1948 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery by CDW - FINISHED - Galaxie Limited - 1:25 Scale

[CDW]

Batter up!

 

Next up is the 1:25 Galaxie Limited 1948 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. I may build this as a mild custom. Will make my mind up as I move along on the build.

Edited January 9 by CDW

[bruce d]

If I squint a bit, it looks like a tow vehicle for a '60s drag car to me.  Got a trailer?

[CDW]

4 hours ago, bruce d said:

If I squint a bit, it looks like a tow vehicle for a '60s drag car to me.  Got a trailer?

Very good idea, Bruce. Indeed I do have a trailer.

[CDW]

Post WW2 Chevy model cars were few and far between (maybe nonexistent?) before Galaxie Limited came out with the '46-'47-'48 Sedan Delivery, the Sedan, and the Coupe models in the late '90's. Besides these Chevys, the company out of Wisconsin also produced a series of single, double, and triple axel trailer models. Other than that, I'm not aware of any other kits they produced. The company disappeared almost as quickly as they came upon the scene. Their Chevy models are excellent IMO, and the same goes for the trailers. There are not a lot of quality plastic injection molded trailer kits out there so the Galaxie Limited kits filled that void very nicely. You can still acquire their kits on sites such as Ebay as well as swap meets but you will be lucky to find one at a hobby shop. I don't know a thing about who currently owns the molds or if there are any plans for these to become available again one day in the near future. For the quality of their products, I am surprised someone else hasn't already run another production line of them.

 

Here, I'll lay out photos of the instructions, decal sheet, and parts trees for you to see before I start taking the parts off the sprues. Very cleanly molded, nice, thin plastic with no flash. 

[CDW]

Some examples of the model all painted up will help me decide how I might want to do this one. I don't particularly like either choice of body colors used here, but the chassis and running gear looks real nice.

[CDW]

The Aztec color combination is interesting to me.

 

This two-tone green combination looks like the actual factory paint on a '54 Pontiac Chieftan I once owned. I guess nostalgia makes this combination interesting to me.

 

[Canute]

The 2 tones look better. I really like the low rider.😁

[Egilman]

Cars in the '50's really had style... gorgeous....

[king derelict]

8 hours ago, CDW said:

The Aztec color combination is interesting to me

Those are beautiful designs and paintwork. I guess it’s a different world now but somehow a Kia Rio doesn’t hold up against them. 
Looking forward to seeing this build Craig.

Alan

[CDW]

6 hours ago, king derelict said:

Those are beautiful designs and paintwork. I guess it’s a different world now but somehow a Kia Rio doesn’t hold up against them. 
Looking forward to seeing this build Craig.

Alan

American iron. Big iron. 

[CDW]

After the Christmas festivities ended, I was able to spend a little time today with a start on the stock engine. After taking a close look at the stock and custom pieces, decided to build the engine stock. I have other variations of the '48 Chevy, the Fleetline and Coupe versions, so will save the custom features for one of those at a future date. 

Still more work to do detailing the engine, will continue the process tomorrow.

[CDW]

Was going through some storage boxes and came across this Aston Martin DB5 I started building back in the early '90's. It was painted in enamel with some metallizer paints on select components. It was surprising to see how well the red enamel body paint held up over time, but the Bare Metal Foil used for the chrome trim shriveled up like a prune. I don't own another surviving model of this vintage that had the chrome foil treatment and wondered if any of you have had a similar experience with it over a long period of time?

[king derelict]

The paint has a lovely deep shine. It’s a shame about the metal foil 

Alan

[CDW]

A few more details to work out on the engine, then will move on to the chassis.

[CDW]

The chassis all built out, in black primer.

 

The chassis in satin black lacquer, lightly dry brushed in neutral gray, with drive train in place.

 

 

With the wheels in place, you can see the suspension has been lowered for a custom look.

 

[CDW]

Checking the body-on-chassis and ride height. This seems to be good to me. Not too high, not too low. Hits the sweet spot.

Edited December 31, 2023 by CDW

[CDW]

I decided on a Gray-Green two-tone paint scheme for my '48 Chevy, which was one of the color combinations offered on the 1:1 car when it was new from the factory. My paints are semi-gloss and I may or may not use a gloss clear coat. Something about the semi-gloss is appealing to me for a car of this vintage. In case you're interested, I included a photo of the paint color jars I used.

[Danstream]

That is a perfectly smooth finish! Mr. Color paints are among the best lacquer paints around, of course a skillful modeler is also necessary to get that result.

Curious to see what you will decide at the end.

Dan

[CDW]

Next time you need to replace your Molotow Chrome Paint pens, you may want to try these instead. Seems like the same chrome ink to me as Molotow, but they are half the price. Amazon sells three pens for 9.99 vs $20 for three Molotow pens.

[CDW]

Dashboard, radio tuned to my favorite station.

[CDW]

Pluggin' along, singin' a song...

 

 

[CDW]

Add all the chrome trim, then a few decals here and there and this one can have a bow on it, it will be a done deal.

[CDW]

A crazy amount of chrome was used on these old cars.

 

 

All this can be added as well. I’m debating it.

 

 

Edited January 8 by CDW

[CDW]

The 'peel and stick' chrome trim turned out to be the least desirable parts of this model, although the finished results came out very well, I think. The main problem with it is the metal it's made of. It's a type of metal that doesn't hold a curve/bend that might be needed, sort of like spring steel. The pieces are intended to stick on, but I needed to super glue all pieces to get them to hold. 

[CDW]

Well, this is another one for the books. Finished.

It was a pleasure to build for the most part. I just wish the makers of it, Galaxie Limited, had stuck around a little longer and produced some other subjects in addition to this line of '46-'47-'48 Chevies. They did manufacture some very nice utility trailer kits. I have a tri-axle fifth wheel covered trailer in the 'to-do' pile. It's a one of a kind in plastic models as far as I know. You can still run across one for sale on Ebay every now and then.

 

Thanks for following along, your likes, comments, and companionship. See you again soon with something else. A huge pile of kits await.

 

 

[Ryland Craze]

Nice clean job on building this model.  Well done!

[gsdpic]

Nice! The chrome strips on the lower fenders add a lot to the look, so good job in persevering when they put up a little bit of a fight.

[king derelict]

Gosh Craig; This is really excellent. The chrome and paint job really gives it presence.

Alan

[CDW]

You know what's really weird? I owned a few cars of this vintage many years ago, and now when I build a model of one and look at it, that certain smell you got from the interior of these old cars becomes such a strong memory. It's like you're right there inside of it. I guess it was the fabrics they used for the upholstery that gave that memorable odor. I remember that smell all the way up through cars from the fifties, but the sixties and later cars didn't have it. As best I can recall, that certain "new car smell" didn't come along until the seventies. Plastics? I imagine so. 

[Old Collingwood]

Looking really nice Craig.

 

OC.