1978 Silver Anniversary Pace Vette

Older Monogram original issue kit I intend to just build Out-Of-The-Box. It is molded in that hard high-gloss low-impact plastic from that era of Monogram kits. It had a few cracks that I fixed fixed with CA, and a few dings too, surprising to me since the plastic is so hard. They too were filled with CA.
The mold lines were not too bad, but there were some issues around the door lines and nose that needed extra attention, and the body needed to be blocked out over all.
The scuffed areas are the ones that required the most attention.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09866.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09867.jpg

The very first model car I "built" (with the help of my uncle) was an anniversary Corvette. No clue who made it but it was molded in silver.
I'll be watching this one ;)

After priming and more sanding I fitted the hood, nose and rear to the body. All parts needed a little smoothing of the surfaces, but the fit is quite good.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09869.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09870.jpg

The interior tub is one piece plus the seat bottoms molded in. I sprayed a bright silver lacquer base and masked then sprayed a lightly textured acrylic silver-gray mix for the carpet. The rest of the trim/details were hand painted by brush.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09876.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09877.jpg

The engine/trans is a traditional two halves affair and rather simplistic and low on molded in detail. I textured the block and transmission but left the oil pan and timing cover smooth. The overspray on the bell housing is intentional; as is the seam I left on the trans to replicate the casting line.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09878.jpg
I textured the heads and exhaust manifolds too, at different levels of coarseness.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09882.jpg

looks nice. what did you use to texture the parts?

I used baby powder (talc) for the textures.

It turns out the body was not as nice and smooth as I originally thought, not really bad, but lots of little imperfections that are hard to hide with silver or black paint. After several days of sanding-priming-sanding, I shot a base coat of Gloss Aluminum and a top coat of Mica Silver for the bottom areas of the two tone paint job.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09883.jpg

I textured the intake manifold, alternator and A/C pump… The lump that is supposed to represent the Rochester carb will be hidden by the air cleaner, (thankfully).
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09904.jpg

The engine is complete and ready to be installed into the chassis…
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09907.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09908.jpg

The Dash and steering wheel are done…
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09912.jpg
And installed to the finished interior.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09913.jpg

Impressive work! I gave away one of these kits years ago.

It needs the following decal in the back window:

http://images17.fotki.com/v4/photos/1/10258/50625/brainoxy-vi.jpg

:icon16:

Can you explain your technique for texturing with talc? Do you just mix the talc into the paint and brush paint it? Airbrush the color, then sprinkle it on top?

Really nice work!

ianc

Can you explain your technique for texturing with talc? Do you just mix the talc into the paint and brush paint it? Airbrush the color, then sprinkle it on top?

Really nice work!

ianc

I mix it into the paint and airbrush it. Sometimes it is a trial and error project to get the desired texture. It is usually better to start light and add more powder if you want it more coarse. If you use acrylics it makes it easier to strip if you go overboard.

She's a beauty. Looking forward to your new posts. I've got a question - how do you mask the details? For example, on the engine the transition of colours is perfect - clear cut lines on surfaces that seem very uncomfortable for masking.

thnx

I've got a question - how do you mask the details? For example, on the engine the transition of colours is perfect - clear cut lines on surfaces that seem very uncomfortable for masking.

thnx

If you mean between the bellhousing and the transmission, I freehand brush painted the bellhousing so I didn't have to mask the trans off. Likewise, the shifter linkage and side cover details were brush painted too. Except for the carb, everything else that is different colors are separate pieces.


Here is the body masked off for the black to be applied. I spent between 3 and 4 hours masking this and the bumpers off.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09932.jpg

Thnx. I'm intrigued by that blue tape. Seems very elastic. I'll have to look for smth similar.

It is actually not real flexible, that is why I cut it before applying it, so it would hold the shape. That way I could make both sides close to being even.
There is the frisket material and blue tape shown in the picture. It is kind of hard to see, but the frisket is what makes the paint mask line and the tape just masks the silver.

Chassis, suspension and engine are pretty much done. Clearly this part of the kit is based on an earlier ‘60’s era Corvette. No catalytic converters for one thing, and get a load of the 50’s era battery.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09938.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09940.jpg

I made decals for the center caps, but cut vinyl rings for the red stripes and used Tamiya flat white acrylic for the lettering and flat black for the slots in the rims. I have found photos of both silver centers and black centers; I like the look of the black better. The chrome isn’t the greatest, it has some wrinkling, but then it is 34 years old and photographs well.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09952.jpg
The black has been applied and the masking worked well enough...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09956.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09957.jpg

The body and the tyres look great! Are you going to wear out the tread a bit or is it going to stay intact? The writings on the wheels - is that some dry brush tech or freehand brush painted?

The tire treads are scuffed to look like normal use, but I am not going to "wear them out".
Freehand brush painted the lettering with Tamiya flat white acrylic.

