Pro-Touring '69 Nova

[LOBBS]

Finally back to making some progress, got all the major painting done and now I can get some assemblies done.

First up, the chassis. I still have to pick out some bolt heads and do a light weathering. Since this is a Nova, I'm going with an entry-level style pro-touring build. "Rebuilt" suspension, aftermarket sway bars, shocks and springs. I'm really happy with the way the subframe connectors turned out, almost don't notice them unless you're looking for them. I'm going for a look somewhere between daily driver and weekend cruise-in.

[olarge1]

Wow, I love where this is going, great work!

[MikeMc]

Follow this link for the finished build!!!!!!

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti00...=LXXAF8&P=W

I just saw this and did a double take.....Maisto stole it Lobbs!!!!

[LOBBS]

Just about done with the motor. I haven't cleared and polished the beauty covers yet so there's a few details to add once they're on permanently.

This is my take on an LSx crate motor with parts from the Revell C5 Vette, '02 Camaro SS and Silverado kits.

Up next, a set of digital guages and some BMF to get the interior finished.

Thanks for looking,

Kyle "LOBBS" Laubscher

[LOBBS]

I drew up a set of digital gages for the Nova real quick in Xara. I drew them at 5x size so when I print them on my color laser at work I don't lose a whole lot of detail. I love Xara for this kind of work. It's vector based so I can scale things anywhere from HO scale up to a football field without having to worry about pixelation.

If anyone is interested I can make up a set for you to print. I've got the gage artwork separated from the black so I can do them in any color combination and on any shape black background.

Thanks for looking,

Kyle "LOBBS" Laubscher

Edited August 10, 2009 by LOBBS

[prostreeter69]

Hey Kyle

I would mind a set.

Jon

[Pat Cardz]

Looking really good!

Love that color, and your digital gauges look cool too!

[GOTH KUSTOMS]

Yea man, liking it already, keep the work going, gonna watch this real close man.... Good to see your back to building

Edited August 17, 2009 by unforgiven

[LOBBS]

Well I wasn't happy with the stereo faces I was finding on the net so I drew up my own in Xara. They seem to get way too pixelated when you reduce them. I wanted one of those fancy new ones with the LCD screen that matched the digital gages I got in the dash last night. I didn't get too fussy with all the lettering because it'll just disappear when I scale it down.

[BKIN10SECS]

Man...you got that XARA down pack. Just wanted you to know your tutorial was very helpful and I was able to make my standard AutoMeter gauges. I am experimenting with different colors ie. needles, hash marks and faces. Could you tell me what font gives you the digital numbers. Thanks again gonna try one of them radio faces...Keep up the good work, look forward to the completion of your Nova.

[LOBBS]

Man...you got that XARA down pack. Just wanted you to know your tutorial was very helpful and I was able to make my standard AutoMeter gauges. I am experimenting with different colors ie. needles, hash marks and faces. Could you tell me what font gives you the digital numbers. Thanks again gonna try one of them radio faces...Keep up the good work, look forward to the completion of your Nova.

That's awesome! I hadn't heard from you for awhile. Just remember that Xara is like working with construction paper when we were kids, just digital. Break everything down to it's basic shapes, layer and cut to get the result you're looking for.

The font is called digital and I downloaded it from one of those free fonts sites. There's at least a half dozen or so similiar fonts out there that I know of. I could email the one I've got to you if you want.

Edited August 23, 2009 by LOBBS

[BKIN10SECS]

That's awesome! I hadn't heard from you for awhile. Just remember that Xara is like working with construction paper when we were kids, just digital. Break everything down to it's basic shapes, layer and cut to get the result you're looking for.

The font is called digital and I downloaded it from one of those free fonts sites. There's at least a half dozen or so similiar fonts out there that I know of. I could email the one I've got to you if you want.

Thanks Kyle...but you have done so much for me already. I will do the same thing you did and locate a free font site. Thanks again.

[LOBBS]

Needed a little thump for the stereo face that I drew up so I added some "separates" to the door panels. They're just some headlights and driving lights from my parts box painted Tamiya semi-gloss black. Not really true to form but I think they'll work at a passing glance.

The "subs" in the rear deck are the some air cleaner parts from the AMT 70.5 Camaro again painted semi-gloss black. I decided to keep the cloth inserts in the seats when I went from the original tan/brown to the black interior. Everything is done up in Tamiya blacks, BMF and flocking.

The digital gages and stereo face look right at home.

[samm1970]

I'm liking the way your Nova is shaping up. The LS motor is the way to go, it looks great. The body color is a good choice as well. I painted a 2006 GTO a very similar if not the same color.I would like to say I really like all the small details and effort you've put into it,such as the subframe connectors, the digital gauges, radio faceplate etc...

[LOBBS]

Just to prove I still build sometimes, I've made some progress on the Nova. I blacked out the grille and the rubber between the taillights. I also blacked out the B-pillar so that at a glance it has more of a coupe look.

I was really pushing to get this one done take down to the Heartland Nats this weekend. Some last minute fit problems with the exhaust put the kibosh on that idea. I'm going to have to fab up some headers instead of using the exhaust manifolds from the Revell '99 Silverado and the pipes from the Nova kit. A younger version of myself probably would have tried to slam something together to make the show (and more than likely screwed something up in the process). Other than that, all the subassemblies are ready so I just have to polish out the body, foil the headlight and taillight buckets and slap it all together.

Wow, I just noticed looking at the pic that the headlight bucket didn't get good coverage. It's not at all noticeable to the naked eye but the camera sure picked it up.

Edited June 14, 2010 by LOBBS

[KENNEDYJR]

That is shaping up real nice. That's the kind of model I like-a car I would want to drive in real life. Keep it up.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Good to see you are about to finish this one up. I thought for awhile you were giving up the hobby to spend more time with your family.

Did you go to Heartland?

[Romell R]

So far so good keep up the good work................

[LOBBS]

Good to see you are about to finish this one up. I thought for awhile you were giving up the hobby to spend more time with your family.

Did you go to Heartland?

I step away from the hobby periodically when work and family need more of my attention. With four kids and a stay at home wife, I've been working 50-70 hours a week for the majority of my adult life. When we moved earlier this year, to stay within budget and get the bedrooms that we needed, we had to give up quite a bit in the way of "play" space for Sarah and I's hobbies. Facing the prospect of not having a consistent work space and a serious lack of time to build I did contemplate walking away. In the end, however, we found a solution that worked.

I did go to Heartland and met up with a couple of guys from work that I've been trying to get to take an interest in modeling.

[MikeMc]

Great to see you back Kyle!

This IS gonna be killer...

[vizio93]

Looking better and better every time I see it, nice job man

[rustybill1960]

Real nice looking build Dude!

Like the look!

Thank You for sharing

Later

Russ