ER0L

MOC: 1964 Chevrolet Impala (7w)

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[Edit, 16 February 2013]

Another version: Impala Lowrider (the yellow one), see this post.

lr19.jpg

[Edit, 03 February 2013]

Picture of the finished MOC, see this post, too:

8441538430_6c3e7b7527_z.jpg

[/Edit]

8422714315_c0b7519b83_z.jpg

Hi all,

another huge American car, still a WIP though. But it might be interesting to see how this will turn out. Don't care about the inappropriate fig, it's just a test driver. The car will be given to a more glamourous fig for sure ...

As you might know my idea is that a Lego car should fit 2 figs side by side, so I prefer the 7w building style (although you can do that with a 6w car, too, if it has the thin doors). The car has nearly the same frame as the Cadillac Fleetwood (see http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=78281), but due to the smaller wheels it is possible to have suspension now. There's enough room within the frame for the wheels to move up and down (at the front more than at the back, to be honest).

Furthermore the bracket-and-tile building style allows to set down the windscreen to get a nicer silhouette (same with the Caddy). At least in the 6 and 7-wide department there's often a problem to find the proper windscreen. You may use slopes instead, but then the figs can't see where they are going ... :wink: Here they can look out properly.

Rims are custom chrome, of course. I try to avoid it where I can (the Caddy doesn't have any), but here it's important.

C&C welcome as usual, more to come ... Thanks for looking.

Edited by ER0L

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Hi ER0L,

this car is a real beauty. I like the overall design very much - the length, the width. It all matches perfectly. With this uneven number of studs it's much "easier to get a nice shape in hoods, lids or roofs. No, 5wide is definitely NO deal for me... :wink:

Great cruzer...

Keep bricking!

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AWESOME ride there 'ER0L'....I :wub: the design and those chrome wheels ! :grin:

Brick On Drive On 'ER0L ' ! :grin:

Many thanks LT, always appreciated!

Hi ER0L,

this car is a real beauty. I like the overall design very much - the length, the width. It all matches perfectly. With this uneven number of studs it's much "easier to get a nice shape in hoods, lids or roofs. No, 5wide is definitely NO deal for me... :wink:

Great cruzer...

Keep bricking!

Thanks a lot Farnheim! Glad you like it, even if it's quite a different scale. It's not the width as such but what you make of it. And there I can still learn many things from you ...

It's really well done..! Smooth and yet iconic and studless.

Many thanks TenorPenny, glad you like it!

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I love 60s and 70s American cars, and this MOC does a great job of looking like the rolling behemoths they often were. I think, however, that the grille, lights and chrome at the front end might be perhaps a plate too far forwards. Also, though the Impala has 4 headlights, it also has a really wide grille. As the model is now, the lights take up too much space at the front, so perhaps you could make a grille out of 2 1x2 grille tiles and only make two headlights.

I love the half-pressed-down tiles that give the car its curves!

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I love 60s and 70s American cars, and this MOC does a great job of looking like the rolling behemoths they often were.

Thanks a lot jamesn!

I think, however, that the grille, lights and chrome at the front end might be perhaps a plate too far forwards. Also, though the Impala has 4 headlights, it also has a really wide grille. As the model is now, the lights take up too much space at the front, so perhaps you could make a grille out of 2 1x2 grille tiles and only make two headlights.

Very well observed! That's one of the reasons why it's still a WIP. You are right, the lights are already set back. But that's exactly the question: 4 headlights and narrow grille or 2 and a wide grille? :hmpf_bad: If I choose the wide grille, somebody might say "Well, the Impala has 4 headlights, you know ..." :wink: So I'm still struggling with that ...

I love the half-pressed-down tiles that give the car its curves!

Hopefully you don't think I am using half-pressed-down tiles on the outside of a car so that they may be pressed down accidentally ... :wink:

Anyway many thanks again for your thorough comment, this is what it should be like to be helpful.

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But that's exactly the question: 4 headlights and narrow grille or 2 and a wide grille? :hmpf_bad: If I choose the wide grille, somebody might say "Well, the Impala has 4 headlights, you know ..." :wink: So I'm still struggling with that ...

