Two months since the last update, sorry guys for this, no excuse! All is well, needless to mention then, this car is quite a bit further on now. I'll sum up a few things of interest; Here the fuel pump, Then the grill shell, pinned so it stays where it should, The fuel tank is often a visual center point on fuel altereds, this car has a big one.... Front cover bolts and motor plate and clutch can... Let's get some exhaust pipes for this 392, with flared tips. These were not easy to get aligned, so I fastened them and taped off the block for painting them with Alclad. Enough for now, next up is the body....but that's a longer deal. Mike..
Thank you Mike ....I needed that...your doing well, good to here , the car is coming along great....of course it is. All is good.
finally talked wife into photographing some of my many models hope they turn out OK this is a trail run
UPDATE: All sub-assemblies are completed, so it's time for the body. Oh boy! I like using 0.25 mm brass sheet. Not too thick, bendable yet sturdy enough to span voids. I made the tub body extra strong knowing that I'd have to do here and there some serious adapting....forcing the stuff to make the bends! If annealed, then it really bends, but will also dent easily. I annealed the sides up at the cowl, things got wicked there, so had to make sure the stuff does as it's told. First off the right side panel, OK. At the rear, another annealing was needed. Also, had to add some height to the panels on both sides back there at the bend. Marked are two areas that will need attention, some fill and sanding later on. Happy though, so far OK. On to the right side, same procedure. Better watch out though, it wants to crease up at the cowl sides...You can see where some height was added, more up-swept now. I like it. I was able to smooth out the "almost crease", the same areas as the other side will need body work. I like it though, am satisfied. A brace was added for more cross support at the rear, the upcoming firewall will make the front very sturdy and rigid. Firewall and motor plate. Spacing is good between plate and firewall, like the real car. Now things get real tricky. The short little cowl is full of nasty areas! The firewall is bowed and this leads to a concave area running up to the windshield. This 2nd area also has a bow to it, so multiple radii here. I decided to make my life easier by making the cowl plate in two pieces! Sitting nicely now. I'm real happy with it so far. The extra bracing for the tub paid off, now on to the rear deck. Later... Mike..
Just have to ask Mike...how much time is invested in the making of that body? A person really has to love there hobby to do the caliber of workmanship that shows true craftsmanship , each having the same meaning, together is pure art....... And Mike you must love the hell out of what you do ....because it is pure art. And thank you for sharing it with us ... Hell I would of had nothing but a pile of crumpled up balls of brass each time it didn't cooperate. Thanks Terry (aka Rudestude)
Hi Terry, well first off, thin cardboard templates were cut to size, cereal box variety. Then the sized up strips of brass cut off the larger sheet. The actual placing of the panels, maybe 2 hrs. per side, with soldering them on and shaping up the perimeter. I don't rush anything, just want to do it once. I was kind of surprised this body deal went so well. Experience with more simple FED bodies helped a lot, wouldn't have wanted to do this body without having any experience, nor would I suggest it. To be honest, don't want to do it again that soon either. The next project is already planned, the chassis is drawn up and new brass just arrived today. This time, using a 3d printed, resin body. The PACERS has been exactly 5 months in the making, the car is finished, just waiting for decals. Projects more in the 3 month range are a preference. I ain't showing it yet, either! lol. I sure appreciate your and others' interest! Mike..
@Mike-model, You sir, are the master. Just beautiful work. I'm curious about the scale of your brass dragster... Cheers, David
Thanks David, appreciated. Which brass dragster do you mean? Some are 1:25, the later ones are 1:16, only building 1:16 for the future. Mike..
Further with the body....The trunk. First the side panels, Two placed together to make sure they match... Right side, tape works great to hold things. Used thick brass sheet for cross bracing, again this needed to be sturdy. The deck top will need lots of pressure to adapt it to the sides. Also, you can see a thick tube was soldered on to top of each side running along the length. The round tube helps define the roundness of the edge, sides to top. Done. The back area of the deck top was annealed to make the bend downward. soldered up and smoothed out here; Rollbar cutouts prepped so the trunk fits right up against the rollbar. Here the unique chute pack molding; The door lines caused me headaches, trying to find the best way to make them. Half-round brass strips would've been great, just they don't exist. Then there's the problem of getting them on there. I didn't want to have to sand too much between the strips, on the doors, hard to get at properly. So, thin brass strips were cut, soldered laid down on one side and on they went. Luckily not much had to be smoothed out. Here the door molding; ...and trim lines on the trunk; Now some filling and sanding, more of the same, till it's right. Getting the chute pack molding flush with the deck and body was a bear. Tiny areas to sand smooth, finally got it. The car has a Tonneau cover. But first a support was soldered on to keep my thumbs from pressing dents into the cover. First off the rough, 1st covering; Now the good one, soldered on all the way around. Later on, real Naugahyde will cover this; Last thing now, the lower body moldings. I chose not to attach to the body, rather attach them to the chassis. They push on and off nicely, each side has two rods soldered on that slide into thicker tubes on the chassis. They sit nice and firm and don't move. At this stage I could already see an end here. Full mockups showed everything sits right, no surprises lurking anywhere. More sanding, finally with 1500 grit, then primer. It was exciting not to see the brass anymore. The House of Kolors paint I was sure would be fun, rarely does anything unexpected happen with HofK, I'm really nuts about the products. Ivory colored primer, white base, with white pearl enhancer. Next up is the buildup, chassis, interior and that crazy front suspension. Mike..
