Dr. Cranky Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Wow, the details on this beauty are spectacular. Love the dashboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) Thank you all for hanging in there through the dry spells. I don't know about you guys, but when my next step involves something I don't do well, haven't done before, or just don't have a method, I tend to put it off, or over think it. With the textured surface of the dash, I wasn't sure how to apply the decals. The final method was to super glue the aluminum bezel to the foil. Then the center of the bezel was flooded with epoxy to provide a flat surface to apply the decal. Once the decal was laid down and dry, another layer of epoxy was added to serve as the outer glass bezel. The epoxy was a tad thick to flow out level, but it came close, so the end result work out ok. I can see in the pictures that the gauge on the right side ended up a bit low. Justin, using a bead is on the short list for the shift knob. It shouldn't be a big deal to fill in the hole. I don't have any small beads in white, so I"d have to paint it as well. I turned the end of a small styrene rod into a ball, but it looks a hair too small. Bill, your input is always valued, especially when I"m trying to make something out of aluminum. You're the master when it comes to metal work. John, excluding the valve covers, everything on the top end of the engine is scratch built. The linkage is a combination of aluminum, copper and brass. The throttle shaft that runs through all the injector bodies is just copper wire. The throttle arm on that shaft (one on each side) is made from aluminum sheet, folded over on the bottom for added thickness. The cross links are brass wire and the center link is a "T" made by soldering a brass pin to the center of the throttle arm. Both ends of the arm are drilled to accept the brass links and the pin in the middle slides into the throttle block to provide a pivot point. The ends of the fuel lines going to each injector are small slices of aluminum tube. The ends of the braided line are crimp tubes from s craft store. Thanks for the votes on the color. This will be my first shot at using nail polish. It sure looks cool in the bottle. Edited March 4, 2012 by Alyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sak Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Cannot wait to see this one complete. Very badass ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv1963 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Your catalina looks awsome nice interior and very impresive engine details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Here's the final deal on the shifter.I chucked up (better than upchucked) a small section of round Plastruct styrene rod in my Dremel and carved the end into a ball with a jewelers file. Then 400 was used to clean up the shape to as round a profile as I could get. 1500 grit was used for final sanding, followed by some white Testors enamel. I let the enamel cure for a couple of days before moving on to the next step. The shift pattern was made using Woodland Scenics dry transfer letters with the excess trimmed off with a hand held Xacto blade. The last step was to seal the ball with a couple of dips in some Future clear. The boot consists of several layers of flat styrene in progressively smaller sized. The metal bezel is .005" aluminum. The lengthe of the shifter from the top of the boot to the center of the ball is 5/8" or a little over a foot in scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roncla Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 This is a very impressive build. Can't wait to see it finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kekefe Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Excellent!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagedragfan Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 awe man, gotta be happy with that Alyn!! its perfect!! SWEET!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) Bringing this one back up to bat. This kit come with the stock grille and a custom tube grille. To set mine apart, I decided to build a bullet (drawer knob) style grille. An insert was cut and shaped to fit into the back shell that was intended for the tube grille. The bullets will be made from straight pins. Here's what a bunch of pin heads look like. Depending on where you work or live, you may already know what a room full of pin heads looks like. I drilled some .020" holes in the insert that will align all the pin heads. Here's the first panel with the pins in place. and the other panel. Of course it's very important to be careful with the spacing and straightness of the holes. The tough part was getting them to look right at each end where the bullets meet up with the headlight bezel and the nose in the center. I thought about gluing the pins in first, and then cutting them to length, but didn't have a tool that would cut close enough to the plastic. There isn't enough room in the back shell to mount the plastic panel if a bunch of pin stubs are protruding out the backside. Here's the mock up with both left and right panels completed. The back shell will also be painted black with the nose in the center painted body color. I may also add a horizontal chrome strip above and below the bullets. That's where I'm at this afternoon. Edited July 21, 2012 by Alyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S. Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 That looks like it was a lot of work, but the results speak for themselves. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.A.K Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Im loving this car. The motor,grill,dash, the whole thing. WOW this is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 WOW! Alyn, you continuously blow my mind with details like this, that is just incredible!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Wow! That is a lot of work! Looks like it's well worth it. David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stray kat kustoms Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Wow man this is really lookin good. The bullet style grill looks great, thanks for showing us all how you went about doing it. I personally can't wait to se this one finished..........."Kook" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thanks for your interest and compliments, guys.It does take a bit of time to cut all them pins and drill all the holes, not to mention half of them didn't want to fit and had to be lost on the floor twice before they'd give up. Sorry about your mind, Mike. We're gonna have to put down our pet raccoon, so if you need a new brain, I may be able to fix ya up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Laski Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Great work, Alyn! I'm learning a lot from you here. Seeing your builds at the GSL last year, and seeing the WIPS you've got going, you can certainly call me a fan! Thanks for sharing. -Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albie D Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Simply awesome. That dash and grill do it for me. Great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 thanks to you both for the compliments. Art, I'm still trying to figure out that GSL thing. I don't think they liked my habit of building cars wilth illegal exhaust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Sorry about your mind, Mike. We're gonna have to put down our pet raccoon, so if you need a new brain, I may be able to fix ya up. Sounds great Alyn, I'll finally wash things before I eat them now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 LOL ! touche' Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbigpaw Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) Very nice work. Keep it coming. Love the grille tip too. Gotta use that. Edited July 26, 2012 by jcbigpaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Teresi Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Alyn.......VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE WORK!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Man, this is a great build, and the eye candy is amazing. Keep up the great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagedragfan Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 awesome work as usual Alyn! that is really going to set off the front of the ol Catalina! guess I'm not the only one that drops the parts you just made to never be seen again! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JunkPile Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 There's a post somewhere around here detailing how to keep track of those super small parts, and how to find them in the carpet if they do fly away. If I remember right it involved panty hose and an apron. Oh My! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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