"OK, show me..." Christine (1/25 Plymouth Fury) and Darnell's Garage Diorama

[Antsnest]

AMT did a 1/25th Belvedere, (which was also used in the film as the Fury) which they later repackaged in a "Christine" box, but was the same kit inside.
Freaky avatar!

 

[Frantikgirl]

Fantastic work. Always nice to see Christine projects.

I've always wanted to do the "attack" version with the gouged/torn hood which makes the jagged metal look like a fanged mouth.

So, which model kits are there of the 58 Fury? I remember thinking of a Christine project many years ago and there weren't any mass produced kits.

I just used this one. I thought it had good detail, although I did have to modify some parts.

Amazon.com: AMT Christine 1958 Plymouth Belvedere (Red) 1:25 Scale Model Kit: Everything Else

Amazon.com: AMT Christine 1958 Plymouth Belvedere (Red) 1:25 Scale Model Kit: Everything Else

www.amazon.com

 

[MAKE BELIEVE]

Fantastic work. Always nice to see Christine projects.

I've always wanted to do the "attack" version with the gouged/torn hood which makes the jagged metal look like a fanged mouth.

So, which model kits are there of the 58 Fury? I remember thinking of a Christine project many years ago and there weren't any mass produced kits.

Guess that AMT is the most common (some models have the rear wheels half covered...)

 

[Belugawrx]

I really like the work you've done on Christine!
I'm wondering if you could show how you ran the lighting..on battery?..switched?..
I've wanted to start wiring lights to my models.
Thanx

 

[Frantikgirl]

I really like the work you've done on Christine!
I'm wondering if you could show how you ran the lighting..on battery?..switched?..
I've wanted to start wiring lights to my models.
Thanx

I should have documented the build better, but unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the wiring set up.

All the lighting comes from individual 3v LEDs, run in parallel to a single DC adaptor that runs to the wall power. The adaptor is great, because it can be adjusted to only output the correct volts, so no resistors needed.

This is my first time lighting anything, so someone who knows crap from shinola would probably look at what I did and have a stroke. But hey, it works.

There are 8 LEDs in the car: one for each headlight, one for the glowing grille, one behind the dash to make the speedometer and radio glow, and one for each tail light. The wires fit between the body and the interior walls pretty easily. Everything met and got wired together in the empty trunk space, then I drilled a hole in the gas tank next to the rear tire so I could run the power lines out of the car and down through the floor of the diorama.

 

[DonS]

You this killed this, everything from the details to the lighting and paint work. Top notch, thanks for sharing!

 

[Shorsnose]

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After finishing my Mad Max War Rig last year. I wanted to develop some different modeling skills: glossy paint instead of matte, clean instead of dirty, a detailed diorama, and most importantly, lights. I'd never done lights before. So, I decided to try another car. I'm a big Stephen King fan, and there was really only one car that had everything I wanted. My old girl Christine.

One big plus to kit-bashing your own War Rig, is that you end up with tons of random unused model car parts just sitting in boxes waiting for a purpose (not to mention decal sheets, tires, etc). Perfect for building a junkyard garage like Darnell's from the movie.

One thing I wanted was to recreate the mood from the '83 John Carpenter movie poster. View attachment 1450881

The ghostly glow from the grill never appears in the movie, but I love the look, so I had to cut lots of little slots in the solid plastic grill of the model, in order to get the glow effect.

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I have a lot to learn about making flawless gloss paint. It's far from perfect, but I can live with it as a learning experience.

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I also wanted evidence of Christine's crimes to be visible. So there's bloody tire tracks leading up to the garage stall.

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The garage has lights behind the huge windows, but most of the Creepshow-style lighting comes from Christine herself. Green from the interior dashboard lights, red from the taillights. and blue from under the hood.

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I'm really pleased with how the garage came out. Lots of small details and cruddy rust, as a contrast to clean Christine.

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And finally, I didn't want to have to dust the diorama every other day to keep it looking nice, so I decided to build it a clear acrylic case (also something I've never tried.

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And that's that. I love how it all came out.

I'm scared.