1957 Bowes Seal Fast Special Build Photos

[bobbyc]

Here are photos of the 1957 Bowes Seal Fast Special that I just finished on Friday. I used the Lance Sellers Sumar kit and modified the kit exhaust header after I switched the intake and exhaust positions. I used the Indycal decal set for the '57 Bowes Seal Fast. I used Testors Classic White and Gloss Black enamels with Tamiya acrylic clearcoat over that before I put the decals on. I also used Alclad aluminum for the suspension components and Alclad chrome for the grille parts, the arm guard, and the scratchbuilt steering arm, and Alclad Pale Gold for the wheels. I sprayed the interior Testors Flat Insignia Red and rubbed by fingers over the painted area to give the seat a semi-gloss patina as real vinyl or leather would have. I scratchbuilt the instrument panel also, as I didn't like the kit part. I had some .8mm stainless steel rivet heads which I bought for my ship models and I used them for the windscreen and seat snaps. Overall it was a fun build. I hope Lance reissues some more of his resin indy cars from this era as they were always my favorite race cars. I hope you all like it. Thanks.

[kip]

You nailed this one. Very, very nice build. How did you like working with Alclad. Any tips?

I hope Lance reissues some more of his resin indy cars from this era as they were always my favorite race cars.

I agree, in the late 50's early 60s the cars were beautiful. Dangerous, but beautiful. My favorite era at Indy.

kip

[IndyCarModels]

Very Nice!!!

[clm1545]

Looks great, Bob. Another winner. Where did you get the rivet heads, they look like the real thing.
Craig

[bobbyc]

Thanks for the compliments! The rivet heads are .8mm discs that were made by Lions Roar from China for model ship building, but they no longer distribute them. I countersunk the cast rivet heads and used the stainless steel discs. Kip- I like using Alclad finishes as they look authentic, are easy to use, and take handling very well. Their aluminum looks like metal, not a silver metallic. Plus- they have several shades of aluminum, so you can make an engine look a lot more realistic by using the different shades. The polished aluminum and chrome are sprayed over a gloss black basecoat.

[indy]

Very unique and a great job. Can't say I have seen this one built before.

Jordan

[Deleted]

Sweet model, and someone else using model ship parts on an Indycar!! Love it!!

[billgtp]

very nice. Looks great

[Calvin]

Absolutely beautiful!

Plus it's a Freddie Agabashian car which is always worth extra points in my book!

[jamesharvey]

What a beautiful job!!! Your attention to detail and finish is remarkable. Thanks for sharing all the info about how you made this so unique. I appreciated your comment about how you get the leather look on the seats. I have found it works well.
Jim

[racerbrown]

that's gorgeous mr. c.!
thanks for sharing.
duane

[raceparke]

V nice indeed. I agree about cars from that era.

[alterrenner]

I'm intrigued by the Tamiya clear acrylic comment!
Is this stuff available is a spray can?
My home-town hobby shop only carries military colors by Testors, and the nearest hobby shop (over an hour away) has a mostly-empty rack of Tamiya paints, and other than pearl, no clear. There are two Hobby Lobbys (Hobby Lobbies?), with empty racks where their Testors clear lacquer should be.
My next trip to the big city may have me looking for this clear acrylic!

And by the way, that's a great looking build! Great details!
--Frank

[gwstexas]

Wow! Spectacular work!
Gary

[sandysixtysfan]

Beautiful work! Great looking car.

Sandy

[bobbyc]

Thanks for the nice comments! Frank: I do believe that the Tamiya gloss clear is available in spray cans, although I airbrused this car.

[Art Laski]

Really nice work, Bob! Glad to see some of your stuff. Top notch!

Art

[1961redlegs]

This is an absolutely beautiful build, you nailed it. Thank you for sharing!