A Curbside Custom Cadillac

[OldNYJim]

I’ve been collecting all of the Atlantis bi-scale kits since they announced purchasing all that old Revell tooling, with the intention of building them in release order and, well, my Atlantis stack is getting pretty tall now….time to build some of them!

First kit they issued was the old, multi-piece-bodied 57 Cadillac, and it took me a while to get figured out how I could build that to my satisfaction.  I don’t wanna deviate MILES from the ‘spirit’ of the kit, but it’s way too inaccurate to put together a great stock build without some MAJOR work…and I don’t care enough to put in a bunch of effort to build a stock Cadillac.  I DO care enough to wrestle this thing into an awesome 60s era mild custom though - maybe along the lines of what Larry Watson did with his?

Eric Brockmeyer, former designer for Boyd Coddington has some cool ideas for old 50s Caddys too…

And thanks to the factory air suspension, you can drop them right in the weeds with immunity without feeling bad about building something that would be impossible or impractical in real life…perfect for a kit with pretty rudimentary chassis and engine detail if you were able to peek under it…

Here’s the kit, multi part body and all…

Excuse the poorly cropped photo, but this thing is WAY bigger than the average build I put in my photo booth…

My plan is to remove the molded-in floor…

…to more easily facilitate assembling and cleaning up that body nicely and then fabricate something to get those wheels really tucked up in the arches but to where I can still use the kit interior without opening a whole extra can of worms.  First up tho, I added a bunch of styrene strip to the body to give myself some additional gluing surfaces to attach the body halves (top and bottom) and close off any gaps so I can fill more easily after:

I got the top and bottom halves snuggled together nicely, and used some two-part Bondo to get some of the more obvious marks and depressions fixed before progressing too much further…

Cost of primer, and we’re off to the races!

The bodywork is going to be 90% of the work on this build, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of where I want to take it…next job will be the big chrome trim panels that sit either side, and I think I’d like to fancy up the wheels with something more interesting than stock Cadillac hubcaps…more soon!

[W-409]

This will be interesting! First, I really like these late '50s Eldorado Broughams even in stock form. And second, I think the one that Mr. Watson painted back in the day looks even better. I've had actually plans of building this same kit into a Mild Custom as well, so I'm taking notes how your version goes together. The start looks already very promising so keep the pictures coming.

[Steve H]

This will be good…. I will place a vote for the Brockmeyer look, that thing is really cool. Maybe with the Foose Caddy wheels, not that you need my opinion ? Look forward to watching you work your magic on this one.

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!

On 4/5/2024 at 9:18 AM, Steve H said:

This will be good…. I will place a vote for the Brockmeyer look, that thing is really cool. Maybe with the Foose Caddy wheels, not that you need my opinion ? Look forward to watching you work your magic on this one.

I like those big wheels too!  I know that render isn’t the exact same model (at least, I don’t think it is?) but I like it all the same…I think I’m erring more on the side of the Watson look right now, but as usual that’s subject to change at any moment…

A little progress this weekend so far…I wanted to try some wire wheels on this thing so I fired up the printer…

Those kit tires have a recessed lip so I ground that out so I could use them…I think they’ll look cool on there…

I’ve been doing some more (a lot more) bodywork, as you can see…also made a start on the chrome side trim…modified it slightly and then drilled and inserted styrene pins to help make it easier to lock in place nice and straight come assembly time…

And today’s project was working on a new ‘frame’.  Frame in inverted commas, because this build is going to be completely and utterly curbside but I didn’t feel good about hacking the remains of the kit underside into some kinda mess so I could mount wire axles where I wanted to.  So, today I mocked up something in cardboard that will work just well enough to hold it all together…

…and then built it with 2mm, 1mm and 0.75mm styrene sheet:

This was all completely and utterly unnecessary, I could’ve messed with the kit frame to make this work, or swapped in one of a few actual detailed frames that would’ve worked…but I had the idea and wanted to build it, so I built it ?

Next job is to get the wheels mounted to my ‘origami’ frame and then make sure it all fits together still…more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[OldNYJim]

Tiny update, but an important step completed…got this thing on it’s wheels!

First time fitting the glass and roof too - I added a couple of tabs to the b-pillars to give me something to use to glue it to the body…I can’t imagine this was much fun to assemble for a kid in the late 50s - it’s making me nervous even with the wide range of adhesives we have available now…

Also started digging for some lights to replace the flat chromed lens-less kit pieces…found this whilst parts huntin’’- cop car variant?

Spent the rest of my bench-time today getting that body dialed in…there’s a lot of real-estate on this one!  

