Finished: Impala '59 Lot's of pics!!!

ooooooooooooooohhhh..............aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! very nice lookin' build my friend!!

Niclas,
You did a terrific job on the Chevy. I learned to drive with a '59 Impala, 4 door hard top. It had the white roof and trunk with black hood and sides. A 283 with 2 barrel provided the power. Your interior looks absolutely fantastic. I have never been able to get that "fabric look." The first car I ever bought was a 61 Impala. The picture is what it looked like. Unfortunatey, mine doesn't look nearly as real as yours. Darwin

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dan1677 Excellent build. How did you create the nice realistic worn effect of the engine bay and the underside? Look forward to seeing your next project as this one has given me some inspiration to do something similar.

Thanks!
Nice to be an inspiration for a change. The worn effect is just a little playing with the airbrush and a mix of dirty thinner, some sand colour and flat clear sprayed on at an angle to make it look like road dust blown up on the chassis. The same mixture under the hood and that's about it. If I hadn't been short of time I would have done a bit more with some dry brushing and washes to add some more grime, but that's for the next project. Currently building Trumpeter's '63 Nova and can't really decide whether to do it stock or mild custom (just the wheels and paint job) leaning towards stock just because I love the stock wheels.

Niclas

Excellent build. How did you create the nice realistic worn effect of the engine bay and the underside?

Look forward to seeing your next project as this one has given me some inspiration to do something similar.

Nice job, I've just bought the RM '59 Impala hardtop 2 n 1, I was gonna do the custom version with the lowered suspension, different grille, side pipes etc with the pearl white body and red interior. I hope it turns out as good as this! Rob

Hi again!
The interior was finished in Tamiya acrylics except for the grey inlay on the side panels which was painted with some Modelmaster flat grey and the knobs is painted with Humbrol gloss black. I did some trail and error with the red interior. First I sprayed on just X-7 but it turned out much to bright. Then I came up with the idea to put on a light chocolate brown base coat and this did the trick as the red is somewhat transluscent. Another go with the X-7 and that's the red you see in the pictures. I made new piping from copper wire glued with CA. All the chrome trim is Baremetal foil. The textile areas is the vinyl sticker provided in the HT Impala that I had laying around from an earlier build, they where not in the lowrider Impala that I based my build on. The floor is just sprayed with Humbrol flat clear with a tad of sand colour in to change the hue a bit form the rest of the interior. Down below is some more pictures off the interior and piping work.

Cheers!
Niclas

Niclas,
What color of red did you use in the interior. It looks exactly right for a 59 Chevy. Would you mind describing the process of doing the interior, the color (flat or gloss), the trim, decals, etc. It came out so well I would like to duplicate the interior on my 59.

I have to decide if I want to do the body black, very dark blue, or red. Back in those days you could order the interior color with any body color (almost). The red interior with a dark blue body was a popular combination, as was the black body and red interior, and the red on red shown on the box as a finish alternative.

The white body with the red interior was popular for the convertibles because the white reflects the heat of the sun. Very few cars had A/C back in 1959. The Chevy convertible was about $3000 and A/C would have added another $700+. Hope you don't mind my rambling off a little nostalgia. rangerj

Fantastic build. Looks like you could get in & lay some rubber on the highway.

Regards, Rick

kick a$$ build fella good job

QUOTE: Originally posted by rangerj Niclas, The model looks great. Bravo. Your color combination is a perfect replica of a very popular color scheme in 1959. Unfortunately I am old enough to remember the 59 Impala when it was new. Yours brings back fond memories. it looks real. My Monogram 59 has sink marks that run along the top of the tail fins out near the chromed edges. Did your model have any sink marks in the body? If it did, how did you correct it? I am worried about the chrome pieces that are on the edges of the fins. I plan to mask them off to protect them from the filler material and the subsequent sanding. Did you have to do this? Were there any other "finish" or "fit" problems? For anyone interested the 1958, 1959, and 1960 Impala had the option of the 348 cid engine with three two barrel carburators. Does anyone know if the 348cid engine was painted a different color than the usual Chevy Engine Red ? I seem to remember these engines being a blue color, but I have not been able to verify this. (I don't know why Chevy calls the color red. It is very orange looking!). rangerj

