Trying to fix the '51 Fleetline...

[bobss396]

2 hours ago, customline said:

Yeah, it's a whole interior re-do for a stock car. Stripped of upholstery,  skeletonized. 

I sanded all the fabric off it. So it is bare. Using a 3D printed racing seat.

[customline]

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

I sanded all the fabric off it. So it is bare. Using a 3D printed racing seat.

You have launched me into a different mental realm with your F8 build. So I looked at one of my Ollie's purchases- the AMT/ERTL '41 Plymouth Coupe, and found the tires intended for the stock version would be perfect for my stock Fleetline.  So I tried them and I was delighted to find they fit the Fleetline's wheels perfectly. I am a very happy camper. Thank you Bob. (You see how this works?)

what a  difference the white walls make on a stock build of this era.  You would think the well-paid employees at AMT would have thought of this. They already had the tires that would fit. ? I dunno....

Edited December 14, 2023 by customline

[bluestringer]

Looking good Jim. Nice work.

[customline]

 

5 hours ago, bluestringer said:

Looking good Jim. Nice work.

Thanks, Jim. Gotta decide on paint now. Maybe hit it with clear and rub through it in a few places to expose the red primer below.....oh...wait....I didn't use the red primer....$h1t! ?

[Zippi]

Looking good so far.  The whitewall tires look Super kewl.  I really like this body style.  

[customline]

1 hour ago, Zippi said:

Looking good so far.  The whitewall tires look Super kewl.  I really like this body style.  

Thanks, Bob.  I like it a lot too. I remember building one of these in 1:32nd scale when I was a yung-un. I think it was a Lindberg kit. 

[customline]

Finally got my dash guage faces. The USPS sent them on a tour of Virginia postal facilities. I see a pattern forming.

Anyway the interior is done and I decided I like this shade of gray. Tomorrow looks like a good day to spray a coat of clear over the gray primer. The wheels will be gray also; from what I can tell, the rims should be body color. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this. The black rims look fine with the light gray body but I want to be correct. Thanks for checking in.

[customline]

Today it reached 72f with under 30% humidity so I sprayed some paint.  Clear enamel, actually. ACE brand. I am back on this one for now but you all know what happens ?. Thanks for checking in.

Gotta give it a few days and then micro polish. I think I have enough clear on it to get me there. Any opinions on the wheel color ?  Leave 'em black or go with body color?

[dino246gt]

Body color would be correct for stock.

Interior looks fantastic!

It looks better than AMT ever imagined it could!

The whole car does.

[customline]

38 minutes ago, dino246gt said:

Body color would be correct for stock.

Interior looks fantastic!

It looks better than AMT ever imagined it could!

The whole car does.

I really appreciate your praise, Dennis. And I believe you are correct about the wheels. I have a set in body color waiting for clear and I plan to photograph the mock-up both ways because I think it looks pretty good with black rims (originally the car was to be black but after I primed it with the Tamiya gray, it occurred to me that just clearing it would give me the look of a Southern car in a "possible" factory color.)  Today I'm going to polish it out. Wish me luck!

 

[espo]

Wheel color could go either way. While the DeLuxe models which this kit represents may have had body-colored wheels, I think the base models were black. With the wide whites the black colored wheels would offer more of a contrast than having the wheels white to match the body.  

[customline]

17 minutes ago, espo said:

Wheel color could go either way. While the DeLuxe models which this kit represents may have had body-colored wheels, I think the base models were black. With the wide whites the black colored wheels would offer more of a contrast than having the wheels white to match the body.  

Yeah, the contrast is nice but after all the extra work....I'm undecided.  The Deluxe angle that you mention makes a good argument for the body color rims. By the way, Dave, it's not white, but light gray Tamiya fine surface primer with clear over it and I just finished polishing it and I'm ecsatic ?!

[RichCostello]

I like the black wheels.

[dino246gt]

That paint finish turned out great!

 

[Speedpro]

I'v alway's wondered what putting clear on top of tamiya gray primer would look like. Bravo! Great work going on here.

[customline]

4 hours ago, RichCostello said:

I like the black wheels.

Yup.  I like 'em too. But the idea of the build was a more accurate model. Let's wait till we can see it with the gray rims. Thanks for your interest, Rich.

