AMT 1970 Corvette ZR1 - LT1

 And now for another Corvette.

This is AMT's 1970 Corvette LT-1/ZR-1.

 

I always liked the look of these 3rd Generation Corvettes with the Stingray body style launched in 1968.

This one features the very rare LT-1 350 cubic inch engine. With a super high 11:1 compression ratio, a giant 4-barrel carburetor and solid lifter cam, this rare engine was listed at 370 Horsepower in  the Corvette. 

General motors numbers show that only 53 of these high performance street cars were built between 1970 and 1972.

I like the color on the box art, and had a can of Testor's Extreme Lacquer in Fiery Orange, and thought that would look great.

I like these lacquers as they spray out very fine but with great coverage, and they dry quite quickly.

With very little follow up and a couple of coats of clear they look great at scale.

This was the 3rd car I completed during the "lockdown" and had to make a custom plate for it. Using an image I found online of a Michigan 1970 license plate and a little photoshop - here is what we have.

It's hard to tell at this scale, or even on the full size car just how potent that little small block is.

The only giveaway would be a couple of small details, and the big sticker on the air-cleaner, to separate it from the base engine.

At 370 Horsepower, this is more than 20% increase over the rating of the "base" Corvette 350 engine.

A quick view underneath. I did a little light weathering and painted a few small details to make it look less "flat" and "toy-like".

If you looks close, you can see the Goodyear lettering on the tires, the same as was on the box art. I chose to use the opposite side facing out, with the "redline" sidewall. I felt this looked a little more period...

Now I need to find my Virus 1, and Virus 2 builds... as long as I am going backwards for a little bit.

Tamiya Porsche Carrera GT

 Up next in the completed a while ago list....

Tamiya's beautiful Porsche Carrera GT. This German masterpiece is powered by a mid-mounted, 5.7Liter V-10 engine.

 

Offered originally in only 5 colors, I went a bit off script and chose a British racing green shade, with a maroon color for the interior. The multi-piece interior helped with all the small pieces that needed to be different colors.

The kit also came with metal transfers for the script on the rear end, and the mirror reflecting surfaces.

This is one more that went together without any major issues of flaws. Exactly what you would expect of a Tamiya kit.

They are definitely worth the price in my opinion!

Thanks for looking, and keep watching for even more to come!

Dodge Challenger SRT-8

 One more from the "back a while ago" pile.

This is a Revell Dodge Challenger SRT-8.

Can't remember the specific year, but one of the modern, retro-style ones.

 I had two cans of partial paint left over, and thought they might go well together.

So the top is a metallic lighter blue color (I believe it was a Model Master Laquer) and the other is a darker reddish-maroon color (I believe this was an automotive laquer I had laying around).

I was quite pleased with the outcome of just a simple two color paint scheme.

The wheels were swapped out with the wheels and tires from a Dodge Sidewinder kit that never quite got finished, and has been cannibalized for parts on a couple different builds.

They were painted with "smoke" transparent grey so they weren't so bright chrome looking.

A quick and easy build of what was essentially a "snap together" kit.

Accurate Miniatures - 1964 Corvette Grand Sport - Sebring

 Had picked this kit up at a sale, and held on to it for years. I had seen pictures of other builders who had finished this kit, and was a little intimidated by the level of detail... wasn't sure I was up to the task of doing it justice.

Until one I day I decided to dig in, give it the time it needed, and see what came out in the end.

The kit starts as a highly detailed chassis (just like the real car).

Here it is, pretty far along in the process... Already has the engine, suspension, and tires fitted up. 

Took my time to detail things, and used several shades of black, grey, and silver to make everything look like they were separate parts, and not just lumps of plastic.

If you look close you can even see the tops of the battery sections and a rear shock peeking out that are painted yellow to stand out.

The car that ran at Sebring in 1964 featured a dark blue paint with large white stripe and sported the number 2 on the doors.

Here it is with the body painted, and mocked up on the chassis for a test fit.

At this point, it looks to be pretty far along, but still has lots of little bits to go.

Things like the "glass", windshield wipers, door handles, exhaust pipes, and a few other details to be painted on.

So here she is! All finished up. You can see the parts I mentioned above have all been added.

Things like the glass pieces, rear differential cooler sticking up there in the back... and the hood vents.

Oh those hood vents.  If you compare the last two pictures, you can see the vertical fins now in the hood vents. This was one of those parts I was scared of. Each of those little holes has a series of tiny brass plates, that all have to get glued together, and then placed in the hood openings.

 And on top of that.... they needed to have the stripe painted on them.

As I said I went full out on this one... no decal for the big white stripe...that is all masked and painted two colors! There are also fins in the vents along the side of the hood, though they are a little harder to see.

 

 And here's the Chevy racing, all aluminum 373 cubic inch V8, complete with 4 - 2 barrel carbs ready to convert air and fuel to raw power.

And finally, the view that most of the competition saw that day at the track!

Revell 69' Shelby GT500 - oldie but goody

 Here's another one that has been completed a while ago.

A Revell branded 1969 Shelby GT500.

It's been a long while, and I believe this was a Motor-City Muscle 2-n-1 kit that I did a while ago.

I always loved the shape of the 69s with the swept rear window, and the hood with all the ducts to feed that massive V-8 under the hood.

This one was finished in a metallic pewter color that has a little bit of brown to it, so it isn't just a straight silver.

The black Shelby stripes down the side contrast nicely.

I also used the larger diameter Cragar style wheels that make it look a little more modern and aggressive, but still have a nod to that classic look.

The interior on these old Shelby's is pretty basic.

Just black bucket seats, doors and carpet. Attempted a wood grain steering wheel and dash to add just a little contrast the all black interior. Also painted some of the smaller chrome details in the center console.

Still think this a great looking body style for the Mustangs, and  this one built up to make a good looking representation without any major issues from the manufacturer or hiccups from my building skills.

Stay tuned... lots more to come.

Tamiya Ferrari 360 Spyder

 So looking back and finding my blog again, I didn't realize it has been 5 years since my last post, and decided that I have plenty that I have built and might be time to work at sharing some of my builds again.

This is a Tamiya Ferrari 360 Spyder.

I love the looks of a Ferrari, but decided I wanted to do this one in something other than RED.

 

 

This is a bit older kit, but still shows all the great attention to detail that you would come to expect in a kit from Tamiya.

I had a can of the light blue paint, and thought it would look nice on the curvy shape of the Italian exotic.

The top is a separate piece and can be removed to show off the interior. I painted the top with a dark blue... but didn't like the way it turned out.  So I used a can of Tamiya "Smoke" which is a transparent grey color (think a window tint) and sprayed that from a distance. It gave a speckled or mottled effect which looks more convincing as a cloth top, than just plain dark blue.

 

 

From the rear you get a good view of the nice looking Ferrari V8 in the back under the clear cover.

I was very happy with the way that this one turned out, and would gladly consider doing another one of these for the collection.

Stay tuned, I have lots more that I have finished in the past 5 years, and hope to be inspired to show some more soon!