Hi there

Right... it's time to gird my loins (Oo-er Madam!) and get ready to start my second attempt at the Blue Oval campaign:


I'll post an in-box review before I get stuck in, but I hope to get underway in the week ahead.

All the best

Rowan

A car! I think I'm having a heart attack. Such blasphemy.

Dave, I'm reading between the lines here, what I actually read was -

"What a great idea! I'm really tired of Armour and Aircraft kits that fit together well and don't need any fettling. I think I might head right down to the LHS and pick myself up a nice shiny Auto kit and join the fun over there. In fact, I will buy a Ford and join the Blue Oval Group Build myself!"

Was I close?

Rowan, looking forward to your review and following along with your build here mate.

Cheers, D

Rowan, Kewl! Don't think I knew about this body style before. Makes sense as an answer to the Chevy Nomad. Look forward to seeing this one get built up!

Never mind Dave, he's just jealous, they can't have nice cars like that in Florida.

Dave: It's not a heart attack, it's your heart jumping, with joy, wanting to get in on the action, here on the shiny side.

Excellent subject Rowan. Going for a two tone paint scheme, I hope

Hi Dave

I can't possibly imagine who started my interest in vintage American autos...

Remember this?:


It's still got pride of place on the shelf after many years.

But don't worry - I'm due to start something of an epic build for Aeroscale next week. It'll involve multiple Mustangs - but of the P-51D variety.

@ Jesper - I've lined up a nice pot of pastel green ready for the civilian car. I must admit, this is one of the few models I've bought simply because my eye was drawn to the colour scheme on the box!

I'll try to post the in-box review tomorrow and, if all goes well, start butchering some plastic too.

All the best

Rowan

It's old, it's a Chevy, that would inspire anybody!

Cheers, D

Hi again

After a somewhat longer gap than I'd envisaged... we're back in action!

Nothing to show yet, but I've started butchering innocent styrene and doing some sub-assemblies. I should have the day off work on Wednesday, so I aim to post pics of initial progress then.

So, how's it shaping up after my In-Box Review of the kit? Almost inevitably I've found a few more mould-lines and pesky flash than I picked up on initially, so clean-up's taken a little while (not helped by the white styrene which makes it SO much harder to see what you're doing) but the most important thing at the stage I'm at is that the engine and chassis are playing nicely together and everything looks straight and true.

All the best

Rowan

Can't wait to see some shots of the not-so-innocent styrene Rowan, as you said, the white plastic can really hide some flaws until it gets a hit of primer.

Good news that things are lining up correctly so far though. I am reminded of a saying my father often used -

I overheard a man falling past a fifth storey window, all he yelled to me was "SO FAR, SO GOOD!"

Cheers, D

Cheers Damian

I tinkered with a few more sub-assemblies this evening and it's looking good to get a bit more done tomorrow. I have a writing project for a kit manufacturer that has to take priority, but I'll aim to post some initial progress shots.

It might not have been my first choice for the Blue Oval build, but the Del Rio is promising to be a really enjoyable build.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

Here are a few pics to show the progress so far. The sub-assemblies are just dry-fitted together to check alignment before throwing some paint at them.

The basic engine goes together without any trouble:




Revell state Engine Orange for the overall colour, which seems to match most of the photos I've found online.

The chassis is essentially one-piece, so (as long as it's not warped) there's not much scope to go far wrong:


and the engine and drive shaft sit in it squarely:


There are two small inserts to add to the floor to complete the front wheel arches. The fit's pretty good, but you may want to use a little filler to tidy things up:


The fuel tank is a 2-part affair, which ensures it's realistically deep, and it sits solidly at the back of the floor:



You can see the chassis is lifting from the floor at the front, but minimal pressure holds it straight, so it won't be a problem.

Finally, turning everything over, you get a first idea how the engine will look with the bonnet open:



All the best

Rowan

Looks really nice. I will keep watching.

Looks like some nice crisp details there Rowan, and a decent fit of the assemblies to this point.

Looking forward to more updates.

Cheers, D

Hi again

Sadly, no major progress to show. I'd hoped to spray some primer on Sunday, but the day was spent doing a write-up for a commission-build for a manufacturer.

The chassis is complete, though, with its shocks etc. attached:



I've done test-fits with the exhausts and radiator, and it all looks like it'll go together neatly.

My target is to start to hide the bare plastic this week - but I've managed to commit myself to yet another aircraft build for a manufacturer, so I really do make a start on the P-51D for Eduard too, before everything piles up hopelessly!

Joel suggested I put the Del Rio on hold while I concentrate on the Mustang (and he's certainly got a point!) - but I think it's equally important to have something to turn to that you're building just for the fun of it.

All the best

Rowan

Sounds like your "cup overfloweth" Rowan, certainly a lot going on around your bench!

Nice work on the undercarriage, you really have to love those separate chassis assemblies, the ability to paint and detail is a dream compared with the moulded on kits.

Cheers, D

Very nice work Rowan. The separate fuel tank should be an inspiration to all car model manufacturers.

Hi again

Well, finally, I got a chance to throw the first coats of paint at the Ford yesterday.

