AMT GMC Astro 95
Completed at last!
My boy Santa came through for me! New project time!
Another set of custom printed decals, with appropriate part numbers, etc.
First things first...
Primer, powder blue undercoat, and Duplicolor Alpine green. Plus a heater set to low... it had been raining for about 48 hours by this point.
A second coat, after assembly, to really seal things up
Engine complete!
Presenting, the Detroit Diesel 8v71! My parents used to have a refrigerator that was this color...
A little glossier that I'd pick, but overall pretty satisfied. May still try to find a better looking alternator later in the build.
This was the whole reason I came... I guess I'll finish the rest of the truck now
Wheel complete too. It's great to finally see the color scheme in person. The colors are exactly what I wanted!
Always room for improvement, but I've come a long way from the the blue tape dark ages...
Testing masking methods and color contrast
Chassis assembled. Layering colors for a heat oxide effect on the exhaust.
Some better lighting to show the exhaust... photography-ing is hard
Sticky notes have been my go-to right-size prop blocks
Chassis complete!
Quick disclaimer, I did not deplate the fuel tanks and bumper at the beginning of the project with the other parts! Not my paint job!
Dare I use some of my precious bleach supply to dechrome these parts??
Soaking the parts in some tap water to pull out any residual bleach that may have soaked in
Laid down primer on the cabin components
Using Tesa tape for the carpet on the floorpan
Painting up the dash in layers
Instrument panels and dial faces were painted in around the raised bezels and switches
Completed Dashboard
Floorpan and interior components complete!
Another coat of the base color over the mask will hopefully give some cripser lines
The tape seems to have slipped on some of these bends, perhaps it's not getting enough traction on the layer underneath
Same problem on the rear of the cab to some extent
The louvers in the front of the cab didn't exactly help things...
Some difficulty around the features on either side of the cab, as expected. Maybe the mask is pulling away from sharp contours here as well
Likewise on the starboard side
But it did touch up nicely
A few hours with the one-haired brush and the optovisor was enough to clean up all the blemishes from the mask
A beautiful Detroit vista for the rearview mirrors
Wasn't feeling these steps that came with the kit... kinda wonky looking out of the mold. Last minute fabricobble job came out alright.
And for my next trick, I'll make the gearshift disappear!
Series 71 Power badging
Twanggg!
Comments
8 5 January 2020, 21:02
Brandon HYep! Gonna try something new this time around. Might also bend some pieces for the rest of the exhaust, we'll see how it goes.
6 January 2020, 15:02
TreehuggerI can recommend the Vallejo putty, much less obnoxious to work with than the Tamiya one.
6 January 2020, 16:12
Danny MeerTaking a seat for this 1 🙂 Got the cabin of this 1 that came with same free parts
6 January 2020, 18:42
Brandon HTesting some masking methods in #15... special thanks to @Chris Greathouse and everyone else who contributed to the discourse under his Super Boss project! Here I'm testing the Tamiya yellow masking tape and 2mm curvy tape. The left side (quadrants 1 and 4) received a second coat of the base color over the mask, and the right side (2 and 3) didn't. Then, the mask on the top two (1 and 2) was removed after about 15 minutes, while I waited two hours the bottom two (3 and 4). Q#1 seemed to pull up a lot of paint on the edges, while Q#3 allowed too much to bleed through. Q#4 is a bit out of focus, but trust me when I tell you it's downright crispy! I'm using aerosol paints here, your mileage may vary.
28 January 2020, 01:38
BozzerTbh, I make my own tape stripes from normal masking tape. I think I know why it works so well now too. The process is simple. Lay tape on the cutting mat, mark out and cut with a #11 blade. So here's my theory. As it's already been stuck down, it loses a little tackiness, so less chance of paint peel. The other thing is, when cutting with the knife, I think it's giving me a slightly chamfered edge and a sharp fine edge too. I could be totally wrong, but it seems to work for me?
28 January 2020, 06:32
Brandon HMakes sense, I would imagine it's critical to have as sharp a blade as possible to keep the edge free of fibers and small tears.
In Q#1 of my test, upon closer inspection, I found that the base color (white) used to seal the mask formed a crisp edge, and it was the top color (blue) that pulled extra paint away. Maybe the tackiness of the paint caused it pull away adjacent paint when removing the mask, where the edge broke more cleanly once dry to the touch. Whatever causes it, it's the opposite result from what I'd expect. Hopefully I'm not looking at the test piece upside down....
28 January 2020, 14:01
Bill NewcomerBrandon, I have two suggestions for you. One you can still do now and one you can do on your next build. The 1st suggestion is to add a green "Suzie coil" for the electrical connection to the trailer. The 2nd is to stuff some window packing rod into the tires to hold the tire bead against the rim.
Freightliner COE day cab DD (Double drive) | Album by musclecarfan (1:25)
Freightliner COE triple drive | Album by musclecarfan (1:25)
28 March 2020, 20:07
Brandon HThanks guys!
Bill, don't know how I missed that, electrical hook up coming soon! And I'll definitely look into that for the tires. Don't know if I'll get these tires back over the rims without breaking something else, but I'll keep it in mind for future projects. What I really should've done for this project is buy one of those Italeri or Mobius tire sets, the ones in this kit seem much too thin. Glad someone's looking as closely as I usually do!
29 March 2020, 00:09
BozzerOh, I'm watching too, don't worry! I'm gonna get myself one of these. I'm not a massive cabover fan, but if it's American, I'm in! Currently I have too many builds on the go, but another in the stash won't hurt. Rock on brother 👍
29 March 2020, 02:03
Brandon HRapid progress amid the statewide shutdown... finally making long strides between conference calls and at-home paperwork!
31 March 2020, 17:58
BozzerAwesome job on that dashboard and tub mate. I know how hard these things are, from experience. I gotta admit, doing it properly takes up a lot of time, but looks much better than decals. I take my hat off to you sir, well done!
31 March 2020, 22:05
Bill NewcomerHigh quality work on the dash. It seems such a shame it gets hidden on the final product. However, WE appreciate your efforts.
31 March 2020, 22:15
Brandon HHaha thanks guys! I'm sure you'll agree, just knowing the details are there makes it all worth it. Stay safe y'all!
31 March 2020, 23:38
Brandon HOne of these days I'm gonna get a real camera... and some real lights...Hope y'all like it though! Stay healthy out there!
17 April 2020, 19:29
JarrettOne quick question... I have read there are many ways to strip the chrome parts without seeing the results and on photo #4 that looks effortless so can you share that concoction?
3 December 2021, 15:50
Brandon HThanks! 1970's cars and trucks had much nicer color choices! For dechroming, I used concentrated bleach here. It worked well in this case, but results can vary based on the kit manufacturer. Many products can easily remove the chrome, but the conductive lacquer underneath (used for electroplating) can sometimes be much tougher. I've had other parts with lacquer much to stubborn for bleach. "Totally Awesome" and "Purple Power" (both concentrated degreasers) have done well for me in other cases.
3 December 2021, 17:55
Brandon HAgreed! It's a shame we don't get to see too many of them here in the States anymore :/
3 December 2021, 20:29
