70 1/2 Camaro pro touring

[AmericanMuscleFan]

The color and paint are fantastic Steve, hard to believe it's the same color before and after the flat clear. ?

[Steve H]

On 1/24/2022 at 5:48 PM, Phildaupho said:

Yes I like the look too. Maybe one of the most attractive flat paint jobs I have seen. Being over a great looking body sure is an advantage.

Thanks Phil, it’s amazing how much the colour changes just by adding a matte finish. I honestly think you will like it even more in person, hopefully that’s soon. Unfortunately I’m going to miss the zoom on Thursday, I’ve got a date with my lovely wife.

On 1/24/2022 at 5:51 PM, Cool Hand said:

Yep, that looks awesome Steve. The flat clear really changed the look of the paint finish, looks anodized.

Cant go wrong with any Mr Hobby products.

Keep at it man nearly there.

Hi Luke, yes! It absolutely does have an anodized look to it, hard to describe, but it has a certain “shimmer” to it, but not shiny. I am learning about the quality of Mr. Hobby products, so far like it all.
 

 

20 hours ago, slusher said:

Color looks great to be flat cleared..

Thanks Carl, much appreciated sir!

19 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

That paint is spot on and looks like awesom application! Congrats!

Thank you Anton, I’m always just slightly nervous doing the final coat do paint. Will there be a flaw I missed show up, dust, etc… This one turned out very nice. 

14 hours ago, ksnow said:

That paint turned out great. Very nice. Would have looked great in gloss, but flat looks outstanding also.

Hi Kyle, agreed, it would have looked nice in gloss, and even after doing test spoons it’s somewhat counter intuitive to take the shine off of it. Believe me, I paused for a good few minutes with the flat clear in my hand, then took a deep breath and went for it. I had the same experience years ago with my 41 Chev truck, it still gets lots of comments, mostly about the colour. It looked amazing in shiny metallic red. Thanks for your comments.

 

12 hours ago, catpack68 said:

That’s NICE! Definitely following this thread to see more progress on it?

Hi Scott, thanks for checking in, hoping for some meaningful progress by the weekend. 
 

Thanks for following along guys.

[Steve H]

2 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

The color and paint are fantastic Steve, hard to believe it's the same color before and after the flat clear. ?

Francis! Thank you sir. Ya, it’s amazing how the paint colour changes. I’m hoping to get some decent weather so I can get some outdoor shots, I may even try a short video clip. The colour is very eye catching in person. Keep up the incredible craftsmanship on the Dodge, looks like you are getting “close”. Always great to hear from you my friend.

Cheers, Steve

[streetmachine11]

just read through the progress of this build 

the body modifications really make it. so much improvement on this old kit

the color is fantastic.  really nice job my friend looking forward to more progress. 

[Steve H]

56 minutes ago, streetmachine11 said:

just read through the progress of this build 

the body modifications really make it. so much improvement on this old kit

the color is fantastic.  really nice job my friend looking forward to more progress. 

Thanks for the kind words Jason. I’m inspired to get it done now. I started building my own headers today, not sure yet how they will turn out. Fingers crossed ? 

[NOBLNG]

It looked fine in the glossy finish…but the matte finish is like…Wow! It does indeed have a sort of anodized look. Is that clear in a bottle or spray bomb?

[Steve H]

10 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

It looked fine in the glossy finish…but the matte finish is like…Wow! It does indeed have a sort of anodized look. Is that clear in a bottle or spray bomb?

Hi Greg, that is straight from a spray bomb. Most flat clears tend to be difficult to get smooth, (for me at least) as I mentioned above , this one laid down beautifully. Glad you like the finish. 

[Steve H]

Hi guys, I’ve made a bit of progress over the last couple of days. Interior parts are pretty close now. Dash is complete, added a photo etch CD to the player, keys in the ignition, “window maker” for gauge faces. I will probably do a little more detail painting on the steering wheel. Door panels are done, carbon fibre decals, photo etch window cranks. Console has carbon fibre decals, scratch built shifter attached to the boot from the kit.  
I gave up trying to get a pair of headers to work. I had three that were all “close” but didn’t work for various reasons. So…. You can see I started building my own using 1.5mm solder. Still a ways to go yet, but so far I’m happy with them. I will cut them shorter and add collectors, then paint them. 

One of my better dashes… 

As always, thanks for looking and all comments welcomed.

