'58 Corvette weekend challenge

[gruffgriff]

Well, weekend-and-a-bit....

Friday afternoon's realisation I have nothing for model club's '1950s' competition theme on Tuesday evening prompted a quick stock-take, confirming my suspicions that I do only have a Revell '58 Corvette that will qualify. A relatively modern kit with full chassis and separate interior door panels, rather than a simpler 60's one-piece-everything-moulded-on chassis plate and smooth-sided interior bucket offering, but far too much to complete in a few hours over the weekend.....so 'slammer' it is, i.e. hopefully looking good on the outside but don't turn it over, there'll be a big hole where the v8 should be and no chassis thus cutting out a huge amount of work and compunction to add detail.
Can't explain the thought process, apart from shying away from long drying gloss lacquer finishes, but having always had it in mind it was going to be a custom look found myself searching images of P51 Mustangs....so it's going to be a bit aeroplaney....

Daft wheels chosen, saved from a Tamiya Toyota group C car kit I built when it came out...late 80s..:
Necessitating a crude chop to the floor plate for clearance and raising the rear arch radius a cuople of mm to avoid a jacked-up stance:

Misting on a drift of a very light silver over while primer....all rattle cans, strictly from stock, and because my tin of pearl lacquer has lost it's mojo and blobs out:

Progress to Sunday night: Paint scheme evolving but now have 3 of maybe 5 colours on the body (after bonding the hood and trunk lid on, ditto headlight bezels after stripping chrome off) interior base colours sprayed, what's left of the floors and internal structure blacked out, cove panels cut back for exhaust clearance...parts-box cut-down steering wheel, levery thing for shifting and boot-print gas pedal substitutes added. Doubt 'screen will remain full height though all chrome will be present though toned-down with Matt lacquer at same time as body gets it's final coat.
Plan sounds terrible writing it..and it may well turn out awful, but will only owe a few days...

[gruffgriff]

Blast......demasking shows just why one needs to be super attentive when covering all the little gaps in the strips of tape....Will have find a decal or something to cover the black gash in the door now..

[gruffgriff]

Salvaged the paint by filing and sanding just enough to lose the accidental black on the door, then loose mask and another very-arms-length drift of the light silver over where the sanding removed it....good enough. Stuck a bit of plated front end trim on as a reward and it showed promise, so carried on with more moulded chrome trim parts whilst deciding against bare-metal foiling the brightwork moulded on the the body. Did a cove surround and it started looking fussy, so pulled it off. Silver sharpy pen where I wanted some detail, a few black and silver details around the interior, time for bed.
Matt lacquer the body tomorrow, cut down and fit windscreen glass, fix head and tail light lenses,dash decals if I have time....
Front quarter bumpers are really imposing and heavy, will probably leave them off in good 60s Vette racer style

[gruffgriff]

Done. Well, axle location by blutac needs making more permanent and side exit exhausts need a bit of colour but essentially done enough for the contest table.
Kept the contrast of chrome to the flatness of the paint, going entirely matt will have dulled it, more than literally just the sheen.....I like how it's turned out. Not that there was a clear vision but when I told the clubbers of my absurd P51 Mustang inspiration they got it...but they're nerds too....though they weren't that impressed as it came 5th....out of 5.

[gruffgriff]

[dr_gn]

Even though it’s not really my kind of thing, I do like the look of it, the satin paint works somehow, as do the wheel covers - same as the Tamiya 956 BBS versions I guess. I wonder how non-metallic blue for the bonnet would have looked? Anyway, clearly plenty of modelling skill went into it. Great effort.

[gruffgriff]

Thank you, very kind!

Definitely one just for just satisfying myself; I enjoyed the realisation of the daft blurry picture in my head and letting the result of each phase dictate as it went. Despite being an unrealistic fantasy, I`m really pleased with the contrast of finishes, must make an effort with photography as they don`t really come across.

[Dr G]

Impressive given time constraints and I do like the concept.

I'd take it further, though. Rivets, Harnesses, 'No step', crossed through Ford/Dodge 'kills' etc.

[DubZeus]

Thats really cool, nice concept & end result. It all works really well

[gruffgriff]

Thanks all for your kind comments.
Crossed the 't's to complete it; shaved down the body-mating faces of the front quarter bumpers by more than 50% to reduce their visual weight and to approximately match the more slender rear bumpers....managed it without wrecking factory chrome finish and very happy with the look. A license plate, quick respray of the coves and some tarnishing on the exhaust tips poking through plus, taking on board DrG's suggestion, a pair of very vintage and unrealistic looking lap belts saved from some of the many AMT '49 Fords I've built over the years. Thanks! The compliant blutac suspension now replaced with rock solid cyano, I'm calling it very much done.

[gruffgriff]