ConventionalMan Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Project #2 in the rebirth of my modeling career after being away from it for 25 years lol. My dream muscle car and I would buy as a real-life version in a heartbeat if the funds and the opportunity come along... yeah, right. I actually had a deal on one several years ago but decided it was a basket case and needed too much work (at the time we had two newborns). I kick myself now but I did end up with a 1964 Caddy that I drove daily for 6-7 years so... haha. I like the styling difference over the Camaro for whatever reason. This will be a completely stock car in burgundy with black interior. I'm toying with the idea of a vinyl roof and could use some pointers as I've never done one before - I've heard the masking tape technique is the most convincing? Anyway, wish me luck! And the real 1:1 version for inspiration...
Jhedir6 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Welcome back. Will be watching this one. Personally not a huge Firebird fan but I do like the '68's.David
superbike-shaun Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Hey,,,,Shaun here, I have a Reccomendation for your vinyl top,,it's called Duplicolor spray,adhesive,,are you going to do the trim on the roof as well?,
Corsair Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Welcome back. I too have been gone for 25 to 30 years. I guess we all go back to our roots someday!!!
espo Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Welcome back to the hobby. I never got around to this kit but others have said it is great. I also enjoy the subject. Check out the question section and look for vinyl roof threads. There is more ways to do a vinyl roof than there is colors. Just got to find the one you are comfortable with. I would suggest trying different styles on some spoons before you start on the kits roof.
Snake45 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Welcome back. Will be watching this one. Personally not a huge Firebird fan but I do like the '68's.DavidThe real one in the photo is a '67.5.
rv1963 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 I will be watching this one as I am a huge fire bird fan, I had a 1968 Ram air bird a long time ago, I really miss that car.
ConventionalMan Posted October 13, 2016 Author Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) Welcome back to the hobby. I never got around to this kit but others have said it is great. I also enjoy the subject. Check out the question section and look for vinyl roof threads. There is more ways to do a vinyl roof than there is colors. Just got to find the one you are comfortable with. I would suggest trying different styles on some spoons before you start on the kits roof. I'll check it out - thanks! And thanks Shaun, I'll look into your suggestion as well. Edited October 13, 2016 by ConventionalMan
ConventionalMan Posted October 13, 2016 Author Posted October 13, 2016 The real one in the photo is a '67.5. Yep, the '68 took away the vent windows and changed the front signal lights and a few other cosmetics but the general idea is there!
Intmd8r Posted October 14, 2016 Posted October 14, 2016 Very nice! A friend of mine back in the day inherited a "survivor" nearly identical to the reference pic posted. Had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't the same car!
ConventionalMan Posted October 18, 2016 Author Posted October 18, 2016 A small update... I don't have tons of spare time but this is becoming therapy to me! lol Paint turned out ok color-wise I think. I don't airbrush (yet - never tried it, so it's all out of a spray can) but I still need to work on polishing the paint before putting some clear on. I futured this already just to see how it looks. I like the direction it's heading. I can always remove the future later if I want. I decided I didn't like the chrome on the valve covers (too shiny/fake looking), plus the left valve cover had a terrible flaw in the kit chrome, but I have no "chrome" paint, so I tried bmf. Looks ok! BMF on the left. A little engine work... My meager paint mixing skills, tried to get as close to the Pontiac Metallic engine color as I could. Probably could use less blue and a little more silver. Oh well, I need to work with what I've got for now... It will take me some time to amass all the supplies I need after so many years away lol. I still need to fix up the BMF on the ends of the valve covers. Thanks for looking. Cheers!
ConventionalMan Posted October 20, 2016 Author Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) A few small updates as time permits, added ignition wires ( will try to add looms after ) and started to detail the engine compartment a bit with a dry fit, firewall, master cyl, etc... Thanks for looking! As always any input/pointers are welcome. I'm re-learning as I go! Edited October 20, 2016 by ConventionalMan
DPNM Posted October 21, 2016 Posted October 21, 2016 You are doing a good job on this.I built one of these for my brother when the kit was first released. My brother had a '68 400 back in the day. It had a vinyl top. I made the one for his model with the facial tissue method. I have not looked at the model I gave him lately to see how it's held up though.
mikemodeler Posted October 21, 2016 Posted October 21, 2016 Welcome back and really liking the way you are going at this. Nice details and clean paint, should be beautiful when done.
