Richard Earle's pro modified "Christine" by Popeye the Sailor

[popeye the sailor]

I'm sure that by now you've all read the story of how I came by this model.  it's really something to imagine something as wild as this,  and find out that there is an actual subject out there.  I have to say though.......even though it took a short time to locate a kit,  one gets a sense that the kit is a bit on the rare side.  even Alan agreed with me......chances are,  that this probably is one of their low production kits.....either that,  or it sold like hotcakes!.  as mentioned,  it has the same set up like the 'Jukebox Ford' I built a while ago,  so it might be safe to say that these two kits are part of a series {likely quite large too}.  the Revell stock car series shared the same similarity......the chassis were all the same,  right down to the engines.

   there was some assembly done in the kit......nothing too dramatic.......a few hiccups,  but I can fix them.  the molds for this model were tooled in 1991,  as it states in two places on the model.  one would be visible,  so I removed it,  keeping the other one for posterity.  examining the contents,  I saw that everything is here.

the engine,  which I have already taken apart......was my first focus.   nothing is painted and the oil pan / tranny half is not the way I would have it.  I was happy to see that the person wasn't in the habit of scraping his plated parts.  the intake {on the right}  didn't come off so good,  and a small piece broke off.  fearing that it could be seen,  I quickly remembered that I had {the one on the left} an exact manifold in my spare part box.  with quite a few kits of this time period,  model manufacturers did a lot of parts plating,  to make the finished model look more appealing.  advancements in the paint department offers so much more,  that it's not that big of a need anymore.  the decals look pretty good too.......better than I thought they would.  I don't see any micro cracking......usually,  they tend to shrink,  exposing them.  there are a couple of creases........they might be a problem,  but don't affect the important decals.

I found that the front and rear were assembled to the body.  the parts weren't cleaned up as I do......and there are some tiny gaps,  but I can either fix them or let the decals hide them.  the additional decking was also added to the rear edge of the chassis deck....clean it up and it will be Ok.  I'm creating a pile of the plated parts I want to de chrome....the bottle is ready.

not a whole lot of flash to deal with.......I'm impressed.  nothing is broken either.

the rest of the parts are just as good........little flash and nothing is broken.  part of the differential is assembled....loose stuff.....both headers...looks like I'm in business.

the tires are kinda shaggy though......there are flash bands around the slicks and front tires that needs to be cleaned up.  I sandpaper the tread to rough them up anyway,  so no harm....I've seen it before   

the glass looks really good......no scratches...........so yea,  I'm in business    I'll hang around a bit more and do a few thing.  if I don't,  the admiral will wonder why I was so adamant in getting this kit {I don't do catch and release}    I'll clean things up a bit,  the tires.......and get parts ready for the bottle.  I'll be back.

[popeye the sailor]

  

this has to be a model.......I love how it looks     the induction sticking out of the hood.......the headers.......considering what's in the kit,  the person didn't have to do any drastic modifications.

[popeye the sailor]

so...as I read through the instructions,  anything that requires paint goes into the bottle.  

more will be added,  I'm sure of it    I did some clean up to the front of the body.......it's passable.  I'm still thinking that the grille decal will cover the thin gap that spans across the hood line.  after removing the tab that spanned across the opening of the engine well,  I assembled the hoof scoop and cemented in on the hood.  the hood looked out of flush with the opening so at this time I taped it in place.  as the hood and scoop assembly dries,  it might keep the shape.

I also added the rear spoiler deck.......that went on pretty good.  I cleaned up the rear corners before I added it.  dog walk time......I'll be back.

[popeye the sailor]

moving on..........     things took a downward turn here.  I looked at it earlier and failed to notice it    part of the differential has been assembled......but I didn't notice that the bracket / wheelie bar is backwards.  there is a heavy presence of glue too,  which means that it is really welded on there.  I would say that the person saw this too.......likely the reason it was put back in the box and shelved.  as most know,  it is better to separate parts earlier than later....in this case.......years later.   trying to source parts will be time consuming and costly,  something I don't like to do.........so the best thing to do,  is try to separate the parts.  I have a set of thin razor saws.....I figure if I can cut around the shaft,  seeing no evidence of glue around where the axle shaft protrudes,  I might be able to break it free without much damage.

the plastic is a hard plastic......the deed is done,  but not without damage.  the untouched axle part broke off and the crossbar above it broke off.  the wheelie bar part broke too,  but I have all the pieces...all clean breaks.

