Shoebox Chevys of My Youth

[papajohn97]

These are both recent issue Revell 1/25 kits. I painted the ‘55 ‘vert in a popular two-tone color combo, Coral and Shadow Grey that I remember seeing all over town during my early childhood in Southern CA in the late 50’s/ early 60’s. The ‘56 210 sedan in Tropical Turquoise over India White, is an exact scale model of my very first car purchased from a neighbor in 1971 for $450 (and yes, despite 120k miles on the drive train, it looked this good! Obviously wish I still had it!).

I airbrushed MCW lacquer base paints (that match the original factory colors) on both models and unfortunately had terrible spiderweb issues with the coral, grey and turquoise.  I'm thinking maybe they put too much thinner/ solvent in the paint? Going forward, I think I’ll stick with Scale Finishes and Zero Paints for my auto lacquer base paints.

Here are some pics of the '55, I'll post more of the '56 in a separate post below. Cheers, John

[papajohn97]

Here are some more pics of the '56:

[Ragtop Man]

Kits we so good we took them for granted. Both are outstanding builds, definitely box art worthy. 

The sleeper looking '56 is the one that sneaks up on me, though. Everything about it is spot on. 

[catpack68]

Excellent work on both shoeboxes John! The finishes on each of them look really good too?

Edited August 5, 2024 by catpack68

[espo]

Beautiful looking builds. I share your memories of these cars as well. Our family car was a '56 210 4-door with a rip-roaring Blue Flame 6 and a 3 on the tree. My dad must have had plans to go racing since it was a radio delete. Your detailing of both the '55 and the '56 look showroom fresh and the optional interior on the '56 was a great option. I also built the Revell '55 Bel Air hardtop years ago and used the same colors as yours, that was very popular at the time. I have also done a few of the '56 210 and always get a little nostalgic when building one. These should on a prominent display.  

[Jim B]

Beautiful Chevys.  Very well done.

[Rattlecan Dan]

Excellent work! Both builds just get the nostalgic juices flowing. Reminds me of just how exciting that coral and grey was back in the day. Thanks for posting.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Beautiful builds John! 

[STU111]

What a stunning and immaculate pair of Chevys. The 55 in particular showcases the interesting variety of colour combinations available on cars of this era. Top stuff. ??

[Hodrodz]

Both are beautiful!

[Hard_2_Handle_454]

Beautiful

[charger74]

They both look great 

 

[bondo bill]

Great looking pair

[carrucha]

Nice pair of Chevys.  Well built and finished.

[XYHARRY]

Very nice pair of beautiful Chevrolets. I particularly like the convertible with that gorgeous colour combo, I clearly understand why it was popular. Really well done John and thanks for sharing. 

Cheers,

David, ??

[papajohn97]

Thank you guys for all the nice ‘at-a-boys’! Love that graphic of the pink & grey convertible at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance. They should feature a row of ‘55 - ‘57 Chevies one year amongst all the Bugatti’s and Delehayes.

Sometimes it’s nice to just a build a couple of easy clean out-of-the-box model car kits. These two are the first I’ve built since I was a kid without adding plug wires, other than some foil they’re pretty much out of the box.

Edited August 6, 2024 by papajohn97

[PappyD340]

Very nice tri 5s!

[slusher]

Beautiful pair of Chevys!

[spencer1984]

Excellent work on both!

[rv1963]

Two great builds nice neat and clean.

[ncbuckeye67]

Two beautiful examples of the fabulous "Tri-fives!"

[ATHU]

They both look fantastic!!

[nickfzr61]

Really beautiful builds. 

[Ulbo]

Nice build couple?