ConventionalMan Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 You are doing a good job on this.I built one of these for my brother when the kit was first released. My brother had a '68 400 back in the day. It had a vinyl top. I made the one for his model with the facial tissue method. I have not looked at the model I gave him lately to see how it's held up though.Thanks! I'll have to look into that! Still haven't decided yet. I always thought of a vinyl top as a bit frumpy but so many of these cars had 'em I can't decide. I like them both.
ConventionalMan Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 Welcome back and really liking the way you are going at this. Nice details and clean paint, should be beautiful when done.Thank you. It's a slow go as I have a few min here and there but I hope so!
ConventionalMan Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 A few small details added to the engine - Fuel line, PCV tube, repainted fan the correct color (even though it's supposed to be a 5-blade fan...oh well lol) I also started to detail the wheels/tires. The decals have not fully set yet with the Micro-Sol but they actually look ok. I wasn't sure about em and a bit of a pain to get that redline even. I will still be touching up the rims too. Not sure about keeping the chrome edge. I've seen some with beauty rings and some without. Were they a factory option/item? That's it for now. Thanks for looking and for your comments!
Sledsel Posted October 29, 2016 Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) as money allows, I keep every makes colors on the shelf. Your build is looking great. Like you, I prefer the Firebird over the Camaro Edited October 29, 2016 by Sledsel
espo Posted October 29, 2016 Posted October 29, 2016 Great looking engine. I like the "OK-5" on the front of the cylinder head. Don't recall seeing that detail before, really adds to the engines appearance.
ConventionalMan Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 as money allows, I keep every makes colors on the shelf. Your build is looking great. Like you, I prefer the Firebird over the Camaro Awesome! I'll get there maybe one day but for now I'll keep mixing my stuff. Get started over is already expensive lol!
ConventionalMan Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 Great looking engine. I like the "OK-5" on the front of the cylinder head. Don't recall seeing that detail before, really adds to the engines appearance. Thanks! I was surprised it was on the decal sheet and took me a minute to remember where I had seen one before. Nice little detail... The real thing - it was a quality control marking put on with (apparently) a rubber stamp!
Snake45 Posted October 29, 2016 Posted October 29, 2016 I will still be touching up the rims too. Not sure about keeping the chrome edge. I've seen some with beauty rings and some without. Were they a factory option/item? That's it for now. Thanks for looking and for your comments! Most of the Rally IIs I've seen have had the trim rings. The most notable exception was on The Judges, which were usually seen without them. Meanwhile--Big white letters AND redlines on the same tire? Not sure I've ever seen that before. Was that a thing at one time?
ConventionalMan Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 Most of the Rally IIs I've seen have had the trim rings. The most notable exception was on The Judges, which were usually seen without them. Meanwhile--Big white letters AND redlines on the same tire? Not sure I've ever seen that before. Was that a thing at one time? You're right, I was looking at a reference and put the two together in my head lol. The redline was standard on the 400 though. Think I'll stick with that. I was never a fan of white-letter tires anyway.
ConventionalMan Posted November 13, 2016 Author Posted November 13, 2016 Finally a bit of time to play,,, Some progress while the body clear dries - I got the interior and chassis pretty much done. Added some basics like battery cables, master cyl lines, and my first attempt at basic brake lines on the chassis. The burlwood is just a picture printed out and glued on (looks better in person), but i chose to do a regular black steering wheel because I couldn't mach the paint to suit me. A wooden wheel was optional. I probably would choose the black one in a 1:1 anyway. Sorry for the poor interior pic quality. Also, some of these tiny little decals are a pain but they sure add to the realism! Never used to have these the last time I built a kit! Thanks for looking! Comments are welcome!
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