Thanks man!
It warms when people appreciate the work you put in to a build.
On to the questions:
Sure had the sink marks on top of the fins, but I didn't care about the chrome trim as I thougt the BMF would do a nice 3D rendition of the real thing and I think it came out pretty good. Just eye-balled the approximate width of them and layed on the BMF.
No major problems with the fit, the only thing was the the piping that runs over the top front to back of the front seat, they didn't line up properly. I sanded them away and made new piping from copper wire glued in place with CA. I had to tweak the rag top cover a bit as it didn't follow the curve of the body, no major problem just a bit annoying!
The major problem in my opinion is the somewhat lousy chrome, I put on BMF on the side trim pieces and window frame and Alclad2 chrome on the bumpers. I don't know what it is, but Revell has never impressed me with their chrome work. I think it's to thick and most often it just chips off, is it just me or have you had the same experience?
Oh, by the way. The colour isn't a factory stock (I think?), although hard to see in the pictures it's a pearl white that spracles in pink and blue. You can see some sparkles in the first pic on the hood.

Good luck with your '59!
Niclas

Niclas,
The model looks great. Bravo. Your color combination is a perfect replica of a very popular color scheme in 1959. Unfortunately I am old enough to remember the 59 Impala when it was new. Yours brings back fond memories. it looks real.

My Monogram 59 has sink marks that run along the top of the tail fins out near the chromed edges. Did your model have any sink marks in the body? If it did, how did you correct it? I am worried about the chrome pieces that are on the edges of the fins. I plan to mask them off to protect them from the filler material and the subsequent sanding. Did you have to do this? Were there any other "finish" or "fit" problems?

For anyone interested the 1958, 1959, and 1960 Impala had the option of the 348 cid engine with three two barrel carburators. Does anyone know if the 348cid engine was painted a different color than the usual Chevy Engine Red ? I seem to remember these engines being a blue color, but I have not been able to verify this. (I don't know why Chevy calls the color red. It is very orange looking!).
rangerj

Beautiful build!
You've done a good job on the underside, and the topside too.

I thought the sunglasses were a nice touch. You have a very steady hand ie; the side moldings and badges.

That is one "First Class" job thanks for the pics

Wow! All the pics show what a fantastic job you did--Very realistic--but that first shot looks like it was taken on somebody's driveway when they drove the thing home from the showroom. Great job!

Hi ya proosen ...

Wow ... ... that is one outstanding example of a '59 Chevy Impala ... one of my all time favorite Chevy's ... and in White w/red interior ... very cool !!!

You did a great job on the car and on the pictures ... your Dad must really be proud of you and your gift ... thanks so much for sharing ...

That is a nice looking car.. Keep up the great work.

Chas

Looks Great - Nice pics also

Wow, that is one convincing model. I bet your father was amazed.

QUOTE: Originally posted by midnightprowler Cool! How did you do the engine and chassis weathering? Lee

Thanks Lee!
The weathering is really simple, I took some clear varnish added some drops of a flat sand colour and dirty thinner and just sprayed on at a flat angle to get the impression that it came from the road with the draft. The exhaust was painted in a rusty brown shade and then dry brushed with various colours to give a bit of a used look.

Niclas

Cool! How did you do the engine and chassis weathering?
Lee

Outstanding job Niclas. That is probally one of the most realistic engines and chasis I have seen on a model. Inever really liked the brand new look for them myself. Top notch build and I am sure your dad was proud to get it.

QUOTE: Originally posted by nicholma That looks very nice. Did you make the seat belts or were they part of the kit?

Thank's!
The seatbelts are a mix of Detail master ribbons and Model car garage buckles. They're a bit of in colour but that was what I had laying around and they came out pretty good anyway.

Niclas

Thanks guys!
Here's a couple af pics from the engin bay and chassis. Tried to give them a little dusty appearence, like a weekend cruiser that has seen a dusty road or two.

Niclas

That looks very nice.

Did you make the seat belts or were they part of the kit?

Wow! She's a beauty!! Would like to see some engine and chassis pics.
Lee