Supernatural Impala Conversion (with opening doors,hood and trunk) Update 12/01

[IMPALA SS 427]

I am making the supernatural impala again, i was planing to do this later on in the year but other projects have stalled, so this will be my main build and i will finish other projects in between, i have done this before (link if your interested: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/sca/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/107258.aspx ) so i know what to do, i will also be making this one very very detailed with all 4 doors hinged and trunk/hood also hinged.

Here's my start:

I decapitated the camaro (camera was playing up so i didnt' take any pics of how i joined the roof.)

These were braces to hold the roof in line while i could glue it, i will remove these and clean it all up once the bodywork is done.

It took 2 afternoons to get this at this stage (i removed the front door months ago then got sidetracked with other things) and its all roughed in at the moment, i will alter things as i go.

Edited January 12, 2014 by IMPALA SS 427

[IMPALA SS 427]

Comparison with my first build:

The roof is in the same position and everything as the finished one but it looks odd for some reason, Ii think its because of the door lines i drew (they are way off except the front one i cut out, i just scribled them on to see how its coming along...

here was a major problem with the first one, the lines where the camaro roof joined the impala showed through a few weeks after completion (i think the putty/paint shrank too much) anyway it looked good for a month or so then they showed up.

You can see what i mean in the center of the roof...

Another thing was were i modified the hood has cracked and sunken in over time.

big sink mark were the 427 ss bulge was.

I will possibly cast this in resin if it turns out good, not sure yet.

Let me know what you think.

[Bowtienutz]

If you get your body work correct and mold it at least you won't have to worry about the the bodywork shrinking years later. However you may have a a problem getting your body out of the mold without it breaking. I would suggest, when you take the first car that you pour out of the mold preserve it as a new master just in case the mold wears out and you need more of them.

Interesting project I'm not a fan of 4 door cars and I would have never thought of using a camaro roof for the conversion. You have a sharp eye and a lot of skill, not to mention big cahoones for painting all your bodywork black I could never get away with that.

[slusher]

I watched you build thread on the black impala James and looked forward to this one. You do awsume work...

[hotrod59f100]

Wow I've Ben wanting to make one for a few yrs as supernatural is my favorite show. I just wasn't sure what roof to use. Ill be watching this for sure.

[Pro Wrench]

It looks like the sail panel/C-pillar on the new one is wider than the old one? Could be why it looks funny? Or it could just be an optical illusion.

[IMPALA SS 427]

Thanks guys for the comments.

The c pillars i used on the first one came from an old monogram? camaro and was 1/24 so size and shape may have been different.also i did reshape the inner roof line (where the drip rail is) a little on the black one to get a better shape. I have it primered and it looks fine, i think all the scribble made it look weird...

with the weekend coming up i am hoping to have the bodywork on the roof/trunk completed so expect updates soon.

[hjracing]

Wow! Really cool project, I'm a great fan of this serie so I really love the car. I'll keep an eye on this one!

[RodneyBad]

Great looking build.

Camaro roof.. who'd thought?

I just started watching the show a few months ago...

All caught up already..

[Chuck Most]

I used to own a '67 Impala four-door hardtop, but that's not why I'm interested in this. I'm interested in all the detail you plan to add, and the fact I'm a Supernatural fan, even though that show ruined this song for me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfFjb3B9RRw

Every time I hear the chorus now, I imagine Dean repeatedly being killed off in increasingly ridiculous (and often hilarious) ways.

[IMPALA SS 427]

Thanks guys.

I have been spending all my spare time on my real car, anyways its raining so i cant really continue work with my real car so back to models.

I got stuck into the chassis and got the ride height where i want it and got the bodywork mostly done (trunk is still in need of sanding and shaping)

I also got a couple stock of resin hoods of ebay and got a little done on the grill/bumper.

This spare body was used so i can still work on the 4 door body:

Heres the old one:

The trunk is still in need of work but i think i got the roof done.

The grill of old one:

The still incomplete grill of new one:

all comments welcome.

[66belair]

That's gonna be nice,I followed the other build as well. All those opening body panels are going to be an amazing feat. Can't wait to see more. This way more than I would ever attempt. Nice work so far.

[george 53]

Great foresight and work! You KNOW you have just shown us ALL how to do this! I'da NEVER thought about the Camaro roofline! THATS a PLASTIC CUTTERS dream!!!! You sir, are an ARTISTE!!!! I take my hat off to you! Like I said, GREAT foresight!!!!!

[David G.]

Most Impressive!

David G.

[Jantrix]

Well first off, my hats off to you for giving it another go. For me, doing a second model of the same subject, regardless of the success/failure of the first would be at the absolute bottom of my priority list. Zero interest. So your stick-to-it-iveness is quite admirable.

Second, one a custom I'm currently working on, I used the braces inside the body too, but due to their location sanding/grinding them off is proving a challenge. I just cannot get the amount of sanding surface inside there to do the job like I would on the outside of the body. With a dremel you risk digging a gouge that you will have to fix later or worse. So if you figure out some innovative trick to smoothing out the inside of the body, I'd love to hear it.

[Danno]

Cool.

[Bob Ellis]

James where did you get extra door handles. It would take 2 Revell kits to get the door handles, if that is where they came from.

Nice job converting the body to a 4dr.

[IMPALA SS 427]

Thank you everyone for the comments.

I have been re thinking the opening trunk idea and I'm not too sure if i will open the trunk or not, if i remove the trunk the C pillars will only be held to the body by a 3cm or so glue seam. I will have a think and figure it out but all 4 doors and hood will be hinged and opening either way.

Jantrix- I agree with you about making a second model of the same subject but the 67 impala is my all time favorite car so this is possibly the only time i would do the same model again.

Bob Ellis - The door handle on the first impala were scratch built.

[mikemopar70]

This will be nice!

Can't wait to see further developpements!!

Keep it on!

[RodneyBad]

The Camaro Roof blended in Nicely..

Nice Gril work too..

[crazyrichard]

nice !

[Jeremy Jon]

Great work, and a second build no less, bravo!! +1 on getting this second body molded, you might even be able to recoup some of your $ that way

[w451973]

Thats sweet. My daughter and I are big supernatural fans. We'll be following this thread.

[zenrat]

What filler did you use on the first one?

A two part filler or a one part filler?

One part fillers harden by chemicals evaporating and so will continue to shrink over time.

I was warned but thought I knew better. I found out I was wrong the hard way.

Nice work though despite the ghosting.

[IMPALA SS 427]

Thank you everyone for all the nice comments.

I haven't spent a lot of time on this lately because I have been working on a bigger project, i have been fixing and painting a fiberglass body kit for my 1:1 car that was in bad shape and it has taken a long time but now most of its done and on the car so i can turn my attention back to my 1/25 projects.

here is some progress i made with the impala this weekend:

Chassis started, I have replaced the kit springs with springs from click pens. The front ones aren't done yet and there is still a few bits to go on and more detailing.

i have made a little progress with smoothing the inside of the body, i used 80 grit sand paper to roughly get it level then used a little spot putty to get it smoother. i will do more sanding and smoothing but i'm not too concerned about a perfect finish as i will be using a fabric headliner.

I also re did the trunk it still kinda had the slope of the fast back but the sports sedan is almost flat but slightly angled.

i also noticed that the front suspension of the first one broke, so i will be fixing that and probrably replacing the hood with one of the flat resin ones i got (the current hood has a sinkmark in the middle where the putty shrank and caved in).