[Mattilacken]

The interior is shaping up nicley! Great work on the dash! The CD and keys are nice additions! I wonder how many that installs a CD player in 2022 but it’s so much cooler looking than a USB or a phone on a cord or the phone just laying in the console ??

great progress!
 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Mattilacken

[Plowboy]

Man! I look away for a minute and you're shooting paint! That red looks killer with the flat clear! It's weird how it makes the paint have a more dramatic effect.

I really like how you did the wheels! I plan on doing a set like that myself as I just put a set of 20x10 Ultra Butchers on my old F-150 that have a black rim with bronze center. They look killer!

[adamelvis]

Hi Steve,

Great modifications. This has turned out to be one Bitchin Ride !! 
Hope to see this one at the next AMB Modelrama NNL show (after Covid restrictions, lol)
I’ve seen that 41 Chev P/U in person. The body colour & engine were stunning !!

TCB,

Adam

[Steve H]

19 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

The interior is shaping up nicley! Great work on the dash! The CD and keys are nice additions! I wonder how many that installs a CD player in 2022 but it’s so much cooler looking than a USB or a phone on a cord or the phone just laying in the console ??

great progress!
 

Hi Anton, yep, I was thinking, hmmmmm… “really, a CD player?” Truth be told, I still a 5 disc changer in my house and shop. Old school! It does add some interest to the interior. I appreciate your humorous poke, it’s well deserved!! Thanks for checking in sir.
 

 

9 hours ago, Plowboy said:

Man! I look away for a minute and you're shooting paint! That red looks killer with the flat clear! It's weird how it makes the paint have a more dramatic effect.

I really like how you did the wheels! I plan on doing a set like that myself as I just put a set of 20x10 Ultra Butchers on my old F-150 that have a black rim with bronze center. They look killer!

Roger!! I was getting worried about you, good to hear from you sir. Hope you are well my friend. Here’s a true story for you. I shot the flat clear, carried the car from my shop to my hobby room in the house, placed it on my desk, and thought to myself, “I think Roger is going to dig this paint”. Dramatic is actually a very good description, I think it will really stand out on a contest table. Thanks for the compliment on the wheels, I’m quite happy with how they turned out. They are close enough to the 1:1 car, and the bronze colour looks wicked with the flat paint on the body. Are your wheels on a model or 1:1 truck? I appreciate you checking in, take care.

9 hours ago, adamelvis said:

Hi Steve,

Great modifications. This has turned out to be one Bitchin Ride !! 
Hope to see this one at the next AMB Modelrama NNL show (after Covid restrictions, lol)
I’ve seen that 41 Chev P/U in person. The body colour & engine were stunning !!

TCB,

Adam

Hi Adam, thanks for the kind words. Man, I sure hope we can get back to some model shows/contests, I miss it. You will definitely see me and the Camaro when time allows. The colour on the 41 Chev was inspired by one of Gerry Chevalier’s builds. If I recall, it was a 49 Merc. maybe? I believe he was trying to match the colour of his wife’s hair brush! Hope to meet you in Vancouver soon.

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

Managed a bit of desk time this evening. 
This is my first try at making exhaust headers. Lots to learn yet, but for a first try I’m satisfied with the finished product. 
Here you can see they have been cut to length, styrene rod for collector pipe, heat shrink tubing for the transition. 
I went back and forth on colour choice for them, decided on some old Modelmaster titanium.

I know that to be “mechanically correct” all the tubes should be the same length, that wasn’t going to happen…. Maybe next time.

[slusher]

On 1/27/2022 at 6:54 PM, Steve H said:

Hi guys, I’ve made a bit of progress over the last couple of days. Interior parts are pretty close now. Dash is complete, added a photo etch CD to the player, keys in the ignition, “window maker” for gauge faces. I will probably do a little more detail painting on the steering wheel. Door panels are done, carbon fibre decals, photo etch window cranks. Console has carbon fibre decals, scratch built shifter attached to the boot from the kit.  
I gave up trying to get a pair of headers to work. I had three that were all “close” but didn’t work for various reasons. So…. You can see I started building my own using 1.5mm solder. Still a ways to go yet, but so far I’m happy with them. I will cut them shorter and add collectors, then paint them. 

One of my better dashes… 

As always, thanks for looking and all comments welcomed.

Beautiful dash, Steve headers look ? great also..

