Chassis and Crossbows
This is my first AMT kit. I like the stiffness of the plastic parts. It feels like a solid, durable kit.
Engine build is underway. I didn't have Chevrolet engine red, so I used a base coat of X-7 Red and went over it with a coat of Clear Orange.
I went for the custom option and added the velocity stacks and Offenhauser valve covers. I will have to cut a hole in the hood to make room.
Starting on some rusty wheels. First is a base coat of Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red with some dashes of X-26 Clear Orange.
Globs of liquid masking film go over top to provide something for chipping and scraping once the overcoat is applied.
Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum goes overtop and gets plenty of drying time.
The masking film is scraped off haphazardly with a finger nail in spots to provide a rusty look. I did wind up dabbing on some light bits of Clear Orange again with my thumb and rubbing it around to get a little more variety to the colour.
The wheel on the left has been distressed with a rough grade file. It adds a nice dusty and worn look that will look even better once some brake dust is added and they get some dirt on them.
Some paint tests for the cloth part of the seats. After sorting through a bunch of colours, the sequence on the left has won out. Olive Drab, Khaki, Buff, and Deck Tan for the stitching.
Hope this works. The cloth portion has been painted over with XF-57 Buff, being the lightest of the three weaves. When it's dry I will mask off some stripes and start with the next tone.
Masking off some stripes. Tried to get a consistent 10th-inch width for each colour, but they ended up a little uneven.
The stripes are pretty close in tone to the originals, if not to perfect scale. There's some bleeding through under the tape here but it got cleaned up afterward.
Using a knife to paint the embroidery and stitching, and coating the vinyl areas with MicroFlat to give them a different sheen from the cloth inset. Not perfect, but after 4 hours it's close enough.
Started on the door panels. Fiddly business painting some of that trim, and with just a bit more touch up I'll be happy.
Trying to match the carpet colour I wanted, a base of Khaki with some Gold drybrushed in and a thumb-grimed brushing of Olive Drab/Flat Brown mix over top.
Interior assembly, stage one. Side panels and seats are in place.
The interior has taken me more time than all the rest of the work so far. The dashboard is going to be a tough one to paint as well. Lots of fine details.
Double-coat of drybrush to highlight those raised speedometer numbers. First a brush of white, followed by clear green. And of course it will never be seen once installed.
Base dash is done. A mix of Olive Drab and Hull Red for a chestnutty wood finish.
Custom gauges mounted, steering wheel installed and all interior components finally in place.
My modeling club approved of the interior. At least they (unlike my wife) don't think I'm crazy. Not that they'd admit anyways.
Had just enough Semi-Gloss Black leftover in the can to spray the chassis.
Front end assembly in place and the engine has been mounted.
It was really fiddly trying to get the kingpins to stay in place during assembly.
Teasing the body colour here with the firewall, before I go in and paint some more of those details. It's going to be wonderfully horrendous!
The completed radiator assembly.
Rear suspension and exhaust have been installed. Waiting now for the body paint to finish curing before installing the glass.
The body coat doesn't have to be high-gloss because it's going to get roughed up and weathered before I'm finished.
Chassis, interior and body have come together. It was a bit of work to get them to come together but it's a good enough fit for what I need.
Interior looks better when viewed through the open window than when it was on its own.
Starting on the next kit for the project, a 1941 Ford Woody. Nice to finally build an engine that looks a little different.
Parts fit together snugly with little issue. Side note, this is my first engine that was entirely airbrushed.
The radiator was a bid fiddly to get into place. Trying to secure the hoses enough to hold in place while being loose enough to angle into position was frustrating until it all came together.
Should I get a set of white wall tires, are you gonna cruise a miracle mile?
Went with a tan and brown interior - the seats ended up with a nice slightly mottled pattern. Can't imagine driving with those tiny round pedals.
First attempt at a varnished woodgrain interior. A base of Flat Brown, covered with Dark Yellow, and a glaze of Clear Orange.
Interior panels painted and ready for assembly.
It doesn't look like much from the outside at this point but the interior came out nicely. There's an entire outer shell that fits over this interior cabin.
There was a bit of warping to the panels, particularly up front that made for a challenge to put these panels together.
A view of the interior. I found some good references to help inspire the painting.
The underbody on this kit feels remarkably more complex after so many NASCAR builds. A little tricky getting some of it to line up well with age and warping, but it pulled together.
Base coats have been applied but will need some sanding and polish as well as touching up in spots. The handles and hinges will also need painting before moving on.
Once the cab goes on, it's harder to see the details inside. Isn't that always the way? Doesn't matter, I know it's there. The outer cab wasn't quite sitting right when I took this photo, which is why the windows look off.
That rear driver's side wheel is a little crooked, but given that it's going into the Chassis and Crossbows diorama, it's not a big deal.
I considered going for a higher gloss finish, but this thing is going to get all dirty anyways.
I only installed the front windshield. It went in nice and clean, but I wasn't convinced that the hand-cut side windows would do the Woody any favours. They'd get in the way of combat, too.
Another engine build for another post-apocalyptic death machine. The components were really rough and don't assemble as well.
Time to start building a 1953 Corvette to add to the mayhem. Gotta love white wall tires and the Blue Flame Special.
The frame has some significant warping due to age. The CA glue is really earning its keep here. With a little weight applied, I should be able to get all four wheels on the ground together.
Not my best interior, but it's a really old kit and still a work in progress. Still have to install the front seats and the roll bar and permanently affix that steering column.
Seats installed and the roll bar has been mounted. Interior is finished.
Body is primed and the first coat of paint is drying. Meanwhile, the front end is coming along nicely.
The paint isn't perfect but it will serve. It's not the blue I had planned on, but Tamiya's Racing Blue really pops.
The orange peel is pretty visible in this shot. It doesn't seem so noticeable in person, but again, the weathering will mask some of this so I can continue practicing before I try a "show car".
Not my best work. I need to work on my painting window trim. The hood wouldn't quite stay closed either so I had to glue it shut. But it will be a nice addition to the Chassis and Crossbows project.
The decal on the plate was pretty fragile, and I lost part of the "California" - but it still works well enough once trimmed down.
The hood emblem turned out well, painted with an X-acto knife. The chrome also helps hide some of the clearcoat that pooled near the bottom.
Happy with the interior. Scraping away the paint in the creases gave me the embroidery look I was aiming for.
Looks better without the top. Overall pretty pleased with the end results. Will be a shame to damage it up for the Chassis & Crossbows set.
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27 September 2024, 23:33 -
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A collection of vehicles for a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It's also a throwback to my childhood. Growing up with Mad Max and The Road Warrior we used to add battle damage to the model kits we built. I will likely add a fair amount of scratch-built armaments out of the scraps left over from previous builds.
