1320wayne Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Lately I have been loading up on some excellent decals from Chuck Boerner. Among them are a few to do Omni/Charger style funny cars from the early 80's. Unfortunately there are no (in my opinion) useable body sources for any of these builds. Yes, there is an older MPC generic Charger bodied kit but the body is very undersized and the proportions are not the best. There are also a couple of resin bodies available but again nothing that I am liking as the body proportions are not the greatest. Then there is the worst example of them all; the AMT Chi Town Hustler Charger bodied kit that came out back in the late 80's. The body in this kit was probably the worst example of what the real thing was supposed to look like. So, I decided to venture into making my own by adjusting on an old buildup that I had picked up in a collection years ago. And which one was that? The worst one of the bunch! I started by stretching the body to make a reasonable wheelbase. Another problem with this AMT body is that it tapered way too much from front to back making for a very narrow frontend. I cut the body down the middle back to the windshield and then widened it. The body also needed a new front valence which I added. The thick, chunky feel of the body profile was rectified by first removing the too high rear spoiler (which will be replaced with something more appropriate) and then enlarging the rear wheelwells. The last thing I did was the cut the taillight panel from the back and reattach it with a better rearward angle and then raise and angle the rear bodywork upward. I still have a lot more to do but at least I believe that it's starting to look like something more representable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Looks good. Off to a great start already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbeard Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 x2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragin70s Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Will be watching this one. The lack of a good Omni body has long frustrated me, but not as skilled as yourself so haven't undertaken a project like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Twister Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 With the ability you have with doing this kind of body work Wayne,,,,,This should be off the hook. Looking forward to more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBorg Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Looks great. I have seen this blob before and passed on it as unsaveable. You look to be off to a great start. AMT really missed the boat on their funny car bodies. The Vega was a stock body (even though AMT never had a stock Vega), their Mustang II was too tall, their Satelite (the MoPower car) is just strange. I don't know about the Vette or their Monza but I wouldn't hold out hope for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrozilla Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Wayne, you do so many things well I can only believe this will be another home run. My passion for 60's and 70's cars is because I missed the later model stuff when life took me in other directions. Had my interests continued on, the Omni/Chargers looked more truly aerodynamic and, well, it looks fast just sitting still. Best of luck. I'll be watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Boy Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Kuddos to you, Wayne! This is shaping up nicely. Will this be a master for a new casting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Kuddos to you, Wayne! This is shaping up nicely. Will this be a master for a new casting? That's the plan at this point. I have enough different cars to do that I will at least need extra bodies for myself and most likely others if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Photos Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I have The Chi-Town style Omni in 1/24rg scale Jay Kamoto did the master in 3-D and I molded it and I also have a G&K style Omni in 1/24th scale and a 1/16th scale Omni. These bodies are correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Photos Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Sorry forgot the pictures http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae240/magicphotos_photos/DSC_1760.jpg http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae240/magicphotos_photos/DSC_1761.jpg http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae240/magicphotos_photos/DSC_4425.jpg http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae240/magicphotos_photos/DSC_4426.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Edman Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 will be watching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun_E_Car Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Wayne, I wouldn't kill myself trying to duplicate the Omni body, when Mike Garland can get you exactly what you need. This is the G&K body that Mike was referring to and is also available in 1/24th. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=94100&hl=omni --Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 Wayne, I wouldn't kill myself trying to duplicate the Omni body, when Mike Garland can get you exactly what you need. This is the G&K body that Mike was referring to and is also available in 1/24th. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=94100&hl=omni --Dave No offense towards anyones work shown here but body masters is something I've been doing for years so why would I spend money for someone elses work when I can do for myself and ultimately be happy with what I create? Like I mentioned above, I am not completely satisfied with anything available so I will continue on my own. I'm not satisfied with what I've done so far but will keep working on it until I am. Of course the other issue is that if you look at most of the cars run from this era using this body they all have differences in them in some form or another. From spoilers to greenhouse to side profile to fender configurations no two are alike so it's almost impossible to get a body to look perfect for multiple subjects. Thanks for the input though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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