I already glued back on the broken axle shaft...that is what's drying at the moment.  I'm going to let it dry all night.  the wheelie bar parts was also successfully glued back together.......same deal......gonna let it dry all night,  and I'll clean the both of them up tomorrow.  I'll add the crossbar when I assemble it.  I turned to do some clean up to the chassis deck and remove the odd date stamp.

I toyed around with a few other things before calling it an evening.

it sounds horrible.......I know.......I've fixed worst than this.  once painted,  you'll never even see the repair

he....hee........that's me Popeye calender   AK-k-k---k-k-k-k-k-k

[popeye the sailor]

got the parts out of the bottle this morning.......things went pretty well.  the high rise manifold though is a newer part......not all of the chrome came off

....and on the difficult differential front.......I think it's a winner too  

now...the assembly and paint......

[popeye the sailor]

I got more done on this project.  I had reinstalled the cross bar pieces back onto the differential,  but I couldn't get it to go straight across.  later I cut it back out again and fitted a thin piece of round stock form the spare parts box {just happened to be red plastic too}.

it will be set aside to totally dry.  the top deck was to be painted silver,  but I opted to go with flat steel.

once the underside is painted,  it will lose that reddish hue.  it's one of the shortcomings with red plastic........tend to want to bleed through.  other colored plastics have this same issue as well. 

it's obvious.....another problem with the red plastic is how it photographs...comes out look'in like neon...I took another picture of the differential assembly under direct light.

I had been working on the AMT engine......and as soon as I got all the parts out of the dechroming jar,  I could start on the Earle engine.  here is how far I got by the 16th...

again,  with the silver.......the engine was to be painted silver,  but I stayed with a flat red.   I broke it up with other colors ...............

[popeye the sailor]

the tires are all done........I did them as the first order of business   

got more done on the engine.......   got the carbs on and highlighted the throats.  added the pulleys......I have another set as a fall back,  in case these didn't fair so well in the jar.

the plumbing that will go on the engine front is also painted

thought I'd highlight the valve covers too    the tires were assembled trapping the axle buttons inside......if I was successful and didn't get cement on them,  they will roll.

the underside of the chassis deck was painted in a darker gray,  the same color as the roll cage will be.

the chassis frame will be done in the gray as well.....the front suspension will be in silver { my aluminum has gone ka-put}

I'm going to highlight a few thing on it before it is assembled.  the plumbing is on the engine now..

one of the headers wasn't assembled straight,  so I had to take it apart and straighten it out.  the differential assembly is in the process of being painted.......all that id left is to paint the wheels on the wheelie bars.

 

[popeye the sailor]

I'm still doing some painting on this project.......hope to get more done this week.  I have one picture to share with you.......I had better hurry before the admiral has a fit.......she wants to go shopping   guess I had better get dressed.................OK,  I'm ready!  hee....hee....

putt'in the headers on

[popeye the sailor]

I've been play'in with these engines for a while now........I could post a log on what I've done so far    I've got a 427 that I have no car for........still looking for a recipient  

 

 I've added another 1:16 car to my stash.....a 1957 Thunderbird.......another AMT offering produced by Round 2.  I've got my rants about them,  but they are what they were....and still are.  one in particular I have a remedy for.......I've yet to put it in flesh......I'll save it for the log.

 

anyway........there is movement on the Christine Pro mod.  it's beginning to look like a chassis    I did a bunch of painting and now it's time to put it all together.  the headers were added to the engine {both of them},  and then set in place on the chassis.  some detailing was done to the chassis before the deck was also set in place.

 

once it had set long enough to dry,  the driveshaft and differential assembly was added to the chassis.

 

I've taken a couple of day off from work............I've been doing more painting,  and I hope to add more to her soon  

 

[popeye the sailor]

touch ups are done and dried........onward!   starting at the front,  the engine cage and front suspension will be added.  the front part of the chassis is slightly warped........I'm hoping it doesn't create too much trouble.  the right side of the cage is added.....

the oil tank and the steering rack were also added........the left side cage was added.....

as I feared...the warp did create some problems........adding the front struts was a bit more involved.   with no real way to clamp them,  I was forced to hold until set.  by then,  I figured out a way to set it up on the desk,  to put pressure on the lower control arms with sufficient counter weight.  I found four paint bottles on the chassis deck did the trick   {should have taken a picture so you could see this}.

the forks of the steering rack fit nicely in the slots in the struts.  the steering linkage was added to the assembly.

the accumulator was added to the fire wall,  as well as the brake rotors

there are a pair of braces that lead off the sides of the cage,  to the firewall down by the chassis frame.......they are usually the worst to install.  they proved to be just as tedious,  as they were for the Jukebox Ford.

