1/24 diecast Chevy Nomad.

[Andy T]

Sorry it's not plastic, but a model is a model :smiling3:

I've bought this diecast Chevy Nomad with a view to doing a bit of customising and a nice paint job. I have too many plates spinning at the moment but since I've made a bit of a start I figured I might as well open a topic and come back once I'm in full flow.



This is the kind of thing that'll influence me, but I don't expect it to be this good!



First job was to strip it down and get the yucky paint off, so I dumped it into a cup of thinners :



And about 15 minutes later:



Here it is naked, although there's always one flake that refuses to budge!



There'll be a fair amount of metal work and filling but I've started by plugging the holes in the bonnet and shaving the door handles:



That's it for now but hopefully I'll be back to this soon.

[Stefee]

Andy, what did you use to plug the holes?

[Andy T]

I was at work so used some Colad UV putty. 10 seconds in the sun and it was ready to sand. I'll go over it with something finer but just wanted to plug the holes with a product that won't sink.

[Andy T]

Some wheels arrived today that looked suitable. Slightly larger than the originals though!



Getting them to fit was going to be a challenge so first I dealt with the track width so they would fit under the arches. I started by chopping down what would be the stub axle on a real car, then reducing the thickness of the drive flange on the brake disk

Original left, modified right:




Then some modification was needed to correct the ride height. Quite a lot of plastic was cut out and the channel where the axles sits was deepened and moved forward slightly. Before & after:





Which gave me this:



I'd like to go lower but will see what the stance is like once I've done the rears. I'm close to fouling the door opening "mechanism", so going lower would mean modifying that too.

[Mickc1440]

Wow Andy that's some serious butchery but its made a nice fit of those new wheels. I love that purple colour in the pic, that would look superb.

[Jim R]

A interesting project Andy. I've not seen a diecast modified before. With the front wheel where it is would it interfere with steering?

[Andy T]

Wow Andy that's some serious butchery but its made a nice fit of those new wheels. I love that purple colour in the pic, that would look superb.

Thanks Mick. I'm actually toying with a completely different colour at the moment as I just can't find the right shade of purple that I like.

A interesting project Andy. I've not seen a diecast modified before. With the front wheel where it is would it interfere with steering?

I have a couple of mates that have been modifying die cast for years so thought I'd give it a go.

And yes, I'm sure it would affect the steering. I call artistic licence :flushed:

[Si Benson]

This looks like fun to me

[adt70hk]

Now that's something different!

[Andy T]

Thanks gents.

I've done a bit more chopping around to get the car sitting how I want. Fairly major surgery really!



I must admit I'm not a fan of diecast now. I just can't get anything to fit or line up nicely and modifying monkey metal is much harder than plastic.

I've thrown some primer at the body but it's far from what I was hoping to achieve. I'm disappointed.

I'll take it to a finish but will save my big plans for something in a more familiar material, and use this as practice :smiling3:

[JR]

Hells Bells Andy you do like a challenge, and its turned out well.
Waiting for the paint jog which I'm sure will be perfection.

[Mr Bowcat]

Nice rims.

[Andy T]

Hells Bells Andy you do like a challenge, and its turned out well.
Waiting for the paint jog which I'm sure will be perfection.

Thanks John. I'm still not fully decided on the colour!

Nice rims.

I still in two minds about them, whether to leave them black or go chrome. Ultimately it'll depend on the colour scheme I choose I guess.

[Stefee]

I still in two minds about them, whether to leave them black or go chrome. Ultimately it'll depend on the colour scheme I choose I guess.

CHROME, shiny and goes well with any colour. :thumb2:

My personal peeve is black rims, to me they look constantly dirty with no clear delineation between metal and rubber. Had my Kia Stinger alloys powder coated gunmetal as soon as I got the car from the black it came with.

[Andy T]

CHROME, shiny and goes well with any colour. :thumb2:

My personal peeve is black rims, to me they look constantly dirty with no clear delineation between metal and rubber. Had my Kia Stinger alloys powder coated gunmetal as soon as I got the car from the black it came with.

It probably will be. As you say, black wheels just blend into the tyres.

However one of the colour options I'm looking at is gloss black roof with a burnt orange body. Will have to think about how chrome would sit with that.