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Posted

My usual jam is sci-fi models and aircraft, but I'm taking a nice excursion into new territory to build a replica of my father in law's 1965 Chevy El Camino. However, it's a little unusual in that it has a '64 front clip on the '65 body. Until recently I had no reasonable method to build the car since the AMT '64 El Camino has been long out of production and is usually extremely expensive when it can be found. However with the recently retooled and re-released 1964 Malibu SS by AMT, I finally had a path to build it. So, I ordered the '64 Malibu from my local shop, and my mother in law already had a '65 El Camino which she gave to me for the purpose. 

At this point, I've hacked the front end off of both bodies, done some judicious filing and sanding and glued them back together. I'm really happy with how well they have melded. In addition to the body surgery, I'm modeling and 3D printing all of the custom details: the Foose wheels, brakes and calipers, custom center console, steering wheels, mirrors, and a few other miscellaneous parts. I also found some bucket seats on Thingiverse that are a reasonably close match to the seats in the car.

The real car:

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Doner kits, 1:25 AMT 1964 Malibu SS and 1965 El Camino:

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Hack job on the bodies complete:

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Front and rear end joined up:

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Test fit of the body on the chassis with temporary Pegasus Hobbies IROC wheels and rubber tires:

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The Foose Knuckle wheels used on the real car modeled in Fusion 3D:

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The first test batch of wheels and seats on the printer build plate, letting excess resin drip off: image.thumb.jpeg.dac374c67ecfdb18a0eefefcdbf7011e.jpeg

 

Cleaned and cured wheels test fitted, I think they're looking great:

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Close up of the front wheel, I'm a little worried about the layer lines since they are going to be painted with Alclad II Chrome, but I'm going to give it a shot with some high fill Mr. Surfacer 500 and a light sanding and see how they come out. Worst case, I've been thinking of getting a second higher resolution printer to minimize any layer lines anyway, so this would be a good excuse :).

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The real interior:

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Custom center console modeled in Fusion:

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Brake rotor and caliper Fusion model:

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Steering wheel Fusion model:

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  • Like 7
Posted

Nice to see the body parts line up so well.

I have an old '65 Elky body and plan to do the same conversion eventually.

  • Like 1
Posted

You have a good start on what should become an excellent build, especially if it looks like the 1:1. Some very nice 3D work. My 1:1 grail is a '65 SS 327 4-speed. Prefer a sedan but would settle for an El Camino. Keep those updates coming.

  • Like 1
Posted

Thanks! I'm hoping it turns out well. I'm going to have to pay very, very close attention to all of the prep because there's absolutely nowhere to hide on this one with that ultra glossy black finish.

Posted

I got a new Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra printer to suppliment my Saturn. The Mars has a smaller build volume but is much higher resolution (18 micron XY resolution vs. 50 microns for the Saturn). I got it set up yesterday and ran some test prints and a batch of the wheels and I'm extremely happy with how they came out, the smoother prints should be much easier to prep for paint.

The new hotness on the right and my O.G. Saturn on the left.
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While the new Mars is much higher resolution, the build volume of the Saturn is significantly larger, so it will definitely still have a place in my workshop.

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First batch of wheels on the plate.

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Here are the Saturn and Mars prints side by side. The Saturn is on the left and the Mars is on the right. You can see a pretty big difference in smoothness and the amount of voxel lines.

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Oblique shot of the Mars print. The voxel lines are still there, but they're extremely small.

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Oblique shot of the Saturn rim. You can really see how much more pronounced the voxel lines are, especially around the hub and on the spokes.

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  • Like 3
Posted

Interior parts fresh off of the printer and out of the IPA wash. I printed extra of the steering wheels, columns, and gear shift levers since I'm always worried about breaking delicate parts. They're drying while I'm at work and I'll separate the steering wheels from the support when I get home and then a quick post cure. I'm really happy with how they came out.

 

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Steering wheel close up:

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Close up of the gear shift levers. They're so tiny you can see the translucency in the resin.

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Closer view of the steering columns and center console:

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Seat close up. I didn't design these, they're for the Fanhome 1/12 Back to the Future De Lorian, but they're very close to the seats in the actual car.

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  • Like 5
Posted

The supports are all removed on the interior parts and they've been post-cured. I did a little surgery on the cabin tub and mocked everything up. I'm super happy with how it's all coming together.

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  • Like 8
Posted

I bought some fingernail chrome powder and did a very quick and dirty test on one of the spare wheels. I need to refine the process, but I'm very encouraged by the results. The biggest hurdle I need to tackle is finding an airbrush able paint that the powder will adhere to, or find a way to thin the UV coat sufficiently so that it doesn't pool in the corners and destroy the details.

 

 

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  • Like 4
Posted

Great looking El Camino. I wonder about the height of the seat backs. Visually they look a little tall especially the head rests. Clearance may be an issue with the rear window as well. I'm sure you will work it all out. 

  • Like 1
Posted
18 hours ago, espo said:

Great looking El Camino. I wonder about the height of the seat backs. Visually they look a little tall especially the head rests. Clearance may be an issue with the rear window as well. I'm sure you will work it all out. 

Thanks! The seats are pretty close to the height of the ones in the car but needed a little modification. I cut the headrests off, sanded everything down to a nice shape, and glued them back on with more forward cant. With the headrests fixed, they clear the window correctly.

  • Like 1
Posted
On 8/18/2024 at 6:48 AM, David G. said:

Excellent work on this Jason!

