Ramfins59 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I picked up a '57 Pontiac Star Chief promo on EBAY at the end of last year. It is one of those Cycolac plastic promos with a metal friction chassis. I had to get replacement grille & bumpers and the side spears from Modelhaus at NNL East. The windshield glass was "fused" to the windshield frame. I tried prying it off and also immersed the whole thing in water and stuck it in the freezer for a few hours, but it would not come off. I had to mask it off completely before priming, painting and clearcoating. The body is painted Duplicolor Bright Silver Metallic and Tamiya Coral Blue. The grille was given a blackwash. The whitewall tires are from my parts box as are the mirrors and door handles. The antenna is a piece of guitar string inside a piece of surgical stainless steel tubing. I still have to add interior visors. The interior is painted Tamiya Coral Blue and Silver. The carpet is flocked in Black and the dashboard is painted body color with BMF and blackwash with clear epoxy gauge lenses. Pieces of shirt pins were used for shift and turn signal levers. Resin cranks and handles replaced the molded in ones. I'm not totally happy with it, but it looks good on the shelf. Any and all comments are welcomed and appreciated. On to the next victim.
charlie8575 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Considering what you were working with, Rich, I think you did a great job with it. Charlie Larkin
slusher Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Very sharp and super build Rich. I always like your color combinations. Your really good at this hobby Rich. Did you finish the 51 Chevy or did I miss it??
rocklandrambler Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Looks great. You are often too critical of yourself. The ONLY thing that jumps out at me is the angle of the steering wheel. In the '50's the wheel was almost vertical. Was this built into the model? Is it something that can be changed?
TooOld Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Oh yeah , that's nice ! I love the colors you used and the foil looks great ! I don't notice any warpage on this one . . . congrats on finding one in good condition !
TFchronos Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Very nicely done! Looks perfect from my point of view.
StevenGuthmiller Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 You have much more patience than me Rich! I bought a couple of these old promos many years ago, & you could almost sit & watch the bodies warp! Nice job on another difficult subject! Steve
Porscheman Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Rich, look good to me. I know from experience, restoring old models is a lot more difficult than building many level 3 kits. Al
Ramfins59 Posted May 22, 2014 Author Posted May 22, 2014 Thanks very much for all of your kind comments everyone. Charlie, Bob and Steven, this car was an unwarped and unassembled promo that I was able to get for a very low price on EBAY. Mike, that is the way the steering wheel was attached. I did remove it when painting and detailing everything, but I just glued it back on the way it was. Yes, it looks like a "bus" steering wheel angle. Carl, I thank you very much for your great and very kind words. Re the '51 Chevy...... Well...... It's back in its box for the time being. When I first tried putting it all together at final assembly, the inner fenders and firewall were not touching the body anywhere. I used CA glue debonder to disassemble everything on the chassis from the dashboard forward (radiator and hoses, inner fenders, firewall, dashboard, battery cables, heater hoses, horn and washer fluid line) and then reassembled everything to what I guesstimated to be the correct placement, and then touched up all the paint, etc. When I tried refitting everything back into the body again it all still would not seat correctly...!!! As you can well imagine I WAS REALLY P.O.'d. Instead of throwing the whole thing against the cinder block wall in my basement workshop, or, putting it on the floor and stepping on it, I just put it all back in its box. I'll get back to it some day down the road with a fresh outlook and calmer demeanor and will hopefully solve the problem and win the final assembly battle. I was just very, very P.O.'d that everything went so well, and all the parts of the model came out so good...... until the very last step.
bbowser Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Looks great. You are often too critical of yourself. The ONLY thing that jumps out at me is the angle of the steering wheel. In the '50's the wheel was almost vertical. Was this built into the model? Is it something that can be changed? I think it's meant for Ralph Cramden's daily driver! Seriously, another great model Rich, I really dig the 50's iron.
realgone58 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Man, this really came out sweet! The colors are striking on it! Very nice save!
Ramfins59 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Posted May 23, 2014 Thanks a lot guys. Your encouraging words are greatly appreciated.
Duntov Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Hey Rich!!! Nice rescue my friend --- classy as usual!!!!
Harry P. Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 With the steering wheel at that angle, Ralph Kramden would feel right at home!
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