2 hours ago, dino246gt said:

That paint finish turned out great!.

 

Thanks, Dennis. I was a bit worried about sanding through with the 2000 that I used. If that happened, it was going "barn find" ?.  Below the Tamiya was a very dark gray primer. It could have worked out ?. maybe next time.

2 hours ago, Speedpro said:

I'v alway's wondered what putting clear on top of tamiya gray primer would look like. Bravo! Great work going on here.

Thanks Paul!  Happy to help! ?

[customline]

If you plan to build this kit, there's a couple of things to check before you paint  in addition to what has been discussed already.  The tail lights are a poor fit so do whatever with that.  Also the bumpers mount to the splash pans on locating pins that may be too long, (not a big deal.)  The hood is not a good fit and I wish I had paid more attention to it early on. I don't think the grille is a great fit either but it's  probably okay unless you are a hard-core perfectionist (which I am but I'm also kind of lazy).  I swapped the wheels and would appreciate any comments about the color.  See below. Oh, and check the rear bumper ?

[bobss396]

Nice work. I have a built one that I lost parts for over 25 years ago. I was able to get a couple of partial donor kits. I painted mine the same color, but Testors enamel. It looks okay... I really have never shown it to anyone and it still lives in the box.

[customline]

I'm sure it must be dead by now, Bob. Maybe it's time to breathe new life into it. (see what I did there?)  Find out what parts are missing.  Help is just one post away ?. My kit was an Ebay find and showed up here without a grille. I reached out and a kind member laid one on me. Maybe it's time, Bob. ?

[customline]

I found yet another difficulty designed into this kit- the hood ornament. You must not paint your hood until you have made peace with your hood ornament. I had not.  Neither the hood nor the ornament have any form of locating devices. In fact, the hood seems to be made without any interest in an ornament whatsoever. I decided to pin it, not an easy thing for my arthritis-plagued fingers. It would have been a snap before paint. Too late now. I only mucked up the finished hood in two places. No biggie. Thanks for not giggling.

 

[customline]

Done and done.

Funny thing, though. Wifey indicated her preference for the gray rims, so that's how I'm gonna roll ? ( this is how you stay married for 39 years ? )

As you may recall  the thing I wanted to correct was not only the shape of the windshield  and the backlight but getting the "glass" out where it looks more like it should. I think I was able to get a long way toward that end with this build thanks for sticking with me on this and I appreciate everything y'all contributed, especially rsschris for providing the grille. Thanks again, Chris!

I plan to do some sanding or filing on those outer wheels to get them in closer to the tires and the battery needs to be dealt with but basically,  I'm happy with it. The weather here has been PERFECT!. I was able to get some painting done on other projects. See you soon!

 

 

 

 

[NOBLNG]

That looks great Jim!?

[LennyB]

Jim, I agree with the wife, I like the gray rims better..  and with the chrome done I think it looks fantastic.  You won the war this time what kit are you going to battle with next?

[Kit Karson]

Stellar effort beyond expectations of most modelers! Absolutely spot on, Brother! -KK

[customline]

3 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

That looks great Jim!?

Thanks, Greg. It was more fun than I can handle ?.

2 hours ago, LennyB said:

Jim, I agree with the wife, I like the gray rims better..  and with the chrome done I think it looks fantastic.  You won the war this time what kit are you going to battle with next?

Yeah, Wifey usually gets her way.  The chrome, except for the gravel shields and rocker moldings, is "New Improved" variety and quite old and it handled very well and I don't have much left. I used the "aluminum" variety on the rockers and gravel shields.  I got the 2 door MAGNUM painted yesterday and the '58 Belvedere was painted again last week too. Neither will get attention until the '41 Plymouth is wrapped up. Then the two T'Birds, the '65 Impala, the '56 Del Rey, Boss 302, 300 B, ......I dunno, Len.....I'd love to start on the full custom fleetline.....or......or maybe....naaah....

44 minutes ago, Kit Karson said:

Stellar effort beyond expectations of most modelers! Absolutely spot on, Brother! -KK

Thanks, Kit!  But I dunno, Kit, most of these guys are a heck of a lot better at it than I am. But I appreciate the kind words ?