It's really cool seeing how the 3D printed items supplement the kit.

David G.

Yeah, home 3D printing is a game changing technology for modelers. It's also a whole other discipline unto itself, but it's well worth learning. ?

Posted

I haven't had a lot of time for modeling over the last week but I did manage to knock out some stuff today. With all of the 3D printed details, I decided to jazz up the cabin tub. The rear bulkhead on the stock kit part is just a flat slab which bears very little resemblance to the real world parts. The cowling under the window behind the seats is more of a shelf and there's some nice stamped reinforcement on the bulkhead itself, as well as some bracing. So I did some major surgery on the tub, cutting out the rear under the cowling and scratch built a new bulkhead out of styrene sheet that approximates the real thing. It will mostly be hidden behind the seats, but just enough should show to give some visual interest.

I also did a preliminary fitting of the windows. I used the Malibu front window since there are some locator pins that help to align it properly and I also cut off the wing windows since the real car has full custom side windows without the wings. I cut the rear window off of the one piece front and rear window from the El Camino kit and did some judicious sanding on both windows for a better fit. I still plan on finessing both a bit more, but they're already fitting way better than stock. 

Finally I sanded down the door panels on the tub and am in the process of scratch building new panels that are closer or the '64 door upholstery and trim. I may also design and print some arm rests. I'm not sure about the skins, the scribing and simulated upholstery padding is a little flat and a little messy. I'll finish the left side up and see if I want to take another stab at it. 

Stock tub rear bulkhead:

PXL_20240824_200213332.thumb.jpg.37d1b871210d690964b639771f2d77c7.jpg

New and improved rear bulkhead. It's much closer to the real deal now. 

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Test with the seats and center console in place. Most of the bulkhead is hidden, but enough is visible to provide some interest. 

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Test fit in the body with the windows in place. 

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Test fitting of the new door panel. I'm not sure about it and may start over. 

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Full interior fitting with the windows. I cut the headrests off of the seats, sanded everything to a nice shape, and glued them back on with a forward cant. They fit nicely and clear the rear window. 

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  • Like 2
Posted

I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. After thinking overnight on the door panel skins, I decided I didn't like how the scribing was coming out and I'm taking a different tack. Instead of trying to make them out of a single sheet, I cut out all of the various upholstered panels and trim pieces and sanded all of the edges down to a nice profile. I then carefully glued them all down to another backing piece. I'm super happy with how it came out, now I just need to do it all over again for the passenger side. 

 

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  • Like 2
Posted

You are doing an amazing job with this. I have to chuckle a bit though.  For many years the 64 was the less desirable of the two. Many people would put a 65 front clip on their 64 as well as switch out the interior so they could have the more desirable 65 look. In essence, a clone.

You are doing the complete opposite.  ? 

I am fortunate enough to have a 1964 Elcamino body and grill. I also have a 1965 donor. My build will more than likely have a '65 "upgraded" interior.  ? 

  • Like 2
Posted
12 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Nice work Jason. That interior looks downright comfy.?

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, Sam I Am said:

You are doing an amazing job with this. I have to chuckle a bit though.  For many years the 64 was the less desirable of the two. Many people would put a 65 front clip on their 64 as well as switch out the interior so they could have the more desirable 65 look. In essence, a clone.

You are doing the complete opposite.  ? 

I am fortunate enough to have a 1964 Elcamino body and grill. I also have a 1965 donor. My build will more than likely have a '65 "upgraded" interior.  ? 

Thanks!

Interesting story, my in-laws were down at our house last weekend and I was talking to my FiL about the car. It turns out I was mistaken, it's a full '64, but he liked the '65 tail lights and rear bumper better so he used those instead.

They also have a '64 Malibu SS convertible that was my MiL's daily driver for a long time. I may pick up another Malibu kit and chop the top off after this one is done. ?

  • Like 2
Posted
On 8/16/2024 at 8:52 PM, JNordgren42 said:

I bought some fingernail chrome powder and did a very quick and dirty test on one of the spare wheels. I need to refine the process, but I'm very encouraged by the results. The biggest hurdle I need to tackle is finding an airbrush able paint that the powder will adhere to, or find a way to thin the UV coat sufficiently so that it doesn't pool in the corners and destroy the details.

 

It does make a nice chrome finish. Too bad the resin is so thick.I tried thinning it with lacquer thinner, IPA, and I think varsol or something. None of them set up with the UV light or dry out.? I think maybe an enamel paint and apply the powder before it has completely dried hard?

  • Like 1
Posted
25 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

It does make a nice chrome finish. Too bad the resin is so thick.I tried thinning it with lacquer thinner, IPA, and I think varsol or something. None of them set up with the UV light or dry out.? I think maybe an enamel paint and apply the powder before it has completely dried hard?

Yeah, the UV gloss is too thick for finely detailed parts. I did have luck with some moderate thinning with Gunze Mr. Leveling Thinner (lacquer based). I'm going to see how far I can push it and still have it cure. I also plan on experimenting with lacquer and possibly enamels, I'm pretty sure it's possible to get it to adhere to a paint finish. Modo makes a set that has what I'm sure is the same type of pigment powder that goes over a gloss black lacquer base. Unfortunately Modo doesn't have U.S. distribution anymore (which is a shame,because I love their primer), so I haven't been able to get.my hands on it. But with some perseverance, I'm sure I can figure it out. 

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