I fell in love with GM's twin-turbo V6 Camaro at SEMA; attributed to Jay Leno. The body modifications are subtle & look factory (because they are), but give the car a lot of character that also helps pull your eyes away from the odd V-shaped grille opening. Perhaps this is the front end of the upcoming Z28. Time will tell...
It also runs what look to be nearly identical BBS "Challenge" wheels commonly seen on some Ferraris. There are now two aftermarket companies making the 20" Challenge wheels intended for the 599 GTB...and will probably look great on this model as well. Until I get them, I have some 23" sleeved Pegasus wheels w/BBS-esque centers.
I'm not out to make an exact replica, just using what I like & not worrying over making it a perfect replica. Silver is boring, so I'm going with a much more vivid shade of "boring"...pure white. That is one reason I'm using the Jada kit as a basis. Secondly I prefer the slightly larger 1/24 scale aspect, and third it has a nicer, crisper body than either AMT or Revell. It also has side glass. It's a great basic kit, aside from the tubbed chassis. I'm building it curbside, so that's not an issue for me. Once I've got it sitting right, I don't care what it looks like underneath :P
First step was making a template to cut in the hood vents:
The plastic is so nice to machine, it's much higher quality plastic than we see from AMT & Revell.
Next step was revising the chin. I cut away the base of the chin, but saved it as I needed it to be lower & pushed out further. I extended the lower grille openings, and cut out the round driving lamps to make room for the larger corner intakes.
Spent the weekend working on this while watching the Daytona race. Four of us were having a "modelpalooza" on Saturday, two of us on Sunday.
It compares pretty well with photos, still lots of tweaks before it is ready for paint. I've also cut out the stamped side vents in the rear fenders, making them into single-opening ducts.
Hope this one is finished & on display at the Birmingham NNL on March 6th. Veyron & GTMike were trying to talk me into building a "Conan" Challenger to go with this one, but I have that 2nd. generation (92-95) Taurus SHO master that I could build & paint green like Conan's favorite car. Who knows?! It could happen...and my A/F SHO stalker could return in a murderous rage