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Modlbldr]

That is coming along nicely. It's going to have a great look to it. That Brockmeyer version would be a good one using the IMEX 58 Eldorado.

Later-

[sak]

May I ask why the two halfs dont line up horizontallly? Do you chop the bottom half to make it narrower, or is that how its designed? In most pictures I've seen of this kit, the two halfs look like they seat fairly flush horizontally.

[OldNYJim]

16 hours ago, Modlbldr said:

That is coming along nicely. It's going to have a great look to it. That Brockmeyer version would be a good one using the IMEX 58 Eldorado.

Later-

Thank you!  I never really took notice of all these 50s Cadillacs before, but now I have a few I wanna build!

12 hours ago, sak said:

May I ask why the two halfs dont line up horizontallly? Do you chop the bottom half to make it narrower, or is that how it’s designed? In most pictures I've seen of this kit, the two halfs look like they seat fairly flush horizontally.

That recess is where the chrome trim goes, if you’re referring to what I think you’re referring to…no narrowing or anything on this one…even using the kit’s mounting pins/holes to get everything aligned nicely tho, everything doesn’t really align nicely.

Case in point - check the door lines and how they align to the red trim that attaches to the bottom:

The ‘scoop’ lines up great, the front two lines are level on the body AND the trim…but the rear one is off probably a sixteenth.  On the other side, exact opposite…the rearmost line and the scoop align perfectly but the doors are off.  I know the body is square and true, so I’m just messing with those lines instead, filling and re-scribing the ones that need it.  No biggie ?‍♂️

Picked up some paint today…kinda a cliche…but I imagined this thing pink from the start…

I think it’ll need a white base to really make it pop…got another shade I want to try before I decide tho…

 

Edited April 9, 2024 by CabDriver

[Zippi]

The ole Caddy is looking pretty sharp there Jim.  

[Bainford]

I like it. A cool take on this ancient kit.

[sak]

I have been observing this kit for quite some time and in most images I see, the bottom halve appears flush or even wider than the top. Your looks narrower at the bottom. Most people are not seperating the floorboards from the fenders so maybe that is the cause. Either way, your method looks superior to the way revell intended it to be built.

[OldNYJim]

On 4/9/2024 at 7:16 AM, Zippi said:

The ole Caddy is looking pretty sharp there Jim.  

Thank you sir!

On 4/9/2024 at 8:13 AM, Bainford said:

I like it. A cool take on this ancient kit.

Thank you too!

On 4/9/2024 at 8:16 AM, sak said:

I have been observing this kit for quite some time and in most images I see, the bottom halve appears flush or even wider than the top. Your looks narrower at the bottom. Most people are not seperating the floorboards from the fenders so maybe that is the cause. Either way, your method looks superior to the way revell intended it to be built.

Huh!  Interesting!  Good thing it’s kustom, or I’d DEFINITELY be doing something wrong (maybe?!)…ha!

Progress on this one ground to a halt last week because I was out of state for a work thing…I considered taking it with me but didn’t feel like letting Southwest have a shot at busting it…but I was excited yesterday to get home and get back to it.  

Did a few rounds of filling and priming on the body yesterday, then a few more today…just tweaking some little areas to get it good as I could…got it looking ok in primer I think…(excuse the blurry nose in this pic - it’s crisp in real life…)

And then, shot some Electric Pink today:

This color really pops!  Would pop even more over a pure white base instead of the light gray, but I’m planning some highlights in a slightly different lighter shade, so this works fine for what I have in mind.

Incidentally, I DID work on this little 1/32 Testor’s kit while I was away…sure did have some bright clashing colors in the booth today ?

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[JollySipper]

This is looking really good, Jim! Ol' Mr. Watson would be proud of your choice of color............ 

[OldNYJim]

9 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

This is looking really good, Jim! Ol' Mr. Watson would be proud of your choice of color............ 

Or he’d call me a hack and tell me to quit copying ?

These things look good two-toned too, so I have some ideas to move this from ‘rip off’ territory to ‘inspired by’…

Different model, same concept…

[OldNYJim]

Had an AWESOME evening at the bench tonight…I had a vision of what I was trying to achieve and thought thru the steps to get there and went for it…wasn’t 100% sure it was going to work but I gave it my best shot.

First up, my goal was to really accentuate those big long lines and curves by forcing some color variations with low and high spots - but nothing too rigid and inorganic looking.  Worked thru a few darker tones to add some depth in the lower portions of the body, then some light pink and pearl white on the upper edges:

That was kinda the scary step, because I liked how bright and rich the base color was and I hid a lot of that under some darker gradients.  The darkest spots are Createx purple and magenta, the lightest are Testor’s Hot Pink and a Vallejo silver that is actually closer to white.

