For the 128, I start with the sedan version of the Fiesta body, since I know you can make it very boxy and upright from earlier attempts. It is said that Ford loked much into front wheel drive Fiats when developing the Fiesta, so maybe not that much of a surprise.
As usual, hood shutlines has to be adjusted and the tearing patched.
Two bumper bars facing each other became the hood bulge.
There is no grille fixture that resembles the 128 one, so there has to be some scratch building. But first I model the headlights to have something to go by when it comes to proportions. This vent becomes a headlight rim, then I put a 3D round headlight inside it (which I forgot to screenshot, but you get it)…
Did a frame with chrome trim, made a grille opening inside it with negatape, and then I used the grille patch to fill it up with a mesh.
So, voila, a base grille.
As usual, a 3D radiator behind the grille. Also, I put those vents (facing backwards and with the mesh replaced by black plastic) behind the headlights to fill that space up.
So, final results after some detailing.
The 128 indicators are rather simplistic. This fixture worked.
But still has exposed screws, so well, I can as well add them…
This box on wheels also has some side molding, that could be replicated somewhat with some wizardry…
Modern times. The 128 is the first winner to use more modern, flush mounted door handles.
There is also some molding at the lower part of the body.
…which ends in a piece of chrome trim covering the sill. Well, the 128 is a simplistic design but calling it a five fixture wonder is still a bit unfair I guess, so…stay tuned for more.
Not yet fully modern times. Vent windows were still a thing when the 128 was released.
And one of the most important styling cues on the 128 IMO is how the rain gutter frames the C-pillar rather than just the window frames…
There seems to be some recess under the front bumper that sort of follows the grille. I haven’t really found out exactly how it looks but eh. Added this for a little additional depth at least.
The bumper fixtures? You know them by now.
More details. The small, almost cute, side marker. Square chrome door mirrors seems to be somewhat accurate.
Then, there is an edge on the trunklid.
Which I used those three fixtures for. I can’t say much more than that you need to fiddle with it yourself, and probably accept some compromises. There are no easy solutions here for getting smooth transitions everywhere it feels like. (Prove me wrong, I would gladly take tips here)
Also, a barely visible edge below the taillights, that also was added.
Taillights are very close to the 124 (don’t know if they even are the same, but very similar in styling), so this fixture got some use again (details will be added later).
For the small reflectors under the taillights, I 3Ded this fixture in.
As I said, the greenhouse can make or break a replica. It is also the reason why cars built on the same body tend to look similar, since it is rarely given attention. In this case it was rather good, but the too large rear window was not very 128. It was a little puzzle with single axis cutout patches, and then just regular crome trim surrounding the glass. Some minutes of work and it still looks decent…
The iconic style of badging Fiat used back then was easily replicated with just chrome trim and the “RB Insanity” sticker fixture, yet it can look this good. Worth thinking about when making Automation cars I guess. Not everything has to be just boring, plain text, details like this can lift your own design too - if you come up with a good idea.
License plate light should not be forgotten…
Also, two hood vents that I almost forgot.
After all the small detailing etc. is done, it is time for the obligatory picture. Well, I have said that cars of the late 60s and early 70s are more or less “five fixture wonders”, though when seeing this picture of a simple, minimalist car of the era like the 128, it makes you think twice.
It is a bit more than just some “lights slapped on”
As I remember it, yellow was a quite common colour on the 128 so yellow it is.
Now, interior time I guess.
How does it compare to my old 128 replica BTW?
The interior of the 128 is as minimalist as the outside, I started out with the same dash base as in the 124.
The instrument housing was from the modern interior pack. I guess that just because something is called “modern” it does not mean it can’t be used on an older car.
Once again hard to find a steering wheel (there is a REAL lack of “boomerang” style 2 spoke 60s/70s wheels TBH) so I picked a somewhat close style…
With this fixture simulating the red background of the steering wheel emblem.
The 128 only has a speedometer and fuel gauge so well, tried to replicate that.
And a somewhat similar font existed for the steering wheel bading.
How are Single-axis cutouts different from normal cutouts? That’s something I still don’t understand
A single axis follows the bodyshape is one direction, but is flat in another. So, it is possible to place them so you smoothen out the body in one direction while it follows the curvature of the body in the other direction. Is my explanation clear enough?
Yes, all clear!
This seat fixture was close enough for me, and I actually used the “enthusiast leather” texture on it. Not to try to replicate leather seats in a Fiat 128 because that would only be silly, but it was the easiest way to get the pattern somewhat close. Damn leather not looking fake enough, though!
![:frowning: :frowning:](https://discourse.automationgame.com/images/emoji/twitter/frowning.png?v=12)
This fixture worked as an ash tray and the handle is a bumper bar.
Finding an old school steering column without a shifter attached to it is not always easy, but this worked reasonably well.
