78 Blazer

[58_Willys]

Had a CC01 sittin in a hole for a few years and decided to throw it together. I GPM'd the heck out of it and decided on a Proline Blazer body with reduced Dirt Grabbers. I detest the body mounts through the body, so I made a rear mount and used a cut off Wrangler bumper/mount up front - it sits perfectly inside the Blazers bumper.

Inspiration...




A few pics before modifying the grill.














More to come...

[Rastaman]

Looking good, I like the rear link setup, gonna try something like that on mine...

[58_Willys]

Haven't had much down-time to work on it, but I did manage to build the grill. It's not perfect...there are some minor "issues" that didn't quite turn out as expected, but I think it will definately look better than the one that's in there now. I also prepped some styrene, layered it up to fab out a solid front bumper.
Here's the grill so far. I am going for a 77-78 version.


I'm starting to re-think my color choice. I've come across a couple of others that were done in a copper/orange color. Not bad colors, just want to be somewhat different. I haven't nailed it down yet...but I'm almost thinking...Black.


Opinions welcome.

[c.a.r.]

Nice project. Like the rear link setup, I bought the GPM set and quickly realised it isn't going to work unless I buy the separate suspension mounts too.

Trouble with black is that it shows up scratches badly on a lexan shell and you also lose a lot of detail IMO.

[SFC K]

This is looking great so far! I like your work on the grill too! Keep up the great work!

[58_Willys]

Wow! I can't believe it's been a year since I posted on this one.

Found a little time and thought I'd work on a couple of on going projects. I starting hacking and painting the Blazer. The body turned out pretty good, although it needs some detailing yet.


The grill on the other hand...what a disaster. Had major paint interaction/reaction. Lesson learned...chrome paint...LAST!


So I got busy making a new one, but only got the center grill done. The old one wasn't right anyway. Sinse I ran out of the size of styrene I need to finish it off, I gotta get to the LHS to get some more. I did have success with a front bumper though.


More coming soon.

[DaJester]

Nice job, which Proline Blazer body did you use?

[58_Willys]

Originally Posted by DaJester

Nice job, which Proline Blazer body did you use?

Thanks, but I'm only aware of one Blazer body...is there another? I would love to see a 72 in actual 1/10 scale.

Pro-Line 1980 Chevy Blazer Body 3244 for Monster Truck

[58_Willys]

Progress? A little bit after I found some sheet styrene that was the right thickness. I cut a couple 12 in strips to work with and luckily, I only messed up one of them for the bezel surround. Made new headlight buckets and now I have a new grill. I think this is one much better, it looks more correct in the shape and it fits better in the body. Did a quick mock-up.



Now on to the valance panel and turn signals.

[SFC K]

Wow! That grill looks awesome! Nice work on the chassis parts too!

[58_Willys]

Originally Posted by SFC K

Wow! That grill looks awesome! Nice work on the chassis parts too!

Thanks. I should have the valance done this weekend. I actually made them as 2 seperate pieces so painting would be easier.

[58_Willys]

Finished building the grill/valance assembly. I made it in 3 seperate pieces that mate up to each other so I can have an easier time painting the different layers.

Here are the 3 pieces.


Then we insert them to each other...


...and all together.


Then a couple mock-ups.



See if I can paint it up tomorrow.

[58_Willys]

The main paint is done. The depth is awesome. Needs to be finished, but had to throw it together for a quicky.



...and compared to original pos.


If anyone wants the old one, your welcome to it. Maybe a little stripping and deconstruction, and you might have something to work with.

[58_Willys]

Perfect day for painting outside, so I did the window tinting and the black trim. Next will be the chrome using 2beers method, thanks for that, btw.

[58_Willys]

Successful trim application! Not perfect, but it'll do.







Working on the passenger side next.

Still needs the mirrors, wipers and rear bumper, then some kind of interior.

[OSRC]

That looks great - amazing job on that grill. Transforms the entire truck!

[grimacium]

The small details really makes it pop. How is that trim method achieved?

[58_Willys]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

grimacium, check out my thread on scale4x4, pg 3. 2beers passed on his method to me. Was actually easier than I thought, except for ball point pen "groove". Difficult to get it centered right.
78 Chevy Blazer CC01 - Page 3 - Scale 4x4 R/C Forums

[kongluc]

I use a sharpie fine point... but I'm like everyone else.. that is one amazing truck... I wish I do stuff like that (the grill)

[58_Willys]

Originally Posted by kongluc

I use a sharpie fine point... but I'm like everyone else.. that is one amazing truck... I wish I do stuff like that (the grill)

I followed the groove with a sharpie fine point to make it more pronounced. Making the grill was way more challenging than I expected.

Usually when I try to tackle something like that, I spend days contemplating the process, before application. My builds can be very long.....