As with all flip nose auto models, the front clip fit to the body takes the most work in attempts to get the whole car looking right and I removed & modified the hood hinge points as much as I could after removing them twice and re-gluing them into place. Any more material removed from the back side of the hood and I think it would’ve affected the hood as seen from the outside at the leading edge of the hood. Wouldn’t have been a good thing at all but I’ve learned a good amount to use on “Car #2”.
This particular car is for my cousin Jack. The story is that when we were kids, our family was visiting my Aunt, Uncle and my cousins for Christmas. I was probably 12 or so and had just gotten into scale modeling and when I saw that Jack had gotten this kit for a Christmas present, I couldn’t wait to check it out and see what was in the box. Well…what ended up happening was the next morning I woke up before everyone else and thought I would “help” Jack out by building it for him…and so…I did. It took me all of about 1-1/2 hours to build it while everyone else slept. When I was done, it wasn’t painted and the decaling looked horrible. I woke him up to show him what I had “done for him” and I didn’t get the reaction that I was hoping for. Needless to say that after several expletives later my Uncle had heard him in the next room and it was Jack that got into trouble. I’ve felt terrible ever since and reached out to him around 9 months ago to let him know that I was going to build him one of these. Him and I are on really good terms and we both laugh about it now but it sure wasn’t funny back then. lol
I went light on aftermarket for this build because I wanted to keep this one as close to the original boxing as possible. The wheels were sourced from my spares as the kit wheels look horrible IMO, I added a good amount of PE to the interior as well as a center console from AMT’s Pro Stock Nova kit, floor mats are from Ebay, PE is from Model Car Garage and instrument decals are from Ebay. Engine details added were a MADD magneto with wires and rocker cover wingnuts from spares.
As mentioned earlier, I had to do some fancy foot work in getting the front clip to fit at all and in the end I would’ve had to completely re-work the hinges to get it lined up with the body perfectly. This one will be displayed with the nose flipped forward for my cousin as it leaves a little to be desired in the closed position. Other than that, I’m pretty well pleased with how it all came out.
Finishing shots:
