AMT 1940 Willys WIP

[DJMar]

A little story behind this one...

Back in the mid-90s, a modeling buddy and I had this idea to build a parking lot scene (diorama?) for our LHS. We thought it would be a great way to have other model car builders display their stuff, and we could build up some of our own kits to make sure the "lot" was always filled. The owner of the shop was totally into it, as the space was there, and he thought it would be cool to have a spot where folks could display their builds for a while, maybe sell a few more kits, drum up interest in the store, yadda yadda. We thought it would be a ton of fun to build a bunch of curbsides, too, to get away from the super-detailed and intricate builds we were both into back then.

So we gathered a bunch of kits from our stash that we wanted to build. We came up with a "rule" that has stuck with me to this day - each model had to have some sort of backstory to it, no matter how trivial. Whether it was a simple "Day 2" musclecar, or a hot rod passed from grandparent to grandchild, or a resurrected truck saved from the crusher, every kit we were going to build was going to have a story. We figured it would be cooler that way, and he had the idea to do a little write up on each model to add to the display.

Sadly, my modeling pal passed away before we even got one model finished. The hobby shop closed some time after that, circa 2000 or so.

This kit - the 1987 release of the Willys Coupe/Pickup - sat in my stash for almost 30 years. I dug it out a few months back. My friend had already glued the 1-piece front end in place and started to fill the hole in the hood. If my memory serves me correctly, he wanted to build it as a reformed gasser, something built for the strip but put back into street use. Again, if I remember correctly, he was thinking about a satin black exterior with red and white interior, because at that time, that color scheme wasn't done to death.

I finished the bodywork, including filling and smoothing the hood, which took a few attempts before I was happy. I also finished shaping the tail lights, which had been roughed in. The rear pan needed some filling and shaping, too. It's in primer now, but still needs a bit of finish sanding and love before moving to color. I will probably shoot it in satin black, because it feels right.

Since this was definitely going to be a curbside, I slammed together the suspension using some parts box axles and springs in the rear. The front wheels mount to a simple Plastruct tube glued to the frame. Wheels are Cragars from the AMT '66 Nova up front (I only could find two in my parts box) on ancient Michelin TRXs. Rears are the steel wheels from the AMT '49 Ford on equally ancient Goodyear slicks. I'll spray the Crags in whatever chrome I have on hand, and I think the steelies will be red. Those of us who are old enough will remember that steel wheels were used for strength in the rear (because all that torque would shatter lesser wheels!) and mags were used up front to help with weight. I went with the wheel choice with that old nugget in mind.

Interior is going to be 90% box stock, in red and white. Maybe I'll actually get this one finished?

Also, moving forward, please ignore the workbench clutter. It's how I work.

[mchook]

Looks great, I hope to see more soon.

[Zippi]

Now that's down my alley.  Great looking 40 Willy's so far.

[SpeedShift]

Good build.

[DJMar]

3 hours ago, mchook said:

Looks great, I hope to see more soon.

2 hours ago, Zippi said:

Now that's down my alley.  Great looking 40 Willy's so far.

2 hours ago, SpeedShift said:

Good build.

Thanks, y'all! Appreciate the kind words.

I actually got this shot with some satin black tonight, so I'm waiting for it to dry so I can mock up and post some more pics.

[FoMoCo66]

I love willys, I can't wait to see this build!

[DJMar]

I got the first coat of color on last night, and to be honest, I don't love it. I'm not crazy about the black and I really don't like the sheen. The paint also didn't lay down as flat as I would like. It's not moon crater bumpy, but it certainly isn't smooth.

I was going for a nice satin black. I usually shoot a few coats of flat black, followed with light coats of semi-gloss clear, until I get the sheen I want. This time I went with Colorshot satin black (because I had a can sitting around) sprayed into to my airbrush bottle with a little thinner, and then on to the model. The end result is way too shiny for my liking.

I have a few options. I can shoot a flat coat over the top of this to see if it tones down things a little, but I'm afraid it will just look like flat black. Or I can use the black as a basecoat for a darker, shiny pearl topcoat, like a purple or blue. Lastly, I could just strip it and start over. I mean it's only a few coats of primer and topcoat, right?

I'm going to let it dry for a week or so before I decide.

[TransAmMike]

Yep  D J,  like "Zippy" said, right up my ally?

[Zippi]

I hear ya on the paint DJ.  It just really bugs me when my paint jobs don't turn out like I was expecting.  You'll get it man, just keep after it.

