So I decided that I would post a couple of pics of my 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS that I am working on. I have the frame & engine completed, and am working on the interior.

Here is sort of the look that I'm going for:


Engine, transmission, & frame:


Hopefully some pics of the interior soon.

Jim

My mom owned one of those back in the day. Dark Blue.

Cool. A SS or a standard Nova?

Jim

Great start on a classic 60's ride Jim, thanks for posting your progress so far. Looking forward to more updates.

Cheers, D

It was the SS. That was after the GT350 (not sure of year, but based on me being in the pic it was pre-'68) and the '59 Thunderbird hard-top convertible.

Thanks, D. Hoping to get some more work done on it this weekend.

Shell, sounds like your Mom liked sports cars.

Jim

I think maybe it was because my dad bought them for her (except the 'bird) because after the divorce we tooled around in a Pinto wagon.

Jim,
Excellent start. The engine really came out looking quite nice. Love the two tone natural metal of the block to the exhaust headers.

As for the color, I do like that deep Yellow way better then the Canary Yellow on my LeMans. Always looked dirty and never really shined.

Joel

An observation, that may or may not be entirely correct.

On my aircraft and armor forums I see a lot of builds that utilize aftermarket quite a bit (sometimes it seems half the kit gets tossed out and is replaced) but I don't see much of that here on the automobile forum builds; it seems there is much more scratch-building being done. I know there is some aftermarket for car kits out there, but it doesn't seem to appear anywhere. Is OOB and scratch-building more common in the auto kit world?

I myself tend to build OOB most of the time (probably because I am cheap and lazy).

Thanks, Joel. The color I chose is actually called Daytona Yellow (apparently, it one of two colors the 1969 Nova SS came from the factory with). I generally don't have much luck with yellow, but we're going to run it up the flagpole & see what happens.

Shell, there is an aftermarket for automotive kits, but it's no where near as extensive as the armor or aircraft sector. There are companies that make different engines & engine components, P/E details, wheels & tires, and bodies to name a few. I sometimes poke some (good hearted) fun at how neurotic some armor modelers seem to get, and some automotive modelers can be that way too; but I think most of us just want a reasonably accurate model with a nice paint job to sit on the shelf.

I, too, mostly build OOB; or OOB with minor detail upgrades. Mostly that has to do with my skill level, how much time I actually want to commit to a build, I only go to a couple of shows a year (and I don't care if I get anything), and once I post photos of my builds on the Forums no one will see those details ever again.

A Pinto wagon? My dad had one of those (a 1972, I think). He used it for his farrier service when we lived in Miami.

Jim

Jim,
Our philosophies are just about the same. I'm going to be going to two conventions this year, but I don't plan on entering the contests. I've done that route with IPMS during my aircraft days, and it slowly but surely all I cared about was what placed for a contest, and what to build for the next one.

Just posting on my two auto sites is plenty good enough for me these days.

As for AM, I seem to be buying those Detail Up kits for just about every model out of Asian market these days. Good thing I've now got a 16 model hard cap on my stash, and best I'll do is build one, replace one. At my age, time is definitely not on my side any longer.

Joel

Managed to get the dash done today.



Looks like I need to top off the fuel!

Jim

Great choice of model James. Top job so far.

Thanks, Jesper.

Jim

Jim,
You just nailed that dash pure and simple.

Joel

Thanks, Joel. Got to love decals!

Jim

Managed to get the interior done today:


Now on to the body!

Jim

Lovely clean interior there Jim, nice work!

Cheers, D

Jim,
Your interior looks better then a real one. Now that's impressive for sure.

Joel

I was at Hobby Lobby today and saw an AMT kit for the Nova SS that could build stock or street rod but no mention of what year it was. Anyone know off-hand?

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

Shell, no idea on the year of the AMT Nova.

Jim

Check Scalemates. Looks like AMT did a Stock '66 and a Pro Stock 72, maybe the '72 has a street or track flavor.

That it says Pro Stock makes it the '72. Guess I can't make my mom's car from that kit.

Body is in paint. It's Testors Model Masters Auto Lacquer Daytona Yellow (28103).



Doesn't look too shabby. I'm liking it. Just about need sunglasses to look at it, though!

Jim

Jim, I'm catching up with your build just now!

Neat and very good looking interior .
I am a fan of Testors lacquers myself too, but I can find them only exceptionally, and only in a few basic shades
Seeing your inspiration picture and comparing it with your result, I must say you've scored big!

KUTGW!
Gabriel