In another week or so, you'll see the beginnings of another WIP, and believe it or not, it'll be mostly box stock. Something I haven't done--------I don't think ever! 

Edited April 9, 2016 by MrObsessive

[MrBuick]

Wow! Absolutely stunning work...it came out beautiful. 

[MeatMan]

Really nice build!  It looks ready to drive!

[Ramfins59]

That is awesome Bill.  I look forward to seeing it in person at the NNL.

[Lunajammer]

I dunno Bill, maybe it IS a world beater. Looks beautiful and I enjoyed following along on your WIP.

[crazyjim]

Awesome and SHINY

[GTJUNIOR]

Beautiful Impala Bill. Great details all round, I especially like the door jam and latch details. Awesome work. I wish I didn't live half way around the world so I could get to see some of the incredible work posted on this site in person. 

[Mike 1017]

Congrats on your beautiful Chevy

[DumpyDan]

Wow, this is a beauty well done.  Well worth the wait

[SfanGoch]

Beautiful, Bill! Your work is simply amazing!

[Codi]

I'd be proud to call that one mine.  Beautifully done.  Congratulations.  tim

[StevenGuthmiller]

Beautiful Bill!

4 years!!

I would have lost interest after about 2 months!

Glad you didn't.

 

Steve

[MrObsessive]

Beautiful Bill!

4 years!!

I would have lost interest after about 2 months!

Glad you didn't.

 

Steve

The glass issue almost had me throwing in the towel.............that's when I decided to work on something else for awhile (the '67 Mustang), and then MicroMark came to the rescue with their vacuform machine. If there's ever again a difficulty with glass-----AMT's '57 Chrysler 300C comes to mind, I'll just make my own!

One casualty of this whole build is that the passenger door wouldn't open without some severe binding. The original upper hinge had broken and I was able to solder another one. Of course the radius dimensions weren't quite the same, as well as the location, so I ended up epoxying the door into place. In the future, whenever I get around to building a car with gooseneck hinges again, it'll be back to the standard round brass rod. Much tougher to deal with as it's more sturdy. The flat style I used for this one while prototypical for this type of hinge, can only be bent so many times before it breaks. 

[Harry P.]

That's some pretty impressive work.

But of course, seeing as how you are the modeler, that's to be expected.

You set the bar high... and you don't disappoint.

[TooOld]

She's a real beauty ,  I'd love to have it parked in my garage ! 

[Crazy Ed]

    Another WOW from MrObsessive! Bill I ALWAYS enjoy the closeups and reason they Are Enjoyable. Your attention to Detail is a Pleasure to Look At.

[MrObsessive]

Thanks for the nice compliments everyone! Yeah, I need a breather from the super-detailed stuff for awhile. Look for my next WIP within the next few days maybe, and no this won't take years to do! No chrome, BMF, or other flashiness to deal with on this one--------mostly box stock 'cept for some minor items. As of now, I'm going over the body with a fine tooth comb as it does need a thorough block sanding. 

However................later this year, I am making plans to start a crazy build to head to GSL come 2019. At the encouragement of someone that's a good friend in the hobby, I want to do this one as it's a subject I've not seen anyone tackle as of yet. What is it you might ask?? Well, let's just say it's related to the '67 Mustang I did earlier, and is something I built once before about 20 years ago--------and it was a one of kind car to say the least.

How's that for a teaser??

[MrObsessive]

BTW, I want to add that all of the pics that you all see were taken by my iPhone 6 Plus. I used this instead of my trusty 'ol Olympus D-540 Zoom because it seemed to give a better color balance as far as the Impala's Roman Red was concerned. 

So decent cell phone pics CAN be done if you take the time to get a good focus as well as reasonable lighting.

[DeeCee]

Very tidy, superbly detailed and a great job with the BMF.  

[Sixties Sam]

Excellent model in every way! You have way more talent and patience than I do!

Sam

[1972coronet]

" Who are you calling 'Nosey Cats' ?? "  That is one super nice Impala , Bill !  Molly (Calico) and Oliver (bratty Brit) definitely approve

Edited April 10, 2016 by 1972coronet

[BIGTRUCK]

Bill this has been a long worth the wait build ,workmanship is amazing , foil work is outstanding...

[cobraman]

Good looking 59 !

[MrObsessive]

John, those are some cute cats! I wish mine could sit still like that and just observe! The model room is off limits to both of mine, but especially the one year old I have now. He's particularly nosy, and all I need is for him to wreck the work I've done after all this time. 

He tries to butt in as soon as I open the door, but I pick him up by the scruff of the neck and pitch him out and shut the door!

[CometMan]

Very well done Bill! The results are well worth the effort!