AMT Dodge D-50 Slump Buster

[dust collectors]

Hoping this will be a "quick build" to get me out of a bit of a building slump. I have two projects sitting idle as I'm unsure on paint and decals. Before I could do anything I needed to sort out an issue with the drivers side front fender, it seems like there might not have been enough plastic in the mold. I reached out to AMT to let them know about the issue and the offered to replace the part. I went ahead and fixed it on my own but took comfort in the fact that I knew a replacement was available if I couldn't sort it out on my own with some styrene and putty. I hope to wrap this thing up sooner rather than later so I can get a move on a few stalled projects. That being said, bench time is hard to come by with work being as demanding as it is. Thanks for looking.

Edited January 7, 2024 by dust collectors

[dust collectors]

Pretty happy with the way it turned out. (it's been cleaned up considerably since these photos were taken.

Edited January 7, 2024 by dust collectors

[dust collectors]

This was the initial mock up, steelies with moon caps and a lowered stance but not dropped. I didn't like the wheel/tire combo that came with the kit since deciding to build it as mostly stock. '70 Grande was kind enough to send me some six lug steelies with got me closer to my goals but I was having trouble finding tires that looked right for what I was trying to accomplish. That being said, I do like the look and will probably build another using them and having it lay frame with a bagged suspension like something you'd see at a mini trucking show in the late 90'/early 2000's. On here I saw someone use the six lug steelies from the Revell Black widow kit and was able to acquire them in a trade and they're closer to what I wanted so I opted for them instead.  

[dust collectors]

Since I'm going for stock I needed to carve out a spot for the tailgate handle I'll be making. The decal provided with the kit wasn't going to cut it.

[dust collectors]

The interior is Pretty much done with the exception of a turn signal lever and some slight weathering. The frame was pretty warped so that needed to be sorted before I could dial in the stance. Shot it with a pale yellow that I'll continue to weather in hopes of looking like a faded old beige. Since the drivers side door either was sanded away or was overlooked when fixing the fender I decided to drill it out like the lock was popped and the truck broken into at some point. Trying to figure out what to do for side mirrors since I do not want to use the bulky ones supplied with the kit. (although they are nice pieces I'll save for another project. That's it for now, would love to hear some feedback from ya'll. Thanks for looking.

Edited January 7, 2024 by dust collectors

[dust collectors]

Started weathering the wheels a little bit. Wanted the rubber to look aged a bit. Hit them with some light dry brushing and made a wash to get into the tire grooves a bit, still need to add a bit of dirt but that will come when it's closer to finishing. The difference between before and after is pretty slight. Open to comments and suggestions, thanks for looking. 

Edited January 9, 2024 by dust collectors
post was moved to the right thread so edited it to an update on the build.

[dust collectors]

Again, not a whole lot to report. Got the grill finished with the exception of some final weathering.  First I stripped the chrome and it left it this odd yellowish color which was perfect for the headlight lenses so I masked them off before hitting with some flat black spray paint. Followed by a light mist of satin canyon black. Then I dry brushed some neutral grey. The masking on the head lights was removed and I rubbed a silver welding pencil on them to bring out the molded detail. Really happy with the way the headlights turned out.

[dust collectors]

I had some time to work on this little Dodge over the weekend. Made a little turn signal lever out of a small piece of wire and some styrene tubing I drilled out and sanded down. I was able to build up the motor a bit and make a distributor also out of styrene tubing and made some plug wires and boots. They're a touch longer than I'd like but this is supposed to be a quicker build so I'm not going to sweat it and just keep it moving. Thanks for looking.

[Spottedlaurel]

I really like what you're doing with this one, it looks just like a well-used example.

I've looked at my older version of this kit and never been quite sure what to do with it. Sadly I don't have the weathering skills to do something along the lines of yours.

Edited January 15, 2024 by Spottedlaurel

[dust collectors]

8 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I really like what you're doing with this one, it looks just like a well-used example.

I've looked at my older version of this kit and never been quite sure what to do with it. Sadly I don't have the weathering skills to do something along the lines of yours.

I'm not really sure what I'm doing, kind of shooting from the hip. I practiced on a few junk bodies and that was a huge help with finding out what might work and also what absolutely does not. One thing I wish I did with this one was a base coat of red primer.

[dust collectors]

Had an hour free so I tried to make what progress I could. I was able to get the turbo glued in place, couldn't help my self and had to hot rod this thing a little. In the photo you'll see part of a tooth pick, that's there to hold things in place a bit while the glue dries. Also mocked up the tail lights. Not really sure what to do since the real tail lights aren't solid red but have some amber and clear. This being a "quick build" I don't want to get bogged down but it does bother me. I have a few ideas that may work but would love to hear any suggestions as to how to remedy this issue. Thanks for looking.

