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1953 Corvette Project


Luis Ayala

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First of all I want to thank two members of this forum who have been giving me advice on this project with lots of tips & reference material.

Thanks Bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Ismael!!!!!!!!!!!

I started this project about 3 weeks ago for our main event here in the island, the CSAE. I had this one in mind for a while and since my stash is very thin now, I decided to go for it. This year's theme on the CSAE is "Six cylinders" commemorating our sixth year celebrating the event, so this one will fit perfectly.

I have spent about 40 hours on it in the past three weeks just on the body work. I decided to put all pics on my "fotki" page until I start the assembly because I don't want to flood the forum and get you guys bored. :wacko:

I was able to shoot the firsts coats of primer today over most of the body parts. Still a lot work ahead but I am really enjoying every minute of this build.

I will plumb it, wire it and use the MCG detail set.

Here's the "Fotk" link:

http://public.fotki.com/papin1967/1953-corvette-project/

Hope you like it and thanks for looking.

:wacko:

Edited by Papin67
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Guest Gramps-xrds

Well Luis, I'd say you followed that advice very well. So far it looks killer :lol::lol::lol: and great workmanship. It should be something to be proud of.

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Looks like an interesting project my friend, when you put this much detail into a model it's hard for people to find it boring so you go ahead and post your progress pictures, I am sure everyone in the forum will agree with me 1000%!!!!!!!! :lol::lol::lol:

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Ismael told me I had to check this project out. He was impressed by it and I'm blown away. This deserves to be a winner and I look forward to seeing it on the forum and on the Scale Corvettes website when you're finished. I assume you're using the Mono/Revell kit for this build rather then the AMT one.

Rob W

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Thank you all for your comments guys, I am glad you like it!!!!!!

I added a few more pics test fitting the parts and the trunk hinge assembly.

Still need to add some plastic here and there to fill gaps, but hopefully it will be ready to paint next weekend if the weather is good.

- robertw - Thanks!!!! and yes it is the Mono/Revell kit

-Scalefinishes - Thanks!!!! and yes it is going to be "Factory Stock". I have a friend at a local paint shop who made me 1/16 of the factory color "Polo White"

Again, thank you all for your comments, I will start posting pics as soon as the assembly begins.

:lol:

Edited by Papin67
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Thank you all for your comments Guys!

I really appreciate that you are taking time to follow up this one.

I just uploaded a few more progress pics in the last two page of the album.

Yesterday I finished filling in the floor pan gaps and it is ready for final primer application.

The door hinges fit is done and the upholstery panels are ready to paint.

I needed to relocate the trunk hinges, since I found the lift was farther up front and it was collapsing over the top compartment door. The new position works very well and gave me the clearance I need to keep them both opened.

The edges of the soft top compartment door were too thick so I scraped and sanded away some plastic for a better fit. A little putty will do the rest… :lol:

Now, while the putty dries, I started to work on the engine and chassis. I removed all the molded exhaust system which will be replaced later on and I am working on the positioning of the Brake/Fuel lines under the chassis. I will drill small holes to install “pins†where the support hangers will be installed.

Tonight I will finish the trunk body work for primer and install the soft top compartment door hinges. Last but not least are the trunk hinges, that will have their time on Friday night.

If everything goes along well and if the weather behaves, hopefully it will be ready for paint on Sunday.

Well that’s all for now guys and again, thank you all for your time…

;)

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Time for a quick update…

I just finished filling in all the gaps on the floor pan and applied primer. Some minor touch ups will follow, but just a few scathes that will be filled with dissolved putty.

Most of the parts are primed and ready for the final stage before painting.

The bodywork is about 85% done with the exception of the hood hinges.

From now on I will start to post pics here on the forum, but you will also find the updates on the web album.

Hope you like it and again thanks for looking!!!!

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That's looking phenomenal my friend, Can't wait to see it finished, thanks for the updates, I will keep a close look on this one!!! :rolleyes: By the way, I have the distributors from Norm and will be sending them to you soon ok. :lol:

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Luis:

Just a quick word to say how much many of us appreciate a peek “under the hood†at modeling on this level. It’s not only the meticulous attention to detail and the obvious technical skill that comes across, its the sensitivity to your subject and the clear enjoyment you get out of it that is such an inspiration to those of us who are working our way through reaching our own modeling goals.

Looking forward to more, more, more. It’s gonna be one sweet ’53 Vette when it’s done, no doubt!

Thanks again,

B.

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Thank you all for your comments guys!!!!

Tahks gbk1, I really appreciate your thoughts about this build.

I still have a couple of details left on the body work, but I decided to prep all remaining parts for primer so when I finally paint the body, I can move forward while the paint dries.

I started to work on the front & rear suspension last week and while test fitting the parts I found that the upper A- arms are sitting “on the air†where they are suppose to match the front spindle, as you can see below.

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There are a couple of missing parts like the coil springs and shocks, so besides the fitting issues I decided to dress it up a little bit. Here you can see all the front suspension parts that came with the kit.

CV00459.jpg

The first thing was to align the upper A – arms to drill and install a piece of aluminum tubing to add support.

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Then I inserted a plastic sleeve that will fill the gap behind the tube and will make al the parts blend together.

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Then I reworked the cross member to accommodate some coil springs from the parts box. To align them I again drilled and added aluminum tubing support.

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Then I added some “over coil†tubing for the finishing touch and this is what I ended up with.

CV00476.jpg

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On the next post you will see some progress on the chassis and trim.

Thanks!!!!!!!

Edited by Papin67
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Here you can see a couple of pics of the chassis and some test fitting on the chrome trim.

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Here all the chrome parts have been stripped and will be re-chromed later on. The remaining parts are clean and ready for primer.

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Again, thank you all for your time guys and for more pics just visit my “fotki†album. ;)

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Na NA NAAAAA NAaa naaaa! :P:P:P

I had this project in my hands today. It's going really well and it will be really sweet when finished.

In our busy corporate lives, we met for a quick lunch and model talk, but I don't remember what we ate if we did at all :blink:

Here were these 2 rather serious looking guys in business/professional attire, playing with a toy car in the food court! :lol:

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Na NA NAAAAA NAaa naaaa! :P:P:P

I had this project in my hands today. It's going really well and it will be really sweet when finished.

In our busy corporate lives, we met for a quick lunch and model talk, but I don't remember what we ate if we did at all ;)

Here were these 2 rather serious looking guys in business/professional attire, playing with a toy car in the food court! :unsure:

:lol::lol::lol:

Thanks Ismael!!!!! I remember a lady near us with a kid that suddenly disappeared and left the food on the table… :blink:

Now, seriously we had a really good time today. As I always say, the best thing about this hobby is the good friends…

Thanks for your blessing on the project bro.. ;)

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Thank you all for your comments guys!!!!

After using flat black for a loooooong time :lol: I decided to try a new product to see if I can get the “satin†look you see in brand new metal parts. Since this model has a totally black underneath, I thought it was a nice place to start.

After a small talk with our local automotive paint store, they suggested this product:

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All the parts were already primed so I gave it a try and these are the results:

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The “satin†look stands out from the usual “flat†look I have always seen in my models. This product is very good and the best thing is that it won’t crack. With just two wet coats the parts were fully covered and no details were lost. It dries fast with no drips and so far I believe it is a very good alternative for painting interiors.

Hope you like it and thanks for looking!!!! :lol:

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