I'd go with the wide grille - I think the Impala gets its look more from having a wide grille than four headlights.

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Excellent job ER0L! The car looks great. I really dig your 7W vehicles. Keep it up :classic:

Thanks a lot LEGO Guy Bri, glad you like it!

I'd go with the wide grille - I think the Impala gets its look more from having a wide grille than four headlights.

Maybe a poll? :wink:

Okay, this is what might be a compromise. Maybe this hasn't been done before, at least I haven't seen it. Need some custom chrome binoculars, it seems ...

Of course, this kind of grille has a strong vertical structure, but you can't have everything ... At least it's considerably wider than with usual double headlights. (Now these are half-pressed-down plates and tiles. Here it is possible since they won't move even if you touch them.)

8429562270_053ba6c6dc_z.jpg

[Edit] A more refined solution:

8428642833_4ac295f0f1_z.jpg

[/Edit]

Edited by ER0L

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Wow, great. Very slick. Headlights are incredible. You did a fantastic job! :thumbup:

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Wow, great. Very slick. Headlights are incredible. You did a fantastic job! :thumbup:

Many thanks Solta! Glad you like it.

That's a really great solution to have both the grille and headlights! Well done, ER0L!

Thanks a lot jamesn! Your comment was quite an inspiration, as you can see :wink:

Thanks again all for commenting and viewing. It's only a car but it takes some time to get things right. More to come.

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Hi all,

here you can see the finished MOC:

8441173840_49ca089aab_z.jpg

The frame seems to be quite suitable. Due to the set down windscreen and some play within the structure you may even lower the roof for one plate at the rear, which improves the silhouette. The backend had to be reinforced due to the stress provoked by this, but it seems to work.

Many thanks for viewing!

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It looks even better in blue! The sloping hard top looks lovely, and I love the use of a single stud as a door handle.

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You are expanding from niche to niche here - and mastering them all. Very well done from a very skilled car builder. That use of the binoculars is incredibly clever!

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It looks even better in blue! The sloping hard top looks lovely, and I love the use of a single stud as a door handle.

Thanks jamesn, and thanks again for your inspirational hints!

the blue one is amazing. incredibly well scaled cars.

Thanks genecyst, glad you like them!

You are expanding from niche to niche here - and mastering them all. Very well done from a very skilled car builder. That use of the binoculars is incredibly clever!

Thanks a lot L@go! Nice to hear this from an inspirational builder and creator of iconic cars like you. I like that niche idea because that's what I try do to - developing platforms that allow to build any type of car. Or at least some of them, I'm not so much into the small car business, it seems :wink:.

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Beautiful....even more so now in blue and white......Brick On Drive On 'ER0L' ! :grin:

Thanks a lot LT. Well, there'll probably be at least one more Impala, built for a special purpose ... :wink:

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That is a great rendition EROL, excellent work.I especially like the look of the front grill and headlights. Amazing cars! :classic:

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That is a great rendition EROL, excellent work.I especially like the look of the front grill and headlights. Amazing cars! :classic:

Thanks a lot Midnight, glad you like them!

Many thanks all for commenting & viewing, there will probably be another version of the Impala, we'll see ... :wink:

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Hi all,

here is another version of the Impala, a lowrider. Well, no real lowrider, of course. But this setup shows the possibilities of the chassis quite nicely. Rear axle is lifted two levels to get more spring range and the typical bouncer look.

Rims and bumpers are custom chrome, of course.

lr11c.jpg

lr15.jpg

Here's a video, too:

http://www.flickr.co...er0l/8474716891

Wheels: I now opt for a combination of a standard town rim and two narrow tires http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=51011 as one wide base tire. I like it much better than the inside-out-tires I have used so far. I even changed it on the Corvette, see http://www.flickr.co...er0l/8466752569. The wheel is considerably smaller than the typical town wheel (Corvette has a ground clearance of 1 mm), but the overall look is much better in my opinion.

C&C welcome as usual, thanks for looking!

Edited by ER0L

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