How to transform A Monogram GS Vette into a Roadster
This will be a step by step tutorial on the process of converting a Monogram GS Vette body kit into a Penske Sunoco Chevrolet Roadster. This will involve some pretty serious butchering/modeling but should be fun.
Here`s what I`ll be starting with. Just the basic body kit sold by Monogram.
The picture on the left shows you where I will be making the cuts (black lines). The red area shows what i`m going to be leaving intact. Note the trunk lines, be very careful not to distort them while your cutting. We`ll need them later to scribe the joining upper line.The picture on the right shows the body after the pieces have been removed. I used a Exacto saw to remove the roof area, and a Dremel to remove the rear deck area.
On the left is a piece of 020" thick Evergreen plastic sheet i`ve cut out to fill the rear area so to have a starting point for filling. On the right the plastic filler has been glued in place. As you can see, I used Plastruct Bondene. I like this because it basically melts the 2 parts together, and gives a good sturdy base for filling and sanding.
Now for the filling of the area, first I will use a piece of masking tape to make a dam so the filler won`t leak out of the area to be filled. I will be using Aluminite Resin for the filling. This is very easy to use by just mixing equal parts of each. This dries hard like plastic in about 3 hours, and adheres to the original body. It also sands very easily.
On the left is the rear panel filled with the resin mix. It has hardened just fine and has been rough sanded with 250 grit paper. I have also cut the top trunk lid line back into the resin. I used a Exacto knife and a straight edge for this. On the right is the rear panel with a light coat of primer so I can re-sand to find any low spots. Turned out pretty well, just a few air pockets to fill with spot putty and it should be fine (lucky).
The left picture shows that I have also filled the hole in the right rear riser. compare to picture just above. This was done using Sqaudron white modeling putty. To the left you can see I have used the hood supplied in the kit and traced around it on a piece of 040" Styrene. Also to the right of the hood is another part that will be cut out and glued down the center of the hood to create the cowl type hood that is needed for this car.
Here is another example of the hood, there are acually 3 parts. A which is the main hood , B is the center piece,and C is another B just has been cut in half. B and C are glued together with the largest ends flush.Then D both are glued to the center of the hood.
Below you can see the hood has been glued in place, using the Bondene with the center strip already added. And to the right using the Sqaudron putty, I`ve filled and sanded the hood , & primered the complete body. Now I`m ready to do a bit of wet sanding and see where I stand.
Here are 2 pictures front and rear after the paint was applied. I used TAMIYA blue.
Below you can see I have painted the exhaust and the wheels. I used Testors 1114 yellow for this. To make the wheels easier, I took the spinners out. You have to be careful doing this because the ends will break off . Then just use a little model glue and replace them .
Here is a picture of the interior. I didn't cover this in the build because there wasn`t that much changed. Only things that were done was to trim the rear portion off that used to show under the rear window. Also the glass was trimmed down to just the windshield shown. A few highlights with a silver marker to make the gauges visible. The rear view mirror was also moved to the dash board rather than hanging on the glass.
And here is the final result, all things are not perfect, but it turned out pretty well.... The decals were all homemade also.
It even gets it`s own custom box because it`s a gift for a friend.
