COMPLETE: Customer's Big Block 1956 Chevy

Whew, got it done with 7 days to spare!

A Christmas present for a customer's dad. Reference pics weren't the greatest, but I got it close I think. The kit is Revell's California Wheels '56 Chevy. I used Torque Thrust II wheels with fat rubber out back and skinnier tires up front... Body is Dupli-color GM Pure White and Dupli-color Chrysler Cranberry Pearl, both cleared with Dupli-color clear. BMFing this car damn near made my hands fall off--I should charge extra for 1950s cars. :uhoh:

Engine is a basic big block Chevy, 454 in this car's case, painted to match the body. A large aftermarket rad was put in front of the rad support as in the real car, and the engine and battery were both wired. Interior is Tamiya Gunmetal Grey, with body colour dash panel. The gauges and clock were detailed with art pencils. All in all a pretty satisfying build, other than the one screw up I made (see the WIP thread for that.)

And I think my photography skills are improving! :grinyes:

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/Freedoms%2056%20Chevy/x5e1l0.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/Freedoms%2056%20Chevy/freedom_56chevy_complete1.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/Freedoms%2056%20Chevy/freedom_56chevy_complete2.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/Freedoms%2056%20Chevy/freedom_56chevy_complete3.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/Freedoms%2056%20Chevy/freedom_56chevy_complete4.jpg

Looks great! I love the color.

I'm with Delta on this one. I have always liked this car. I really like the engine, really suits this build.

BMF needs to be smoothed out to give a cleaner look

NIce colour, great looking build all around. I do agree with Pman though,bmf needs a littel more burnishing to really make it stand out!

Agreed, and I hadn't realized that until I took pics--just before I shipped the model out I did burnish it and polish it lightly with q-tips--it made a pretty decent improvement.

YA the bmf can be a pain, sometimes like you said you dont see it til the pics ae taken. Good build though!

Not only that but this WAS one of the three Christmas builds I had to rush... I did all that BMF in maybe 2 hrs... my hands damn near fell off :o

I suggest that the best way to approach the build to order deal in future is to first work out how much time you need to do a quality build, and from there accept orders. Part of taking pride in your work is not allowing yourself to be over-burdened by customer's demands.

Aside from the rush-job on the BMF, I personally think this is some of the best work I've seen you produce.

not bad for that kit but i'd still get the correct resin body and use it instead!

I think it looks cool all round. The foil looks good. This might be a good time to ask a question about that. I am soon working on the revel street machine version of that model but the problem is that the window trim body lines are almost non existent. I find its much easier to cut the foil if theres a crease around the windows. What is a good way to make one. I thought about either taking a knife and carving a groove or just painting it and applying the foil and just cut the foil freehand around the windows. That second idea scares me . I good eye hand coordination if I dont cut it staright ,if will really be noticable with foil on a black car.
thanks

I think it looks cool all round. The foil looks good. This might be a good time to ask a question about that. I am soon working on the revel street machine version of that model but the problem is that the window trim body lines are almost non existent. I find its much easier to cut the foil if theres a crease around the windows. What is a good way to make one. I thought about either taking a knife and carving a groove or just painting it and applying the foil and just cut the foil freehand around the windows. That second idea scares me . I good eye hand coordination if I dont cut it staright ,if will really be noticable with foil on a black car.
thanks

Well, if you're using a really sharp #11 blade, it really shouldn't matter how thin the panel line is--if it's there, the knife is bound to find it. But if you wish to make the groove deeper, you need to scribe the line further. You can either do this very carefully with the back of the blade, or more ideally, use a scriber tool, like this:

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=60728

Scribers actually SCRIBE a line, because they remove material as you scrape. Using a knife doesn't remove material, it just pushed it out of the way in a v-pattern, which is inconsistent and can ruin the shape of the line.