[dust collectors]

Managed to sneak another hour in at my studio after work. Didn't get a whole lot done other than mounting the carb on the motor and a little dry brushing on the chassis with some neutral grey. Still not entirely sure what to do with the tail light situation. If I'm going to go in on those then I started to think I should probably open the grill as well. I included a couple pictures of the front end mocked up. Thanks for looking.

[dust collectors]

Not much progress today as I only had about 45 minutes after work to mess with it. Managed to get the rear shocks mounted as well as the front sway bar. Mocked up the drive train and altered the angle of the drive shaft a little bit to make up for the lowered suspension. Hoping to carve out some time over the weekend to see how the body fits and if all is well begin weathering the chassis and get this thing closer to finished. 

[dust collectors]

Attempted to make the bottom portion of the tail lights using a back window from an old s-10 kit and also a sunroof from the parts box with no luck. I scored the plastic with an exact-o knife to try to mimic the detail on the 1/1 truck. I heated them up a little and tried to bend them to fit the contour of the kits tail lights and they broke. I made several attempts with no luck, hoping to try again later tonight. If any one has some tips or suggestions I'd love to hear them. If I can't figure out a decent solution I may just go with the inaccurate all red lenses from the kit just to keep things moving along since this is supposed to be a "quick build". Thanks for looking.

Edited January 20, 2024 by dust collectors

[Spottedlaurel]

Only other thing on the lights might be to apply BMF to the non-red areas, then paint them with amber clear or leave as-is for the reverse light portion? Obviously not going to look as good as the red tinted area, I'd be inclined not to do anything....

[dust collectors]

9 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Only other thing on the lights might be to apply BMF to the non-red areas, then paint them with amber clear or leave as-is for the reverse light portion? Obviously not going to look as good as the red tinted area, I'd be inclined not to do anything....

That's where my head is at too, I might have to just leave them alone. Going to give it a few more try's and if need be just keep it moving.

[dust collectors]

Tried again last night and got a little closer to a possible solution although not quite there. I'm going to make one more attempt and if I get a bit closer I'll cut the top red portion off and paint the amber on the clear and glue them in place. Either that or I leave them all red and start wrapping this thing up. Thanks for looking.

[dust collectors]

Rather than getting hung up on the tail light issue I decided to turn my attention to the interior. Everything has been painted and I made some floor matts to cover the rather larger ejector pin marks on the floor. I started to weather things a bit and will do a bit more. Might even add a bit of trash to the passenger side floor. Thanks for looking.

[dust collectors]

I was able to finally get back to it after work this evening although only for a short while. I got the interior finished aside from some further weathering. Also did a little more weathering on the bed and applied the decal and handle on the tailgate.(might have to reapply the handle a little crooked to look worn out a bit) Temped to add a dent or two back there but it might be a little late in the game for that, we'll see how the tail lights shake out. Thanks for looking.

[dust collectors]

When weathering the chassis I totally forgot about the spare tire. So focused on that a little bit, the wheel had all the lug nuts molded in so I went ahead and drilled them and did some dry brushing. It's just about there but have a little more to do. I painted the window seals black and although the front calls for some chrome on the 1/1 I will not be adding it. The black it pretty shinny so will hit it with some flat clear. I may try to make one last attempt to sort out the tail lights. Not too worried about them since there are plenty of details that I've overlooked and this is supposed to be a "quick build" after all. It's just about ready for final assembly and the last bits of weathering. Thanks for looking.

[dust collectors]

Did the last bit of weathering and final assembly. Decided to just smoke out the tail lights a bit to maybe look like some sort of aftermarket type deal to go with the turbo and lowered suspension.

[Modlbldr]

I like what you are doing with this. Your weathering is perfect! Sorry I didn't see this one earlier. For the taillights I would have BMF'ed the bottom half then painted half of that clear amber. For the back up lens mix some pearl white with future floor polish or clearcoat to get a slightly milky color and brush it on the lower portion of the BMF.

I just started a build of this kit myself. Going with a 90's- 2000's low budget mini truckin theme. Still very early stages on mine.

Looking forward to your finished project.

Later-

[Volzfan59]

I really like what you've done, great job! What did you do to fix the frame twist? Maybe I missed it, sorry if I did.

Thank you for posting 

[ewetwo]

Pretty cool looking.

[dust collectors]

Thanks Steve! To fix the frame I just gently twisted it in the opposite direction over a space heater. Did this several times little by little and it seemed to work out. Honestly don't think the heater was necessary.

Edited February 29, 2024 by dust collectors