Building the 'Icon' - a 57 Chevy in Sierra Gold

[Slotto]

I agree David, liking the trunk hinges. Can't wait to see more

[TransAmMike]

On 7/19/2022 at 4:43 PM, ModelcarJR said:

Nice job on the hinges, Sonny!  I wanted to help with the ride height and hope you don't mind.  I built this same kit a few months ago using Tamiya Orange Metallic over silver.  I didn't modify anything on the chassis and the  tires may be from the parts box but are the right size.  The bottom of the chrome rocker at the front of the car is about 1/2" from the ground and the rocker at the rear  in front of the back wheel is about 5/8" from the ground.  This compares favorably with my 1:1 in the garage which is 10" at the front wheel and 12" at the back wheel. I haven't figured out if that works out scale-wise but both demonstrate a slight rake that really looks like its level. Good luck with your build! 😎

 

 

Cool looking '57 John, pic of my Dads' '57 with me getting into it a looooooooong time ago.

[beeRS]

Just a small update on the '57. I've been getting the body ready for paint. In the pic below the red arrow points to a frame that I've scratch made. This will be behind the grille and barely be seen. It will allow me to attach a tiny magnet that will hold the hood shut.

Below, you can see the magnet in place. Once this area is painted satin black, I'm hoping the magnet will not show quite so much. The kit allows for the hood to be displayed in the open position with a pair of rather nice hinges. If you want to display with the hood shut then you have to leave the hinges out. I want to display the model with the option to do both, so rather than glue the hinges to the body, they are held in place with magnets. The idea is that I can remove the hinges, set them aside and close the hood. Then, if I want to display with the hood in the up position I can put the hinges on. I hope this works as I hope.

Under the hood I have fitted another magnet. This lines up with the one on the body. Yes - I did ensure the magnet was the right way round to attract and not repel.

I've added some light grey Mr Hobby primer. I find this makes it easier to see imperfections in the body much easier than the white plastic.

I struggled a little with the front bulkhead (firewall). It didn't seem to fit right. Not sure if I did something wrong here. It's fixed with a little filler to take up the gap.

I had to make some minor tweaks to the opening panels so they fit flush, and now its ready for the proper primer - white this time.

Thanks for watching my build. Your comments are always welcome.

[Kenmojr]

Nice thread and build. Look forward to more progress.

[David G.]

Great idea using the magnets for the hood and hinges. The body prep looks good too.

David G.

[TooOld]

Great progress on this one Sonny !  The stance looks just right , I like your solution for the rear shackles and lowering the front !

[Zippi]

The 57 is looking pretty slick.  Great looking stance and nice work on getting new deck lid hinges made.  

[mustang1989]

High parts count to this one. Progress is looking exceptional and am really liking the opening panels. Will be watching this one from here on out.

[mustang1989]

Any more progress on this bad boy? Looking forward to more.

[Dave Darby]

I'm liking it. Great kit and color choice. I think the biggest thing that hobbled that kit are the included tires. So you definitely improved things in that regard. I love your trunk hinges. As to my opinion of the stance, I think it's just a wee bit high in the back. Especially for stock. Can't wait to see it painted!

[speedy5963]

Awesome, love seeing builds of 57s. Here is a pic of our 1:1 

[beeRS]

On 9/4/2022 at 3:13 PM, mustang1989 said:

Any more progress on this bad boy? Looking forward to more.

More coming soon 👍

On 9/4/2022 at 5:04 PM, Dave Darby said:

I'm liking it. Great kit and color choice. I think the biggest thing that hobbled that kit are the included tires. So you definitely improved things in that regard. I love your trunk hinges. As to my opinion of the stance, I think it's just a wee bit high in the back. Especially for stock. Can't wait to see it painted!

Yes - I'm glad I found the right tyres for this. Thanks for your comments about the hinges.

 

[beeRS]

On 9/4/2022 at 10:37 PM, speedy5963 said:

Awesome, love seeing builds of 57s. Here is a pic of our 1:1 

That is a beaut!! Looks so right in black. Is that a Model A next to it? I see the grille has horizontal slats, so I'm a bit confused.

Also, nice to see McDonald's, KFC and Smalley's Roundup 😋

[slusher]

Using magnets is a really neat idea. I am really looking forward to paint..

[beeRS]

Finally - an update for you all. I do all my spray work at my workshop - not at home. Usually I'm working on 1:1 cars, with welding and grinding going on, so its a devil of a job to clear the workbench and make a dust free environment that's for good spray painting. Once the air-brush is out I usually do as much as I can over a few days.

A few imperfections on the underside of the panels taken care of.

 

Using these three colours I mixed up a reasonable 'Chevy Orange' for the block and pan.

 

 

First I used a grey Mr Surfacer 1000 primer. Flattened off, and then white Mr Finishing surface primer 1500. I like this stuff as it goes on quite smooth and is more opaque than other white primers I've used.

 

I used these three colours to mix up a creamy white. Mostly white, with a hint of red and yellow mixed in. I think the colour is called Adobe beige or maybe Imperial white? This is for the interior and the roof.

