Project 0012 – School Spirit (Part 2)

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Â Â Â Insert the passenger compartment into the body shell but make sure that the tabs from the side view mirrors are positioned along side the tub. You may need to slide it into place above the tabs by holding onto the mirrors and angling the tub into position. Locate it on the front posts and then on the rear posts.Use a little pressure at each post in turn to firmly position the tub into place.

Figure 62 Install the door mirrors

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Position the chassis into the front end under the front stone pan and locate it into the mating edge on the body shell. You may need to spread the body out a bit at the front wheel wells to accommodate the chassis.

Figure 63 Insert the chassis under the front end

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Locate the chassis on the rear posts by spreading the body shell just in front of the rear wheel wells so it drops down onto the locating posts. Use a small screwdriver (3.0 mm) to seat the screws into the posts.

Figure 64 Fasten the underbody onto its mounting posts

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Assemble the tires onto the wheels and remove the chrome center hubcaps from the chrome sprue tree and trim off any excess flash. Insert them into the wheels by putting even pressure on each edge.

Figure 65 Install the hubcaps

Â Â Â Â Â Â Insert an axle into two of the wheels and insert them into the chassis holes in the wheel wells. Guide them through the holes on the other side and push the remaining two wheels onto their respective axles. Seat them firmly with a little opposing pressure.

Figure 66 Insert the axles through the chassis openings

Step 2b – Finishing the Custom Build

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Despite the radical differences in appearance between the Easy Kit Build and the Custom Build there are really only a few significant differences between the two versions. The most obvious change being that one is a traditional four door hardtop and the other is a four door convertible parade car. The rest of the customizing comes from the addition of detailing and the rest of these instructions will only discuss the differences between the two versions. Use the Easy Kit Build Step-by-Step as a reference for the rest of the process.

Â Â Â Â Â Â The convertible was an alteration made to the hardtop kit by removing the roof and pillars behind the windshield frame. Use a razor saw to cut through the roof plastic about 5mm back of the top of the windshield frame. Use some diagonal cutters to cut off the roof pillars. Although this model already had paint on it before I decided to turn it into a convertible, I recommend that you do this step prior to any paint application. Extra careful handling was involved in this step to prevent damage to the finish.

Figure 67 Remove the roof and pillars

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â A corresponding cut must be made to the window assembly. Mark the assembly just in front of the visors so you know where to cut after debris starts to collect and carefully saw through the clear plastic about a millimeter less than the windshield frame.

Figure 68 Remove the excess window area

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shape the cutoff portion of the windshield to match the contours of the front portion of the frame with a rotary grinder at first and then for finer control use a padded sanding stick. Shape the top of the windshield to match this shape to fit just inside the frame.

Figure 69 Shape the window frame

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Use a heavy file to start shaving the roof pillar posts down to the window trim. Follow up with the foam filled sand paper file and progressively finer sandpaper to smooth and shape them to blend in with the trim.

Figure 70 Shape the roof posts

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Use a portion of the chrome sprue tree to make a rear view mirror by cutting out the section that held the hubcaps with a pair of diagonal cutters.

Figure 71 Cut off material for the rearview mirror

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shape the mirror using a sandpaper stick to round the corners of the mirror and then bend the other flat sprue to simulate a mounting bracket. Leave a tab at the top of the mounting bracket to glue to the windshield. Using a sharp blade scrape the chrome from all the surfaces except the mirror face and paint it flat black.

Figure 72 Shape and finish the rearview mirror

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Now here’s the tricky part. You can rummage through your old model kits to find a convertible top that will fit your Custom Build, or you can make one like I did by resin casting. You can buy a resin casting kit and use a convertible bonnet from another model kit to serve as a pattern for this project. I used a bonnet from an old kit and widened it a bit to fit the frame on the car by sectioning the mold and adding some material. The rest of the finishing comes from trimming and sanding the resin casting to appear realistic.

Figure 73 Add a convertible bonnet

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Add some detail to the dashboard by painting the foot pedals and adding blackout to the center panels. You could also dry brush some silver to highlight the major control knobs. There’s really no limit to the amount of detail you could add to the interior because it is exposed with the convertible top option.

Figure 74 Detail the dashboard

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Continue the tutone color scheme on the interior by painting the inset seat panels in the lighter school color.

Figure 75 Detail the front seats

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â That was all of the steps that transformed one version into to the other but there’s really no limit to the amount of customizing that can be done to a model. As you can see in this shot the taillight Impala ^TM emblem was dry brushed with chrome paint to bring out the highlights and the scratch built rearview mirror is clearly visible thanks to the sky view conversion we’ve performed on this model. The windshield was given a heavy black tint to cope with the blazing Arizona sun and frost was added to emulate the morning dew after sitting out in the open desert overnight!

Figure 76 Rear view of customizing detail

Step 3 – Display

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Once you’ve finished your “School Spirit” model display it proudly for every game day party, annual alumni gathering and reverently on the anniversary of your graduation. You’re proud of your school and accomplishments so don’t be afraid to show it to the world!