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Studebaker Community Build...with a Meet & Greet in South Bend, IN?


Casey

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Here we go...

001-vi.jpg

First order of business was to cut away the top. Since this will be a two-seat roadster, there was a good foot and a half of space between the rear edge of the door and front of the rear wheel opening that I wouldn't need- so an approximate 18 scale inches was whacked out of that area.

002-vi.jpg

I used part of the AMT '53 Stude's chopped top option on the chopped windshield, and used the rest of it as a deck filler- this will be trimmed and shape as needed once seats, etc.. are decided upon.

003-vi.jpg

Here's everything roughed in- note that this will be a curbside model, with no full engine detail- the hood was glued into place and sanding/putty will be used to take care of the large gaps along the fenders.

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003-vi.jpg

That looks great, Chuck. Nicely shortened. Will there be a lift off hardtop for it?

I soldered the two main engine support brackets, the seat support crossbars, and the temporary front and rear axle tubes in place on the frame tonight...:

411613two.jpg

...then set the wheels and tire in place to check the ride height and tire-to-body clearance and everything looks good. Well, except for the driver who ended up sitting higher than I wanted:

41613one.jpg

I need to recline him a bit more so that only his goggles are above the body shell, and I may end up using a thinner seat, too, as the styrene seat is about as thin as it can get. I also need to come up with a transmission/gear reduction setup, then set the quick change rear's location. Since this car will have no suspension and a very limited steering range, the axles will both be solidly mounted to the chassis, keeping things very simple.

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I wasn't happy with the canopy I had, so I came home from Michael's with a new option, in the form of this Revell 1/48 P-51 kit.

This is what I really wanted from the start-- a canopy with a separate, flanged base which I could mount to the body shell. The bare canopy didn't look right sitting directly on the body, so I think this'll be a good solution:

canopyoptions.jpg

Much better, and I can more easily integrate the canopy and its base with the Avanti's hood and cowl bulge (yeah, I'm still holding onto that styling element):

canopytest1.jpg

I needed to figure out some type of chassis-to-body support, and while passing through the beading aisle at Michael's, I saw some copper pins which looked like they might work well for body support rods. The flat heads will touch the underside of the body in various places, while the opposite ends will be cut to length and soldered to the chassis. I have the body resting on the tops of the tires right now, so once all the body supports are in place, I will add a small round shim between the body and pin heads, which will both positively locate the pin heads and add a tiny bit of needed clearance between the tires and body. Here's a pic of the first pin in place:

bodysupport.jpg

The belly of the P-51 had what looked almost exactly like a late '80s aero-style snorkel scoop, and it was very close to 1/25 scale, too, so I assembled the plane's fuselage halves and cut away the scoop. I'm not sure this will remain, and I think I have to make the scoop's mouth flush with the rest of the body, but I'm going to work with it for now and see if it sticks:

42013.jpg

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42013one.jpg

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I'm not sure this will remain, and I think I have to make the scoop's mouth flush with the rest of the body, but I'm going to work with it for now and see if it sticks:

Flush with the body might make more aero sense Casey, but it would almost defeat the purpose of using the Mustang scoop. I think your instincts are correct the way you have it, at least in terms of the coolness factor. It adds to the allure.

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Flush with the body might make more aero sense Casey, but it would almost defeat the purpose of using the Mustang scoop. I think your instincts are correct the way you have it, at least in terms of the coolness factor. It adds to the allure.

It's already been replaced with a different air intake, but now that I've got the chassis-to-body fit locked in, the scoop lies below the bellypan and allows more air under the car. Not good. :o:D I think I'll just stick with the smooth nose and add the air intake for the engine on the top of the body as I had originally planned.

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Third time's the charm I guess, as the body ended up with the smooth nose/chin I originally wanted to use:

newchin42413one.jpg

newchin42413three.jpg

newchin42413two.jpg

Bellypan still fits:

bptest.jpg

I did some preliminary work on the canopy base, but this piece is very close to what I envisioned from the start, so I shouldn't have any issues working it into the body shell:

canopybasetest.jpg

canopybasetest2.jpg

There's still a long way to go, but I'm pleased with the progress I've made so far:

42413test2.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

The canopy just wasn't working out, so I eliminated it and molded the canopy base to the body. I need to attend to two small areas around the canopy base (fairing?), but the underside of the body is finish primed, and one more coat of primer should finish off the exterior for now.

62213two.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Will Bubble Butt be retaining the yellow(?) bubble or is it going to be a different color? Or no color? :blink:

I'll be yellow as a morning tinkle. (Why do I belt out such disturbing little axioms with such frequently?) But, as with the roadster, Bubble Butt has stalled. Really need to get it together....

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  • 2 years later...

I'll be yellow as a morning tinkle. (Why do I belt out such disturbing little axioms with such frequently?) But, as with the roadster, Bubble Butt has stalled. Really need to get it together....

Yes, yes you (well, I, us, we all...you get the picture) we need to get this going again. Three years really flies by in the blink of an eye. :unsure:

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