May 26th update
Ok, let's see how the side decal set behaves! This is just applied and still wet with Mr Mark Softer!



May 27th update
I think I've found the trick here. I have a mug of hot water and dip a Q-tip in it, and use this to roll out the decal once it's down. This seems to stretch out the carrier film and the Mr Mark Softer settles it into the surface contours.

LHS done tonight (with the statutory glass of Shiraz!)




I will be going back over the older decals now to see if I can get them to settle down a bit better.

May 28th update
I gave the decals a rest last night and moved forward with some more assembly tasks.

First up I fitted off the drag chute pack and rear spoiler support struts.


I have pre-drilled a small hole directly beneath the pack for the chute cables to fit through, and they attach to the bottom of the chutes themselves.
The beauty and curse of digital photos, I can now see a small fold in the carrier film of the decal right beside the LHS tail light that I need to address.

Next up I spent some time on the noisy end. I added the Oil
Filter, Flywheel, Pulleys and Belts, Breathers and Headers, and then the after market Distributor. The Carbs might just get a hit of gold paint and the ports drilled out before I fit them off, then I will work on the ignition wiring.




I'm also playing around with some strip styrene to make up some cable frames for the wiring.

May 29th update
I managed a couple of hours tonight on the engine detailing, really happy with the result. The first time I've used an after market pre-wired dizzy, and I must say it won't be the last!







The dual carbs got a brushed coat of Vallejo Metal Colour Gold (77.725) and some Tamiya Black PLW in the ports.



EDIT - Once again, a few touch-ups to do looking at the last image, the gold breathers lost paint from handling, and the belts and pulleys look a bit sloppy!

FURTHER EDIT (and complaint to Revell) - Ejector pin marks on the OUTSIDE of the headers!! Why Revell, WHY????

June 4th update
A little progress at the bench tonight, started on the assembly of the rolling chassis and drive train. The engine went in first, then the diff/driveshaft/wheelie-bar assembly. Everything lined up beautifully and just dropped into place.






Cheers, D

Somebody beat me to it!



Cheers, D

Time to catch up with the progress on the '55 Pro Sportsman.

June 9th update
The '55 Pro Sports got a couple of coats of Alclad Aqua Gloss which has cured for a couple of days now. It will get a fine wet sand and then a couple more coats. The windows have frosted slightly but the wet sand and further coats should clear them up.



June 21st update
Time for a little update on my '55 Pro Sportsman. I've been struggling with the tube frames around the engine bay. They fit very tightly around the headers, and if I have glued the headers on slightly out of position the tube frames press against them and won't sit neatly in position. I am playing around with them and doing some "In Field Styling Modifications" and they are almost there.

In the meantime, I have given the shell a couple more coats of Alclad Aqua Gloss and some fine wet sanding, and I'm pretty please with where it's at now. All I might do is a touch more sanding on the clear parts, and then I need to add the drag chute cables.







June 25th update
Battling through the tube frame at the noisy end of my '55 Pro Sports. Radiator, coil springs and accumulator have been added since last update as well. I'm about 75% there on the engine bay area with a couple of straight braces to add then brake discs and tidy up the paint.


June 26th update
Speaking of decal problems, I'm sitting here this morning having a coffee and looking over my current builds to prioritise the next stages, and now I'm having a laugh and kicking myself at the same time.

Bonus points to whoever can see the problem here.





And we have a winner already! How stupid am I? As a strange coincidence, I was hunting through some old folders last night and found a bag of mixed Auto themed decal sets that I bought from a swap meet many years ago, and there is an almost completed set from this kit in there!


Now I need to decide whether I go to the trouble of laying another one over the top of this one. That is assuming that it is still usable.

Decisions, decisions!

June 30th update
New roof decal down tonight, and it behaved just as badly as the first one so I'm pretty pleased



I will give it a couple of days to settle and maybe another dose of Mr Mark Softer, then back to the clear coat.

More progress soon.

Cheers, D

Another 3 weeks passed by, where does the time go?

July 03 update
Engine bay assembly is complete, I just need to touch up and detail paint a couple of items.