On my previous false-start in the Blue Oval campaign, I used Gunze Sangyo paint on the chassis. Fantastic paint - probably my favourite overall for aircraft kits - but it proved desperately easy to damage in this instance, applied directly onto Revell's slightly "soapy" styrene. So, this time, I didn't take any chances and started off with a coat of Alclad's Grey Primer. I love this stuff - it's ready-thinned for spraying and really robust. It had the added benefit of "killing" that nasty white plastic to highlight if more work was needed anywhere:



With the primer dry - which doesn't take long - I used some Tru-Color matt black enamel as an overall base-coat for the chassis and floor. Tru-Color sent me this a while ago when I was doing some colour-tests against references for them for camouflage paints, but this is my first chance to use it "in anger", so to speak. It's really nice paint - again, pre-thinned and sprays well, and it dries quickly.

For the engine block, I mixed up a home-brew from Humbrol's rather orange Red Arrow's Red and some ModelMaster International Orange:


Lot's of highlighting and shading to do - but it's encouraging to see some colour on the beast, so I hope to make a bit more progress in the next few days.

All the best

Rowan

Lovely work Rowan, great to see some colour on this build! Thanks for the quick review on the paints you are using as well, always good to hear about new products that we might come across.

I have a bottle of the Alclad Grey Microfiller Primer that I haven't even opened yet, is this what you are using? It certainly laid down beautifully over the details and looks to be a nice fine finish.

Cheers, D

Rowan, thanks for the 'after action' reports on the paints. I've used the Alclad White micro filler with good results like yours. I used Badger ModelFlex weathered black over it on my AMT '51 Ford Chassis and did have spots where minor contact scraped the top coat off. I also used it on the shiny black one piece chassis for my Revell '57 Bel Air under Tamiya NATO black, so I'll keep an eye out for scratches.

I've used True Colors paint a couple of times, but it's hard to come by over the counter around here anymore. I've communicated with the owner and he seems knowledgeable and reasonable.

BTW, how do you get the Automodeler Logo on your pics?

Lovely work Rowan. always good to hear alternatives for priming. certainly the great thing about Alclad is that is sprays directly from the bottle. Tru-Color I have used for boats and it is also an excellent paint, very smooth coverage.

cheers
Michael

Cheers guys

I hope to get a bit more basic painting done tomorrow, but I can't promise an update before next weekend because I've got to put in some extra shifts at Oxfam this week.

@ Mark - Adding the logo is something I've carried over from my days running Aeroscale - and the credit for that, in turn, really lies with Jim Rae, who was instrumental in developing Kitmaker as a News/Reviews site.

With so much material getting shared around the Internet, I just think it's nice to add a logo to credit where it appeared first and I do it almost instinctively. Drop me a line if you want the Photoshop file to add on your own Auto Modeler pics.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

No further pics yet, but as I hoped, I managed to throw a few more basic colours at the engine accessories and exhaust parts. So, the main elements for guts of the car are all done - but totally "showroom fresh" - which is not what I'm aiming for. I don't want to do any heavy weathering (but that definitely is a project for "one day", if/when I develop the skills and the confidence), but just want to add a little fair wear and tear and character.

One thing that's had me puzzling is how to paint the sides of the engine compartment. Some restorations show them painted black, whereas others show the body colour.

It gets even more fun with a two-tone finish like I'm planning. So far, I haven't found an ideal shot with the bonnet (hood) open - but... from what I've pieced together, it looks like the upper colour of the two-tone carried into the engine compartment.

So... having just painted the whole area black (groan!), I'll do an about face and go for the total opposite unless anyone can advise me otherwise.

All the best

Rowan

My grandpa had a 54 Ford F-100 and the sidewalls in the engine compartment were the same color as the exterior. I have looked at a few old cars and many were the same. Paint was flatter, probably because it wasn't washed as often.

I found this online. Maybe it will be of some use.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1957_Ford/dirindex.html
https://oldcarmemories.com/1957-1958-ford-del-rio-fords-sport-wagon/

The joys of having restored cars as reference material!

There's one on the Hemmings page which has the white mid-colour flowing down onto the firewall, but the inner guards are black.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/1957-ford-del-rio-wagon/

I also found a "Barn Find" 57 Ranch Wagon on a classifieds site which shows the same thing.
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1200197/1957-ford-ranch-wagon-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601

There are several on this collector car sales site as well.
https://www.allcollectorcars.com/classic-cars-for-sale/ford-wagon/1957/

I find such sites very useful as they often have original spec cars with walkaround photos where the "glossy" sites more often have restored vehicles on display.

To me, the most likely scenario would be that the colour of the windscreen surround follows down onto the upper firewall, but the inner guards are black.

Cheers, D

Hi Russ and Damian

Many thanks for your advice and the wealth of links!

Black sides with the body colour on the firewall is what I was working towards in the first place - but, then, yesterday I had to go and stumble across a bunch of shots with the body colour on the sides of the engine compartment - which is how the doubts set in.

There's also a gorgeous two-tone 1957 Country Sedan on Hemmings https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2013/05/16/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1957-ford-country-sedan/, and that is apparently un-restored inside and out. Just to add to the fun, that seems to have both black and what may be the lower body colour (it looks darker than the white firewall) at the sides of the engine compartment? But, without having access to the beast to see quite what's going on, I think I'll keep things simple and stick with just black at the sides.

All the best

Rowan