 

 

lastly,  was the radiator and bottom hose.  the upper hose would have been included here,  but I seem to misplace it.  given that the desk and the little table beside me are black,  if I painted it,  it may account for it's disappearance.  I'll keep an eye out,  but in the meantime,  I will scratch make one.  it was time to finish off the front by putting on the front tires.

 

more to come  

 

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

body painting was yesterday.......but to start off this small session,  the rear tires were added to get her off the ground.

 

 

the body and hood...

the one thing I wished for this model,  would be that the bumpers were separate.  for a comparison,  I brought the Jukebox Ford out and put the two chassis side by side.  one thing I noticed,  was that I had dechromed the parts on Christine,  while on the Jukebox,  I didn't.......and it shows.  I'm using a mix of aluminum,  silver,  and flat steel,  and it adds a bit more contrast to the chassis.

 

in hindsight,  I could have been a bit 'tighter' with the wiring on the Jukebox.......with Christine though,  I didn't give it a thought,  and so,  I didn't do it.  I must not have remembered that I had window maker either for the windows.......where I cemented them in has now turned whitish    oh well........second boot to the rear........the decaling wasn't that great either.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by popeye the sailor

[popeye the sailor]

I began to assemble the roll cage and driver's compartment.  it begins with the central framework and the pedals.  the shifters and levers were also added at this time.

 

I've also been painting the battery / oxidizer tanks rack

more painting needed.  I've added more.....which I will report soon  

[popeye the sailor]

more done yesterday.....more of the roll cage added.

 

 

the next big part of the roll cage,  is where the seat locates.   it's a tad slow assembling this,  since in order to connect the offshoot sections of roll cage,  the main areas need to dry to the point they won't come apart  when you connect them {like the steering shaft to the knuckle}.

 

more painting being done at the moment......errands soon,  so that will slow things down a little  

[popeye the sailor]

I made a small bit of progress with the pro modified.  I had settled for some paint work to finish up the last session........my most favorite things to paint.......the glass.  there is frame work to paint.......

fitting the back glass was rather easy.......sills are visible that support installation.

I just put the side windows in.........they were a bit more difficult to fit in place.  the body is slightly tweaked,  which doesn't help matters........I used tape to hold them in place while the window maker dries.  the windshield will be the worst of it.  more soon  

[popeye the sailor]

hey there folks.......work continues on this one.  as mentioned earlier,  the roll cage parts have some warp to them.  they need to be cemented together slowly........gotta let the glue dry before moving on to the next section.  to start off this session,  the passenger side of the main cage needs to be added.

the instrument panel was also added at this point as well.  the computer is added to the inner side of that plate at the front floorboard,  before the section was cemented in place {that's the little chrome thing you can barely see.   the fuel oxidizer assembly is also cemented in place.

now that the windows have all been rimmed with the flat black,  they will be added to the body.  this time,  I used the window maker..........it does a super nice job,  but the windshield turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.

I started to add to the rear......starting with the tail lights.

I still harbor this strange desire to paint the bumpers....if I do,  I'll use flat steel to paint them {this is still up in the air}.  on the chassis,  the head rest was added just above the seat.  next is the top part of the roll cage.....which was initially cemented to the bars above the seat to start it off.  the wrap around bar {for the seat assembly} has already been cemented to the passenger section.  there is a small section that will be added to complete the driver compartment of the roll cage.

the section doesn't line up on the rear deck either........appears to fall short of it's target too.  I'll have to figure out something for that,  even if it means cutting the connection points and repairing the cage afterwards.  the driver side of the compartment part of the cage has two bars that needs to be cemented next,  but they are also out of alignment and will need to be adjusted to fit.

the warpage can be seen in this picture {I have since straightened out that one bar that appears bent}.  the two bars that rest on the dash also needs to be positioned and held in place to be cemented.  yup......this will be a slow assembly.........I went through the same process with the Jukebox Ford.   once I can get the roll cage completely together,  I can touch up all the glue points........hopefully it will look better,  and not like it was cobbled together by a four year old    I'm liking this color combination better than when I did the Juke box.  continuing with the body,  the chute bracket was fitted after being cemented together,  and set up in it's locator holes to dry.

there are support bars that go to the spoiler,  but they will be added once this has dried....or I get to that point,  after heightening my frustration levels with the roll cage.   later,  after the right side support bar was cemented to the top section and has since dried,  and the dash connections were also cemented in place.  I turned to the driver's side front cage bar........this one had the better possibility of joining without much fuss.  as I do this,  it does set the others up in better positions toward being in alignment........some just fall short and they will need to be dealt with in a more aggressive manner.........I'll get the saw blade out  

so this is where I am so far.  I hope to have more for you soon........