[DJMar]

6 hours ago, Zippi said:

I hear ya on the paint DJ.  It just really bugs me when my paint jobs don't turn out like I was expecting.  You'll get it man, just keep after it.

This was the universe reminding me not to deviate from my standard procedures! ?

[TNT]

Vey nice. I need to snag a few of those.

[DJMar]

15 hours ago, TNT said:

Vey nice. I need to snag a few of those.

Thanks! I grabbed this kit back in 1995 or so, sitting in the "estate sale" section of my LHS. It's the issue from 1987. It's been released a few times since then, in the early 2000s, all with the coupe and pickup options. You can still them around the internet. They just reboxed and released the pickup version only, as the Coca-Cola gasser.

The kit holds a great deal of nostalgia for me, but it leaves a lot of to be desired when compared to more modern kits. It's still worth a build, though.

[TNT]

2 hours ago, DJMar said:

Thanks! I grabbed this kit back in 1995 or so, sitting in the "estate sale" section of my LHS. It's the issue from 1987. It's been released a few times since then, in the early 2000s, all with the coupe and pickup options. You can still them around the internet. They just reboxed and released the pickup version only, as the Coca-Cola gasser.

The kit holds a great deal of nostalgia for me, but it leaves a lot of to be desired when compared to more modern kits. It's still worth a build, though.

I bought the pick up years ago for parts. Practice painting on the body and it came out so nice i built it. 

[Edward Gore]

Your body work is open point! The sheen of the paint doesn't look too bad from here but seeing it up close on the bench probably looks different. Maybe your idea with a light coat of flat may help.

[DJMar]

A little update for today.

After letting the paint dry for a week or so, I decided that I was going to strip it and start over. I noticed a few areas of missed bodywork (a dip here, a gouge there) and I really, really disliked the black. It was way too shiny and it just didn't look good to me. After two heavy coats of oven cleaner & some scrubbing, most of the paint came off without too much trouble. Now I'm back to bare plastic.

Some side effects of the oven cleaner - it totally eats solvent based putty and even some superglue. This means some more bodywork for me, including gluing the front fender seams together and smoothing out the styrene cap covering the hole in the hood.

It's a bit rough at the moment, but I'll be working on getting things ironed out in the days ahead. Right now, the glue on the front clip is drying.

Also, after looking through a bunch of old car mags, I came across this Willys in an issue of Traditional Rod & Kulture Illustrated. I like the color enough that I'm going to shoot this in some sort of light/medium metallic blue, this time around.

Edited June 15, 2024 by DJMar
spelling

[Zippi]

Looking good man.  Keep at it til you get it where you like it.

[slusher]

Blue would be a real nice color!

[espo]

That is a good-looking shade of blue and should look really good with the curves of the Willys body. 

[DJMar]

A little update on this one, as it's been languishing at the back of the workbench for far too long.

Basically, all of the bodywork had to be redone. The front clip needed to be reattached, as it had come loose during the stripping procedure. There were seams to be filled, putty to be applied, and a whole lot of sanding. I've got most of the work covered in a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1000 to check my skills. Some areas need a little more finessing, especially along the fender/door area, which appear as shiny spots because I've got them coated in some liquid cement. Then it's back to a full coat of primer, and maybe one day, color.

It ain't pretty, but we're getting there.

 

[Moparman18064]

You just simply go wrong with a blue Willy’s build! I’m salivating here

[DJMar]

Finally...back in primer. Still need to let her cure fully and sand her down.

Now, about that paint...

I found these two ancient cans of spray on my shelf. The Testors Jade Green Metalflake is probably from the mid-80s, with the Model Master Arctic Blue Metallic maybe a decade fresher? Both are way past their prime, but I'm sorely tempted to warm them up, shake them out and see if they'll shoot.

So what's it to be, the blue or the green?

 

[LennyB]

Not to make extra work for you but I would switch to a white primer to bring out the color better.  And my choice would be the green if it cooperates 

[Tim W. SoCal]

Nice Willys, DJ. I think the blue would look bitchen on that body.

[DJMar]

56 minutes ago, LennyB said:

Not to make extra work for you but I would switch to a white primer to bring out the color better.  And my choice would be the green if it cooperates 

Normally, I would agree. IIRC, both those paints are sort of translucent, so I'm going to spray them out and see how they cover first.

[Zippi]

I'm diggin the blue and like Lenny said, use a white primer.