 

 

I'm just 'eyeballing' this - no science involved. I think it looks about right.

 

 

Time for the Sierra gold! As before, I'm just eyeballing. I'm using a mix of Zero's Liquid red, that will eventually be used on my Tamiya Ford GT, and the GT40 Honey Gold that I used on my ill-fated 68 Dodge Dart. Together, I'm hoping this makes a good Sierra Gold. The lighting in my photography and the digital screens do change colour perception a bit. I wish I could show in these pictures what I actually see. 

 

The trunk lid got a spec of dust in it so I had to sand that down and spray again the following day. Luckily the pot of paint I mixed was still OK as I would never achieve the exact same mix again. Spraying metallic terrifies me! Unlike a solid colour, you can't just sand out a dust spec without leaving a 'scratched' look to the metallic. I left the Gold finish for a few days and then mixed up my favourite clear - Zero Paint's Diamond 2K.

 

With the body painted Its always a sense of relief. I tell myself that all the hard work is done, and it will be plain sailing from here on. It won't!

I'll leave this a couple of weeks before polishing up the clear, and then the worst bit (for me) - Bare Metal Foil. I've not had much luck with that stuff in recent times, so this might be a job I put off for a while.

Thanks everyone for watching and your encouraging comments.

[espo]

Great looking paint finish and the color looks correct to me. The Sierra Gold and Adobe Beige was one of the best color combinations that Chevrolet used for the '56 model year and beyond. White was often the secondary color as well. I enjoy watching your attention to the fine details and function of the hood, sorry, Bonnet, and the Boot. 

[Dave Darby]

10 hours ago, beeRS said:

Finally - an update for you all. I do all my spray work at my workshop - not at home. Usually I'm working on 1:1 cars, with welding and grinding going on, so its a devil of a job to clear the workbench and make a dust free environment that's for good spray painting. Once the air-brush is out I usually do as much as I can over a few days.

A few imperfections on the underside of the panels taken care of.

 

Using these three colours I mixed up a reasonable 'Chevy Orange' for the block and pan.

 

 

First I used a grey Mr Surfacer 1000 primer. Flattened off, and then white Mr Finishing surface primer 1500. I like this stuff as it goes on quite smooth and is more opaque than other white primers I've used.

 

I used these three colours to mix up a creamy white. Mostly white, with a hint of red and yellow mixed in. I think the colour is called Adobe beige or maybe Imperial white? This is for the interior and the roof.

 

 

I'm just 'eyeballing' this - no science involved. I think it looks about right.

 

 

Time for the Sierra gold! As before, I'm just eyeballing. I'm using a mix of Zero's Liquid red, that will eventually be used on my Tamiya Ford GT, and the GT40 Honey Gold that I used on my ill-fated 68 Dodge Dart. Together, I'm hoping this makes a good Sierra Gold. The lighting in my photography and the digital screens do change colour perception a bit. I wish I could show in these pictures what I actually see. 

 

The trunk lid got a spec of dust in it so I had to sand that down and spray again the following day. Luckily the pot of paint I mixed was still OK as I would never achieve the exact same mix again. Spraying metallic terrifies me! Unlike a solid colour, you can't just sand out a dust spec without leaving a 'scratched' look to the metallic. I left the Gold finish for a few days and then mixed up my favourite clear - Zero Paint's Diamond 2K.

 

With the body painted Its always a sense of relief. I tell myself that all the hard work is done, and it will be plain sailing from here on. It won't!

I'll leave this a couple of weeks before polishing up the clear, and then the worst bit (for me) - Bare Metal Foil. I've not had much luck with that stuff in recent times, so this might be a job I put off for a while.

Thanks everyone for watching and your encouraging comments.

Looks to me like you nailed the color. Gonna be a beautiful 5-7.

[David G.]

Those are some beautiful color combinations you came up with. And it looks like the paint laid down quite well for you.

Nice work!

David G.

[beeRS]

On 9/19/2022 at 4:07 PM, espo said:

Great looking paint finish and the color looks correct to me. The Sierra Gold and Adobe Beige was one of the best color combinations that Chevrolet used for the '56 model year and beyond. White was often the secondary color as well. I enjoy watching your attention to the fine details and function of the hood, sorry, Bonnet, and the Boot. 

Thanks. I’m really glad I chose this colour combo now. 
Hood, bonnet, trunk, boot… I’m never sure which terms to use 🤣. 
 

On 9/20/2022 at 1:55 AM, Dave Darby said:

Looks to me like you nailed the color. Gonna be a beautiful 5-7.

Thanks. 

On 9/20/2022 at 1:40 PM, David G. said:

Those are some beautiful color combinations you came up with. And it looks like the paint laid down quite well for you.

Nice work!

David G.

Thanks David. 

[Dirkpitt289]

You are doing some great work, here. Looks great

 

[Codi]

Interesting to watch this build Sonny.......especially what you're doing with the paint.   I too can't wait to see this one when completed.  cheers, tim

[Street Rod]

Great looking build so far! Like the color.

Speedy5963, that’s a beautiful 57!

[slusher]

Beautiful color choice!