1938 Opel Admiral Sedan

[stitchdup]

I've put my vw back in the box before i throw it at the wall. The glass for it is fighting me and to fix it i need to make a tool so until i can get hold of a very small tap and die set its on hold. So since verything else thats on my bench is held up for one reason or another i thought I'd make a start on this. Since I plan on doing it in a bomb lowrider style that should mean the only mod is slamming and wheels. I'm going to use a set of printed wheels from slowlysmodels and i might use a dropped axle from digitalsurface if its the correct width but the rest will just be paint and a few accesories. I got this kit cheap as it didn't include instructions and after getting help on here i contacted icm in ukraine and had a new set in 2 weeks and they would not take any money for them which was nice of them. I guess i should stop waffling now and open the box. I'm not looking forward to the 8 piece body but we'll see how it goes

[Zippi]

I just put one back in the box myself.  That should be a nice little project there Les.  

[stitchdup]

I got the engine and chassis mostly assembled this afternoon. I've left some parts off as the colour call outs are everything gloss black but I wont be following them. It would make for a pretty uninteresting engine bay and the engine itself is a nice enough piece to warrant some changes. I'll probably stick with mostly black but the finishes will be different and some parts will be chromed or maybe body colour. Before i do much more I'm going to read ahead in the instructions to see if i can fit the rest of the chassis pieces before painting. The rear suspension will be lowered with blocks but the front is a unusual looking piece and not the style i was expecting. I think to lower it I'm going to remove the ends on the outside of the brackets and drill them for pins so i can lower the suspension at the end. If i drill both parts it will give me a strong mount and keep the wheels centred. Speaking of the wheels, i might be able to use the stock ones as they fit the bomb look if i add a trim ring and white walls. I've been looking at the body too and i think I have a way to assemble it without the interior to make painting easier as otherwise i'll have an ugly seam across the front of the roof. I'll probably have to use the interior to keep it square while gluing but there will be some small tabs underneath to reinforce some edges as they are a butt join so wont hold without them. I have some 0.1 sheet ill layer for that as i need to be sure the interior will still mount. So far everything has fitted well but everyparts has needed more clean up than usual. The plastic is a little softer than usual too, being similar to heller car kit plastic.

top and bottom views of front axle.

[stitchdup]

I assembled the body today. I've added some small tabs of 0.1 sheet for strength as the butt joints looked like they would fail. My reason for assembling the body was there is a big uglt seam across the top of the roof and assembly after paint would not look good so i'm 5 steps ahead of where i should be but it should work out. I used the floor and door panels to help with aligment of the panels. other than the roof it all went together pretty well but there are a couple of areas where the 2 parts are different thicknesses so some filler will be needed. I took a couple pics with the same scale 39 chevy to show how big this car is.

 

[Speedpro]

Very different! This thing is going to look really cool with the two mods you have planned. Love those front fenders!

[NOBLNG]

Nice plan and good progress Les.? It looks like a pretty nice kit, except for that roof seam.?

[stitchdup]

i got the interior parts painted over the last couple of days. I've gone for a stockish look but i haven't seen this in any opels but i did see it in humobile bomb so thats where its from. I've not added the chrome parts yet but the paint is done other than a couple small touch ups. I'll be foiling the top edge of the door panels, again for that lowrider style. I've got a visor from the amt chevy street machine 49 pick up that fots pretty well to go on this. I also got the chassis and engine parts primed and i removed the steering rod from the front axle to allow it to sit much much lower than stock. speaking of the lowering part of it will come from the smaller wheels and tyres as the stock wheels just wont lower it enough for me. I've also primed the roof of the main body to allow my filler to work better but i masked the area where the trim goes first  to save work later. I have found there is some distortion somewhere on the body, chassis or floor parts as they dont quite line up. I'm hopeful it will be fixed once its all glued but it could be due to me assembling the body too soon, but how else couldi get the roof smooth?

[Anglia105E]

You clearly have your work set out there Les, but this Opel is going to be a nice model when completed, I'm sure . . .

The ICM company in Ukraine is really good, and it was nice of them to send you the instruction sheet without charge.

Both Miniart and ICM have somehow managed to continue with production of model kits, even publishing a 2024 catalogue. They are based in Kiev (Kyiv).

David

[stitchdup]

Well I'm enjoying this and managed to get a few parts painted so will have some pics once i detail them a little. In the meantime i've ordered the lowered drop top version as I'd like to do one with wood panel sides. I dont believe it was even an option but since theres a lot of gm styling i think it should work, and besides that i have some more mowrider interior files i'd like to use and it seems kinda pointless to use them if they cant be seen. Which leads me to a question, were swamp coolers used on convertibles?

[stitchdup]

The wind finally changed direction so i got some paint on. It looks like i need to give some another coat as my first paintjob is showing through. I first painted it metallic brown and butternut yellow and it turned out great, i just hated how it looked and didn't want to do the yellow in gold so i shot the whole thing with duplicolour grey pearl. if the weather plays nice i'll get pagen gold on in the morning.

[stitchdup]

well, that was unexpected. i thought the hok pagen gold pearl over black would give me brown but instead its given me an almost green gold but once the clear and foil is done it should look ok.

 

[Anglia105E]

That gold paint colour is really nice Les, and  I like the greenish tinge to it . . .

David

[A modeler named mike]

Looks really good Les.. Sweet color!

[ea0863]

I'm digging this build. And I have nothing but sympathy for you on the VW. I've got one project I've been working on since 2018 that has gone back in the box at least six times!  

[stitchdup]

i've got the big parts painted but its in the middle of being polished for the third time. in the meantime the weather has improved and its warm enough to print again so i printed some lowrider parts. unfortunately the wheels are too small so i've got a larger set printing now, but some of the other parts will work

[stitchdup]

i hate this hobby. 3 weeks of polish and clear only to drop it and lose a chunk of the paint. its in stripper.