Chuck Most Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 And yes Rob, you've got some great ones in progress too, please join in! What he said, because I just now realize I didn't come out and say so myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I guess I will be dragging the GT back out...I tell ya, the peer pressure is heavy in this CB. I knew I needed to reinforce and/or add some material to support the new rear valance panel, so I added a few filler pieces of styrene on both sides and welded them all together: You can see how it was barely hanging on in this older pic: I also added some thickness to the rear "trunk" panel by welding a piece of styrene sheet in place. The real car has a very subtle hump in this area, and the reveal along the bottom edge of the rear window opening is considerably wider than the stock Gremlin's, so I knew I had to build up that area slightly...and eventually sand it down again, at least on the edges. Thank goodness for spring clips: The beltline peak on one side of the body still needs a little more definition, so once that's done the line can be carried through to the rear, setting the bumper height permanently. The rear bumper visually dominates the back end of the car, and it's a complex shape, so I need to make sure it's spot on. I still have some work to do on the roof, as the contours of the AMX and Gremlin roofs were not a perfect match, so there's a small dip which needs to be filled: You can also see how the trailing edge of the window opening has been moved rearward, visually thinning out the C-pillars and taking away some of the stubbiness. The left side still needs to be done: I added an orange line to highlight the difference side-to-side, which is easier to see in this top view: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Casey, I'm glad the pressure got to ya, this is one that I really want to see completed! The symmetry on custom work is always the biggest pain, but it's all worth it in the end. Someday I'll actually measure out my stuff and catch stuff like that before I get too far along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Another minor little fork in the road- I'm repowering an older build of mine with a Rambler V8. The engine itself is a hodgepodge of Monogram Jeep and Rambler V8 parts, the latter of which I got from Casey. (I'm guessing the unused engine from his GT?) Some parts box carbs and Parks aluminum velocity stacks are the highlights. Here it is with the Olds V8 with which it was originally built... And here's how it looks as of tonight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The symmetry on custom work is always the biggest pain, but it's all worth it in the end. Someday I'll actually measure out my stuff and catch stuff like that before I get too far along! The lack of good reference for this one is the biggest stumbling block for me, but at least I have one straight on side shot to work with. A nice large, clear rear shot would be ideal so I can see exactly what the recessed tail lights look like, but I'll do what I can with what I have. There's nothing worse than getting close to final paint and realizing something isn't symmetrical with the body. I made sure to tape both rocker panels to a piece of glass when I was cutting up and reassembling the body, so it should be square. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Another minor little fork in the road- I'm repowering an older build of mine with a Rambler V8. The engine itself is a hodgepodge of Monogram Jeep and Rambler V8 parts, the latter of which I got from Casey. (I'm guessing the unused engine from his GT?) Some parts box carbs and Parks aluminum velocity stacks are the highlights. And here's how it looks as of tonight... I think that is the AMX's engine, yes. Looks like you removed those tube-like stubs and filled in the sides of the block? I like it better with the AMC engine, too. I'm thinking a narrowed '34-ish Chrysler Airflow grille would work? Are those the wheels and tires from the reissued Black Widow pickup kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Nah- gotta keep the Hudson grille... that's AMC-themed too, after all. Besides, where the bleepity blank am I gonna find an Airflow grille in 1:25? I didn't fill in the JoHan block- I happened to have an old Monogram Jeep 304 block laying around, so I just adapted the JoHan parts to that. Even though it's 1:24 and the Rambler stuff is 1:25, everything matched up pretty well. And yes, those rollers are from the Black Widow reissue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I've become a lot less picky when it comes to 1/24 vs. 1/25 engines in the last year or so, for the reason you mentioned- most times the parts will work with each other without modification. Maybe I should've suggested Nash Airflyte instead. Next time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I made a little progress on the AMX GT tonight, adding the lower valence piece using sheet styrene, and closing in the back end completely. I am going to try to get the rearend shape correct first, then make the tail light openings, remove the bumper section, add some thin strips around it to narrow the gap, and fine tune the rear window reveal. The correct shape is slowly developing...: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) Well gentlemen, I'm back! The painting Gods have smiled down upon me today, it's in color again, and I think I can safely say that all it needs now is a bit of fine sanding and some Clear. Here's the pics of the Pearl White laid down and a bit of masking for the Pearl Red...wait for it in the next posting! Edited July 23, 2012 by Custom Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 And now, the Pearl Red, followed by a trip into the dehydrator for about an hour. Once it was removed from the dehydrator, I knocked down the edges of the stripes with some 2400 grit, a bit more masking was done, and the Pearl Blue was laid down. I'll let it cure for a day or so, drop it in the dehydrator probably tomorrow night, remove the few specks of dust, and get her in Clear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 That looks great ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks Ray, I hope it goes well from here, it's already been painted 4 times so far! So much for a "quick and easy" slump buster, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 AMCs always look good in red, white and blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Yeah I agree Casey. I just didn't want the typical AMC racing scheme. I tried a few different ones, and after the last stripping, I decided to go with a simpler, modern version of that paint scheme. We;ll see how she looks with some Clear and foil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 My luck is holding up nicely today, I removed the masking from the tail lights with only two little slips of the X-Acto, both were easily fixed too. I also hit the separation between the Blue and White with some 2400, took care of the few specks of dust, and all is good. If work goes well this week, I may be able to shoot some Clear in a day or two, wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Oh, yeah- that'll definitely work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Chuck, I'm liking it more and more every time I see it now, so I must have finally done something right! OK, the body spent a few hours in the dehydrator, I hit it with 6000, 8000 & 12000 grit polishing cloths to get it good and smooth, and I'll throw some Clear at it tomorrow night if I get home early enough. Now onto the reason for tonight's posting, it's time to decide, Red sleeves or Silver? I'm not sold on either one yet, I'm thinking it might be better to wait until she's in Clear and all the foil and other details are in place before I finally choose, but I want some opinions, so fire away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Silver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Not sure- I do kind of like the red, and that would make the car stand out.... but a bright red white and blue Matador will NEVER get lost at a show or on a display shelf, so I don't know if they're really required. Hmmmm.... Something easier to decide for me- to level out the body on my Matador by raising one side or lowering the other. I'm lowering the other, of course! (Like I had to tell you that, right? ) Slung some Corvette mufflers under the hind end, and made some cutouts in the rear valance to clear the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Silver on the wheels look better to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) Chuck, that looks plain mean! I may have a pretty Matador right now, but your is gonna be a vicious beast when it's done! Now about my rims, I'm up in the air, and probably will be up to the last second, that's just me. Now I'm gonna have to wait a few days before I can test out some other rims, because we have Clear! No touching the body for mock-ups for a few days at least! It came out nicely, only one speck of dust to worry about so far, so I'm happy with the results! What I'm not happy with is the stripes are off center. The front stripes are off to the right, and the back stripes are off to the left. Too late to fix it now, I'll just have to live with it at this point! Edited July 25, 2012 by Custom Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 OK, we're nearing the finish line on the body, the foil work is all done, and all the windows are in place. No pics of the windshield yet, the glue is still drying, so these will have to do for now, enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Love the colors, it's turning out real nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooOld Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Hi everybody ! I haven't posted any pictures yet , but I have been working on my Nash Metropolitan . I've pretty much decided on what I want to do so here it is . I'm using the Revell-o-gram '67 Vette as a donor kit . The complete corvette interior will be used . It almost fits perfectly . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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