AMT '53 Corvette Snapper--A Delay In The Proceedings--07/06/2022

[Straightliner59]

I got these screens, today. I did some research, about how meshes are "defined". I think I ended up deciding to go with a "40 mesh". These were intended to be pipe screens. They're perfect for this application! The difference in appearance between these and the brass is immeasurable. I got the grille in better, too. As always, comments, critiques and questions are welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[bisc63]

Looks very good!

[Straightliner59]

10 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Looks very good!

Thanks, Rusty. It's a more open weave. And, it's more the correct color.

[Straightliner59]

I sanded the trim off one side, and kind of polished it, so that I can see blemishes that need to be addressed. I decided to go with a shaved look, to go along with the aggressive appearance created by the wheels. I got the red embossing powder I was waiting on, today, so I got that taken care of. 

I'll need to get the other side trim removed, then I will fill the seams that need it, and smooth everything out (except the badges--I want some stinking badges!). Not pictured, here--I thermoformed a new scoop, over the old one. I need to sand it some more, to achieve a lower profile, but it looks better. Questions, comments and critiques are always welcome. Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

Well...I had ordered another one of these kits, because I had dinged the grille, while grinding away the back of it. I ended up making the new grille surround from aluminum wire, and so on...

It's a good thing I have the other kit, now. After I made all my body mods to the first body, I had smoothed it with polishing sticks, and everything. I was ready to shoot it with primer to see what other work needed to be done. Light coats of Krylon primer, just like 1000 times before with nary a problem. The plastic just went "craze-y". I could see sanding marks (remember, it was smooth!) and rough texture, all over the place. So, needless to say, the new body is now very handy to have! I think that when this one's ready to primer, I'm going to get some of Mr. Geary's Zinsser sealer. That ought to fix that. It must be the plastic, however. I've used this same can of primer on three or four other models without an issue. One of those things that make a fella' go, "Hmmm..."

[absmiami]

I rather like the Tamiya primer - air brushed or out of the rattle can - have you tried it ?

[Straightliner59]

3 hours ago, absmiami said:

I rather like the Tamiya primer - air brushed or out of the rattle can - have you tried it ?

I have not. I have used their Tire Black, in a spray can, and liked that. I'll have to see if I can get by one of the hobby shops, and pick up a can.

[Bainford]

Bummer about the crazing. The new headlight screens are a huge improvement and look great.

[Straightliner59]

21 hours ago, Bainford said:

Bummer about the crazing. The new headlight screens are a huge improvement and look great.

Thanks, Trevor! They did come out, nicely. At least I learned enough, doing the first body, that the second one will be better! It's coming along...

[Straightliner59]

I've been playing around with this, the last few days. I made some argyle inserts for the seats--I have no idea why--but, I kind of like it! I'm working on the lap belts, and beginning work on the dash. I'm not 100% this is what I'll finish, next, but, it's looking favorably, in that direction. I'll get some photos, after work, later.

[Straightliner59]

I think I'll finish this thing, next. It shouldn't take too long. 😂 I have the seats mostly done. I need to do some highlighting and shading, and some touchups. I didn't have any production-type belt hardware, so I cobbled some up, from aluminum strips and Evergreen. I made the release buttons from brass wire. I printed the argyle inset pattern--I wanted something, but, didn't want to use the tartan--it's been done! I used some .015" lead-free wire for fly-tying for the piping. That stuff is handy, and is available in .015"-.035" diameters. 

I have a lot of body work, left to do, and I want to try something new for the grille. I'm trying to decide on a color for it. I'm leaning toward something grey, but not 100% sold. As always is the case, your comments and questions are appreciated. Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

Since I opened up the grille area, I needed to cover the tires (inner fenderwells). I also needed a radiator, which I found in a spare parts box. I was eating some yogurt, and noticed that the bottom "corner" of the cup might just work for the wells. I trimmed it to shape, and aligned it with the radiator, glued it with G-S Hypo Cement and painted it with Tamiya X-18. The radiator had been sprayed prior to installation with Krylon Satin Black. The fins were highlighted with a 4B drawing pencil, and a silver Prismacolor pencil.

I wanted to add a floor mat to the driver's side. I'd planned to use the method Steve Guthmiller shared, but I couldn't find anything suitable to use as a master, as far as I was willing to dig!😄 I have some scraps of N-Scale car siding(?), lying around--I hadn't used any in 40 years, but, here we are! One thing about modeling--you can pretty much literally justify keeping every little scrap of material! I digress. I cut a small rectangle of the car siding, rounded the corners, and laid a bead of .010" Plastruct rod, around the perimeter. I sprayed it with Tamiya Tire Black. I can live with that! 

Andy Sapiro made some pedals, recently, using solder-infused screen to provide the textured surface. I have some very-finely perforated metal screen--I think from an old automatic transmission that was being rebuilt. Andy's brilliant solution inspired me to try the transmission screen for my pedals. I simply folded the bits to fit over their respective mounting points. I have the brake and clutch pedals done, but no photos, as of this writing. Comments, questions and critiques are always welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[FoMoCo66]

Looks amazing, your really doing this snapper justice!

