1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

[doorsovdoon]

14 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Hi Gareth, I would also like to build a 57 Wagon Gasser but I don't know of any 57 Chevy  Wagon kit  other than the old Nomad.  

It could be the Nomad, I just call it a station wagon. Here's a picture of the Ford I was thinking of, I get them mixed up! looking at it again I might buy it today actually! Lol

Edited August 27, 2020 by doorsovdoon

[Deuces ll]

That's^^^^^a very cool kit... Can't wait to build mine....

[doorsovdoon]

8 minutes ago, Deuces ll said:

That's^^^^^a very cool kit... Can't wait to build mine....

It does look cool. I've been wanting to build a gasser for a while and this ticks all the cool boxes! For some reason the saloon version of the '57 is hard to find in the UK.

[doorsovdoon]

Interior is finished. I fitted the extra bank of clocks under the dash and fitted the seat belts. The added tach on the transmition tunnel is there to just cover a hole for a stick shift. This car has a lot of clocks now! haha,

Edited August 27, 2020 by doorsovdoon

[doorsovdoon]

Detailed the grill and badge bar, also placed the red clear in the rear lights. The kit comes with two sets for some reason, which is good cos I dropped one on the floor when cutting it from the sprue which entered that other dimension where all small kit pieces that fall on floor go!

Edited August 27, 2020 by doorsovdoon

[doorsovdoon]

Underside is done, but I don't like how the red looks against the chassis. I might paint it all black before I fit the suspension.

[doorsovdoon]

Kit comes with two distributors!?

[Rodent]

52 minutes ago, doorsovdoon said:

Kit comes with two distributors!?

It's been a zillion years since I built one of these things, but my guess is that the chrome one is a magneto for the 409 that is no longer in the kit.

[doorsovdoon]

This has definitely been a strange one with regards to odd pieces! I'd love to find the original kit just to compare what is and isn't on the sprue trees.

[Can-Con]

24 minutes ago, doorsovdoon said:

This has definitely been a strange one with regards to odd pieces! I'd love to find the original kit just to compare what is and isn't on the sprue trees.

Gareth, Here's a link to a page with instruction sheet from the original release. 

You may find it intresting.

You'r build is looking good. Hard to go wrong with red and white. ?

[doorsovdoon]

Flags unlimited? I can't see the link, unless you're hinting at painting a maple leaf on the roof? xD 

[GeeBee]

This will show you what you're missing from the original kit, 

https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/amt-instructions/automotive-cars--pi/chevrolet/1951-1960/amt-57-chevy-bel-ai2/

[doorsovdoon]

Thanks. I can see what the odd parts are for now. That part I thought was an oil can is part of the gear shift! So they deleted nearly all the custom parts but left the clocks, half a gear shift, magneto, rear pan brace, lower custom tail lights, custom decals and left a big hole in the firewall for a metal hood clip, Lol. This kit is a bit of mess!

[doorsovdoon]

Bit more done today. I had to sand the edges of the hubcaps so they sat in the wheels rather than on them. They look much better now.

[doorsovdoon]

Not a bad little engine. Looks good with a bit of detail.

[doorsovdoon]

I decided to repaint the underside cos I didn't like the red against the black chassis, it looked odd, so I gave it a light coat of primer and I'll paint the whole thing black.

[ksnow]

Looking really good. Red and white look classic. The interior looks very sharp.

[Can-Con]

21 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

Flags unlimited? I can't see the link, unless you're hinting at painting a maple leaf on the roof? xD 

Sorry, don't know what happened there. The computer shop I use tells me my 10 year old Dell is on it's last legs so???

Anyway, here's the link I was trying to post. The link Geoff posted is to an '80s reissue.

Here's a link to the original issue

https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/amt-instructions/automotive-cars--pi/chevrolet/1951-1960/amt-57-chevrolet-2-/

[1972coronet]

The most-recent Pepper Shaker version has most --if not all-- of those customising parts restored ( sans the sticky-backed upholstery sheet ) .

[doorsovdoon]

On 8/29/2020 at 1:33 AM, 1972coronet said:

The most-recent Pepper Shaker version has most --if not all-- of those customising parts restored ( sans the sticky-backed upholstery sheet ) .

I've been looking it up and it looks pretty neat! One on my 'to get' list I think.

[doorsovdoon]

Finally back on this today. I run out of black paint to re-do the underside and didn't get around to getting more until today. Painting is finished, headlights and interior tub are in, and we have a rolling chassis. Just detailing now, and putting it all together. No fit issues, though I did trial fit the headlights before paint and found the bezels didn't fit the contour of the holes. Some light re-shaping of the wings where they sit in and now fit perfectly. There is a gap between the rear bumper and the trunk lid which is filled by a filler piece that attaches to the rear of the floor, I painted it black but that just made the gap more obvious, so I painted the top red and left the bottom black.

[doorsovdoon]

[GeeBee]

It's looking superb, can't wait to see it finished 

[doorsovdoon]

2 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

It's looking superb, can't wait to see it finished 

Thanks, Geoff. How's your '57 coming along?

[GeeBee]

1 minute ago, doorsovdoon said:

Thanks, Geoff. How's your '57 coming along?

It isn't,  I'm back up in the Midlands for a week in 10 days, I'll be cracking on with it, then hopefully I'll be bringing some modelling stuff back down to London,  I've just ordered a magnifying lamp today, it's the same as I have back home, I'm lost without it,  I wouldn't be doing any detail work without it.