'57 Chevy Corvette Gasser

[Art Laski]

This build wasn’t in my queue, but the San Diego Model Car Club and the Las Vegas model car club were doing a joint build off, with each club judging the others entries. It was originally supposed to be a tri-five subject, but they opened it up to any 55-57 Chevy, including trucks and Corvettes, so I thought I would jump in. Unfortunately, I missed that deadline by a mile! And the next one, and the next one! The build is now finished, but I am going to post up a WIP anyway, which won’t take too long because there was a lot of work done towards the end that didn’t get photo documented, but it should be enough to see what went into it.

 

I happened to have this 57 Corvette Gasser kit in my stash, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to showcase all of the Pro Tech, Detail Master, and Model Car Garage (and other) aftermarket parts available on my store at scaleproshop.com. I’ll be calling them out as I go along.

 

 

It’s funny, because I had this exact kit since I was a kid, but it became separated from me for probably 35 years and I had totally forgotten about it until my stepmom moved and had me come get a bunch of kits she had stored that I didn’t even know about (score!).

 

 It  was  given to me as an open kit when I was a kid, and I hadn’t opened it at all until now. I had no idea what I was going to find inside, but it turned out that all the parts were there, even though 90% of the parts were off the sprues.

 

The only thing is, the engine was just not a good piece, so I went looking for a big block Chevy to put in instead of the small block that came with the kit. I found just what I was looking for in this kit.

 

 

Started off cleaning up the parts, and modifying the chassis to add a Halibrand quick change rear end, resin cast by my good friend Dutch Gorsha, @dog3models on Instagram. He does great work, so check him out at Instagram if you get a chance.

 

 

 

Cut out the old pumpkin.

 

 

 

 

Some of the front suspension pieces were not usable, so I made new ones with brass for a little added strength.

 

 

 

 

More to come!

Edited October 8, 2022 by Art Laski

[Straightliner59]

Nice work, Art. Looking forward to future posts!

[Ian McLaren]

Looking good Art, I'll be watching your progress as I just bought a 1/16th 57 Vette kit and I'm looking for ideas as to how I'm going to proceed  with it.

[1972coronet]

Nice work and customising, me fellow Temeculero resident! Quite looking forward to watching your progress on this beauty. 

[GoatGuy]

Looks great Art!! Hopefully more to come soon.

Dave

[afx]

Good looking project Art.

[Dave Ambrose]

@Art LaskiThe pictures aren't coming up for me.

[Art Laski]

8 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

@Art LaskiThe pictures aren't coming up for me.

Yep, I broke them. ☹️ Fixed now!

[Art Laski]

I went for an anodized aluminum look for the valve covers, so I shot them with Alclad Airframe Aluminum, then Tamiya clear blue acrylic thinned with lacquer thinner.

I also applied the clear blue to the injector stacks, but didn’t need the Alclad because they are already machined aluminum. The stacks are Detail Master DM-3295 HOLLY VELOCITY STACKS, from Scale Pro Shop.

Here are the engine parts painted up. The alternator and bracket is one piece, so an Alclad shade of aluminum chrome was applied to the alternator, then masked off, and Alclad chrome shot on the bracket.

The "carbs" are actually Fireball Model Works FI Tech fuel injectors.

 

 

[Randy D]

Good to see you at the bench and working hard my friend!!!

 

Randy

[Metalmad]

Looking good Art ! It is always a pleasure to watch you build.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Metalmad

[Ace-Garageguy]

Lotsa good stuff going on here.   

[Zippi]

Looking good.  I like the mods.

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

I like it! Looking forward to seeing more! -RRR

[David G.]

I remember this kit! My brother had one back around 1974! ? 

What you've done so far looks great! I'm sure you'll give it more than it's due.

BTW, what kind of condition are the decals in?

David G.

[Len Woodruff]

Nice. Luv Vette race cars.

[Art Laski]

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

This model has been completed for a while, so I am going to just speed this up!

Here are some shots of the rear end painted up. The side covers and the axle are Alcald chrome, but I tried something different for the center section. I used Testors Magnesium Metalizer, which I buffed, but then I polished it with some C1 chrome powder. I've used it before just as chrome, and thought it was a little dark, but I have found that it can give a real metal look to other colors it is rubbed on as well. I was going for a polished magnesium look, and I think it worked.

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Art Laski

[Art Laski]

I used the headers from the Chevelle kit, but they needed to be extended to fit. The tips were modified too, but I didn't get any pics in progress.

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Art Laski

[Art Laski]

I used a lot of aftermarket in the interior, but I also scratchbuilt the steering column- machined hub and aluminum tube.

Detail Master Hurst shifter, DM Seat Belt Hardware with medical tape belts below. I also used Model Car Garage flocking on this one.

[Art Laski]

This was a new approach I had never tried before, but instead of making pulleys and adding individual belts, I just machined and polished pulley faces to replace the plastic faces. I'd probably do this again for the right build. I wish I had takena pic of the finished set put together, but it will be seen later.

 

[Art Laski]

The body is painted with Splash Paints Kona Blue and Aluminum. I laid down the black primer, as recommended by Splash, then the Aluminum, and then the blue over it. I was real pleased with the paint. It lays down so smooth! Covered it with 2K Clear. I had some issues with prep on the hood after paint, so I decided to cover it in Scale Motorsport Carbon Fiber instead of repainting it, and added some Detail Master hood pins.

[Art Laski]

I ended up using the kit front tires with some resin Halibrand wheels, painted with Magnesium Metalizer polished with C1 chrome powder like the rear end. I also machined some hubcaps to fill the hole in the center.

Rears are one of the tire sets that come in the Chevelle, with the pad printed lettering toned down a bit with a Tamiya weathering kit, with wheels form an MPS funny car. I checked up the rears in the lathe to sand them down and get the right shape to them.

 

[Art Laski]

Well, that's all I have as far as WIP pics worth showing. Here's a couple of the finished product.

Some other products used- Pro Tech braided line, Pro Tech MSD box, MAD pre-wired distributor, scratch-built roll bar. Body was finished off with BMF, and details from the Model Car Garage set.

Catch the rest Under Glass!

 

[David G.]

Spectacular Work! 

It could easily be mistaken for 1:1. 

David G.

[dragcarz]

Beautiful