Interior roll cage and detail parts under way.



July 16 update
Time for another first for me, an after-market harness set. This looks like fun!


First question, what do you guys use to trim the parts off the metal fret. A blade won't even put a mark in it, so I'm thinking some little side-cutters maybe.

July 17 update
I managed to find an old set of small side cutters in the tool box, and made it this far tonight.

Not perfect, but for a first try at this type of product I'm pretty satisfied. I only managed to lose 1 buckle along the way
I gave the decals a couple of shots of softener as the carrier is quite thick, and once it was dried off I've given it a couple of brush coats of Alclad Aqua Gloss. The seat is ready to install now. I also did some more work on the go-faster juice station with the decals and some detail painting.


Edging towards the finish line.

July 19 update
Some more assembly time tonight, fitting off the NOS system, seat assembly, steering wheel and tacho.



July 20 update
Very short bench session tonight, trying to tie up some little details. I painted the trim on the dashboard (still needs some tidying up) and the ignition controller, and scratched up an ignition coil from some sprue scraps and flat stock. From a couple of reference images I've seen, the coil is actually mounted on the firewall. I will paint this up in red and use some BMF for a mounting bracket once it's in place.


July 21 update
Adding some more of the finishing touches tonight:

Shift lever knobs and pedals painted black
Ignition controller installed (under RHS of dash)
Dashboard installed after minor trimming underneath
Ignition coil painted, BMF bracket added, and installed
Coil lead trimmed and fitted off
Door handles installed






Cheers, D

Really good progress here.

Looks like it is too late now, but in the future you might want to take a small file and knock down those attachment points on the belt buckles. They still look good, but having worked with a lot of photo-etch that jumps out to me. I'm guessing those were white metal as opposed to brass, which is harder to cut while brass can be cut with an hobby knife. Also helps a little to anneal them before use.

Thanks for checking in Shell, glad you like it so far!

The PE fret in this set was made from some sort of indestructible Titanium-Unobtanium alloy that took lazer side-cutters to deal with. I couldn't even put a mark in it with a chisel blade to see if I could bend and snap it.

I love the look of them, and will definitely use them again now I know the tricks, and I totally agree with you as well. I should have taken the time to file off the attachment stubs to get a neater finish.

Cheers, D

Roll cage completed and interior detail painting almost finished, just a few little touch-ups to do.






Last thing to do now is add the drag chute release lines and connection ropes.

Cheers, D

Wow, I'm loving this build. I'm just new to this site ,your photos are very good too.well done Damien.

Wow, D.! that interior & engine bay are really nice looking. Great details.

Jim

Lou, thanks for joining the ranks here, welcome aboard! Where are you located in Oz? I'm on the NE outskirts of Melbourne, rural area.

Jim, thanks once again for checking in on my shenanigans!

Cheers, D

Ok, some experimenting with various goodies to see if I can make some drag chute connection ropes. The braided line is hollow, and I will run some copper wire through so that I can form the bends in the ropes and twist up a connection loop on each end. The black coated wire is for the release cable.







The 1:1 scale model for reference


Not my neatest work, but convincing enough! I will paint the connecting loops dull silver, then the chute packs flat black, and the body is finished.

Last thing to do is paint and set up the wheels, so close to the end now!

Cheers, D

cheers Damian, I live on the south coast of NSW. Semi rural near Berry.

Nice area Lou, I used to travel to Nowra a bit for work, and spent a few weekends in Woollongong when my brother was playing NBL with the Hawks in 2005.

Managed a couple of hours today to get this one over the line!












A great fun kit to build, the only issues were the decals. I would definitely snap this one up again if I found it!

I also had a couple of personal firsts with using the after market distributor and harness set, and again will be using them again (and fine-tuning my techniques).

Cheers, D

Awesome build mate, "soffseal '57 would look cool lined up next to it !!

Thanks Lou, it’s lined up in the stash for the near future, a couple of other in-progress builds to tidy up first.

Cheers, D

Amazing build D. The added detailing really takes this to the next level.