'55 Chevy Bel Air A/GS -Finished!-

[Speedfreak]

Niko that is awsome!!!! I didn't think it would look that good being a hot rod with this color combo, but , it looks great! That blue is beautiful, what color/paint is that?

[W-409]

Thanks Greg and Gene! I appreciate the kind words.

I got the idea for the color when I saw someone building another Tri-Five Chevy with a similar paint scheme. I thought it might look good. And I have to admit, it looks pretty good.

The paint is Tamiya's TS-23 Light Blue. I'll be using Tamiya's White for the top but I can't remember the paint code. I will check it out today.

[slusher]

Nice progress, and great color choices. Looking great...

[Snake45]

I like how it sits!

[Dragfreak]

Nice paintwork, it really looks good!

[DynoMight]

Hey Niko, looking great! A summer well spent!

[W-409]

Thanks guys! I highly appreciate the kind words.

A Small update for this one. I found a set of carburetors from my parts box. They're from AMT '66 Chevy Nova kit and they should be pretty good for this one. I also scratchbuilt a scoop from sheet styrene. I still have to drill holes for the carburetor throats to the bottom of that scoop, but otherwise it should be ready for paint. The hood isn't painted yet, because I have to make the hole on it slightly smaller.

[DynoMight]

Love the scoop, you do great work Niko.

[rmvw guy]

I was never a big fan of this kit but, you are making it look really good. The two-tone really works and the engine is looks great also. Nice choice of wheels too. Can't wait to see the rest, keep it going Niko!

[W-409]

Thanks Glenn and Ron! I appreciate your comments.

Finally I'm back working with this one. I started modifying the hole on the hood. It's too big for the scoop so I started adding some sheet styrene to make the hole smaller. I'll try to add some more styrene on this one really soon to get the hood painted.

[JTalmage]

Any tips on making that scoop? I'd like to make one similar and cover it in chrome BMF

[W-409]

Any tips on making that scoop? I'd like to make one similar and cover it in chrome BMF

It's actually quite easy. I started by making the bottom plate from sheet styrene. I just drew the lines to the sheet styrene and cut it off. The sides were done next. I used the first side piece as a quide to the other one and that way they turned out similar to each other. Then I glued those parts together and I also glued a larger piece of styrene to the top. Once the glue was dry, I trimmed it into a proper size and then I did the back piece with the same method. I've done three of these scoops in the past and all of them have turned out good. So those are actually quite easy to scratchbuild... I'm sure you can do it.

I still have to drill holes for the carburetor throats on the bottom part, though.

[Southern Fried]

Got'er lookin' good there Man.

Prefer 1/25, but...sometimes you gotta' go with whats out there.

[Mister Twister]

Ultra clean as usual......Looking forward to more! Oh, very clear pics also.

[W-409]

Thanks Philip and Darryl! I appreciate it!

Yep I know many people who don't like to build 1/24 scale models. I think it makes no difference, so for me this is not a big deal.

I got the hole on the hood done. A couple of pieces of sheet styrene and some rough sanding and now it's covered in Bondo. I also drilled holes to the scoop and now the carbs get some fresh air, too.

Edited October 24, 2014 by W-409

[W-409]

The hood is starting to look smooth now from the top side. After the last set of pics I have put a couple of coats of Bondo on it and sanded it smooth each time. Now it should be ready for a coat of Spray Filler or Primer, I'm not sure which one I'll be using. The underside is still rough, though. It needs to be smoothed out before I can shoot anything on it.

[Speedfreak]

Ain't (yes, it's in Webster's) prep work fun! The thought of sanding the underside of a hood makes me cringe with excitment!

Looking good Niko! How do you apply the Bondo? Is it sprayed on?

[W-409]

Thanks Gene!

The prep work can be really frustrating at sometimes, but now I somehow had inspiration to work with the hood as fast as the filler dried. The underside is another story though.... It will be a pain to get right as the shapes make it difficult to sand.

How do you apply the Bondo? Is it sprayed on?

I found this picture from the Internet. It shows how the Bondo looks when the actual filler and the hardener paste are mixed up.

For applying it on a surface I use a piece of thin styrene sheet or then a piece of thicker cardboard. It's the best way I've figured out anyway. It works like this, but of course just in a smaller scale.

