Revell '57 Chevy Bel Air

[Nacho Z]

As with most of my "On the Workbench" threads, this model is actually finished.  I thought I would create this thread so that you all could see what comes in the kit and to maybe share what I have learned from building it.  I am always happy to explain anything that I have done or answer any questions you may have.

This is the kit that I used.  It is not a bad kit.  I was looking for a quick, hassle free build and this fit the bill.

I am normally a racecar builder.  I don't have the creativity than many of you do to be able to come up with some amazing custom.  I went to the Internet to find some examples of a custom '57.  Of all of the images I found, I only found one '57 in a Ruby Red body with a Champaign top and trim.  After this picture was taken, I settled on Tamiya Mica Red and Titanium Gold.

I removed all molded on scripts and thought I would replace them with PE from MCG.

I also removed all fender scripts as well as door handles and locks.  I rescribe all panel lines and I scribe around all parts that will receive BMF.  Scribing a channel like that gives the blade something to follow when trimming the BMF.

[Nacho Z]

On to the interior.  It is not too bad for a Snaptite kit.  Following cues from the 1:1 car that I found on the internet, I went with a two-tone interior.  To many modelers horror, I used Krylon paint on the interior...lol.

One note on the picture below, the two blemishes are totally my doing.  I somehow put divits in the paint and the paint cracking is the only place this happened.  The window cranks are Testors Chrome Silver paint, painted freehand.

[Nacho Z]

I tend to bounce around in the build sequence.  Sometimes it is due to waiting for paint to dry, sometimes it is due to boredom with what I am working on, etc.  I moved on to painting the body.  It was primed with Tamiya white primer and then the entire body was shot with Tamiya Gloss Aluminum.  I masked the body and shot the roof with Tamiya Titanium Gold.

Once the roof was dry I masked it and painted the body Tamiya Mica Red.

I was going to use the PE parts for the side spears but someone suggested to make the spear, (is that the correct term?), the same color as the roof.  I really liked that idea so I set off to mask the body and shoot the Titanium Gold.

[cobraman]

Looking darn good !

[Nacho Z]

8 hours ago, cobraman said:

Looking darn good !

Thank you, Ray, i appreciate the comment.  I will post more progress pictures tomorrow.

[Nacho Z]

Back to the interior.  I have the MCG PE sheet for the '57 Chevy.  I used several parts for the interior.  You can't have a car without a set of keys!  For the radio knobs, I painted them black and then sanded off the tops.  This gives a perfect black circle with a trim ring.  I added a turn signal stock and gear select, (with the correct bend).  The kit does not have decals for the gauges.  I used some decals that I had.  The interior did not turn out too bad for a SnapTite kit.

While I was working on the, I was waiting for the clear to cure on the body.  I shot Tamiya TS-13 for the clear.

After the clear had cured I polished it out.

Next up will be BMF.

[Rayz]

Diggin,ur color choice?

[Nacho Z]

Once the body was polished out it was time to start the BMF.  I'm sure most everyone has their preferred way of doing BMF.  I will briefly touch on mine.  As I always do, I scribed along anything that was going to be BMF'd.  This gives the blade a nice groove to follow.  I also place Tamiya tape fairly close to the trim.  This cuts down on the sticky residue and it is easier, (at least for me), to pull the tape up than to pull up the BMF.  I also use a surgical scalpel for BMF.  I label it so I don't use it on anything else.  I blacken the tip to make it easier to see.

I also worked on final touches on the interior, rear bumper, grill, wheels, chassis, etc.

[Modlbldr]

That looks amazing! I really like your idea of putting tape down before BMF. I have been having trouble with having to remove the sticky residue. Great idea!!

Later-

[ewetwo]

This is going to be great. And I love all the advice you are adding. Can’t wait to see the end results. 

[mustang1989]

This is one sharp build here. Really nice interior (nice touch with the keys btw) and excellent color & clear coat. Beautifully done sir.

[adamelvis]

dashboard is AWESOME !

TCB,

Adam

[Nacho Z]

This will be the last update before I post the finished model.  I will share some of the less than stellar bits of this build with you.  There are three items that I was not happy about.

1.  The chassis molding is not bad, it is just that everything is molded in, there are no separate parts.  There are some deep cervices that would have been a nightmare to mask...so I didn't...lol.  I freehanded painted all chassis detail, (and it shows).  This was never meant to be a contest winning model so I am OK with a mediocre chassis.

 

2.  The glass is a one piece unit.  It did not fully fit down onto the body.  I broke my first piece and had to buy a second kit to get a new glass piece.  I ended up cutting off the runners from the windshield to the rear window.  This was not perfect but the two separate glass pieces fit better than the one piece.  There are no pictures because I was so upset about the whole thing that I just forgot to take pictures.

3.  The rear quarters of the car curve in too much.  This causes the rear bumper to look like it is too wide.  I had to put "spreaders" in the body to make it look decent.  Please note that I now have two complete models and they both suffer from the same problem.  I used some simple bits of wooden sticks to spread out the rear fenders.

The last thing to mention is that I had trimmed off all badges and handles with the intention of using PE.  After the body was finished, I really liked the look of the shaved body and decided not to put the PE on.  I did prepare it and did a mock-up but in the end left it off.

 

[bisc63]

Very clean build, and a beautiful choice of colors! NICE.

[espo]

Great idea with the wood sticks to spread the body. The paint and its finish look really nice and smooth. Impressive interior also.