[Bullybeef]

Well seeing as how you have resurrected this old build, I’m inclined to comment on it! The previous work done on the wheels and lights is outstanding, the interior is superb, really like the argyle l, you mentioned a grey colour as a possible for the exterior but imo( as humble as it may be) I think a white or off white would suit it more.  

[Straightliner59]

22 hours ago, FoMoCo66 said:

Looks amazing, your really doing this snapper justice!

Thanks, Ace. I figure there's not a lot going on, so I want to add as much interest to it, as possible. I enjoy building curbsides!

23 minutes ago, Bullybeef said:

Well seeing as how you have resurrected this old build, I’m inclined to comment on it! The previous work done on the wheels and lights is outstanding, the interior is superb, really like the argyle l, you mentioned a grey colour as a possible for the exterior but imo( as humble as it may be) I think a white or off white would suit it more.  

I appreciate your feedback, Bil. I do think either of those would be a good choice. I have been leaning toward either white(ish) or black, which was my original choice. That probably led me to consider grey. Thankfully, I still have enough body work to do, that I'll have time to think about it!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looking good.  

Really appreciate the info on the mesh for the headlights too. It's the best looking I've seen yet.

[Straightliner59]

12 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Looking good.  

Really appreciate the info on the mesh for the headlights too. It's the best looking I've seen yet.

Thanks, Bill. I had to figure something out, those molded, chromed headlights just weren't going to cut it!😃

[Straightliner59]

We'll have to see how this works out: I'm going to attempt to make bumpers from K&S .064" aluminum sheet. I was thinking about just removing the vertical "bars" and "bullets" from the kit's bumpers, and going with those. Instead, I have decided to cut and form them from raw stock. I've started cutting out the front bumpers--they're the glued-together layers with the black Sharpie, on them. It's a decent start, but a long way to go! I think it'll be worth the effort. Also, I got the pedals installed. I'll need to bend the arm clutch arm in, some, to make room for the dimmer switch. I probably could have simplified that assembly, a tad!😁 Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

I knew I could come up with a better way to mount the pedals! Duh!🙄 I fixed those, then make a dimmer switch, and installed that. Next, I cut the plate for the four-speed shifter (basically, this car will "have" a '57 Corvette drivetrain). I then sanded the back side of some bookbinding leather, to thin it even farther. I pushed that up through the opening in the plate, and ran a round-headed pin through the crown of the new boot. The leather was then infused with superglue. My hope is that I can trim everything below the plate with a sharp scalpel blade, and the plate will mount flatly to the surface of the trans tunnel. There's enough of the pin left to cement into a hole that will be drilled, for it. I should be moving on to the dash, before too awful long. Thanks for looking!

[Pierre Rivard]

So that's where you have been hiding!

I just spotted this build for the first time and quite happy I did. You are showing us (again) what can be created starting with a very basic kit.

Model on Master Daniel!

[Straightliner59]

18 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

So that's where you have been hiding!

I just spotted this build for the first time and quite happy I did. You are showing us (again) what can be created starting with a very basic kit.

Model on Master Daniel!

Thank you, my friend! My approach to curbside projects is that, there's not a lot to look at, so, the stuff there is, had better be interesting! 

[Straightliner59]

One down, three to go. I decided to give some aluminum armature wire a go, for making the bumpers. They'll polish up, nicely! I'm pretty much decided on this grey. I was going to do white, but I already have three white cars in the display case, and another that's cream-colored. And...I don't have any grey ones, and I've always wanted to do one. I think I compared about fifteen different Humbrol greys, and a Pactra one, alongside the interior. This one looks best, to me. I'm also leaning toward putting the scoop, offset, to accommodate the implied Rochester FI powerplant. 

To expose the bumper that lies within the wire (thank you, Francis!), I began by clamping the section of wire in my vise, leaving a little less than half, exposed. I removed the exposed length with a 6" mill bastard. I then rotated the wire 90 degrees, and repeated the process. Finally, a 180-degree rotation, and repeat completes the roughing-in process. I should note that the brown phone wire was used to mark the length(s) for the bumpers. The black Sharpie marks denote the front and rear bumper lengths. Next, I superglued the roughly-shaped bumper to the edge of a craft stick, where it was easily shaped and buffed. Next, I'll bend this one, and once I'm satisfied the process is good, I'll move on to the next ones. Comments, questions, and etc. are always welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

One front bumper is bent, and white-glued in place. The other has gone from rough to ready-to-bend. For a lot of my modeling life, I would have considered this process drudgery. I've come to where it's somewhat Zen-like, for me. There's a certain calm that comes from watching something come from raw material, right in your hands. Anyway--enough of that! It probably only takes 45 minutes to an hour to make one of these. I'm considering doing one for a grille bar, to reflect the center section of the rear bumper. Once the rear one is done, I can use it, to see how it would look, up front, as well. Thanks for looking!

[NOBLNG]

Nice work on the headlight screens. The interior looks very good and now the bumpers are shaping up nicely! 😎

[Straightliner59]

9 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Nice work on the headlight screens. The interior looks very good and now the bumpers are shaping up nicely! 😎

Thanks, Greg! I got the rear, center section done, before bed, this morning,  but didn't have time to shoot photos. I noticed that one of my fronts is a tad heavy, so I will have to thin it out, a bit.