Back in the 80's, every year we would go to the county fair. As a child, it was my first concert, to where I saw Conway Twitty. Spoke with him, shook his hand, it was awesome. We would go to the demo derbies and the highlight for me was the Joie Chitwood thrill show.
Every year was the same show, same stunts. But as a kid, it was magical. Disney on four wheels. I would take the previous years program with us and run into the infield before i got on any rides, played any of the games and get as many of the cast to sign as I could. The only signature I recall not getting was Tim Chitwoods. Wild Bill and Todd Seeley were always the first. They were amazing guys that I recall to such a young kid.
Anyways, as time went on and I got older, I would still go. Same show, same stunts. But now i understood the planning, the precision required to do these stunts. Especially the two wheel driving Joie did around the entire track.
In my early teens, long before the internet and home computers were the norm, I got into modeling. Mainly at the time was NASCAR, but there were a few other kits in there. After attending a show one year, i looked all over for a Chitwood model, but never found one. Come to find out though, ERTL did make one in the early 90's, but I never saw it until recently. And by that time, I was getting ready for the military and college. So modeling took a back seat.
Flash forward to now. I still want a kit. So I began my searching and found the old ERTL kit, but it is a bit too much for my liking. I have found all of the old toys that were produced. But nothing struck me, so I started looking to recreate the graphics.
I was lucky enough when I took a chance to contact the owners of the Joie Chitwood Collectibles site. I emailed them about graphics and Joie Jr. emailed me back. Mind Blown! He put me in touch with a few people who had graphics and they were kind enough to email them to me.
All of the logos were faded. They were originally created on the clear vinyl peel and stick sticker backs. I ordered a set of the ERTL logos off Ebay. Those too were faded. I scanned them in at 1200 dpi and used Photoshop to recreate new decals. I used the clear waterslide decal paper from Hobby Lobby. Test printing and all, i've used most of the sheets in the pack. All in all, I learned a few things with this paper. Using an inkjet printer, if I printed twice, the colors would have been a bit more vivid. Also, the Tamiya clear coat isn't great at sealing the ink to the paper. Overall, I am happy with how they turned out.
I used the Tamiya white flat primer and the remainder of the white pearl that was used on the '71 Cuda. Few layers of clear and it's ready to start adding the decals. Note to self: the Micro Set/Sol eats through the generic waterslide decals. Especially if not well sealed and too much SOL is used.
After a few hours of applying decals, the car was complete and I had built what was a childhood dream.
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| 2013 Chitwood Reunion - Reference Photo |
All in all, I like the kit as much as I hate it. Things fit together great. Think it has something to do with the "snap tite" features. The wheels went on great, no hassle. I do wish all bucket seats were designed like this though. There were plenty of decals for customization, but I only used a few factory ones. The engine bay on the other hand was a nightmare. Everything was pre-molded. Thought I was able to get some detail, just wish there was the option to build it. Though this is listed as a Level 4, i would rate this as a 2. Maybe a 3 with the decal work.
I would like to build the 90's Camaro. I have the original Chitwood decals, but they will require more work in Photoshop that these ones. I am pleased with the build. I still need to add the mirrors and a few more factory decals, but I need a break.
