53 Ford Victoria

Using epoxy putty to fill in chrome trim grooves. I also shaved the emblems from the fenders. 

Shaved rear trim.  

Filling in sink holes with Tamiya putty 

Splash Paints Chevrolet Misty Turquoise. This will be used on the roof. 

Splash Paints Mercedes-Benz Designo Diamond White. This will be the primary color. 

So the original epoxy putty I used never fully set up, nor did it stick to the plastic. I ended up peeling it all off and then purchased a new pack of Milliput and refilled the trim grooves. Here it is sanded down and a custom trim design sketched in. 

Wide piece of Tamiya tape in place to transfer the pattern for the new trim. 

Close up view. 

Tamiya tape transferred to a piece of 0.030" sheet styrene. 

Using a hole punch to cut the inside corner of the trim. The rest was cut out using an Xacto knife and a straight edge. 

Here are both sides cut out and matched(ish) side to side. 

New trim piece glued in place. This will be bare metal foiled after the body is painted. 

Opposite side. 

Shaping the pieces on the body. 

Opposite side. Final shaping will occur after a coat of primer is laid down. I also used some Mr. Dissolved Putty around the edges to help fill in the seam. 

Decided to add a spear of trim to the front fender too. I used a 0.030" square strip with a bevel sanded into the front and a point sanded into the rear. The little drop spear at the front was cut from a piece of 0.030" sheet. 

Opposite side, blending the pieces together and shaping the trim. 

Cutting in the door seam. 

Almost ready for primer. Still need to fill in a few spots on the epoxy putty. 

Opposite side. Pretty happy with the results. 

First primer coat on. I had tried scribing in the outline of a flush mount door handle, but I didn't like how it looked, so I filled it in. 

I also wasn't happy with the final shape of the custom trim, so I adjusted that too. 

Base coat of white applied. This is the Splash Paints Mercedes Designo Diamond White. The Pearl Coat will be applied later. 

Oil pan, transmission pan, and cylinder heads are painted with AK Interactive Extreme Metal Polished Aluminum 

The engine block is painted with the same Splash Paints Chevrolet Misty Turquoise that the roof will be painted in. This is the stock Lindberg block with a Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland two carb intake on it. 

This is the body with the Designo Diamond White Pearl coat applied. 

Pearl coat under different lighting. 

Pearl coat under different lighting. 

This is the pearl coat that I'm going to use on the interior parts. It is different than the pearl that will be used on the body. I wanted the interior to look similar, but not exactly the same as the body.  

Seats with the pearl coat applied. 

Dash with the pearl coat applied. 

Door panel with the pearl coat applied. 

Here the roof is masked off for painting the Misty Turquoise. 

Rear seats masked off for Misty Turquoise. 

Door panel masked off for Misty Turquoise. 

Front seats masked off for Misty Turquoise. 

Misty Turquoise applied. 

Masking removed. 

Masking removed. 

Masking removed. 

Masking removed. 

Masking removed. 

Interior mocked up. All of these parts got a flat coat, while the dash and body got 2K clear. 

This is getting the seats ready for applying the upholstery decals. 

Closeup of the Scale Motorsports upholstery decal pattern. I had intended on using the clear half of the sheet over the white seats, but the color match was too close to pass up. I'm glad I went with this half because I think the color combo looks really good. 

Making the pattern for the seat decal. I used a pencil to trace the outline onto some Tamiya tape. 

I cut the tape out and applied it to an index card, and then cut the shape out for the pattern. This way I don't have to worry about the tape sticking to the back of the decal paper and I can keep it for use on future builds. 

Checking the pattern against the seat and trimming as necessary. 

Pattern traced onto the decal sheet. 

Decal cut out and test fit against the seat. 

The same sequence was followed for the front seats as well. Here are the decals being test fit and trimmed. 

Decals applied to both seats. 

The seats mocked up together. Really happy with the look here. 

Applying pin stripe decals. These are from a Gofer Models sheet. 

2K clear coat applied. 

2K clear applied. Unfortunately, my airbrush decided to spit out a glob of old paint in the middle of the hood. I tried wiping it off, but it had already eaten through the pearl coat. The entire hood had to be sanded down and repainted. 

Getting ready for chrome foil application 

Applying gold foil to the C-pillar 

I like to keep a round tooth pick in my mouth while I'm applying foil. That way, the toothpick will soften up slightly and is less likely to tear the foil. Being wet, it also helps to slide along the foil. Here I'm actually rolling it along the surface. 

Gold foil applied and trimmed with a fresh knife blade. 

Applying the chrome foil to the side trim. 

Applying the chrome foil to the side trim. 

Applying the chrome foil to the side trim. 

After painting the gold, I went back and painted the tops of the fins with chrome silver. 

These are the Offenhauser heads from the Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland hop up set. One of the hot rodding tricks with these heads was to paint the inside of the fins red. I wanted to do something similar, but a little restrained. So I decided on gold for the fins. 

Side trim done, still need to do the roof, door and windshield. 

Test fitting the rear glass with the upper chrome foil in place. 

All of the chrome foiling is done. Windshield wipers are a huge pain, but I'm pleased with the outcome. 

Here are the heads glued in place along with the oil pan, and resin Stromberg carbs from the RMCoM set. 

These are the air cleaners I am using for the engine. 

Air cleaners super glued in place. 

Test fit the motor in place. 

Detail painting the firewall. 

Detail painting the dashboard. Still need to apply the instrument panel decal. 

Interior parts all detail painted. 

Seats with a gray wash applied. 

Gray wash applied to the door panels. 

All interior parts with a wash applied. Interior floor has had Detail Master Pea Green Flocking applied as well. 

Dark gray wash applied to door panel lines. 

Trunk lid with dark gray wash applied. 

Grill and bumpers in place, nearing completion 

The only thing left is to attach the wheels. 

Using some Pegasus wheels for this build. The posts on the back of the wheel are a little too long which keeps the wheel from fitting inside the wells. 

After grinding the post flush with the back of the rim, they now fit perfectly. 

All finished up. Not my best build, but overall I'm happy with it. I think the wheels and tires look ok, but I was never able to find anything that I liked better. Next time I build one I think I'll try and lower it some as well. 

I'm not normally one to post how my models do at shows, but I took the 53 to her first contest and I'm still in shock at how well it did. Not only was it my first Best in Show, but it was also my first Best Civilian Vehicle. Super humbled to do so well with it, especially considering all of the other great builds at the show.