I let that set up for twenty minutes or so and then shot some highlights in Createx neon pink…but an over reduced mix of it in clear carrier to make sure some of the flake in the layers below still comes thru:

Then, final step (for now) was mixing up a hot pink pearl in some Future…

This particular mica powder flips between pink red and purple and works well with the colors I’m already using, so I shot some mist coats of that over top the whole body, and ended up with this:

I still have a little more to do, but I need to shoot a coat of intercoat to lock in all the lower layers so I can do a little masking without damaging all the flake and pearl…super pleased with the results so far tho!

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Codi]

That's absolutely stunning Jim.  Can't wait to see the finished car but I'd be happy to have her just the way she is today.  Gorgeous.  The mica pearl, did you use Pearl-X ?   Just curious.   cheers, tim

[dino246gt]

Great work so far on this "difficult" kit!

I also cut the bottom out but I used the Foose Caddy underneath.

 

 

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!

On 4/16/2024 at 5:06 AM, Codi said:

The mica pearl, did you use Pearl-X ?   Just curious.   cheers, tim

Hey Tim!  Actually, an off-brand set I picked up on Amazon that had some brighter colors I wanted…but similar stuff, yeah!  
 

On 4/16/2024 at 8:33 AM, dino246gt said:

also cut the bottom out but I used the Foose Caddy underneath.

 

I tried a few different frames and found it wouldn’t be too much work to make one of them fit…decided to keep this one curbside though in the spirit of the original kit (even if I DID change a bunch of stuff for the sake of it…)

A little progress this week…remasked the body and finished up the paint - last touch I wanted to add was a little light gradient fade along the body line:

And I’m working on getting it into clearcoat now, which my current favorite lacquer:

Started getting the chrome parts into shape too; apart from clean-up the only ones I’m modifying are the rear taillight / fin pieces, which I’ve drilled to take some separate lenses that I still need to make:

Cleaned up the 2-piece plastic tires, got them into primer then some generic rattle-can black followed by some shading with Vallejo Tire Black:

Then brush painted the whitewalls (I’d usually mask something like this, but I’m working on my brush-painting skills) then shot with matte coat:

Ignore the ones in the background, they’re for something else…

I needed some pedals so I designed them in CAD and printed them - didn’t get a perfect print of the gas pedal yet, but the brake pedal came out ok:

I managed to get the lettering on there, even if it is only just barely legible…hard to photograph too…

Tomorrow’s project is the rest of the interior…more soon, soon as I’ve done more!  Thanks for looking! 

[1930fordpickup]

This is shaping up nicely.

 

[OldNYJim]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:33 AM, 1930fordpickup said:

This is shaping up nicely.

 

Thank you!!

A little more progress this week, and today…painted the interior pieces - went for a white base, with a little tiny dash of pearl powder to tie the look to the body.  Shot white base, then Vallejo silver, then Future with a dash of pearl:

Then added the chromework:

Speaking of chrome, shot black enamel on everything that needed to be chrome-y:

Key to good Alclad, like any paint, is that nice shiny base:

I’m no Alclad expert, but I was fairly pleased with these bits…

Next shiny thing to tackle was the roof; the real car has a brushed stainless steel roof, so to replicate that I first laid down regular old BMF…

Then brushed it with a 4000 grit cloth to add the grain:

Looks ok-ish to me - I wish I hadn’t had to have a couple of seams to get the BMF to lay flat, but I put them about where I guessed there might be a seam in the real one (although I’ve never seen one of these in person to take a look-see):

Once I’d finished laying down clear on the body, time to polish…

I’m playing with my polishing technique a little to make it a little faster and easier (I HATE polishing) - but the Tamiya compounds definitely help a lot:

And now I’m down to little bits before assembly, like blackwashing the grille and adding the license plate decals…

Looking forward to seeing all these parts start to come together!

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[OldNYJim]

Waiting on USPS to deliver the last couple of parts I’m waiting on for this thing…but basically got it wrapped up today, bar a couple of minor details…love getting to see that chrome and the ‘stainless’ roof with that hot pink ?

 

[JollySipper]

Jim, this all looks really good.... and Clean!

[chris chabre]

looks awesome!!!!!!

 

If I may add a technique that may or may not work on the roof. If you were able to lay your \seams front to back, and then brushed it, theyd blend right in. At least it works when Im metal finishing stainless at my FT gig

[milo1303s]

Looks great nice build !!! sows ear to silk purse love it !!

 

[MeatMan]

Sweet outcome!