67 Corvette Convertible Finished! Posted in Under Glass

[1 bad55 stan]

You do build amazing models Jim,carn,t wait for more updates...

[jaftygas]

That is some nice interior Jim. Hope all is well PM me if you can.

[microwheel]

Thanks Joe and Stan.

Haven't had alot of time to work on the vette the past few weeks, but did finally get some more interior work done the past 2 days. I almost have the interior finished except for a few finishing touches, such as the seatbelts and a few other odds and ends. But here is the progress so far. Sorry if some of the pics are a little too light and some a little dark. Lighting isn't great in my office tonight.

I custom mixed the interior color to get as close to a true saddle brown interior as I could. To get the interior color I used all model masters acrylics paints. The mix was a combo of a base of leather mixed with insignia yellow and a touch of insignia red. I was pretty pleased with it and think I got it pretty close to a true saddle brown.

I painted the interior tub and when it was dry I hand brushed a thinned coat of the interior color on the carpet areas and then while that was still wet I apply a tan colored flocking. I covered the center console in BMF and then wash coated the areas of the console where I didnt want the chrome to show. The wash was just a really thinned down mix of the interior color. It took alot of wash coats to cover, but, it allowed the raised detail of the center console to stay chromed like I wanted it to. I think it worked out pretty well. Pretty much it's the same process you would use on a black wash job.

The door panels were primmed with tamiya white primer, then the trim was done in BMF and then the doors were painted interior color. The trim area was then cleaned off with toothpicks dipped in laquer thinner. The window crank nobs where then tuched up with a little interior color and then re-touched with a little clear gloss.

Next the seats were also primed and then the seat trim was done in BMF and then painted in interior color. The trim was then cleaned off the same way as the door trim. Once the seats were done, they were given a light coat of model detail wax to give them more of a vinyl look.

Next up I removed the kit spokes and center hub from the steering wheel and added the photoetched spokes from the detail kit from the Model Car Garage. I then custom made a new center hub, added the kit supplied center hub decal and then painted the ring in a coat of leather, and then gloss clear.

Next the clock and radio got covered in BMF and then the dash was painted in interior color, the trim areas of the radio and clock were then cleaned off. Next BMF was added to both the guage side and glovebox side of the dash and then both areas were washed with many coats of black wash. Doing it this way takes a little longer, but I get the chome trim the way I want it and dont end up with a ton of brush strokes in the black painted areas.

Next the photo etched nobs and detail for the dash from the MCG detail set was added and the guage decals were also added. I found a left over ac vent from another MCG detail set, (not sure what it was for though) and added it above the clock on the dash, (since this is gonna be a rare AC version vette convertible, this was a must.) I also scratch made the under dash AC vents on both sides of the dash. And finally I added a set of keys to the ignition on the dash.

Have to do this update in two posts so the final part of the post for tonight will be under this one.

Continued......

Edited December 19, 2014 by microwheel

[microwheel]

Continued from above..

The next few pics are all the interior parts mocked up. Like I said I still have some final detailing and clean up left to do on the interior, but it's almost done. Then it'll be time to move on to the body and chassis of the vette.

More to come as I get it done....

Edited December 19, 2014 by microwheel

[slusher]

Great detail work Jim, especially the dash.

[taaron76]

Great work, Jim!

Tim

[mustang1989]

I don't know any other word to use but................convincing! You and the BMF are hand in hand. Pure magic!

[microwheel]

Thanks Alot guys. Finished up the interior this morning. Added seat belts and a photo reduced hot rod mag. Then cemented everything together. The following photos are of the interior test fitted into place. You can tell in the pics that I still got to wet sand and polish out the body. I think that will be the next task on the list of many to get done.

I had the camera flash on in some of the pics so it kinda changes the way the body paint looks. It really has a little more copper red look than what some of the pics show.

More to come as I get work done on it.........

[drodg]

Looks very good. Love the interior

[Ramfins59]

Absolutely beautiful interior work Jim.

[Ryan S.]

Stunning interior! The wash over the BMF on the console is a neat trick. Can't wait to see this one done!

[espo]

Truly outstanding attention to detail, especially the interior.

[Mystic32cat]

Morning guys,

Rather than go through re posting everything I had posted earlier on the vette I will only be posting a general summery of what had been posted before. I'm not the worlds fasted typer on the keyboard so I am not about to try to re post everything in detail. I would rather spend that kind of time working on the model. Taking time away to try to go through and repost everything is time better spent on the model and giving you new updates.

So for now. The idea to start with, was to separate all the rear end half shaft components so they would rotate with the rear wheels and then later add disc brakes to all four wheels.

I started with the making a few spacers cutting apart the rear end assembly and drilling some holes. I then made and installed a pass through tube in the rear end gear housing, and added some evergreen round rod on the ends of each half shaft. A straight pin was then measured and cut and added to the inner side of the passenger side half-shaft to slide through the pass through tube in the rear end housing. the drivers side half shaft will slide onto this pin later.

Here is the work after it was done.

