Revell 1960 Chevy (Refreshed Photos)

[David G.]

Now that's one cool lookin' interior right there!!! Wow!! Love the dash work Dave!!!!

Thank you Joe.

David G.

[CometMan]

Very nice work on the interior, Dave.

[David G.]

Very nice work on the interior, Dave.

Thank you Craig.

David G.

[afx]

Good looking project.

[David G.]

Good looking project.

Thanks JC, Hopefully I'll get some time to work on it this weekend and post some more snaps.

David G.

[sbk]

Yep, very nice work! Those door panels had me studying them for a while.

[David G.]

Yep, very nice work! Those door panels had me studying them for a while.

Thanks Steve, I'm glad you like them.

David G.

[David G.]

Here is an update on the interior fit issues.

 

The test fit revealed that there was something at the front of the interior assembly that wasn't allowing the body to settle all the way down over the chassis.

 

 

Upon inspection, it seemed that the windshield and dashboard were in conflict. Lowering the dashboard was the next step. I removed the dash and took a 2 mm notch out of each of the two positioning tabs on the sides.

 

 

The next test fit revealed more work to be done. Lowering the dashboard allowed the side panels to come into conflict with the windshield. They would also need to be altered.

 

Looking at this notch in the interior side panel, it would seem that Revell did anticipate the windshield conflict. It didn't work out that well in practice though.

 

Rather than taking a chance on cracking or chipping the windshield, I decided to make the adjustment on the interior side of the equation.

 

Just about there. At least it looks like I'm on the right track.

 

Though the frame rails are visible below the body, they are parallel to it.  I am declaring this problem solved and moving on to the next one.

 

As always, thanks for looking and feel free to comment.

David G.

Edited April 27, 2020 by David G.
Refreshed Photos

[crazyrichard]

nice build !

[David G.]

nice build !

Thank you Richard!

David G.

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

Looking really nice so far. I had a similar issue with the 2011 issued Revell/Monogram 55 Bel Air convertible. I removed material from the chassis, firewall, underside of the interior bucket, the tabs behind the package shelf that connect the tub to the trunk area of the body and the tabs on the frame where the body rests and the bumpers connect to. Even with all of that there was still a slight bit of the frame showing below the body but I decided enough was enough and moved on. I certainly feel your pain. 

[David G.]

Looking really nice so far. I had a similar issue with the 2011 issued Revell/Monogram 55 Bel Air convertible. I removed material from the chassis, firewall, underside of the interior bucket, the tabs behind the package shelf that connect the tub to the trunk area of the body and the tabs on the frame where the body rests and the bumpers connect to. Even with all of that there was still a slight bit of the frame showing below the body but I decided enough was enough and moved on. I certainly feel your pain. 

It seems that you had to go through much more to get your BelAir to fit together. Tell me Jay, why do we put so much work into these things?

Thanks I'm glad you like it hopefully I'll get some more time on the bench soon.

David G.

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

It seems that you had to go through much more to get your BelAir to fit together. Tell me Jay, why do we put so much work into these things?

Thanks I'm glad you like it hopefully I'll get some more time on the bench soon.

David G.

Ha! Just trying to up my game and run with the big boys on this forum. Actually, I normally don't get too "obsessive" with my builds but I'm building the Bel Air for someone's lady friend so I want to get it just right.

Edited July 17, 2016 by Perspective Customs

[Poppa mitch]

What a beautiful car, enjoyed every picture.

[James2]

Nice wip, good research and execution. 

[David G.]

What a beautiful car, enjoyed every picture.

Thanks Mitchell, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

David G.

 

[David G.]

Nice wip, good research and execution. 

Thank you James.

David G.

[MrObsessive]

David, that does look better! Since you're leaving the frame black, I wouldn't worry too much about the slight underhang of the floor. The main thing is that the car's stance looks better as before it was sitting a bit too nose high.

As far as why we go through the trouble? I dunno..........to me models can represent more than just something else to put on the shelf. To me they mean some certain part of the past (childhood for instance) that of course we can't go back to, but at least we have a much more accurate representation of how the car appeared as we saw them as kids, teens, or young adults.

It just bugs me to no end when certain body lines aren't quite right as to me that changes the entire "character" of the car. Kinda like a remake of a song that while the melody is familiar, certain things that made the original have that "it" factor are missing from the remake.

[David G.]

David, that does look better! Since you're leaving the frame black, I wouldn't worry too much about the slight underhang of the floor. The main thing is that the car's stance looks better as before it was sitting a bit too nose high.

As far as why we go through the trouble? I dunno..........to me models can represent more than just something else to put on the shelf. To me they mean some certain part of the past (childhood for instance) that of course we can't go back to, but at least we have a much more accurate representation of how the car appeared as we saw them as kids, teens, or young adults.

It just bugs me to no end when certain body lines aren't quite right as to me that changes the entire "character" of the car. Kinda like a remake of a song that while the melody is familiar, certain things that made the original have that "it" factor are missing from the remake.

Thanks Bill. I always value your input. 

I guess if it ain't right, it just ain't right, and there's no sense in doin' it if it ain't done right.

Obviously, I tend to be a little obsessive myself, and I can see many of the body line inaccuracies that you describe, but I tend to follow my 90% rule. If 90% of the general population wouldn't notice the difference, then I tend to let it slide. The second criterion is my skill level. A good example is the banana on the side of the dreaded AMT 1958 Belvedere. Though it bothers me, I'm not sure that it's something I would have the skill to correct.

Thanks again,

David G.

[c. jackson]

 

I started this kit back in 2011. When I opened it I found that the roof had been squished and twisted to one side. So i began having problems, literally, right out of the box. As I recall, it took several days to correct. I used scalding water to soften the plastic "A" pillars just enough to allow them to be moved into the proper position and held there and quenched in cool water to fix them into position. This process had to be repeated probably a couple of dozen times to gradually coax the plastic into recalling its rightful place in the universe.

 

 

When Revell issued this kit they used the chassis from the 59 Chevy. One of the differences between the 1959 chassis and the 1960 chassis is that the 59 chassis has a spare tire well in the floor of the trunk behind the right rear wheel. The 1960 chassis does not.

 

I corrected this error by cutting the offending wheel well out of the chassis, and replacing it with a piece of flat styrene. I then used heavy aluminium foil to create an impression and copy the floor ribbing from the left side and glued it to the right side. Sorry for the old blurry photo.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look, and feel free to offer comments and critiques.

David G.

[c. jackson]

great idea and nice work with the foil.

[David G.]

great idea and nice work with the foil.

Thank you Cary.

David G.

[David G.]

I finally got some more bench time, so here's another update.

 

Now that the body fit issues are mostly sorted, it's time to move on to paint... for the third and hopefully, final time. It seems that a little color sanding will be needed.

 

This dark spot is caused by the body filler I used to repair the sink mark that lies directly beneath it. It appears that I should have made better use of the primer.

 

Additionally, the body filler didn't fill as well as I would have liked.

 

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's back to the bench I go with a little skim-coat and sanding.

 

That's all for now

As always, please feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to look.

David G.

Edited April 27, 2020 by David G.
Refreshed Photos

[James2]

Body work can certainly test your patience...

[David G.]

Finally, it looks like I got some good paint laid down.

 

After two more coats of paint and some color sanding, these are the results.

 

Our little flaw even smoothed out nicely.

 

With a nice even color.

 

 

I think I can let this cure and then do a final polish.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look, and feel free to comment.

David G.

Edited April 27, 2020 by David G.
Refreshed Photos