The 1982 Camaro was a breath of fresh air after nearly 12 years of the previous design. It seemed as if the second-gen Camaro had been on sale forever - but the changing circumstances of the 1970s had that effect on many cars, not just the Camaro, and some vehicles of that era lasted far longer.

But in one fell swoop, the Camaro and its sister the Firebird were brought into the 1980s with sharp, clean, wedge-shaped styling and all new mechanicals. The only bits kept from the previous cars were the engines, but even there some change happened.

While the previous Camaro and Firebird had been designed in the era of big blocks and quarter miles, the third-gen F-bodies were a product of the second Opec crisis and the 1980-1981 recession. They were almost a foot shorter and 300+ lbs. lighter than the outgoing cars, and were given a range of smaller engines beneath the traditional V8.

These started with the 2.5 liter "iron Duke" four - which was rough as a cob but GM didn't seem to mind - and ranged through Chevrolet's new 2.8 liter V6, up to the 305 V8. In those emissions and fuel-mileage conscious days, the 305 small block was good for just 150 hp in stock form at first. It wasn't until 1987 that the 350 V8 returned.

In the meantime, those smaller engines created a cheaper way to get into a Camaro and live with one - and despite their relative rarity today, four-cylinder and V6 Camaros were common in the 1980s and were favorites, along with the Fox body Mustang, among well-to-do high schoolers everywhere. They were nothing to write home about performance wise, but they looked great.

Racier versions of the Camaro got lots of body cladding in the era of ground effects and spoilers, but these cars always looked best in their early, clean form. Unadorned and elegant, the earliest low-spec cars looked extremely clean and modern.

They had some flaws, however, and not just the rough-and-tumble nature of the Iron Duke, which for all it's trouble could deliver only 22 mpg in the Camaro, where it was simply overmatched by weight. The backbuster seats, rock hard ride, and lack of space were hard to live with if you were shopping for a cool-looking but frugal car, unlike the more comfortable Gen-II cars, which were less frugal but more plush.

You would hardly know they existed today, because few of the non-V8 Camaros survived - young drivers don't take care of their cars and not being true performers, many were parted out or built into V8s when their usefulness as basic transportation was done.

©2016 A. Kwanten.

The Neomorph - Alien: Covenant - 1:18 scale. Again, the head sculpt comes first. I plan on doing several versions of the head sculpt, including versions that originate from Prometheus concept work. Again, articulation will be important with this aggressive beast. I will be concentration on sculpting the adult version of the Neomorph - at this time I have no interest in doing a "baby" version of the monster unless I happen to sculpt a "backbuster" down the road.

The Neomorph - Alien: Covenant - 1:18 scale. Again, the head sculpt comes first. I plan on doing several versions of the head sculpt, including versions that originate from Prometheus concept work. Again, articulation will be important with this aggressive beast. I will be concentration on sculpting the adult version of the Neomorph - at this time I have no interest in doing a "baby" version of the monster unless I happen to sculpt a "backbuster" down the road.

Sculpt update on the Neomorph - Alien: Covenant. 1:18 scale - work in progress. Sculpting with Aves FIXIT sculpt by Aves Studio LLC.

I have a couple head variants I would like to complete with this figure but first I want to begin work on the upper torso. You'll notice (if you've been keeping up to date with this piece) I removed the neck from the head sculpt and added it to the upper torso. The head (on a ball joint) has better range of motion this way.

Tons of detail added to the upper torso, some of which will be softened over the course of the build. Hoping to have this section complete this week and move on to the lower abdomen.

More to come! #alien #covenant #backbuster #throatbuster #neomorph #avesstudio #miniature #sculpting #FIXIT