[Plowboy]

On 1/28/2022 at 10:11 PM, Steve H said:

Roger!! I was getting worried about you, good to hear from you sir. Hope you are well my friend. Here’s a true story for you. I shot the flat clear, carried the car from my shop to my hobby room in the house, placed it on my desk, and thought to myself, “I think Roger is going to dig this paint”. Dramatic is actually a very good description, I think it will really stand out on a contest table. Thanks for the compliment on the wheels, I’m quite happy with how they turned out. They are close enough to the 1:1 car, and the bronze colour looks wicked with the flat paint on the body. Are your wheels on a model or 1:1 truck? I appreciate you checking in, take care.

 

Well, you were right Steve! Ever since I saw your '41 Chevy, I wanted to do a flat red paint job! In a sea of super shiney paint jobs, this one will definitely stand out and draw people in!

The wheels are on my full scale. I was thinking about trading up. But, with current prices on even a used truck, I decided to give my old truck a new look. It only has 79,000 miles on it. This is the wheels I bought.

My truck is a similar color to the wheel center. 

[Steve H]

30 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Well, you were right Steve! Ever since I saw your '41 Chevy, I wanted to do a flat red paint job! In a sea of super shiney paint jobs, this one will definitely stand out and draw people in!

The wheels are on my full scale. I was thinking about trading up. But, with current prices on even a used truck, I decided to give my old truck a new look. It only has 79,000 miles on it. This is the wheels I bought.

My truck is a similar color to the wheel center. 

Those are beauties! I bet they look great on your truck, it’s always nice to have a personal touch given to a daily driver. 
Your Taurus build was a perfect example of how cool flat paint can look. 

[Steve H]

On 1/28/2022 at 9:18 PM, slusher said:

Beautiful dash, Steve headers look ? great also..

Thank you Carl !! I will get better photos of the dash etc. when it’s all together.

[Steve H]

Hi guys, I’m still plugging away at this one. I realized last night that I’m getting close….

The engine is now nestled in the frame, and chassis is close to complete. The chassis is a bit “light”, I should have adapted a NASCAR chassis, and made it a bit more racey. (Is that a word?!?) Anyway, I am happy with it, and it looks reasonable.

I might do some throttle linkage, and I still need to make the intake tubes. 

I have added the grill, headlight buckets, (lenses later), turn signals added to bumpers. The bumpers aren’t glued in theses photos but I have since glued them.

I had considered using a clear lens recessed in the bumper, but in the end used a thin piece of BMF with clear orange. I then shot the whole works with semi gloss clear to hold it in place.

Taillights are in. I’m happy with how the rear turned out. A couple of photos of the real car for comparison…

A couple of things I did different consciously. I chose to leave the front spoiler body colour, and only do the splitter in black. Also on the real car, the top portion of the bumper is black, my bumper is all body colour. 
As always, thanks for taking the time to look, all comments are welcome.

[Mattilacken]

Beautiful work'! Absolutely love it!

 

[Phildaupho]

I love the entire look.  The see through grill really enhances the appearance..

[Steve H]

23 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

Beautiful work'! Absolutely love it!

 

 

23 hours ago, Phildaupho said:

I love the entire look.  The see through grill really enhances the appearance..

Thanks guys! The open grill definitely looks better. I think it would have looked like a black blob otherwise.

[Steve H]

For seat belts, I didn’t want the full 5 point racing belts, however, lap belts seamed a bit too old school. So I decided to have a try at shoulder belts. I made the receivers out of styrene, with solder to attach it to chassis. The red “release button” was coloured with a red sharpie.

With the belts installed it was time to assemble the interior.

I still have to add the roll bar, and a few speakers,  but it’s almost there. The plan is to attach the shoulder belts to an attachment point on the inside roof after body is installed. My first attempt at doing this type of seat belt so wish me luck.

cheers, Steve

 

[Steve H]

Well….. I’m almost there!!!

Finally got the body on. Overall, I’m really happy with how it is turning out. I somehow missed the stance I wanted by a touch. The front should be just a whisker lower, but it’s still low enough that I’m good with it. The seat belts turned out good for a first effort, I will get more photos of details when she’s complete. Here’s a couple of teasers, one in dim light, the other in somewhat filtered sunlight.

It needs exhaust, some engine compartment detail, air intakes, some touchups, and a good dusting. I will probably do one more update here, but hopefully by this time next week she’s under glass. I’m looking forward to getting some photos outside in different light with this paint.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Dave72]

What a smokin build! I absolutely love that color and flat clear. I just got caught up on your build. Details are fantastic! I made a note of your paint process, colors, and clear because I am definitely going to use this process on a future build. Nice job! 

[Cool Hand]

A well planned a executed build Steve, impressive effort to capture many of the elements of 1:1 inspiration. Bravo!

Look forward to seeing the glamour pics.