Here it is with the red pinstriping. Next step is to apply the Pace Car decals.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09961.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09960.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09958.jpg

The decals from the kit did include the hood spears, but they were done in halves, and the first half disintegrated as soon as I put it in water. Not a big problem and the silver didn’t really match the paint I used on the body. So I made new ones using the same silver paint as I used on the lower portion of the body. I painted some decal paper silver then printed the red pin striping and a black perimeter and used a black Sharpie around the edge.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09962.jpg

Great progress thus far and thanks for sharing the tricks of the trade!! :thumbsup: Do you use a tiny brush or toothpick to paint the details on the dash? Looking forward for more progress.

Really looking good! What is your technique for the freehand painting of the lettering on the tires? Do you just have rock-steady hands, or is there something I should know about? That looks machine-like! If I tried that freehand, I'd have a colossal mess...

ianc

I use a good sable blend brush and freehand paint. I have been practicing for years and have learned how to touch up most errors I make, and knowing I can fix them means I actually am less stressed, so I make less mistakes.

These tires were done with acrylic paint, so I had to paint them twice to get the white uniformly dense without the paint blobbing up. I could only do one tire at a time and then wait for a while. Hard on the hand muscles and some eye strain too.

I also made a pair of license plates. I used the same art I made for the 1/24 scale production decal sheet in the last Pace Corvette re-release and enlarged them to fit.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09963.jpg

Thanks for the reply on the lettering. I'm interested in the red vinyl rings you applied to the wheels as well; can you explain your process for making those? Thanks again,

ianc

Thanks for the reply on the lettering. I'm interested in the red vinyl rings you applied to the wheels as well; can you explain your process for making those? Thanks again,

ianc

I draw the designs in Illustrator and cut them on a plotter. The material is self-adhesive (sticker) but can be floated on like a (waterslide) decal.

The firewall and master cylinder are done, very plain and not much detail compared to more modern kits. But a few shades of black helps a little…
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09974.jpg

The door decals were as fragile as the hood ones. I clear coated them last week to hopefully make them useable, but they were still too brittle and the first one I tried to apply broke up. (Also the red in the lettering was way too dark.) So I made new decals for the doors, (I already had the art on hand, just needed to resize it). At least I was able to use the smaller Limited Edition and Indy logos from the kit.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09981.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC09982.jpg

I've heard of people clear coating decals before, but haven't seen much more on it. I have some older Starter kits which I'm a bit worried about the decals for. Do you just spray a light coating of clear over the decal sheet and let dry before putting them in water? Which is advisable, acrylic or enamel? Either? Does this not inhibit the decal's ability to come free of the backing? Thanks for any further info you might have describing the process. As I don't have the ability to print my own decals, this could be very handy. I've taken the precaution of scanning them, but one never knows...

Sorry for a bit of a thread hijack here...

ianc

P.S. Oh, and as usual, the car looks great! ;)

nice save on the decals. :)

I've heard of people clear coating decals before, but haven't seen much more on it. I have some older Starter kits which I'm a bit worried about the decals for. Do you just spray a light coating of clear over the decal sheet and let dry before putting them in water? Which is advisable, acrylic or enamel? Either? Does this not inhibit the decal's ability to come free of the backing? Thanks for any further info you might have describing the process. As I don't have the ability to print my own decals, this could be very handy. I've taken the precaution of scanning them, but one never knows...

Sorry for a bit of a thread hijack here...

ianc

P.S. Oh, and as usual, the car looks great! ;)

Not a hijack, glad to help...

I used Future (acrylic) since I was not sure if enamel or lacquer would attack the ink.
I sprayed one moderate unthinned coat and allowed it to flow out and dry for about a week.
For Starter kit decals, I use two coats applied about a 1/2 an hour to one hour apart.

The longer they dry the better.
You want the clear to be very dry since some of these old decals can take 5 minutes or more to release from the paper, and you don't want your clear becoming reactivated by soaking in the water.

Before putting them in water you now must trim each decal right to the edge of the image since they are now flood coat cleared, not spot print cleared.

As long as you don't get the back side of the decal sheet wet, or get clear on it, they will release, eventually...

Traditional decal solvents still work too.

Any tips on masking? Lately I've been getting a lot of paint chipping off when I unmask. Very choppy looking...yrs looks perfect!

Any tips on masking? Lately I've been getting a lot of paint chipping off when I unmask. Very choppy looking...yrs looks perfect!

I avoid cutting on the model, that can fracture the paint and increase the odds of chipping.
I use medium and low tack tape and frisket, and remove the masking as soon as possible.

If you are using Tamiya lacquers on bare plastic, tape can pull it up. If I am going to be masking, I will prime the plastic for better paint adhesion. It doesn't need much, just a light coat and the paint will stick much better.

The body is mostly done and the interior and firewall have been installed into it. I didn’t like the way the hood pinstriping looked, so I redid it with the same vinyl material I used for the pinstripe on the body.
The glass fits very poorly (especially the windshield) and took a lot of work (and glue) to fill the gap between the clear and the body.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC00040.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC00041.jpg

Beautiful work. Very, very impressive!

Gorgeous!

ianc

Getting close. That rear spoiler is very incorrect… And the engine bay is bland…
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC00027.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/DoctorJones/1978%20Indy%20Pace%20Corvette/DSC00031.jpg

Looks fantastic!