D,
The underside of the chassis really came out looking quite nice. If you didn't mention that you hand painted the twin exhausts and gas tank, I'd never have thought it. That's how good it came out.

Did I ever mention just how much I hate injector pin marks

Joel

Well that's a major tool making fail! To have the ejectors on the visible side of the part is a major no-no!

Prime-Time for bits'n'bobs on the '55 Streeter!





Cheers, D

I've decided on a white interior for this one, but with a bit of a difference, hopefully it works out! More details soon!



Cheers, D

D,
So the primer crew worked it's magic yesterday. Looking forward to seeing what you've got up your modeling sleeve for the interior.

Joel

quite a few Bel Airs at the Hanging Rock car show D. Yours would fit right in they're that good

Thanks for checking in guys, I'm glad I haven't bored you to death with my non-stop Bowtie shenanigans!

This interior is a bit of a trial, as was the body colour. After the white (SMS Premium White Lacquer) was cured, time to mask.


Then time for some more colour, SMS Insignia Red Lacquer, and some Tamiya Black PLW.


The interior tub got some colour as well. I thought about masking and painting the upper panel on the rear seat in the Insignia Red, but the roll bars and part of the centre console are red as well so there will be plenty of highlights in the view through the windows.





I will do a bit more tidy up on the PLW with mineral spirits, then fit off the console, dash, pedals and steering wheel.

Cheers, D

D,
You out did yourself on the start of the interior. Those two tone seats are amazing. And the Red on the lower doors that's carried right to the passengers bench in the back really makes the interior POP!!

Joel

The red paint on that 55 drag car looks really good, and the two tone red and white interior on the convert has a nice custom look well done Damain.

Dude, you are depressing me. That looks wonderful! My '51 cabin is also a one piece and all of the masking is fighting me tooth and nail. Paint, mask, paint mask some more, paint... The tape pulled up part of the light (deck tan) on the front seat, no telling what will happen to the rest of the paint.

Mark, believe me, there has been some touch-up work going on here as well mate! The PLW is hiding a fair bit of bleed as well as highlighting the upholstery panels.

What type of tape are you using? I generally use Tamiya tape, but also de-tack it on my pants a couple of times before application. I can't recall the last time I had paint lift.

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated. This is a fun build with a lot of modifications from the classic stock models.

Cheers, D

A little more progress on the interior, installed the centre console, gear shift, pedals, fire extinguisher, roll bars and seats.





I'm thinking I might use some putty and build up a boot for the shifter.

I still need to detail paint the door handles and dashboard, fit off the steering column and wheel, then the interior is done.

Cheers, D

D,
Absolutely impressive. As for the boot, in this case I think it will add a little more color contrast. I'd say go for it.

Joel

Nice work on that interior Damian. You could stack a few pieces of scrap plastic from larger at the base to small drill a hole and paint it black.

Thanks Joel, Rob, as always your feedback and input is always greatly appreciated.

There is a funny clear hood scoop in this kit, which doesn't appeal to me at all.


I'm thinking to tidy up the fit a bit then paint it flat black to contrast with the body. It will be a bit of a highlight. Either that or a chrome finish.

The clear part is one piece for the windscreen, side windows and rear glass. I will be dissecting it and removing the side glass for the doors, but might retain the rear quarter glass.
I always hold my breath when I test fit the clear parts on these kits, it seems to be a less than 50/50 chance to get a good fit without some major surgery.
The windscreen and front quarter windows fit very nicely.


Oh dear, this will be fun

A short shot on the body mould combined with poor fitting clear parts, not ideal. I was aware of the short shot but up to this point hadn't trial fitted the clear part.
My plan now is to check the gap once I separate the front and rear sections, then cut back the body section to a neat even line. With some careful work I'm thinking I can add a strip of Evergreen to the bottom face of the clear part to form a "trim" profile, then paint it either flat black or chrome to match the scoop.

Any other ideas please feel free to throw them in here.

