Another busy month, and the end of another busy year! I finished thirteen projects this year, of which seven were 1/64th scale. My focus on smaller scale projects revolved around a significant career change that takes considerably more time. Even so, I did uncork several new projects this month to try and pave the way to another productive year in 2022.
Completed this year:
- Hasegawa Honda Civic 1st EG Rework #2
- Revell 2009 Dodge Challenger
- C1 Models Widebody Civic
- Jo Han Chrysler Turbine Car
- AMT 1963 Corvette
- 1/64th EF Civic
- 1/64th Honda CRX – Red
- 1/64th 1976 Porsche 911 Restoration
- 1/64th 2009 Dodge Challenger Restoration
- USCP EJ Civic Coupe
- 1/64th Hot Wheels Speedseeker Restoration
- 1/64th Honda CRX – Green
- 1/64th 1979 Honda Accord Restoration
Finished in December
Projects I finished in December were the 1/64th scale 79 Honda Accord and Hot Wheels SpeedSeeker Restorations and the green CRX. The Accord was one of five cars I found while digging out bushes in my front yard. They were lost about 40 years ago! The Accord was the most damaged and corroded of the bunch. It was one of my favorites back then since my mom had a 1:1 of the Accord! The repair work was completed a few months ago and paint was finished last month. It was time to wrap up the details, make a new windshield out of a piece of soda bottle and finish assembly. I upgraded the Accord with Monoblock wheels.
The CRX was the 3rd of three that were gifted to me. I painted the 3rd one in Dodge F8 green and used aftermarket decals to add detail as well as Monoblock wheels.
The Hot Wheels Speedseeker was painted earlier in the year. I needed to finish repairs to the chassis and refinished it with Spaz Stix chrome. The final detail was the upgraded set of wheels.
New Kits
71 Ford Ranger
FC3S RX7 – Tamiya
The Tamiya RX7 project ran into a bit of a snag in that I lost the accessory belts. No idea when I lost it but it was definitely gone. Although it is not an exact replica of the pulley configuration, I used pulleys I scavenged from my parts box and used masking tape to replace the belts. I made sure the fan was centered in the shroud and none will be the wiser. Well, except for anyone that reads this.
The interior was wrapped up and ready for final assembly.
Chassis details were painted and the engine was installed. I added plug wires to dress up the engine bay.
Viper Van
Last month, after years of trying to figure out how I wanted to build my Jimmy Flintstone Dodge A100 van, I started with the idea of using a viper V10 and that spiraled into attaching the body to the Viper chassis. Engine and all. Last month I shortened the chassis to match the wheelbase of the body. After that, I needed to make the chassis fit the body opening. I used sheet styrene to make panels to fill the gaps. To match the rake of the front, I notched the frame, bent it up and glued it in place.
I went down the rabbit hole of trying to find the perfect wheels. I pulled everything in my stash and even ordered more wheels. I went round and round and couldn’t pick a set. Stay tuned to see how that turned out!
By the end of the month, most of the gaps in the chassis were filled. I also used square tubing to make a mating surface in the body itself. With that, I can easily attach the body to the chassis.
Many Started Projects
Often times, I just go off the rails and dig into a brand new kit or pull kits out of my stash and go nuts. This month was no exception. The 1/32 Atlantis Nova has such a small parts count that I had to dive right into it. By the end of the month, I had prepped all the parts, primed them, painted and flocked the interior and sprayed the body in color.
From there, I dusted off my Tamiya NSX and sprayed all the body color parts. Next were the ’62 Thunderbird, ’16 Camaro, ND MX5 Miata, ’69 Corvair,
Yeah, I could have finished a couple of other projects but that would make sense! What I really enjoying seeing is my projects in color. It helps with motivation as time is available.
The rush to paint several bodies pushes into January and in two cases, resulted in a full strip and repaint. Oops.
In Closing
Looking back over December, I made the call to finish my year early in the month so I can relax and continue working without a self imposed deadline. Looking back over the year, I still accomplished a great deal of work even though my new work assignment made it more difficult to find time to enjoy my hobby.