[popeye the sailor]

in the previous session,  an alligator clip was attached to the front part of the driver's cage.  I had glued it and used the clamp to keep it in place.  the rear part was a lot more out of whack.......I broke the bar to put it into alignment,  and glued it,  after the front part had set long enough.  that was left to set overnight and in the following morning,  painted.  the rest of the touch ups were also done.  there are two more parts of the rool cage to be done.......the back section needs to be cut and relocated,  and one last section needs to be added.  the steering wheel also needs to be added,  and that will finish the chassis assembly. 

the body still needs to have the spoiler braces added,  and the chute assembly added.  but I decided to do some of the decal work.  these are the original decals,  dated 1993.  decals have come a long way since the early days.  they were thicker,  and utilized a pasty form of adhesive.  todays decals are much thinner......changes in the printing and the types of adhesives they use.  older decals usually have excess clear film that encircles the image,  which can be trimmed off,  for a more subtle fit in tight places.  I was a little concerned with the decal sheet.......one was the small crease going through one of the decal images,  but mostly,  it appears that the sheet had been subjected to humidity.  I started with the front grille decals.......if these were in tough shape,  then I would need to locate another decal sheet.  I did do some trimming here and there on these decals.......they went on without much trouble.

next was the long molding graphics that run along the left side........not so good here.  the decal broke in about four pieces........I had to add it in sections.  the fellow that glued on the front and rear fascia didn't clean up the flash and mold lines....the rear 'fin' part of the decal couldn't slide under the bumper,  so I trimmed it where it mated.  this also caused the decal not to sit properly where it was supposed to,  so the decal is slightly forward of where it was to locate.  it still fit reasonably well,  and I was able to mate the sections without any major gaps.........it did add to the guesswork of how it arched along the body.  I'm happy with how it came out  

all these images are part of the decal........think if they were all separate.  it would likely amount to two decal sheets.......and a lot more work!  the second part of the side graphics is another mass of images........the car's name being the central image.  the adhesive for these decals turns into a cloudy paste when wet......after the decal is set in place,  a damp paper towel lightly washes away the residual adhesive.  I will have to do it again when the decals are dry.

luckily,  the decal positioned as well as it did,  with the initial decal being forward like it is.  that little white decal in the upper left,  almost got covered over.   it can also be seen where I had to lap the front section of the molding decal over the other part to make it fit.   I hope to be able to copy the positioning on the other side.  I may try and fix the overlap.

I also had to watch out for curling,  where the decal narrowed,  or protruded in odd ways.  a pin was used to pull it back out from under itself.   one of the decals was added to the trunk deck.

....and I added some to the windows.   I will add more when these dry.

finger's crossed when I continue.....   more soon!  

 

[Egilman]

Adventures in Decaling... A great book!! I added my chapter many moons ago, glad to see it is still being written...

 

A lot of experience in that book... Thanks! eagerly awaiting the final installment of your chapter..

 

Well done sir, those oldies can be a real headache....

[Old Collingwood]

Great job with the decaling Denis  - really giving her  some  character.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks gents    the week end is coming.......three days of fun and frolic!   I added the decal that was where the crease was......started out well,  but then broke into three pieces.  I managed to save it though.  the sheet didn't show any micro cracking.  the cracks didn't show up until the paper relaxed,  after a minute or so of being wet.  we'll see what happens when I get back to it.

 

I have received both of the kits I ordered...the ones I mentioned in the Christine log.  they are both similar to the Christine kit,  molded in grey/tan plastic { a very odd color}.  the Chrysler 300 is a very detailed model.......the engine detail is especially nice.

