Short thread- 69 Nova

[Kmb0319]

I built the Revell 69 Nova before... the SS 350 kit.  GREAT kit, but my end result was less than I hoped.  Mainly, it was my color choice... a Forest Green exterior with a pea green interior.  The greens clashed.  I also was very unhappy with the Chevy Rally wheels in this kit... shallow, small and while the holes molded open was nice, the holes themselves were too large and square to look good.  A year later, I repainted it with Verdoro Green and switched out wheels and tires.  I liked that much better, but it was a little too “pretty” for a Nova.  I kept changing out wheels and tires... then it got stripped again and repainted a metallic red with a black interior.  None of the changes made it more satisfactory in the end, and the last stripping process scarred some of the body, so it was destined to be replaced.

This time I got the COPO kit.  When I researched for this build, the color that really stood out to me was Cortez Silver.  One picture that I really liked was this:

This was the winner.  But, also, this and a couple other pictures showed me a finish that wasn’t a very sparkly silver.  I wanted to try to replicate that, but all the model paint and Duplicolor silvers I saw were a heavier metallic, and I didn’t want to invest in a $25 can of auto paint for this build.  

I got an idea.  A friend had asked me to try and fix a paint issue on their family car last year, and had bought some paint from Automotive Touchup for me to work with.  Their car is an Infiniti that’s pearl white, and the paint came as a two-stage process:  base white and a pearl midcoat before clear.  I just put the pearl midcoat directly over my gray primer and viola!  It’s a tiny bit lighter than I wanted... my clear coat actually lightened it a little, but I’m happy with the finish.

My other change from any pictures I reviewed was the interior.  Everything I saw was black, but red was an available color option on Nova interiors for 1969.  If that combo could look good on every Porsche and other sports car of that era, it could work on my Nova.

Please excuse the terrible pictures, as I took them late at night in poor light, but here’s my progress so far:

One shot with the flash on to see the “primer pearl” 

I'm using the kit tires in front, and the “NASCAR” tires left over from my 69 Daytona in back.  I raised the rear a little to improve the stance.  Also, as much as I love white lettered tires, especially with dog dish hubcaps, these will stay blackwalls to keep the pure sleeper look.

More to come.

[Trendsetta68]

I like it!!!

[crazyjim]

Paint really pops in that light.

[espo]

Your new vision looks perfect to me. The raised back end was usually done with longer rear shackles and Air Shocks back in the day. I don't recall anyone doing mini Tubing at that time. Something about the understated exterior makes these little cars just look mean. The Red Interior will offer a welcomed difference from the usual all Black Interior. The COPO kit is a great deal as I think it still has the Bucket Seats in the box. also. Nice seats for a future project.     

[Kmb0319]

2 hours ago, espo said:

Your new vision looks perfect to me. The raised back end was usually done with longer rear shackles and Air Shocks back in the day. I don't recall anyone doing mini Tubing at that time. Something about the understated exterior makes these little cars just look mean. The Red Interior will offer a welcomed difference from the usual all Black Interior. The COPO kit is a great deal as I think it still has the Bucket Seats in the box. also. Nice seats for a future project.     

Thank you!  Yes, it has the bucket seats and the bench.  I’ll go with the bench, as it’s a Nova, and when do you get a bench seat in a model?  

 

[Kmb0319]

A few updates.  I got my engine wired up and decals on:

Chassis:

And finally, I started on the decals, including the body stripe.  I think I might like it better without the stripe, but it does look good, and the stripe makes it even more “grandma-ish” to me.  This pic is also better lighting to see the “primer pearl” color.

Next will be all the interior details, getting the glass installed and starting to pull the components together.

 

[Kmb0319]

Moving to final assembly... got my interior done:

And, she’s on wheels.  The hood is standing up because I made heater hoses and haven’t attached them to the engine yet.

The front end isn’t glued yet... just sitting on for reference.

 

[thatz4u]

Kevin, nice save....next time take her with you when you buy paint, women can see a wider range of color than men

[James2]

Nice looking Nova

[dino246gt]

Excellent!

 

[LouO]

Very nice build

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Sharp!