22 replies to this topic

[gowjobs]

Body will be well weathered with obvious torch cuts and riveted patch panels. Chassis will be raw steel, but maybe showing some oxidation. Hemi block is a place-holder... something wilder will take its place soon!

[Mack_Mechanic]

That is gonna be one awesome build.Great idea,now I know what those butt-ugly cars are good for!

[Steve H.]

Wierdly cool, but we expect no less from you!

[gowjobs]

Made some progress: siamesed two Red Baron blocks to create a V-12:



I'm going to front-mount a centrifigul supercharger, and run the magneto(s?) off that bellhousing-cum front cover. Those are wheel centers from a Stinger T behind Detail Master hoops with Tamiya 1/20 scale F-1 tires standing in for 14 inch slicks

[Jairus]

Oooooo I Like it!!!!

At the start of WWII the Germans had converted all areo engines to fuel injection and were supercharged as well. The engine your building is a "What If" of course and not subject to the rules of reality... But, you could do some simple research and make sure that you paint and detail correctly.
Thus, the car becomes more believable for the viewer.

Supercharging, if used was always the vane type.
It would be neat if you inverted the engine like the DB 601, but I really like what you have done so far.

[gowjobs]

Oooooo I Like it!!!!

At the start of WWII the Germans had converted all areo engines to fuel injection and were supercharged as well. The engine your building is a "What If" of course and not subject to the rules of reality... But, you could do some simple research and make sure that you paint and detail correctly.
Thus, the car becomes more believable for the viewer.

Supercharging, if used was always the vane type.
It would be neat if you inverted the engine like the DB 601, but I really like what you have done so far.

The fuel injection system will be mostly inferred, as I'm not going to go too nuts with building a correct rotary valve for a V-12. I figure that if this is going to be an aircraft-derived engine, it'll need to be a magnesium-look block with aluminum heads and oil pan and some brass/copper accents just to add some more visual interest. All soft lines will represent rubber or cloth hoses - no braided steel. Look for lots of oxidation and oil leaks visible on the engine. I'm taking advantage of the thrown-together look of this project to weather it up.

The body will appear to be salvage-yard fresh, with the approriate oxidation peeking out from peeling paint - anyone know what these minicars were made of? I'd hate to rust it and find out that the bodies were made of aluminum! Anyone ever weathered out a polycarbonate-type canopy in scale? I want to replicate the milky hazing and spiderweb fractures that old plexiglass is prone to when exposed for long periods - I'll concentrate it on the rear upper part of the bubble, as if it was facing southward in the boneyard.

[laurelflying]

Hi,I am new here.
Thanks for the amazing detail pics.Look forwards to learn more from modellers here.

[James W]

I love the whole concept! By going the "weathered" route you take the viewer beyond the simple fantasy build into a world where this thing's existance is assumed and taken for granted. You also said you were not going to go nuts on authenticity but just make it feel right. Good call. Keep it fun. Get it done. 8)

[gowjobs]

I love the whole concept! By going the "weathered" route you take the viewer beyond the simple fantasy build into a world where this thing's existance is assumed and taken for granted. You also said you were not going to go nuts on authenticity but just make it feel right. Good call. Keep it fun. Get it done. 8)

I have really been trying to go beyond just building a cool model with my most recent builds - I really try to have a back-story in mind and build toward that concept. I've been toying with the idea of still having white or yellow auto-swap prices painted on certain well-weathered parts of the car, including the body shell.

I enjoy the idea of making each model into its own vignette, but without requiring a figure or a display base to pull the viewers' imagination into the world where this model would exist. An old military/HOn3 builder friend of mine built models that always had just enough little interesting details to make you start coming up with a backstory of your own when you really looked at them. I remember a six-by-six troop carrier he built with a full compliment of soldiers aboard... EXCEPT a driver. Almost every soldier was facing so they were looking off the LH side of the truck, while a couple were checking their watches, and one, modified from a grenade thrower, was lofting a roll of toilet paper in the direction where everyone's attention was focused. That one never ceased to get a smile when displayed.

