1978 Silver Anniversary Pace Vette

[Harry P.]

I don't think anyone builds any cleaner than you do. Every detail is always so sharp and crisp. That shift diagram is almost surgically precise. And then when you realize how small it is... amazing.

[Scale-Master]

It came with the gauge decals, but not all the dashand console controls labels, horn button, etc, but the detail is so weak (and somewhat incorrect) that I decided to just use what came with the kit (not add any decals) and paint the molded in details such as they are.

[martinfan5]

Still looks great

[Daniel Lynch]

Very nice Corvette!!!!

I continu to follow your WIP

Daniel

[Danno]

GLAD to see the Corvette thread continuing!

[Scale-Master]

Thanks guys. The shifter pattern is not small, and it is crisply engraved. Now the numerals and the R denoting the gears...

They were easier to hand paint than to make decals for, even having the art on hand.

[Tony T]

The interior looks great!! Wow!

[TheCat]

You did an AWESOME job on that Dash and interior detail.

[W-409]

Wow! I thought that pics from 1:1 cars were not allowed!

Just kidding, great job on the interior. As Harry said, very clean and sharp details all over. I like that shift diagram too, but those carpets are amazing. Corvette textes are very sharp. Also you've managed to get perfect paint shade for the seats.

[Scale-Master]

Thanks. I think one of the reasons the interior colors work is the different sheens help accent the different colors more than if they were all satin or flat.

Here is the body masked off for the black to be applied. I spent between 3 and 4 hours masking this and the bumpers off, or the better part of two movies...

[Monty]

This is the part I've been waiting to see. Can you elaborate a little on your masking technique? Looks like you're using 3M fineline tape.

[Scale-Master]

I used a frisket material to mask the paint edge so I could get the small radiuses at the front and rear of each wheel well smooth as well as keeping the main arches uniform. It is stiffer than masking tape tape (kind of like thick 3M Magic tape) so it holds the shape better. I made a pattern and cut the frisket and then applied it to the body so I would not have to worry about cutting into the silver paint. Too bad the wheel wells are not symmetrical from side to side, so I had to do some massaging to split the differences.

Once I had the paint line where I wanted it, I masked off the silver with 3M blue and regular masking tapes. The frisket material is also blue and it is hard to see the difference between the two blue materials in the picture. The pattern I made for masking the silver/black line will also be used to make the red pinstripe that goes just below that color break.

[Edsel-Dan]

Is this a "Silver Anniversary" or Pace Car??

The Pace car is Black/Silver, the Anniversary is Pewter/Silver.

A class mate had one a few years ago he showed at local car shows.

I don't know if he still has it.

And I have both the MPC & Monogram Pace car kits.

I built one of the MPC kits Back in 78, and have another unbuilt.

The Monogram is a Re-issue. MPC Never did re-issue theirs.

I have an unbuilt of the MPC Silver Anniversary kit too.

Wish I had this info back when I built my Original MPC Pace car kit

Looking very Nice there.

[bryan_m]

very nice, i agree with everyone. you details are so crisp, so precise!

one question tho, what technique do you use to get the texture on the manifolds, ect, ect.... thanks in advance.

cheers

bryan m

[Dirkpitt289]

Outstanding work

[Scale-Master]

As I stated in the first post, this is an original 1978 issue, not a re-issue.

This is very similar to the car I am doing:

Maybe the labeling they used is incorrect? But the badging on the kit parts says "Silver Anniversary" in the engraving. The decals are clearly for the Pace Car. And the instructions give you only two choices. Black & Silver Pace Car or just Orange with a Tan interior. No mention of the Pewter & Silver Anniversary scheme in the instructions, but a photo of the Pace Car on the box.

I use talc (baby powder) for the texturing. I add it to the paint and spray. The more talc, the coarser the texture. And it makes the shop smell lilac fresh... with just a hint of lacquer.

[Scale-Master]

Forgot to post the update...

Chassis, suspension and engine are pretty much done. Clearly this part of the kit is based on an earlier ‘60’s era Corvette. No catalytic converters for one thing, and get a load of the 50’s era battery.

[Scale-Master]

Also got the wheels and tires done last night. I made decals for the center caps, but cut vinyl rings for the red stripes and used Tamiya flat white acrylic for the lettering and flat black for the slots in the rims. I have found photos of both silver centers and black centers; I like the look of the black better. The chrome isn’t the greatest, it has some wrinkling, but then it is 34 years old and photographs well.

[Tony T]

Great job on the subtle chassis weathering (exhaust). The wheels & tires look perfect, Mark.

[Casey]

The chrome isn’t the greatest, it has some wrinkling, but then it is 34 years old and photographs well.

A slight understatement.

This thread is the perfect example of why a box-stock build can be simply stunning. Every builder should aspire to build this cleanly and to this level of quality, regardless if their model is box stock or totally scratchbuilt.

[Harry P.]

How did you cut the rings for the red stripes on the wheels? And how did you apply them? How did you keep them perfectly round?

[Monty]

Strange that Monogram would bother to tool up a smog air pump for this but ignore the 2-1-2 exhaust configuration (dual exhaust from the engine merges at a single cat and re-emerges into dual pipes ). The battery issue is mystifying too, as C3 ('68-'82) batteries were in the compartment immediately behind the driver's seat.

The vinyl rings are an ingenious solution to making the wheels fully accurate. It's almost impossible to achieve the correct look with paint. All my sources show the black centers are correct for this car.

Can't wait to see your installments on paint!

[Scale-Master]

Yes, Dave is correct, I used a plotter.

As to Harry's other query, even though they are technically stickers, I floated them on like waterslide decals.

Monty, I can only assume this kit is a rebodied C2 Corvette kit with a C3 interior with a slightly modified earlier steering wheel. Still no excuse for that battery...

[Harry P.]

Ok, I see how the red stripes were cut on a plotter, but what do you mean, they're "technically" stickers but you floated them on like decals? Were they cut out of self-adhesive vinyl? I'm not sure how you handled self-adhesive stickers as "decals."

[Danno]

Stunning ... as always, Mark!!