Now, the Fiat has some more stalks + a locking column too, oh well…
I wasn’t sure how to make the curved centre console until it struck me - wheel well fixtures must be useful. Well, yes they are.
And a bumper bar used as the parcel shelf under the dash
More wheel well fixtures for the edges.
Used a 3d cylinder inside the steering column to fill up the annoying gap a bit. The housings are never empty IRL anyway…
Well, you could use custom materials, if you find a fitting texture.
I try to avoid using them here.
IDK, to me it looks vinyl enough I can almost smell grandpa’s old 126p on a hot day
TBH all this work has made me see the 128 in a different light and really appreciate it. It is really a minimalist car that still couldn’t be called “spartan”, it has what you need and nothing more, everything is engineered and designed for function and nothing on the car is just there to be an useless gizmo. My view of it has changed from “meh, a box, whatever” to seeing how well designed the car actually is.
So good thing it feels like the durable, practical vinyl it is, then.
Or like my uncle says, “don’t backtalk the 128, it’s the best Fiat I have ever had!”
(Out of two, the second one was a Croma, 'nuff said I guess)
Well for me the Zastava 101 always steals the show, since it’s basically a 128, but in a more practical body (and IMO better looking) - but yeah, they both seem like really sensible 70s compacts.
We’ll see. Maybe my next series will be “Fiat derivates from all over the world” to see if you’re right. If I start next year I guess I will be finished with that by my 118th birthday or something.
Only a rubber mat in the simplistic 128, no carpeting. Unfortunately, it didn’t work well to make a flat floor like the 128 actually has. Gearstick and once again the offset pedals.
Some idiot lights was made with this fixture…
Painted sheetmetal in interiors was still a thing in 1970, so also here.
Those (Opel Kadett?) doorcards are fairly close to the actual Fiat ones.
Some detailing. This fixture worked as an ashtray even if not intended for that to start with…
Not perfect, but it is a 128 after all.
Now time for the Citroën GS, I think there is an actual mod body in that case though?
The interior seems like a nightmare however…
Now time for the GS, and this is one of the cases where the actual body exists, so not much tweaking there…
There is a rather accurate light shape among the modular headlight fixtures.
Other than that, not much to talk about up front - I think most of you can even identify the fixtures used here.
Some molding had to be added here though - seems to be there on the actual car but missing on the mod body.
Being air cooled, putting a radiator behind the GS grille felt wrong. On the other hand, it looks awkward to have the engine bay visible through it. I just put some black blocks there to hide it off, maybe not the most realistic, but sometimes you have to take shortcuts to make things not look awkward.
I negataped away some of the body behind the bumper for more depth - since it seems like the GS bumper sits slightly recessed into the body.
Yes. It is the same bumper fixture as always. A bit too rounded for the GS maybe, but it still works.
There are some small rub strips on the bumper that I added too.
This is a part where the mod body is rather wrong. The windshield curves way too much at the bottom. I think that I read that this body is actually a remodelling of the CX mod body to make it look more like a GS, and that may explain it. So, the panel between the windshield and hood is not only too narrow, it also curves too much. Though, just putting a straight seam there would not look good, so here the best thing was to just use some artistic freedom and make the actual panel wider, to be able to accomodate the air inlet.
The best compromise that is possible to get without tons of work, I guess. Luckily, this is an area where most people will rarely look.
Sides just needs minor detailing since, well, the GS is rather simple when it comes to ornamentation and the body does not need any reshaping at all more or less. One thing annoys me though - you can’t recolour the pillars without also recolouring the rubber trim around the windows. Hence, it is black or nothing…because a coloured rubber gasket would look terrible. Now, later GS models had black pillars, early ones didn’t, and I have always tried to keep to the model year that actually won “car of the year”. But this is a time where I have to ignore such a detail I guess.
There is no similar taillight fixture, so some scratch building is needed. First, there is a housing in the modular light mod that is pretty much right.
Centre dividers and bulbs in place.
Patchwork as lenses.
Since there seems to be a thicker piece of chrome trim at the bottom of the taillight, with two screws, this was added.
Sorry for an update so close to the previous one, but I could not sleep…
Chrome trim around the rear, rather straightforward job that probably does not need explanation.
Body molding fixtures used for the license plate recess.
Similar looks under the rear bumper as the front, so I negataped away the body here too.
Bumper in place.
The GS seems to have some small bumper horns in the back, so I recreated them too.
Also, there is a little recess around the trunk opening button.
For the first time in this series, an aerodynamic device is now used. The GS seems to have a small spoiler like thing under the rear window. Granted, Citroën were among the pioneers when it came to aerodynamics.
Also, a black area under the rear window featuring the badging.
License plate lights was also added.
Now, when a body looking “right” available, those pictures almost looks silly compared to the earlier ones.
GS to me is metallics in muted earthly tones, this gold-green-ish one is spot on IMO.
Well, maybe not the most interesting outside work since I hardly did anything, but I already sweat the inside…