Dirty Dancing 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

       

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Original Kit:
'57 Chevy Bel Air
Made By:
Revell (kit #85-1931)
Scale:
1/25
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Dirty Dancing 1957 Chevy
Dirty Dancing 1957 Chevy interior Dirty Dancing 1957 Chevy chassis Dirty Dancing 1957 Chevy rear

 
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I've not had much luck with '57 Chevy models. Like most kids, I built one of AMT's kits way back when and while most of it was OK for the time I got impatient partway through the build and decided that brush painting huge sections of the body would be just as good as masking and spraying (it wasn't). Later on I acquired a Revell ProFinish kit in turquoise and white to go with my KITT, but only got as far as checking the parts before getting distracted and halfheartedly packing it back up. Most recently I started a build of the 4-door car from Hidden Figures, but ran into so many issues with the body that the project was put on indefinite hold. So when I decided to build Patrick Swayze's '57 from Dirty Dancing, I had to make a deal with myself: I promised that I wouldn't get distracted or attempt shortcuts, and to help me stay the course I'd build it as close to box stock as possible, focusing on basic modeling techniques.

I started with the chassis, which was the only part of the build that wasn't straight out of the box. The kit came with a set of oversized five-slot wheels, while the movie car had stock steelies with hubcaps and whitewalls. I hit up eBay for a set of wheels from AMT's '57, which thanks to that kit's old school metal axles could fit this kit with no modifications. They were painted gloss black, with acrylic flat white for the tires. The chassis itself was basecoated with red oxide primer, then detail painted and weathered to look like a well-maintained six-year-old daily driver. Apple Barrel paints, Tamiya Weathering Effects, chalks, charcoal, and graphite were all used to add some depth to the one-piece but beautifully detailed pan.

Inside, the door panels and seats were left in their cast white color with satin black used for the accent panels. Bare Metal Foil and Molotow Liquid Chrome was used to detail the door panels. The dashboard was painted gloss black, with silver, liquid chrome, and flat black for the details. Flat Black was also used for the carpet and back dash to give it a little variety.

The body needed a fair bit of cleanup with the mold separation lines, especially across the top corners of the hood and trunk. These were made all the more difficult thanks to how close they were to the molded-in "Chevrolet" scripts, and a great deal of care is needed to clean up the panels without damaging the scripts. Once prepped, the body was shot with Tamiya TS-14 Black and TS-13 Clear. The extensive chrome trim was mostly done with BMF, though the door handles and locks were done with Molotow and the scripts, Vs, and fender gills were painted gold. The grille was washed with Tamiya Black panel liner, with satin and flat black used for the shield and dagmars, respectively. I tried something different for the parking lights: by swirling Vallejo Oily Steel and flat white, then topping the whole thing with a dot of clear nail polish, I was able to coax a decent amount of depth from the flat chrome parts. Lastly, like most '57 kits, there was an ugly seam right up each side of the bumper. To fix these, I sanded the seams out, polished the plastic until it was nice and smooth, then replaced the chrome with some strategically placed strips of foil polished to a bright shine. At the other end, the taillights were painted Stop Light Red, and the exhausts were touched with a little satin black. The final detail was a screen-accurate license plate, and the finished car was given a light weathering.

Overall I was very happy with the quality of the kit. Revell did a nice job maximizing the detail despite the low parts count, and with just a little work it can really come alive. I do wish it had sideview mirrors - they may be something I go back and add later - but other than that I have no real complaints and would definitely try another one of these in the future.

 

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