76 replies to this topic

[rustybill1960]

Looks like they got it covered Michael!
Those wires I mentioned hold
Looking forward to see what you do
Later
Russ

[mrm]

Thank you Mark. I'll look them up and get a stash. I sure can use them on a bunch of projects.
Thanks Russel. I have a Walmart across the street that has things like that.
Bryan, I appreciate the gesture. No need to send me any. I'll need it in the future too probably, so I'll like to have a roll.

[scale trucker]

i really like what you have done ..your next one can run the ferrari motor and put blisters on the hood sides like the 32 roadster that was in hot rod mag a few years back

[MachinistMark]

No worries man. Happy to help. Build looks class too

[JasonFL]

A lot of great details. I still don't know how you guys work with such little pieces. I can't wait to see it all finished up, keep it going.

[mrm]

Thank you Jason.
All the great models and projects on here made me really inpatient about painting something. So I played with some paint today. This is what the result of two and a half hours with an airbrush is. No decals. It still needs some touching up and a clear coat.

[JasonFL]

What is that body for, looks kinda like a merc mixed with something else? The paint looks great tho whatever it is, now I really can't wait to see this one finished up.

[mrm]

What is that body for, looks kinda like a merc mixed with something else? The paint looks great tho whatever it is, now I really can't wait to see this one finished up.

It is an old Jimmy Flintstone-Model Master collaboration resin model from the late '90s. They were called the HSO series (Hobby Shop Only) and were a series of cool looking rods made in resin and white metal. Some had more detail than others and some were actually real existing cars, while others were fictitious. The model here is called the Mercster and is basically a fenderless '49 Mercury Highboy. It is a very thick hallow shell. Its whitemetal components are very generic and roughly cast, so I am replacing them with Alluma Coupe parts. I also drilled three holes in the hood to place three small air cleaner hats that I turned from aluminum on my lathe.

[JasonFL]

That thing is pretty sweet. I'm not to familiar with these, I'll have to try and find some photos of one done. Love your paint work on it, I hope you'll be keepin it like that. Did you have a flame mask or is that something you taped off and did free hand? I'm planning on taping my whole merc off then carefully cutting out my flames...should be tons o fun.

[mrm]

Jason, I'll advise against what you plan to do. It will score the paint underneath, which will create all sorts of issues for you.
My secret is simple. Take wide masking tape and apply it really nice over the panels of the model. Keep in mind all the curves and make as many separate pieces as you need. On them outline just the panel lines and the overall shape of the model. Then draw on them rough design of your flames, scallops or whatever. Take off the templates you made and lay them flat. Then you draw the flames nicely how you like them to appear. Now transfer the outlines of what would be your mask on a piece of paper. Take your drawing to any place that makes vinyl stickers (like the ones for cars) and ask them to make you stickers in the exact dimensions. Ask them not to remove any material when their machine is done and not to forget to put transferring film over your sticker. Most malls have a place like that and almost any town has a few shops that make signs for businesses that can get this done the same day. It will cost you very little and it works like a charm. If you make friends with the shop, they can keep a template you give them - for example mask for 32 ford and then they can fit whatever you want in it. They can get literally hundreds of flame designs alone from the Internet and then manipulate them to fit in the "frame". If you like a certain flame design that they did for your Merc let's say and then you want to get the same thing on a Chevy pickup they would have your file and just adjust the flames to fit the new "frame.
I know it sounds kind of complicated, but it is not at all. Once you find a place to do things like that for you, if you sit in the morning and draw your design, you could be shooting paint the same evening.
Hope this helps.

Edited by mrm, 02 November 2012 - 02:16 PM.

[Foxer]

The detail here is just plain beautiful!

[JasonFL]

Jason, I'll advise against what you plan to do. It will score the paint underneath, which will create all sorts of issues for you.
My secret is simple. Take wide masking tape and apply it really nice over the panels of the model. Keep in mind all the curves and make as many separate pieces as you need. On them outline just the panel lines and the overall shape of the model. Then draw on them rough design of your flames, scallops or whatever. Take off the templates you made and lay them flat. Then you draw the flames nicely how you like them to appear. Now transfer the outlines of what would be your mask on a piece of paper. Take your drawing to any place that makes vinyl stickers (like the ones for cars) and ask them to make you stickers in the exact dimensions. Ask them not to remove any material when their machine is done and not to forget to put transferring film over your sticker. Most malls have a place like that and almost any town has a few shops that make signs for businesses that can get this done the same day. It will cost you very little and it works like a charm. If you make friends with the shop, they can keep a template you give them - for example mask for 32 ford and then they can fit whatever you want in it. They can get literally hundreds of flame designs alone from the Internet and then manipulate them to fit in the "frame". If you like a certain flame design that they did for your Merc let's say and then you want to get the same thing on a Chevy pickup they would have your file and just adjust the flames to fit the new "frame.
I know it sounds kind of complicated, but it is not at all. Once you find a place to do things like that for you, if you sit in the morning and draw your design, you could be shooting paint the same evening.
Hope this helps.