[popeye the sailor]

well.........getting near the end..   ....just gotta get the rest of the decals and rear parts on the body,  and finish the roll cage on the chassis.  the right side decals were a little worse........the long arching decal broke into more pieces,  making it much worse.  I got it though and managed to get the rest of the decals on.

this isn't all the decals.........then the hood

there are three areas left on the roll cage........the brace for the steering wheel,  the back part,  and the left side of the driver's compartment.

the steering brace is too short,  so it was cut off and a section added in.

the left side of the driver's compartment was added.......and the back part of the cage was cut and repositioned

everything is drying at the moment

[popeye the sailor]

all was dry,  so the touch ups can be done.  I'm still mess'in with the body,  adding the chute assembly and the spoiler braces.  here are the pictures of the chassis to start the gallery off  

I think it came out better than the Jukebox  

Edited April 28, 2022 by popeye the sailor

[lmagna]

Nice job Denis. Those temperamental decals made the model. Glad you were able to piece them together. They look flawless on my screen.

[Danstream]

It is going to be a great, imposing model. You are in the home stretch now, keep going. You have a very detailed interior.

Waiting for the final,

Cheers,

Dan

[Landlubber Mike]

Oh wow, what a sturdy looking chassis and cage.  Looks awesome!

[mtaylor]

Looking great, Denis.  I vaguely remember seeing this car run once.  

[popeye the sailor]

I'll tickle your memory a bit more Mark.....I'm across the finish line.   I knew the roll cage would have troublesome areas,  but the rest of the build went very well.  even the decal issues didn't take away from it.  I should have expected the cracking to happen,  since the decals were dated '93.  but piecing them together went well....the biggest concern was the arching decal that went along the sides.  going from back to front was the best way to work it.......line it up to the contour of the fin,  and the arch went as it should    I probably should have given it a second coat of paint too,  but it still came out with a nice shine.  the Chute bracket and the spoiler braces weren't hard to do...we took off for the afternoon........we did early shopping.   thanks for all the kind comments guys.......I really appreciate it  

when dry,  there was a couple minor touch ups.  since I had to do a lot of handling after the glass was in place,  I was concerned that the window maker/cement wouldn't hold and they might come loose.  I was surprised with how sturdy it was.  I basically only used it to fill in small windows and canopies........I guess I'll be using it a lot more from now on    the body just slides onto the chassis......it easily lifts off to display the chassis.  makes me wonder why the hood isn't molded to the body........but I believe it's an alternative way to display it.   so here is the model in it's entirety  

not too shabby from a used kit........had to fix a couple of things,  but the rabbit came out of the hat at just the right time    we might go to Hobby Lobby one day soon........I'm going to see if they carry the cases for model cars.  it would be quite fitting for these two.

 

I'm still up in the air about what to do with the other '58 I have.   I've seen pictures of it in many colors......some I really like.   since I got it in my head to do some mods to the body and such.  I could go with a custom look.  it would be the easiest....the whole look depends on a set of mags  

 does anyone see the resemblance to the batmobile?

I could go stock car.......one thing I do lack is bucket seats though.  a lot of hometown dirt trackers didn't ditch the creature comforts.  a class that ran at Barberville Fla. was called 'Thunder cars'.........women entered cars too!

not too terribly tough either.......all one needs is a roll bar.

...or I could go all out and do a gasser or a top fuel

 I would have to see what I have in the spare parts box.

I did a little visual research with the Chrysler 300.  the wheel base is longer,  as with the Belvedere/fury.  we shall see.........

 

 

[SigEp Ziggy]

Great Job! Denis

[king derelict]

Very, very nice. You did a great job piecing the decals together and the paint work is excellent

Alan

[popeye the sailor]

thanks all for the kind comments and the likes    I glanced at the pantry calendar,  and for the month of may,  it showcases the 1948 Tucker Torpedo.....or commonly known as the Tucker 48.  it was such a cool car,  that it caused me to look and see if there was a model kit on it.  alas.........there are plenty of die cast models out there,  and if what I saw was an actual kit,  the price tag is around $200.00!  the Tucker 48 was just a flash in the pan....not too many were produced.  Matchbox put out a replica of the car and there are places that sell preassembled die cast cars.  it was a thought.............puffffffffffff*

[popeye the sailor]

I took some pictures of a project that had been started by another gentleman.....he passed away and the project was given to me.   it's been a bit busy 'round here........that and I was undecided on what to bring out next.  these pictures were stuck in the camera.......though I'd pass them along.  they are of the Jukebox Ford and Christine together.

for the month of June,  the calendar sports a 1949 Pontiac Chieftain convertible

.....not in this color,  but this is what it looks like.  the hard top can be purchased with or without the roof visor.   could be a contender for a pro mod look........but it doesn't look too bad as a custom job either.

I'd have done a metalflake job on her.........but to each their own    I've yet to see if there's a kit on it