'72 Chevy Stepside

[Plowboy]

I got this MPC kit from Tom Kendall in a trade. I loved this kit when I was a kid! I thought that boxart was so cool! Of course when I built it then, it looked like garbage. Runny paint, glue smears, crooked decals. It had it all! Now, I have a second chance! This model is going to be just for fun. No detailing, corrections, etc. Just like when I was a kid! It's going to be a tribute build (not a faithful rendition) to the boxart. Only better. No long stepside bed! Ugh! That was one thing I really disliked about this kit.

In just a little while and swapping the chassis plate and bed with the AMT '72 GMC, I had a better looking Chevy stepside.

The tail gate was just a touch too tall. I removed 1 mm from the bottom.

I removed the Cheyenne trim as I couldn't find a stepside with that trim anywhere in my research. Plus, it just looks wrong with a stepside bed.

I also decided to get rid of the non matching marker lights. They didn't match on the original fenders either.

I filled in the cab corners and the recess on the rear stake pockets.

I opened the grille to make it see through. This was the most time consuming and difficult grille I've ever done! I literally wore the chrome off from handling it so much! And I'm still not done! I'm going to also get rid of the molded in headlights. That shouldn't be too difficult. Once they're done, I'll paint the grille, do the blacked in the recesses and do the surround with a Molotow pen.

The plan is to paint it gold and if the decals hold together, use them also. I'm going to change the color of the seats/interior to some kind of tan instead of white. Not sure about the side pipes. I may fix them so they can be installed and removed easily. Should be in primer soon.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Plowboy

[Can-Con]

I'm digg'n this Roger.  These are my favorite trucks. 

Seeing all the builds on the board's making me want to start another one. ☺️

[NOBLNG]

That is going to be a sweet lookin’ truck! The stance is just right.

[Plowboy]

Thanx Steve and Greg! I got most of it in primer last night. I'll sand most of it away with 600 and shoot three coats of primer and allow it to cure a few days while I work on the rest of it.

Stance check. I think the front end needs to come up a touch. I'm going to try adding shims under the radiator support and bumper. It kinda looks like it's bowed in the middle. I checked the chassis plate and it's straight.

 

 

[modelcarcrazy]

Roger, check the cross braces on the bottom of the bed. The one closest to the cab is slightly taller than the other ones, preventing it from fitting correctly. 

[Metalmad]

I also built this kit as a kid and unfortunately It is long gone.... would love to see this kit get reissued.

Have fun with this build !

[89AKurt]

I love seeing more guys building this generation Custom Series Chevy!  You're off to a great start.  In case you want a fan shroud, or separate door handles, let me know.  Love that you opened the grill, I was tempted with the '69, but the radiator and support would have required correction.  Somewhere in my WIP Green Barge thread you will see them.  Look forward to watching positive progress.

Edited April 9, 2020 by 89AKurt

[Plowboy]

20 hours ago, modelcarcrazy said:

Roger, check the cross braces on the bottom of the bed. The one closest to the cab is slightly taller than the other ones, preventing it from fitting correctly. 

When I read your post, I thought sure that was the issue. But, it wasn't. I checked them with a straight edge and all four cross braces were on the same plane. I then took a piece of scrap styrene around .050 thick and placed it under the radiator support. That was what it needed. It got rid of the bowed look, made the cab wall and bed fit perfect as well as got the fenders up away from the tires. So, I glued the piece to the chassis plate, trimmed and sanded it. 

[espo]

This looks so much better as a short bed step side. Nice grill, shows great patience on your part.    

[Nazz]

lovin' the grill , this is going to be  one nice truck.

[Plowboy]

Thanx guys! I got the body in final primer. I changed a couple more things. I got rid of the chrome strip at the base of the roof since it's going to be a single color and got rid of the cargo light. Here's a photo that shows the improvement of shimming the radiator support. 

I can't decide on the side pipes. The chassis plate has dual exhaust molded in. If I use the side pipes, I'll need to cut the tail pipes off. I may have to mock them up to decide. I'm not a fan of side pipes. But, it's such a styling cue on the boxart. It just about has to have them.

[NOBLNG]

You’re right. It was just a tad low in the front. Now it’s just right! I don’t care for the side pipes either.

Edited April 10, 2020 by NOBLNG

[Plowboy]

I got the body in paint! It's Tamiya Gold. I'm going to shoot a coat of clear,  add the decals and shoot more clear. 

[Can-Con]

Roger, is the overall width of your bed the same as the width of your cab? 

I"m asking as I'll be starting on mine soon and the rear fenders have always looked too narrow to me.

I did widen the fenders on the last stepside I did and plan to do it on this one as well. 

, , Update, measured mine, found that the bed is 79mm wide, abiut right.  Bed with fenders is '74mm wide. So, my fenders need 2.5mm added to each. 

 

Yours looks great in that gold paint !!

Edited April 13, 2020 by Can-Con

[gotnitro?]

Wow nice work  !  That short box definitely looks better 

[Plowboy]

17 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Roger, is the overall width of your bed the same as the width of your cab? 

I"m asking as I'll be starting on mine soon and the rear fenders have always looked too narrow to me.

I did widen the fenders on the last stepside I did and plan to do it on this one as well. 

, , Update, measured mine, found that the bed is 79mm wide, abiut right.  Bed with fenders is '74mm wide. So, my fenders need 2.5mm added to each. 

 

Yours looks great in that gold paint !!

I hadn't just because I'm not concerned about it. This build is just for fun. 

I measured the cab and bed. The cab is 77 mms. The bed is 74. Off quite a bit. But, not enough for this model. I don't know if it would be worth the effort to add 1.5 mms to each fender and the stepboards. I probably would if I wanted to tuck the tires in.

[espo]

2 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I hadn't just because I'm not concerned about it. This build is just for fun. 

I measured the cab and bed. The cab is 77 mms. The bed is 74. Off quite a bit. But, not enough for this model. I don't know if it would be worth the effort to add 1.5 mms to each fender and the stepboards. I probably would if I wanted to tuck the tires in.

This is really looking nice so far. Something to remember on the bed width. The width of the bed and the fenders is about as close as can be to the Cab. The step-side bed it's self has always been narrower than the Cab. 

[gman]

21 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I got the body in paint! It's Tamiya Gold. I'm going to shoot a coat of clear,  add the decals and shoot more clear. 

That looks really good so far- the paint, the truck, everything. I am looking forward to seeing it under clear coat.

[Plowboy]

I got the chassis finished up. Nothing to write home about for sure. Detail painting it does help it somewhat. One thing I did to improve it was add pieces of styrene at the cab corners to make the floorpan meet them. You can see them along with the piece I added to the front of the chassis plate in the next photo. 

Engine is also done. Same story as the chassis.

[slusher]

Looking great Roger!

[Plowboy]

Thanx Carl! I got the interior finished and ready to install. I tried to de-Cheyenne it some by painting the woodgrain sections black. 

And big surprise. The decals didn't work out even after sealing them. May be a good thing as I probably wouldn't have liked them anyway. I'm liking the way it looks now that I have the paint polished. I should have it done in a couple of days or so. 

[slusher]

Roger, you really do nice work. I really like the interior...

[Modlbldr]

Roger,

Great looking work! You've done a beautiful job on this. Love the stance and the color. I'm glad this went to you. I have another set of those decals, if you want to try again. Let me know.

Later-

[ewetwo]

Looking good.

[Scott8950]

Roger it looks absolutely great.