Monogram 1953 Chevy BelAir

[randyc]

9 hours ago, Monty said:

Very nicely done!  Gotta ask: what paint did you use for the main green?  It really pops on this build.

Thanks for the compliments everyone.  the more I look at this one, the more I like it.  Fits perfectly with my collection and I am super happy with how it turned out.  

The metallic green is Testors Extreme Lacquer that is supposed to be primer/sealer/paint all in one can.  I did paint direct to plastic.  No primer, nothing.  Over white kit plastic.   It did well.  Impressive.  The aqua is Testors Modelmaster 50s aqua straight over the lacquer green.   All decanted to jar for airbrush.  It wasn't bad, kinda shiny.  But I added a couple coats of wetlook lacquer straight from can.   Was getting too heavy (I'm heavy handed with a can), so I stopped and left it as is.  It's not a show car, so no polishing, except a couple spots where I errantly marked it with a sharpie.  

the testors extreme lacquer worked well enough that I bought a couple more cans at hobby lobby for future builds.   I do love a paint that dries quickly with a moderate shine.  

Thanks again, everyone.

[Peter Lombardo]

As pointed out by everyone..... great looking build, very period correct mild custom.  Super clean.

[Geno]

Randy, you rocked it. 2 thumbs up my friend.

[randyc]

Thanks, everyone.   

I must say, that green is spectacular in all lighting.  Right now, it's on our coffee table and it almost glows.   Testors extreme lacquer if you're interested.  Highly recommended if you want to build a green car.

[David G.]

Excellent! Very clean build, love the color combination.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

I really do like this build of yours, Randy...... the colour is simply wonderful and so pleasing to the eye, as you have found yourself. The '50's style of American Chevy's is exactly the genre that I would want to build if I was collecting American scale model cars, and this Monogram 1953 Chevy Bel Air would be my first choice without a doubt. The Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint model cars are part of my collection, but like you, I try to build from styrene kits where possible or in a situation where I cannot afford to purchase the diecast version. When you place the plastic version of the car immediately next to the diecast version, and you find that you cannot quite see the difference..... that is something to be proud of. My collection does focus on English motor cars of the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, so I keep reminding myself that I must not build even one American model car, simply because it would not fit my 1950's dioramas and I would want to expand the collection to include more of this fascinating genre. You must be extremely proud of the green Chevy..... keep looking at it.....

David

[cobraman]

Nice work, looks great !

[randyc]

3 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

I really do like this build of yours, Randy...... the colour is simply wonderful and so pleasing to the eye, as you have found yourself. The '50's style of American Chevy's is exactly the genre that I would want to build if I was collecting American scale model cars, and this Monogram 1953 Chevy Bel Air would be my first choice without a doubt. The Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint model cars are part of my collection, but like you, I try to build from styrene kits where possible or in a situation where I cannot afford to purchase the diecast version. When you place the plastic version of the car immediately next to the diecast version, and you find that you cannot quite see the difference..... that is something to be proud of. My collection does focus on English motor cars of the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, so I keep reminding myself that I must not build even one American model car, simply because it would not fit my 1950's dioramas and I would want to expand the collection to include more of this fascinating genre. You must be extremely proud of the green Chevy..... keep looking at it.....

David

Thanks.  Just a bit of bragging here - MY panel lines are tighter than Franklin Mints... LOL!!!   This kit is deceptively simple.  Nothing particularly difficult.   I did cut the interior panels out and detailed them with cranks from a Revell 60 impala.   Other than that, it is straight from the box.   It does take a bit of cleaning on the body and rescribing the panel lines helps a lot.  And it looks great in a 50s car collection.   

I am trying to "focus" my collection.  I used to buy and build EVERY KIT.   So I have a ton of stuff.   But in the last year, I have limited to mostly American 30s to 60s, with a couple later muscle cars in there.   Like you if I go too far out, it gets unwieldy.   BUT, I have this displayed on the coffee table in family room.  It sits on a display case that hold the Lamborghini Muira I built recently, because the Muira is the BEST  looking Italian car ever, right???  LOL

Thanks everyone for your compliments.