[Speedfreak]

You're welcome Niko. Ya, that's what I thought it would be, I was hoping that maybe someone had come up with a spray version, I guess that's where filler primer comes in. You can tell I ain't no body man!

Edited November 1, 2014 by Speedfreak

[turbo nova]

Thanks Gene!

The prep work can be really frustrating at sometimes, but now I somehow had inspiration to work with the hood as fast as the filler dried. The underside is another story though.... It will be a pain to get right as the shapes make it difficult to sand.

I found this picture from the Internet. It shows how the Bondo looks when the actual filler and the hardener paste are mixed up.

For applying it on a surface I use a piece of thin styrene sheet or then a piece of thicker cardboard. It's the best way I've figured out anyway. It works like this, but of course just in a smaller scale.

NEVER mix with something like a screw driver, use a wide flat tool like a putty knife or even a stir stick. The reason why is present in those photo's, lots of air and pin holes. Mix it in like kneeding dough folding it back upon its self until you get a nice even color with no streaking, thats the reason the hardener is not the same color as the filler. FYI to those who make a mess, dont get it mixed before it sets, or end up chasing the filler all over the board you are mixing it on, try kneeding the filler on the board with no hardner in it until you can control the blob of filler and dont get a ton of pinholes, you can practice that without wasting $$$ filler.

BTW way spray on filler does exist but is is mainly used on large castings like crane counter weights etc., it doesnt have much use in the automotive world and most of it Im familiar with is about 1/8 thick so it would really bury details and ruin a kit body IMO

[W-409]

Gene: Yep the filler primer is a good stuff for sure, it covers easily minor flaws that still are present and it is easily sandable, too.

James: Uh oh I've always used a round wooden stick to mix up the putty and it has always worked perfectly. I think it makes no difference in what you mix it up with, but of course it needs to be mixed up properly so that the putty has a nice and even color on it. Filler Primer is a good stuff too. If you spray too much of it, yes, it will cover all of the details. Important with that is to spray a very light coat of it and then all of the details are still present. It makes the prep work so much easier when you don't have to put Bondo on dozens of places when the body is getting near paint.

[turbo nova]

everyone has what works for them, I used it daily for years and mixing in air is almost unavoidable with a stick and creates nightmares in 1:1 but by all means, what ever works for ya, I was just try'n to keep anyone new to the process from developing a bad habit.

Filler primer or 2K as its called is far from sprayable filler, it requires a pressure pot gun and is odd if your not used to it where as 1 and 2k's can easily be applied from anything from an airbrush to an hvlp or even rattle cans. The primers that are used and commonly available to us as auto refinishers and moddlers fall under 1k and 2k primers, sprayable filler is almost always a special order item and is usually in the industrial coatings rather than the typical automotive line.

[slusher]

Nice work on the hood Niko. I really like what your doing with this build..

[W-409]

Thanks Guys!

everyone has what works for them, I used it daily for years and mixing in air is almost unavoidable with a stick and creates nightmares in 1:1 but by all means, what ever works for ya, I was just try'n to keep anyone new to the process from developing a bad habit.

Filler primer or 2K as its called is far from sprayable filler, it requires a pressure pot gun and is odd if your not used to it where as 1 and 2k's can easily be applied from anything from an airbrush to an hvlp or even rattle cans. The primers that are used and commonly available to us as auto refinishers and moddlers fall under 1k and 2k primers, sprayable filler is almost always a special order item and is usually in the industrial coatings rather than the typical automotive line.

Yep it's true everyone has their own building techniques and for someone a technique that works for me might not work.

Oh well, looks like I've hit a language barrier in here. We call it Spray Filler or Filler Primer here in Finland, but I guess there might be another word for it in English.

A Small update. I just put the first coat of Bondo to the underside of the hood. Once it's dry, I will sand it smooth and it probably will need some more Bondo. I also shot some white Primer on the dashboard. Hopefully I can get it painted blue really soon.

[turbo nova]

no prob, no language diff, speedfreak asked about spray filler so thats why I brought it up, spray filler exist but spray filler and filler/high build 2K primer are two different things.

55 is turning out sweet