I'm trying to figure out how to make it obvious that the Messerschmitt's rear seat, which sits outside the roll cage and has no belts, is still being used to give rides to the more psychotically-minded thrill seekers at the strip. Maybe I need to make some finger depressions in the upholstery or handprints on the inside of the canopy...

[Steve H.]

Dave, you may be able to re-create cracked plexi with Testors liquid cement. That stuff crazes clear pretty good. Problem is... Unless you've got scrap, don't know how you'd test my theory! The haze could probably be done with some very fine sanding sticks and you could find something in white (makeup, maybe?) to obscure the window a little more.

Whatever you do, Its gonna be another cool McGowan rod!

[Jairus]

Hmmmm, the original canopy is pretty thick.... How about using the original to vacuum form a few extras in Butyrate so you can practice different techniques. Don't weather the canopy too much 'cause you want to see the details within...
8)

[PatRedmond]

Brilliant !

[gowjobs]

Hmmmm, the original canopy is pretty thick.... How about using the original to vacuum form a few extras in Butyrate so you can practice different techniques. Don't weather the canopy too much 'cause you want to see the details within...
8)

This could be interesting. The top/rear section of the canopy is plexiglass, surrounded by an aluminum frame. The side windows and windscreens are glass. Most restorations I've seen are either missing the top/rear bubble, or they've had a new one created. Obviously, these really take a beating. Perhaps I'll vacc/thermoform a few and cut the plex portion out of the kit canopy, replacing it with an acetate/clear styrene version.

[BIGTRUCK]

Now thats starting to shape into something the model community hasnt seen....talk about building outside the box, .....Wow

[ChevyAsylum]

I did a little Googling on Messerschmitts to see if I could determine what the body shells were made of. I came up empty handed. But the British sites state that the bubbles are made of Perspex...and that may be the UK version of plexiglass. But one thing that was pretty clearly stated was that they tend to craze when exposed to the sun for extended periods. I dunno if that means hours, days, weeks or years.

But here's a site that has one picture of an unrestored early Fend Flitzer, which was the forerunner of the Messerschmitt.
http://www.promotex....01_article.html
I can't tell if the rust-appearing marks are from the trim or the fasteners...and the front section appears to be polished metal, possibly aluminum.

And here's the site of the Messerschmitt Owners Club in the UK
http://www.messersch...o...ge&Itemid=1

There might be some stuff I didn't see in the "articles" section of that site. Or you might email them and ask. Hmmm...what a concept.

Anyway, I love the whole idea of the V-12 motor and the Messer body on a rail frame. It's an awsome idea.

[SlipMahoney]

talk about building outside the box, .....Wow

I think this is going to be so far beyond "outside the box" nobody will ever know there was a box to start with. Dave, that is an amazing concept and work.

[gowjobs]

Started some paint today:

[gowjobs]

I did a little more on the engine since our last installment:

[BIGTRUCK]

Very real lookin rust.. Dave is the rust from one of those antiquing kits or your own ?,,,,,,,,,,, super job.

[gowjobs]

It's sort of a combination. I sprayed the body with mist coats of Tamiya Light Gunmetal and Floquil Roof Brown until I got a good base oxidized look, then I masked the areas that I wanted peeling/chipped paint using moist table salt. After I shot the Testors Light Ivory on thoise areas, I flaked off the salt, exposing the "metal" underneath. I used the RustAll system to add both washes of rust red-brown and blue-black, adding texture using their pre-sifted dirt.

Truthfully, anybody could come up with the elements of RustAll on their own, the manufacturers just pre-package it, saving you the trouble of thinning out acrylic paint to the right consistency and sifting all that topsoil. I'm not sure what goes into their "Dead Flat" topcoat, but that one component is worth the price of the whole kit when it comes time to finish off the model.

Dave