I'll have a real one someday: 1:25 scale 1986 El Camino SS

yup me to. a bit of shine from time to time breaks up the od and gray, but I have a mix of builds this time. I remember that kit looks good 

Thanks Crown, I've slowly but surely been working on my El Camino. The engine block went together with no issues, easy as pie. I had to add some detail to it however, and used soldering wire that my Uncle had given me as spark plug wires. I researched and printed out a firing order diagram for a 305 cid motor, drilled out holes in the block with my dremel tool, and ran the soldering wire to the correct location on the distributor. I then painted the wires flat black. I dry brushed flat black on some of the edged surfaces of the motor, to give the effect of a little bit of dirt and oil...but not too much!

The interior was the next step. I painted the floor and dashboard and door interiors per the instructions...which I later found out were inaccurate. After a bit of research, I found out that you couldn't order an El Camino SS in 1986 with a black interior. So I guess my Elky has gone from "stock" to "custom" I spent a LONG time super-detailing the dashboard, using the smallest brushes I had and even the tip of a toothpick to detail the climate controls, gauges, am/fm/cassette player, and the CB radio that was supplied on one of the sprues.

With the exception of the interior of the roof, the interior of the El Camino is complete. I've also put together the wheels. The next step will be to work on the underside of this car/truck hybrid.

Thanks for the advice, Mississippi. I'm hoping it won't give me too much trouble!

I've slowly been chipping away at this El Camino. The interior is all set, although I found out after I painted everything that black was NOT a color option for the interior of 86' El Caminos. Looks like mine will have an "aftermarket" interior now!

I lost the original battery piece that came with the kit...Let's just say I had an "incident" involving my cat and some super glue. In the mayhem that ensued, the piece flew off into the abyss. I WAS able to clean up the cat's foot, however. He's fine. I scratchbuilt a new battery from sheet styrene.

The frame and underside of the car is looking good as well. The exhaust system is on and the engine is in place.

The chassis is all set on my El Camino. The rear suspension was a bit tricky, but then again this is the first car model I've ever built (aside from that snap tite Texaco stock car from when I was 7)...so I guess you could consider the difficulties I had with it as a lesson in car building. The body of the car is all set as well. You were right, Mississippi- that grill piece gave me plenty of trouble! A bit of sanding and some gap-filling super glue did the trick though. The side mirrors are a bit tricky to deal with...there's no indents or holes to place the mirrors in...but as long as you have a fast-drying super glue you should be fine.  The next step will be to prime this thing!

Completed the firewall tonight, sprayed testor's white primer on the body, and did a bit of gap filling where the front clip meets the rest of the body. Tommorow is the day I buy my paints and give this thing color. I'm stoked, and I bet this is what people who restore real cars for a living feel like when they're going to get new paints for their rides! Except this paint job will only cost me about four bucks.

Last night I applied a coat of Testor's Honduras Maroon to the body of my Elky. I was thinking of going with something that was close to Dark Maroon Metallic, but Honduras Maroon was a lot closer in color to that first El Camino I saw when I was twelve.

Oh , Rocker !

 I gotta tell you .I was at my local Flea Mkt. the other day and a fellow had a flawless 1980 model for sale - the real car ! Only $ 24,000 This year only . T.B. 

24k for a restored 80' Elky? That's not a bad price! If only I had that much to burn I'd ask you where I could find that flea market, TB! My girlfriend and I are hoping to someday buy one once we're retired...hopefully a 79' with the Royal Knight package but I'm not holding my breath!

AH !

 The thing is it was unrestored ! He kept it garaged and took care of it . Now the Royal Knight , Wasn't the GMC version ?   T.B.

TB you're thinking of the Caballero, which was GMC's version of the El Camino. It was originally called the Sprint from 1971-1977, but when the bodystyle changed in 1978 they changed the name to Caballero. There was an equally-awesome GMC version of the El Camino Royal Knight, known as the Caballero Diablo. Here's a link to a photo of one I found:

http://www.phoenixgraphix.com/gm/7883gmcd.jpg

If I had the choose between one or the other....I couldn't!

Nice build so far.

I've got an MPC 1980 El Camino in the stash that I'll be using the chassis and some interior parts on for my Malibu station wagon resin body that's in the works right now. I saw this in San Antonio a few months back and just had to snap a couple of shots so I could build this thing. I immediately found a resin caster that has a station wagon body available. I ordered one and he's finally getting around to casting it. I'll be setting it up the same way with the wheels & tires, cowl hood and a baby car seat in the back. I'll be adding some odds and ends like a couple of grocery bags and a baby bottle too. lol

Didn't mean to hi-jack your thread but I thought you'd appreciate the pics and a little humor as well.

Mustang, I don't mind at all! That's going to be an awesome build I can't wait to see photos of it! I've been toying with the idea of loading up the back of my El Camino with some stuff as well. That truck bed looks so bare without anything!

Tonight I painted the window trim and the side moldings. Tomorrow I'll spray a clear coat on it and start decaling the thing!

Looking forward to the clear coat. What clear are you going to be using?

BTW, this'll be the resin kit I'll be using.

Looks like I'll be getting that cowl induction hood from Lex's Scale Modeling as well:

Mustang, I used Testor's clear coat out of the can. It works pretty good! I ended up burning the midnight oil last night to get my El Camino done. It was well worth the extra cup of coffee that I had to drink this morning to keep me alert at work haha. I still may add some items in the back, but for now it's done and I'm more than content with the way it looks. Here are some photos! For a first attempt at a car that wasn't a snap tite kit, I did pretty darn good if I do say so myself!

Say....that doesn't look bad at all for a first attempt there rocker! I still do most of my automotive coating with rattle can spray paint so there's no shame in that at all. Great job overall buddy.

Personal message sent

Thanks Mustang! I really dig that station wagon resin kit you've got there. The detail on the seats is great!

I don't have it just yet. Resin casters have a reputation for taking a loooong time to get their products casted and to you. I ordered this sucker around the March time frame and am still waiting on it. I don't bug the guy but once a month just to find out where he is with it because I've got enough left on my current project to keep me going for a while. I wished it were different but that's how it is. I'll get it sooner or later, just have to build around it. lol

nice job I've been watching your build ,sorry it's been one of those weeks with little spare time. Again nice build 

Oh !

Now that's the one I want ! I did have a " Gentleman Jim" GMC pickup though ! I also salvaged a Dodge version of the 'Dixie Special " ( Yankee Blue and Rebel grey ) can you believe that's considered politically incorrect now ?  T.B.

I hear ya on the p.c. stuff- although I think my yankee civil war ancestors would roll over in their graves if I built anything with the word "dixie" in it ! That being said, I'd kill for a model of the General Lee. I don't think I'd ever heard of a Gentleman Jim pickup until you posted about it, I checked it out and it looks awesome! I wouldn't mind a kit of the Little Red Express either!