54mm Machinas: '59 Impala

My first earnest car for using in large-scale games of machinas, this is a 1959 Chevy Impala (next to its Hot Wheel counterpart.) The large car is 1/32 scale, and the smaller car is 1/64. I say "earnest" because my pickup truck is a tiny bit smaller than 1/32 scale and looks a bit small against the cars. That's OK, because the original intent of the pickup was to be a nice piece of terrain anyway.

The Impala was a fun build, especially the nice, large 20mm gun. The gun was made using bass wood for the receiver, brass tubing for the barrel, and plastic tubing for the cooling jacket and muzzle. I added the bipod to stabilize the build and give it a little extra strength in case the car was accidentally dropped.

I left the hood off the larger car to show off the engine. I would have done the same for the smaller car, but the body on it is a one-piece casting. On one of the future cars, I might try my hand at a custom-made blower to give the engine a meaner look.

The only other major changes I made on the larger vehicle were to the paint job (I rusted the passenger-side door a good amount), and the addition of an extra panel(line) on the roof. I achieved this by laying down a small strip of green stuff, blending the edges into the roof, and then drawing/etching in the panel line and rivet holes.