Part 3 of the "Tri-5 Project" is the 1957 series of Chevrolet vehicles, probably one of the most recognisable and iconic classic and muscle cars ever built.

The first kit I will be working on in this series is one I picked up on an interstate work trip a few years back. It was hiding on a high shelf in a small store that buys and sells collections as well as new kits. I dragged it down and saw a "started" sticker on it and when I opened it up I found this -


How could I resist? On enquiring, I found that the kit was owned and started by a local modeller who unfortunately passed away before he could complete it. I can only hope that my vision and my work on this kit meets with his approval!










I will begin to disassemble and tidy this one up while the other builds have either paint or glue drying.

Cheers, D

Hi Damian -

Wow! This is a great find - the fellow who started it sure did a nice job on the conversion - very tidy work! I really like finish too - reminds me of a ride you’d see in a coastal town somewhere - equally at home in Santa Monica or Mendocino, really nice!

Have fun with this one - again, wow!

Cheers
Nick

Watching the footy last night I decided to have a close look at the 57 El Camino and see what I have got myself in for. The parts were all "test fitted" with Blue Tac which had hardened and gummed up so it took a while to get everything separated and cleaned up. I laid out all of the parts and found that there are a few extras from another kit in the mix.




As far as I can see everything is present and accounted for, but a few parts have been broken over the journey. Nothing major, just need to pay a bit more attention as I work my way through.

The tail light chrome parts have been stripped and glued in place, and there have been some rough putty jobs done, so my plan is to give the body a good wash and fine sand and re-prime.

Cheers, D

Hmmmmmmmmmm . . . . . this might make the display a bit brighter



Cheers, D

That's a serious yellow. Is it stock?

Definitely not a stock colour mate, and there were no manufactured '57 El Camino's. They are all cut-down Nomads.

The more I look at this yellow unit, the more I like it.





Cheers, D

A yellow '57 could work, but please dont do the yellow wheels and the yellow bumper Horns.

Hi Damian - ha, I thought the work done so far was supposed to look weathered! And yes, it looks a lot like some of the old rides cruising around coastal cities near here in Nor Cal! I’ll bet it will look great as a hot rod if you go that way - I agree partially w/ Jesper - I don’t like those bumper horns at all, but can live with the wheels - I like the custom cut with powder coat look - but, some Cragars would look great too!

This made me think about my next project too. I have a Revell late 60’s suburban - I was planning to build it as part of my desert racing extravaganza as a pre-runner - add in a big block, long travel suspension up front and a multi shock/coil cantilever in back! Wow - one hot old ride...but, as that project is done - I’m going to make it into a beat runner, converted 4x4! I already cut out the wheel wells for big tires anyway. I’ve started making arched leaf spring packs and hangers - The El~Nomad will certainly look better! I’m planning fading paint and rust for mine!

Looking forward to what you do with this bad bow tie!

Cheers
Nick

Something for me to aspire to once my body contour shaping skills get a bit better!



Cheers, D

I'm building a '57 Nomad (1/24 Monogram kit) for the Dreams Are Free Group Build , and it is part of my build program for this series, so I will post up progress reports here as well.

October 1 start -

Kit lined up:





And made a start tonight on some random stages of the build to see what I'm up against:





Open-backed front seats. Why Monogram, WHY?







I spent some time with the "Cut/Scrape/Sand" tool kit getting rid of the nasty little seam and mould lines on the body, and test fitting the bonnet and floor pan to see if any nasty surprises could be avoided. All looking good so far!


I will clean up and test fit the chrome parts next prior to hitting the body with a primer coat.

October 3 progress -




I'm on it mate! Funny thing is, I'm going to primer over the shiny red plastic, then paint it shiny and red

Some more prep work tonight, cleaning up and test fitting parts and sub-assembling the sub-assemblies. I remembered to take my own advice and test fit the chrome parts prior to painting the body, and so far they seem to fit very nicely. Only some minor adjustments were required, and in general the chrome is quite nice. This biggest problem is the sprue gates on the visible edges of the chrome parts, and quite large, so some touch-up will be in order.


Maybe I should drag the El Camino out as well and try to push it through at the same time. Decisions, decisions.

Cheers, D

D,
Nice start and great progress on your Nomad. As I've said earlier, this was about the only Chevy Wagon that I ever liked, Of course I was greatly influenced by the Hot Rod crowd back then.

Like you, my Monogram Cobra kit has seats with no backs. Makes no sense why they would mold seats that way?

Joel