This is the kind of momentum this thread needs to get the ball rolling......... I need to start building something.... Problem is, I have a bunch of kits and I don't know what to start off with.....
Mike, I meant to ask what the scale is our your current brass dragster build. Looks like it's 1:16th? I understand why you've gone bigger. Maybe the 1:12 bug will bite you in the future, or even 1:8. Your fine work in brass helps keep me motivated to build the very best I can in styrene.
Still moving forward on the no top drag nova project. After deciding what body to go with , each one having different issues , actually parts from both I now have one . Now I have been collecting parts, trial fitting parts , cleaning old glue bombed parts, going through all these parts reminds me of the days digging through the piles at the wrecking yards to find hot rod parts. Dug out a engine to go with then started looking through my engine parts , then had to decide do I want fuel injection or super charged? Then there's the header section, roll bar section....then do I want a windshield....found a chopped down frame less type, it was in bad shape ,but I managed to clean it up and after looking at it mocked up on the body I think Im going to use it. I will get back to it ...its about build time now.
...dragster....sorry, I thought you meant a recent rail job. This fuel altered car is 1:16. Larger scale is out of the question, my opinion, 1:16 has a perfect balance, not too large but a lot different than the usual and tiny 1:25. Detailing and realism is easier in 1:16, to me, that's what it's all about. I feel they can make 95% replicas. I do love front engined dragsters from mid to late 60s!! Here one from earlier this year, full brass body and chassis.... Thanks for your interest. Mike..
Well quick thats what I just did.....sanded a little off the bottom of the corners and sides allowing the center to drop, the bad stuff is below the cowl panel and out of sight now. It will probably have a narrow strip on the bottom edge simulating a rivet strip for mounting of the plexi-sheild and I have seen some with support rods going from the top edge down to the dash also. ok
A pre-dawn session yielded some progress this morning. Since my last update, the hood & cowl framework has been completed. This morning I got the cowl framework wrapped in it's styrene skin. Next up will be the louvered hood sides and one piece hood top. Unless I decide to do the remaining framework to rough in the rear of the tub, that is... No doors on my modified roadster, just contiguous step-over side panels. Happy Sunday Modeling! David
While everyone else here is building amazing show quality models here, Here's a little more ruined on my junk.
@mchook, Thanks for the compliment. I'm basically building my roadster body much like the balsa airplane kits we all built as kids. My framework is now styrene rather than balsa, and the skin is very thin styrene sheet rather than doped tissue paper. But never the less, its basically the same idea. I've tried brass modeling with only very limited success. IMO it is truly the black art of model building. Mike's skill is on another plateau than mine, but I'm happy to be mentioned in the same sentence. I'll also say that your weathered finish techniques are nothing short of amazing mchook. Maybe you can give us a how to guide. Cheers, David
I could get tetanus from just looking at that rusty steel. You've really gotten the worn paint and corrosion techniques just right!
Here's my made-up idea of the first exhibition wheelstander. See the build thread here: https://trakinscale.proboards.com/thread/19422/34-ford-pu-wheelstander?page=1 .
@Moonglow, beautiful work on the cool roadster! That era car makes for wonderful scratch built models, this is for sure a great representative. Excellent. Mike..
Moonglow that is a very cool project you have ...I like the under slung chassis. I have a large scale single seater speedster project , started it a few years back just using parts that I have had laying around.....its been just collecting "Patina" for awhile now.
PACERS....body is finished and in the paint shop. Chassis has gotten glossy black, so lets build a race car! The real car has lots of chrome, lots of it. I hope my chrome painting attempts come out acceptable. This time around, I used H of K glossy black base, then Intercoat Clear, after setting, H of K Show Clear, a 2K Urethane top coat was applied. The Alclad Chrome and shiny aluminum paints need a super glossy black base. For sure here is only that the black is now durable. The chassis and interior; Front suspension. Never built one like this, actually, never even seen one before. Took a while, but got it right eventually; The motor buildup. The injection, idler pulley and fuel pump are "Airframe Aluminum", not chrome. Fuel tank is chrome, I like a contrast; Okay. Paint shop just called....this car has paint! Let it dry. Soon....! Mike..
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