Peter Lombardo Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 1959 Chrysler Imperial Beginning with an AMT curbside Imperial new reissue of a very old mold, many modifications were made. First, the chassis, interior and engine were confiscated from the newer AMT release of the 1957 Chrysler 300C, The Imperial’s doors and hood were opened and hinged (not easy as the Imperial body being an old mold is very thick). The Imperial kit offers the choice of either hardtop or convertible. I substituted the kit roof for a roof I vacuum formed from a buck I sculpted. The new roof was molded onto the body and the A pillars were laid back to line up with the mildly chopped height of the new roof which mimics the style roof on the 1965+ lineup of GM full sized vehicles. Rain drip rails were added to the side of the roof. The rear window and rear quarter panel windows were tinted using Tamiya smoke. Parts box late model Corvette rearview mirrors were added to the doors. The interior is from the Chrysler and is basically stock with a two-tone paint of dark blue and very light turquoise. The engine is from the ’57 Chrysler kit painted in various shades of orange and the air cleaner was confiscated from a Tamiya Mercedes kit picked up at a swap meet. The front grill was cut into 4 pieces. The two headlight pods, the bumper and the grill. The grill was discarded and the bumper was heavily modified being smoothed, peaked, and rolled, then molded on the body. The hood was also peaked in the front to match the bumper and grill taken from a Buick of similar vintage. The rear end had the tail light fixtures on the fins removed and smoothed out. The rear bumper was reshaped and molded on to the body. The concave lower section had small taillights added, the center was painted black, after the body was painted, then filled with clear epoxy. The forward exhaust flair sections were molded to the lower body and lake pipes extend out from them. The wheels were sourced from the parts box touched up with a bit of clear blue paint, the tires are from the Imperial kit. The body was done with a minimum of chrome only used in the front lights, grill, exhaust pipes and hub caps. The paint is a multi-layer affair of all Tamiya products beginning with primer, sanded smooth, then a base layer of gunmetal accented with silver highlights. Then the white and silver under tones of the flames were airbrushed on using various curved stencils. When dry, highlights were brushed on. Then the entire body was sprayed with clear green. Once dry, more flame highlights were brushed on using white and light blue. Once dried, a cover coat of clear blue was sprayed on the entire car. Then more flame highlights were added in white followed by two light coats of clear blue. Once dry, a top coat of clear mixed with micro ice pearl blue/green metallic flakes were sprayed on. Again, once dry, a pair of top coats of just clear were added. Then when that was dry, the body was rubbed out with different grades of wax to finish with a smooth surface. The intent of the flames was to create flames that were multi-layered, but not too bold and obvious while not being just ghost flames either. That’s it. Here it is: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Very creative body work and like the paint treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT68 Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Gorgeous paint finish and great seamless transition with the modified roofline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Pretty wild. Kinda has an alternate-reality sci-fi vibe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Unique and sharp custom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Really impressed with all the work you did to make this an outstanding custom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATHU Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Nice looking Custom. Fantastic paint job!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromecop Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Lotsa work went into that build !👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koellefornia Kid Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Great body- and paint work! Looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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