Cheers, D

D,
From the little I actually know about the Hot Rod craze I grew up in (being a sports car fanatic from my pre-teen years to today), the clear plexi hood scoop seems to have been "borrowed" from the Hemi under glass. Never did see any Chevy have that little option. I'd just thin it down more to scale, then paint it.

You're not kidding about the clear glass fit. That rear window is horrid. Hopefully as you said, once you do your cutting, it will fit much better, so that just a little body work will be needed.

Joel

That's a bummer about the short shot on the body, D!

If it were me, I know it'd mean destroying the paint work, but I'd use styrene sheet to build it back out to where it should be using the windscreen as a template on where to put the trim line... Then bog and sand before painting

Seriously, if it wasn't for the love of the subject matter and the absence of any alternatives, facing this type of fix on every single build would wear very thin. I suppose I'm just lucky that I enjoy problem solving in general, as well as the build process.

Ok, on with the rectifications!

First up, I tidied up the short shot on the rear deck by scraping and then sanding it back to a neat curve leaving the original rear glass surround at matching points on either side. Still a bit of work to do here.

My plan is to fit a fine strip insert on the clear part to match the trim which should be much simpler than trying to build up the body itself. The trim will be foiled so I won't need to paint-match it.

Next up was surgery on the clear part, I lined up the windscreen and front quarter windows and then scored a cut line carefully behind the quarter window frame. A couple of minutes with a fine razor saw working slowly so the part didn't crack, and here we are.


As shown earlier, the front section of the clear part is quite a neat fit.


When the need to line up the front area is removed, the rear screen actually sits quite nicely. If the body part wasn't short-shot I could fix this in place and move on.


Taping the front and rear glass roughly into place, you can see why the whole single piece was never going to work.


Next step will be to cut the side glass sections off the rear glass and start on fitting the trim strip.

I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am

Cheers, D

D,
Certainly excellent problem solving. The rear glass/Body trim once completed should be perfect. And your assessment of rear glass issue was 100% correct as it now fits correctly after the surgical separation.

Joel

Nice work on the fix Damian, once you are done no one will know what happened.

Thanks guys.

To be honest, I'm really not sure why somebody with Vac-forming skills hasn't come out with a range of after-market replacement clear parts for these kits. They would fly off the shelves.

Cheers, D

D,
Interesting idea. How hard could it be to make a mold of the cut up existing and corrected glass as needed. The issue for me would be that I've yet to see vac glass/canopies that are really crystal clear, and they're not the easiest thing to work with. But the plus side is that they would be correct in shape and size, and won't break the bank. Plus, the few vac canopies I bought from the Squadron comes in a pack of two.

Joel

Good luck Damian, your solution sounds pretty good.

nice work D!

elegant work around on the glass to get it to settle in the correct position

Carrying on with the clear part surgery, I marked and cut the side sections off to just leave the rear glass, with plenty of "meat" on the sides still to get a good surface to glue.


Once I had the glass cut, I decided to get back to the interior and get it finished off. The gear shift was still annoying me, so I got a pair of sprue cutters and snipped it off at the base. Now, what better to use to replicate a black rubber boot, than black rubber

Well, worth a try, but a fail on this one! This was the tree from a set of rubber tyres, but even with a new blade I couldn't get it to carve neatly. It just kept bending and twisting and after a couple of attempts it was in the bin.

Next option, black sprue.

A combination of a ceramic scraper to get rid of the flash, a pencil sharpener to give it a taper, a round needle file to carve a profile in it, and a quick swipe with a sanding stick to tidy it up, and here we are.

I also used the ceramic scraper to remove the chrome from the gear shift shaft and whittle it down a bit.
A few twists with a little drill bit in the pin vise and time to test fit.

All good, apply TET and wait a few minutes, then razor saw at the desired height, and we have a much more interesting looking shifter.


Finished a bit of chrome detail painting on the control knobs and CA'd the dashboard in place, fitted off the steering column and wheel, and last but not least, the gear shift assembly.


Much happier with this now, interior complete!

Engine up next.

Cheers, D