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Building a mag-frame Cox Chaparral 2E from start to finish...


chris4q

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I thought I would post and share the progression of this mag-frame 1/24 Cox Chaparral 2E that I'm currently working on. I made some modifications in order for it to look like one of the Chaparral 2Es that Jim Hall had driven in the '60s.

By looking at the photos you can see that I have added front spoilers, side pods, and side spoilers for the wing in order for it to look reasonably close to the original car. I used Cox Chaparral 2C side pods and cut them down a little and I believe they look pretty close. I added the front spoiler by using thick styrene and simply cutting the shape I wanted and then slowly sanding and shaping the spoiler until it looked right to the eye. I used regular cheap super glue as a filler for any little gaps and sanded til smooth.

The Cox Chaparral 2E plastic body is very lightweight and really easy to work with so it was real easy to take out mold lines and correct any imperfections. The body was painted with Tamiya grey primer so I could spot any problems with the body because grey primer shows imperfections real well.

graytwoebodyfull.jpg

After one last coat of Tamiya grey primer to check the body, I sand the 2E and get it ready for the white primer. Once ready, I primer the car white because I'll be using a white gloss from Tamiya (T-7). Below are photos of the finished white primer body. I made some more modifications to the side pods which work and look better. After that I primer again and get ready for painting.

chaptwowhiteprimfull.jpg

Painting the body. I'll spray two thin mist coats from a can of Tamiya TS-7 Racing white. TS-7 is a great white to use here because it gives you a creamier white and that vintage look. After leaving it for an hour I'll go ahead and spray a nice liberal coat and leave it overnight. The next day I hit with one more good liberal coat and that's it. Done.

The pictures below show the car painted and the decals have been placed. You can also see a hand blower that photographers use to blow dust off a lens or small products. This blower is great for blowing water off the body after it's been washed. After decals are placed and dried overnight then it's time for me to clean the car real well. I clean all glue from the decals and I'm real careful here not tear or scratch the decals. I keep cleaning until the body is spotless. I use the hand blower and being very careful not to blow off the decals. I also add any details to the body - i.e. the black around the cockpit and fenders (see pics below this set of photos), once this is done I'll get the body ready for clear coat.

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Pictures below - Clear-coating a body with decals on it... In order for me not to shrink the decals when clear coating, I have to spray thin coats of clear every hour or so for about a day, (about ten thin coats) then I'll leave it overnight and spray heavier coats until I'm satisfied. I can use up to one to two cans of Tamiya Clear coat TS-13 on a body. Once the body is clear-coated and dried for three days, it's time to polish the body with Tamiya compounds. I use coarse, fine, and finish. I use a Microbrush and cotton Swisspers to polish the car. I'll polish the body until it's smooth. I'll use the Microbrush to get into small areas and hard to reach areas. I'm prepared to spend a lot of time in this area because the results are very rewarding. Once I'm satisfied with the body I'll go ahead and paint the inside of the body with matte black. This just gives it a nice clean look and gets rid of any overspray.

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Edited by chris4q
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Below is a set of photos showing how I detailed the driver. I used filler to make the scarf over his face and shaped and sanded until satisfied. I filled in any gaps in the driver and then primed. I painted the drivers suit in off-whites with some shading. I carved out the area where the clear parts of the goggles are and then painted in the eyes and finished off by filling the goggle area with a build-up of clear coat which gave a real cool look. I then finished off any details.

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Below are photos of the cockpit with the driver set in with detailed seat belts. I painted the seats blue and then I used matte black for the surrounding area.

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The 2E screen, part one.

The screen needed to be cleaned-up because of the amount of scratches it had. I started to clean up the screen with Detail Master cloth sandpaper using all the grit sizes. The photos below show the screen completely sanded with the heaviest grit (3200).

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The 2E screen, part two.

Once the screen was sanded, I polished the screen with NOVUS scratch remover 1 to 3. I may have spent a hour or two on the glass polishing. I then started to detail the screen. I masked off the screen and painted a matte black border line and then detailed it with photo-etched bolt clips. I painted in the door line.

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Making the vents.

I used masking tape to make a stencil of the back vents. I then put the tape on some plastic styrene and cut the shape out. I had some etched parts from a Fisher Chaparral 2E and cut them to size. Once I was happy with the fit (this took a little time to get the piece to fit right). I also had to take into consideration of the thickness of the paint for the fit. I then painted and detailed vents with etched bolts.

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Rear adjustable spoiler

All I did here is cut some thick plastic styrene and measured and cut the holes and painted and clear-coated. I polished with compound until smooth and then detail the spoiler with etched bolts.

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Back vents

Once again I used masking tape to make a stencil of the back vents. I then put the tape on some plastic styrene and cut the shape out. I had some etched parts from a Fisher Chaparral 2E and cut them to size. I painted them silver.

009.jpg

Here's the car in all it's glory:

chaptwoemagfull.jpg

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That is an increadble build of my favorite Prototype Racer. But I'm courious. I wandered through my reference books and didn't find a 2E that had a Spoiler mounted below the Wing. Was it an one race modification? Which Jim Hall was known to do on a regular basis.

Ed Erbeck Jr.

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That is an increadble build of my favorite Prototype Racer. But I'm courious. I wandered through my reference books and didn't find a 2E that had a Spoiler mounted below the Wing. Was it an one race modification? Which Jim Hall was known to do on a regular basis.

Ed Erbeck Jr.

hello Ed

Thanks for the thumbs up on the car

here's some links I used for ref...

http://www.imca-slotracing.com/CANAM-1966.htm

http://www.legacydiecast.com/xq/asp/id.EX18162/qx/review.htm

best

Chris

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Chris

I had seen the Legacy Site before, even Exoto has 3 versions with the Spoiler. Went through all the reference material again and found one Picture with the Spoiler, Phil Hill's #65 at Las Vegas. Other than that one other rear or side shots that would show the Spoiler either don't show it or for the full rear shots show 5 holes where the Screws would go. But I sure don't have shots of each Car at each Race Front, Rear, side and from above (Oh Don't I wish!). I've got a pair of 2E Kits, so now I may have too build one with a Spoiler :lol:

Again GREAT Build.

Ed Erbeck Jr.

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Chris

I had seen the Legacy Site before, even Exoto has 3 versions with the Spoiler. Went through all the reference material again and found one Picture with the Spoiler, Phil Hill's #65 at Las Vegas. Other than that one other rear or side shots that would show the Spoiler either don't show it or for the full rear shots show 5 holes where the Screws would go. But I sure don't have shots of each Car at each Race Front, Rear, side and from above (Oh Don't I wish!). I've got a pair of 2E Kits, so now I may have too build one with a Spoiler :rolleyes:

Again GREAT Build.

Ed Erbeck Jr.

Are the kit's the mag frame version?

When I did this car I was looking to get close so they maybe some things missing or I missed. I enjoyed making this car a little different from the stock Cox 2-e and I look forward to what you dor with your Chappy Ed.

Thanks again Ed

best

Chris

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Are the kit's the mag frame version?

When I did this car I was looking to get close so they maybe some things missing or I missed. I enjoyed making this car a little different from the stock Cox 2-e and I look forward to what you dor with your Chappy Ed.

Thanks again Ed

best

Chris

Mine are Static Plastic Kits. 1 IMC and a Union ( I haven't raced Slot Cars since before there was a Chaparral 2E ;)) , which I can only hope mine turn out anywhere near what your's did.

You say you wanted to make your's "A Little Different from Stock", well in my book you succeeded in Spades!

Crazy Ed

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