GREAT kit... not necessarily my build... 69 Nova

[Kmb0319]

I've heard lots of tremendous things about Revell's 69 Nova kits, and definitely had them on my list.  I found a local hobby shop near my house recently... not sure how I missed it the last 3 years.... and when I stopped in, they had the 69 SS kit.  Given a choice, I would have probably gone with the COPO for the dog dish caps, which suit a Nova perfectly, but I was also excited to build a "normal" 350 Nova.  I really didn't have any ideas of what to do with it.  I mean, I always build stock, but I didn't have color a color scheme or an idea of wheels, etc.

As I was looking around the shop, I found a paint that gave me a little inspiration...  it was testors split pea.  A perfect, UGLY green color that actually reminded me of every relative's avocado green kitchen appliances when I was little.  That seemed like a great interior color for the utilitarian Nova.  So, I had an interior color... I usually start my builds with the engine, but this time the interior got priority.

 

Then, I went back to my usual process and built/wired the 350, adding in the vacuum hose from the carb with some leftover hose material.

 

But, now what do I do with the exterior?  With that green, I could really only go one of two ways: white or green.  I was planning on white.. again, fitting the utilitarian and sleeper vibe of the Nova.  But, "fate" intervened and pushed me another direction.  I picked up 2 kits at the hobby shop; this Nova and the Revell 67 GTX.  I was also working on the 67 Shelby Mustang that I posted here a couple weeks ago.  When I first looked at my 3 models, I bought Duplicolor Deep Jewel Green for the Shelby, Midnight Blue for the GTX, and thought I'd do the Nova in white.  Well, first I swapped, deciding to paint the Shelby Midnight Blue and the GTX green.  Then, I got the GTX painted, only to have disaster strike and ruin my finish.  When that happened, I stripped the GTX body down and got a different idea for it.  But, I loved that green and wanted to use it.  So, it became the color for the Nova.  The finish came out nice, but the contrasting greens don't fit together especially well, and the body color is prettier than my intention.

The other issue I had was with the wheels.  I intended to use some mags I painted to look like torque thrusts and the smaller of the two sizes of AMT Goodyear Polyglas tires.  However, I was having issues fitting them under the rear fenders, and they are so soft and pliable, they kept collapsing back and and pushing the wheels out.  I needed to get it done, so I grabbed some spare magnum 500s and used the kit tires.  I might revisit that.

Anyway, it's done... this really is one of Revell's best kits.  I'll build another one sometime and get everything just as I want, but I'm not unhappy with it. 

Here she is:

 

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2016 by Kmb0319

[cobraman]

Looks good.

[Snake45]

As I was looking around the shop, I found a paint that gave me a little inspiration...  it was testors split pea.  A perfect, UGLY green color that actually reminded me of every relative's avocado green kitchen appliances when I was little.  That seemed like a great interior color for the utilitarian Nova.  So, I had an interior color... I usually start my builds with the engine, but this time the interior got priority.

 

 

 

I once owned a yellow '69 Nova that had a green interior that wasn't too far off that color. But it was only available in the cheap, low-line interior, not in bucket seats, like the kit.

My own half-built Revell '69 Nova is in Fathom Green, and I'm gonna paint the interior the color my real one was, even though it's not authentic. It'll be a "phantom."

[Hard_2_Handle_454]

Looks good, but I'd have gone with the COPO.  I think it was a better kit than the SS version.

[slusher]

Very sharp..

[Helix]

Nice!

[Hubert Rollins]

Great build!

[Intmd8r]

Looks pretty good to me!

Funny thing - I have this kit in my stock,of which I was planing to paint the EXACT same color.

Thanks for posting the reference pics lol

-SC

[GTJUNIOR]

Nice Nova. Well done. 

[mikemodeler]

That paint looks great! Nice job and I agree that it is one of the best done recently by Revell.

 

[Rider]

Super build, the paint is great. 

[rmvw guy]

Very nice!  Not a big fan of the wheels, like you were saying the dog dish hub caps would be a better choice for me.  Were they not included in the kit? Big mistake by Revell if so.  I had a '69 Nova SS when new and the dog dish and redline tires were standard.

[crazyrichard]

nice nova !

[Richard McClelland]

Looks great, This kit (COPO version) was my first American car build and I loved it.

[Fanof69]

Kevin that's a great looking Nova. Really like the color. I agree that this is a great kit, but I do wish it came with the dog dish caps, as I would have used those on mine as well.

[Kmb0319]

Very nice!  Not a big fan of the wheels, like you were saying the dog dish hub caps would be a better choice for me.  Were they not included in the kit? Big mistake by Revell if so.  I had a '69 Nova SS when new and the dog dish and redline tires were standard.

No... The wheels in the kit are Chevy rallys and the drag wheels.  I generally love the rallys, but this particular kit version has smaller wheel slots and a more prominent center hub, throwing off the proportion a little to my eyes.  The wheels on this right now are the magnums from the Revell 68 Charger.  I'm going to get the COPO kit and build another one... I might use the 350 from this and use the 427 for something else, but haven't decided.