Wow! That's actually a pretty great idea. I know exactly what your talking about. I know there is a company or two out there that make a few flame maskings but I never thought of doing it like that. This way you can actually get the exact graphics you want. I wonder if you could take the car in the back of the direction sheets and use that as a template. The funds are a little low but when I get the chance im gonna try this. This time around I think I'm going to lay out my 2inch tape, trace the door/hood/trunk/etc. lines, then do a rough outline of my flames, take it off the car, make my final flame outline and then cut it out. Is it hard to lay them back down on the car? That's what worries me, trying to get it all lined up right without ruining it. After painting the flames I was thinking of leaving the mask so I could lay down a better pinstripe, then peel it back and clear it. Thanks for the tip, I'm all ears for any advice I can get.

[mrm]

Hey, no problem Jason. This is what the forums are for, right?
Just make sure you practice the airbrush for flames. You need to play with air pressure, nozzles etc. The flames on the Merc are made with 9 different colors. 2 whites, 2 yellows, 2 orange, 2 red and a little blue. It gets confusing when you have the masking on, so I kid you not, you need to know what you are doing. I don't want you to mess up some really nice project you are working on.
I just laid down the clear and this thing turned amazing. I don't want to mix the threads and I don't want to start a WIP one for the Merc, because there isn't much to show. I'll just post it "under glass" once done.

Edited by mrm, 02 November 2012 - 09:21 PM.

[JasonFL]

Your right michael but I appreciate the time that people like yourself take to explain things out for me. Sometimes it's the only way I learn.
I'm not so much worried about the airbrushing as much I am about laying the mask back down after I cut out the flames only because I won't be using an airbrush. Just gonna be simple and a lil different my first time around using flat black for flames, lime ice green as base color, and a pinstripe (maybe an orange, not sure). Any advice on how you would go about running a pinstripe around the flames?

I'll keep my eyes opened for the merc in the "under glass" section. Looking forward to seeing how that thing looks all together.

[mrm]

OK, so I had to take care of some other stuff first, but I am back at it. It's got a name now, which will be Lucky 13- the 30sumtin' rod.
First I decided to finally figure out what I want to do with the front end. Still not 100% sure how I'll go about it, but I new that the frame would have to be Z-ed to bring the front into the weeds. So instead of going the traditional way, I just glued the front piece from another frame over this one. This would also stretch it just a touch without affecting the proportions.



Then everything was filed to give it a somewhat natural curve, so the Z-job is not really obvious. Also the horns were thinned and curved just slightly.




Next I started to work on the rear floor and the trunk. I wanted everything as smooth as possible and as close to the frame as possible. Also there was an issue with the rear diff as it was hitting the floor, so it had to be built around it.
So first I made a frame for the panels, to which flat sheet styrene to be glued. This way everything will line up perfectly and also the structural rigidity of the model is greatly improved.






Because of the way I made the frame, it was possible to use just one piece of plastic to create the trunk floor and a big part of the rear floor in the same time.






Then the two panels on the bottom were made, leaving the middle higher to allow movement for the quickchange rear.



A quick check with the frame shows that everything fits just perfect. Later on the front portion of the floor will be made as one piece with the bottom of the firewall and the floor of the interior. I just have to figure out how to make it so there are visible seams even if painted before assembly.




Interior Panels were made for the entire trunk. They are glued in, but not the final look. I made templates and drew what the design of them should be.




A quick mock up



Thank you for looking.

[bryan_m]

thats lookin good! i love how you cut the firewall out around the aircleaner.......very nice touch.

cheers
bryan

[mrm]

Thank you Bryan.
The cut in the firewall came out looking cool, but it was pretty much dictated by necessity, because the engine could not fit in otherwise.
For the front I have decided to go with a high tech setup, which will look very traditional. It is a combination of a dropped axle, airbags, friction shocks and four radius rods. But on the outside the only thing visible will be the axle and split wishbones. It is a set up I saw on a Deuce in a magazine. I am making all the parts for the front and then the chassis is getting putty and primer.
However on Tuesday I'm going to Vegas for a week (Yeah baby) so I'll pick up the project when I come back.