Here is rear suspension with the rotating half shafts mock assembled and test fitted into place on the chassis. Any tweaking for alignment will be done with outer spacers once everything is painted before the brake parts and wheels go on.

I also took time to get some color in the body. I attempted to get as close to Marlboro Maroon as I could by doing a custom mix of Model Masters enamels Stop light red, with a few drops of testors gloss blue, and a quarter oz of testors copper. It's about as close as I can get it. Maybe just a little too much metal flake for 1967 Marlboro Maroon, but I think it's close enough to work.

That's where I'm at with it at this point, I do have stinger decals on the hood now and the body is clear coated and sat aside to cure so it can later be wet sanded and polished out. I will try to get a few pics of the cleared body up later today if time allows. As well as a few pics of a few other odds and ends I have worked on since doing this work.

did you spray the paint through a gun or a airbrush?

[Ron Hamilton]

Utterly Gorgeous!!!!

[horsepower]

Beautiful job, just a couple of little details that you might want to correct, the small rectangular chrome square behind the shifter is power window switches, and wouldn't be needed with the door window cranks your doors have, and I know you stated you aren't through detailing the interior so you're probably going to do the shift ball in gloss black. The other part you probably haven't approached yet, the floor pan areas inside the actual frame trails are a matte finished gray primer appearance from the factory, this through me, I did one to look like a car that I painted when I used to have a body shop, and didn't know until later that the cars owner had removed all the factory finish on the body and didn't reseal the raw fibreglass that was visible on the floor pan, and I assumed that was the way it was supposed to look.

Are you planning on using the optional cross ram fuel injection manifold? Curious because it is about what I've been trying to duplicate for an asphalt super modified I'm playing around with.

Keep going, it's a beautiful car and I love watching your progress. And I hope you and your wife have a very Merry Christmas, one of many,many more you'll have together.

[microwheel]

Beautiful job, just a couple of little details that you might want to correct, the small rectangular chrome square behind the shifter is power window switches, and wouldn't be needed with the door window cranks your doors have, and I know you stated you aren't through detailing the interior so you're probably going to do the shift ball in gloss black. The other part you probably haven't approached yet, the floor pan areas inside the actual frame trails are a matte finished gray primer appearance from the factory, this through me, I did one to look like a car that I painted when I used to have a body shop, and didn't know until later that the cars owner had removed all the factory finish on the body and didn't reseal the raw fibreglass that was visible on the floor pan, and I assumed that was the way it was supposed to look.

Are you planning on using the optional cross ram fuel injection manifold? Curious because it is about what I've been trying to duplicate for an asphalt super modified I'm playing around with.

Keep going, it's a beautiful car and I love watching your progress. And I hope you and your wife have a very Merry Christmas, one of many,many more you'll have together.

Thanks for the comment my friend. As for the window cranks you see on the doors.. those are for the side vent windows not the main door windows. The 67 vette had handle cranks for the side vent windows just like the ones for the main windows if they werent power. otherwise there would be duel cranks on both doors if the kit wasnt designed to be a power window version.

here is a reference pic of a power window version...

And this is a non-power window version

As for the shift knobs on the 67 vette, there were many options available, from black knobs, to white to chrome, and even wood grained. I went with the chrome look knob, most of the 4 speed standard versions were chrome knob shifters, and from what I have seen in my research the ones that weren't were mostly the automatics. Again the two pics above gives you a pretty good idea on this.

As for the underside chassis floor pan area, you are correct on those areas being a dark grey bare fiberglass color. Something close to a gunmetal color as far as model paint goes that would be close if it were dull coated with a flat dullcote.

My plan is to use the stock configuration on the engine. With the execption of adding a AC system, and maybe a little dressing up. But the engine is a long way off yet as far as the build goes.

Hope this helps ya understand my direction with this.

[microwheel]

did you spray the paint through a gun or a airbrush?

I almost always use a Airbrush for all my paint work. The one I use is a paasche H series single action airbrush.

[microwheel]

Looks very good. Love the interior

Thanks David

Absolutely beautiful interior work Jim.

Thanks alot Rich

[microwheel]

Stunning interior! The wash over the BMF on the console is a neat trick. Can't wait to see this one done!

Thanks Ryan, it's a trick I leaned along time ago, it works alot better than trying to mask everything off and then spray painting it, and it really works alot better than hand brushing it, and ending up with a ton of brush strokes in it.

Truly outstanding attention to detail, especially the interior.

Thanks Dave

[microwheel]

Utterly Gorgeous!!!!

Thanks Ron

[slusher]

Such impressive detail on the interior. Very realistic...

[mustang1989]

This work is in a class by itself!

[microwheel]

Thanks guys, I have been working a little on the vette, but only little odds and ends. Sorry no pics yet. I plan to get back to work on it in full force after the holidays. In the mean time, I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

[10thumbs]

Hi Jim,

This is one of those jobs that I think immediately to myslef, "how do they do that".

Good thing is, you tell us, still doesn't mean much though. You do it good!

Michael

[jaftygas]

I need to see more of this car this year Jim.?

Edited January 4, 2015 by jaftygas