Alpha - 1/8 `81 Corvette finished!

[Hawk312]

Finished this one up today guys. This is supposed to represent the "Alpha" car, which was the first Corvette produced in the current Bowling Green Kentucky plant.

So again, this was started with combining the 1/8 scale `78 and `82 Corvette kits. The wheels, engine, and interior are from the `78, the rest is from the `81. This was a weird build. Some of the details, like the super detailed starter and having separate "bands" for the fan belts, seem to be an attempt to make this a nicely detailed state-of-the-art kit. But then, the interior bucket included the seats, console, and door panels were all molded as one piece. Likewise, the intake manifold and carburetor was all one big blocky piece. I only added limited details on this one as the kit was very basic to begin with, and many of the parts were obviously out of scale. This kit builds up nicely, but it is nowhere near the complexity and accuracy of the big Camaro and `67 Corvette kits. I plan to make a mold of the wheels and use what is left of the `78 kit to build a pace car version.

Let me know what you think!

Edited September 23, 2012 by Hawk312

[Hawk312]

[tobaccoleafpie]

Wow, that is the most beautiful Vette build I have seen! How did you get so much detail into the steering wheel hub?

All the best,

Kevin

[Harry P.]

If the scale of the asphalt and the plants, etc. didn't give it away, that could easily pass for the real thing. Nobody does shinier paint than you do! Very nice...

[Harry P.]

Aha!!!! I found a flaw!

You left the rear hatch/glass hinges and the little "buttons" on the lower part of the rear glass where the struts were attached unpainted (clear)!

(plus the title of your post is wrong... isn't this an '82???)

The only '82 vette with the opening rear hatch was the Collector's Edition, and it came only in silver. I think.

[Hawk312]

Thanks Harry. Yeah, I need to paint the hinge buttons. I also need to add the license plate, which I still have to make.

The kit itself was an `82, hence the opening hatch. But I really didn`t like the clear hatch that came withe 78 on this car, so I went with the `82. Inaccurate I guess, but I think it looks better. The 1:1 car is an `81, which is why I didn`t use the crossfire engine.

Here is the inspiration:

http://www.vetteweb.com/features/vemp_1202_1981_corvette_coupes_alpha_and_omega/

[TooOld]

Gorgeous Paint ! ! Absolutely the nicest Vette I've seen in a long time ( including 1 : 1 ) .

[fredo84]

WOW ! I don't like to much this type of 'vet but you make me wanna build one !

Very nice detail ! beautiful realization !

[cobraman]

Beautiful Vette. Makes me want to find one and build a replica of the "80" I had several years ago.

[Hawk312]

Wow, that is the most beautiful Vette build I have seen! How did you get so much detail into the steering wheel hub?

All the best,

Kevin

A very small brush, and squinty eyes.

[Jdurg]

Very, very nice job. Always love seeing these large scale Corvettes.

[vintagedragfan]

beautiful build David, looks real sitting there!

[Danno]

Spectacular build.

It is so accurate-factory-stock it's almost understated enough to slip by under the radar.

Very, very clean and dead-on!

Thanks for sharing your work with us.

[Jantrix]

Words fail me. But his could easily be used in Harry's Real or Model thread.

[comp1839]

incredibly clean build!!!!! outstanding craftsmanship!!!!!

[Ron Hamilton]

David, that is beautiful!!!! I was rooting through the basement the other week, and I came across my old built-up '82, which I did some "period" customization to it. It looks like I have all of the parts to it so far, except the T-Top panels, even though I have not gotten to the box it came in. Since I do not have another set of "Collector Series" Decals, I may have to do a "Standard" '82 Corvette. I have a set of the Aluminum Wheels from a derelict '78 built-up attempt. I also looked at my '78, and I may scuff the paint a little, and add a few coats of Black, and polish it out.

[gray07]

Awesome, love these body style vettes.

[Hawk312]

Thanks again everyone!

David, that is beautiful!!!! I was rooting through the basement the other week, and I came across my old built-up '82, which I did some "period" customization to it. It looks like I have all of the parts to it so far, except the T-Top panels, even though I have not gotten to the box it came in. Since I do not have another set of "Collector Series" Decals, I may have to do a "Standard" '82 Corvette. I have a set of the Aluminum Wheels from a derelict '78 built-up attempt. I also looked at my '78, and I may scuff the paint a little, and add a few coats of Black, and polish it out.

Thanks Ron. Do you plan to restore it? Let me know if you want t-top panels. I have no use for mine. I would give you my CE decals, but I don`t have them anymore.

[Ron Hamilton]

Thanks again everyone!

Thanks Ron. Do you plan to restore it? Let me know if you want t-top panels. I have no use for mine. I would give you my CE decals, but I don`t have them anymore.

I have all of the parts to it, and I am willing to bet that I can find the T-Top Panels. At the present time, I am thinning my collection, which I plan to sell off about 1800 kits, so that I have the room to properly display my built models. I have been getting some practice in a restoration of an "old" model, by tackling a 20+ year old built-up of mine, a 1/16 scale 1963 Corvette Stingray. I have a few things to do to it before I photograph it.

[Casey]

Gorgeous!

[crowe-t]

Awesome build! It looks like the real thing.

[tobaccoleafpie]

Just haaaaad to chime in again but kudos also to those emblems. I know they come as little buttons with the flags stamped in so you must have carved them out. I have an '82 in progress and carved out the emblem with a sewing needle. I kept the circle on mine. Also, the GT Radials are the tires to have. Some kits have the Eagle GTs and those are flimsy and tend to get flat spots.