1960 Corvette by gsdpic - MFH - 1/12 - Multimedia

[gsdpic]

Hello all and welcome to my first build log of 2026.  I am jumping straight into the deep end, attempting to build my first MFH kit, the 1960 Corvette.  I have two other MFH kits in the stash at present.

 

I've built several plastic cars of late that I have not bothered to do build logs for, but I expect there will be more interest in this build, so will do a log.   I know that @DocRob has completed several MFH kits and @CDW has some in his stash, including this one I believe.  I am actually still finishing up the prior unlogged plastic car build but expect to start this build in earnest by next week, after I complete that build and clean up the work area.  But I am excited for this build so figured I'd go ahead and start the build log.

 

I have looked through the instructions, and looked through all the parts as well.  It appears that I have everything, or nearly so, and all looks to be good.  There was one very small metal part (part #81) that I think I am missing but looking through the instructions, I did not see where it is used.  So, for now, I am ignoring that.  I did some test fitting of the hood, trunk, and doors to the body.  That looked promising though at least some tweaking will be required.  The kit also has provision for an actual folding soft top, as well as providing a hard top.  I may not even attempt the soft top.  I expect it would just stay folded up inside the car and the kit only provides a black soft top while the color I have chosen only came with a white soft top, so that is my excuse. 

 

I ordered some paint from scalefinishes.com.  It has not arrived yet but should show up soon.

 

I also acquired one of the magnetic tumblers off of amazon and have begun cleaning the metal parts with that.  I've done about a half dozen "loads" and am probably half done with that process.  I also still need to clean the resin parts.

 

[DocRob]

You got me Gary, I´m in. Enjoy the cruise, it will not be easy at all times, but building MFH kits is very rewarding. Take your time and always check twice, specially where large components, like body or chassis are involved. You often have to browse through the whole manual, to see, where everything fits. Special care should be taken with doors, bonnet and trunk, moving parts, where a good fit is essential.

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

Looking forward to your build, Gary. Test build everything to make sure all fits well. Only commit to permanent adhesive after you are certain all subassemblies go together without a hitch. Same goes for paint. No paint until all test fitting is complete. 

[Canute]

Two coaches to guide you. Very nice. 😉👍

[gsdpic]

Thanks guys for the comments and coaching....now and in the future.

 

Below is a link to my inspiration.  That car is Honduras Maroon Metallic, which is the paint color I ordered that should arrive tomorrow.  I also ordered Ermine white for the contrasting side part.   This car has a replacement convertible top that is black, so perhaps I'll have to try to make the folding top after all.  I see they also removed the front license plate bracket, which I am likely to do as well, as it looks a bit ungainly.

 

https://www.stlouiscarmuseum.com/vehicles/1139/1960-chevrolet-corvette

 

And here are all the resin parts after I washed them in some warm soapy water but before I removed a few extra tabs left from the molding process.  You can see a particularly large one on the body behind the driver side rear wheel.  Fortunately that area of the body will be covered by the rear bumper in case I do not get it perfectly smooth.

 

The two pieces lower right are jigs, one for making the convertible top and one for bending the aluminum wire that serves as trim on the body.  Otherwise it is mostly body and interior pieces as well as the engine block.   Note that while the doors are resin, the hood, trunk, and soft top cover are all metal.   I hope I am able to get an identical paint finish on the resin and metal.

 

[DocRob]

Nice choice of color, Gary.
When I built the Cobra Coupe, I primed the body parts with Mr. Surfacer 1500 and airbrushed Number 5 paint on top. I found the adherence of paint and primer not too good, it was easy to chip off paint during sanding and polishing, not to speak about final assembly.
With the Brabham BT45, I used the same combo, but slightly sanded the resin body parts before priming, much better.

Cheers Rob

Edited 15 hours ago by DocRob