Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

J007KLEIN

Members
  • Posts

    50
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Previous Fields

  • Are You Human?
    yes
  • Scale I Build
    1/25

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://tv2m8o.blogspot.com/
  • Yahoo
    only_bond007@yahoo.com

Profile Information

  • Full Name
    Joe Klein

Recent Profile Visitors

2,060 profile views

J007KLEIN's Achievements

MCM Regular

MCM Regular (3/6)

  1. WOW, can't believe it's been almost two years since my last update! I decided I best get back after it because my buddy's 55th birthday is the end of October... So today I formed the body opening for the top well and the filler panel between the well and the deck lid. I used an old manila folder to act as my form for the two part Epoxy I'm using as my body material. I plan on soaking the body in water once I've got the shape nailed and then slowly peel away the paper down to the Epoxy. So I trimmed the folder into shape and taped it all together and on the body... then I mixed three packages of the two part epoxy and drizzled it into place... once the epoxy had set up, I pulled away as much of the folder as I could to see how it did... and then put the interior and chassis with the body to see how the convertible top fit. The top is a bit too blunt on the back, so once I have the body tweeked into shape, I'll see about flaring the trailing edge of the top a bit to make it blend a little better.
  2. With all the major trimming and cutting complete, I decided to put it all together to get a feel for how it was progressing.... Looks like she's moving in the right direction! Next up on the agenda will be to construct a bridge between the quarters to positively locate the rear of the convertible top not only from side to side but the depth into the body to allow me to form the deck lid filler panel to sweep more gracefully into the back edge of the top to more closely mimic the real H/O convertibles.... I'll also need to recontour the body transition into the rear quarter windows a bit so it blends more smoothly into the quarter panel top return.... I'll also need to narrow up the windshield header to match the with of the convertible top...... then trim down the width of the windshield to match the header as well as trimming away the clear material around the sun visors and forming an opening between them for the top locating tab it fit into. Once the all the top up mods have been made I will turn my attention to the interior modification to replicate the Olds interior. Stay tuned!
  3. Well finally had some time this weekend to try out an idea I had while recently doing some sheetmetal work at the house (creating a pair of gable doors in the corrugated steel siding on my garage). I bought a pair of duck-billed vice grips... to help flatten the ridges and I thought that they might be just the thing for lowering the leading edge of the deck lid in line with the re-contoured quarter panels on the H/O build.... TA DA..... I think now I may be coming into the final stretch! Looks like I may need to shorten the top length a little, create the filler panel between the deck lid and the top well as well as the top well itself and narrow the windshield header a bit to match the top. I also need to get creative for making the molding that follows the quarter panel profile at the beltline and figure out how retain/recreate the H/O & Olds emblems & decals. A lot of smaller things yet to do but I think the hard part is behind me! Until next time....
  4. Had some feedback from traditional (Cliff) about how to re-contour the decklid using a heat gun to get the material hot and a bit pliable, then use some flat blade pliers to reform the leading edge to match the quarter panel profile. I'll document the process for others to follow should they try their hand at customizing diecasts in the future...... Wish me luck!
  5. Art, Not doing anything TOO drastic, just need to lower the leading edge of the decklid about 1/16"-3/32" on the 1/18 '69 H/O I'm converting into a convertible to better follow the new quarter panel profile. Here's the link to my build... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/110996-118-scale-69-hurstolds-convertible-build/ Thanks everyone for your input!
  6. Looking for advise, tips, tricks, etc on re-contouring the deck lid on my '69 H/O convertible build. How malleable is the zinc(?) body? Will it bend a bit before fracturing? I am amazed by the diecast cars you guys build and hope there's someone who knows their way around a diecast body who will share their knowledge and can keep me out of trouble and on point with my project. My sincere thanks in advance for you assistance!!!
  7. Thanks Lance. I think the hardest task is going to be getting the deck lid reshaped without breaking the material... have no idea how giving the zinc is going to be?? Was hoping Manny or one of the other members with experience reworking the diecast bodies would offer some tips or tricks on how I should approach that feat..... Wish me luck!
  8. Finally had a few minutes this afternoon to work a bit on the HO. Laid out the approximate profile on the rear quarters with some 1/16" fine line, masked off the surrounding area and then broke out the motor tool with the cutoff wheel. I initially made my cut along both sides of the trunk gutter to maintain the panel size then slowly trimmed the top edge of the quarters along my layout line.... I think I'm slowly getting there! Need to trim the interior package tray area a bit on the passenger side to drop the chrome trim down into the body like it is on the driver side and then figure out how to slowly roll the leading edge of the deck lid to match the contour of the quarters.
  9. WOW.... amazing work!! Thanks for sharing!
  10. Yeah Dan, the next item on the TO DO list is to get the quarter panel profile correct, then re-contour the leading edge of the deck lid to match the quarter and then tackle the trunk filler panel! Manny, any tips on re-contouring the deck lid? How malleable is the zinc(?) body and will it bend a bit before fracturing? Thanks guys!
  11. Had some time on Sunday to work a bit on the convertible. Trimmed a little more off the quarter panel and interior side panels to get the back end of the top lower onto the body. Getting it pretty close....... Now to reshape the top of the quarter panel a little and drop the leading edge of the deck lip to match before tackling the trunk filler panel.
  12. Lance, Thanks for the video! One thing I notice was that the H/O chrome trim along the back of the top is more tapered towards the deck lid rather than being so straight and blunt like on the GMP top, so I'll have to bevel that trim to replicate the real deal. Looking at the profile of the diecast top compared to the Olds top, it looks about right and the length appears correct as well.... they both stop about the back edge of the rear tire. I think it's a combination of the roof being kicked up too far and the blunt trailing edge making it look odd... if you look at the post above where it's taped into position from the underside of the body, it looks about dead nuts! Time will tell.
  13. With the top located and marked on the body, I made the next cuts. The top now set pretty well onto the body... As you can see the windshield is a bit wider than the convertible top. My first thought was to widen the top, but after looking at it a bit more, I think it might be easier to make the windshield header a bit narrower. By moving the top completely to one side, looks like I need to remove about 3/16" from the header.... Stuck the doors and hood on to get a look at the finished profile and I think the back of the top needs to drop down just a bit more.... I think cutting the rear quarter down about the width of the chrome band along the bottom of the top may drop it just enough to make it right!
  14. Thanks Lance! I believe it's from the GMP GTO Judge. I've contacted Tom to see if he has the down top boot as well.
  15. After thinning down the windshield header, I untaped the body to get my first look at the fitment of the convertible top..... It's obvious that the rear of the top needs to go a bit lower because it looks too high. I needed to get an idea of how the interior was going to be affected so I dropped the body onto the chassis..... Looks like the interior won't need too much modification, just a bit of work in the back seat to replicate the folded top well. I next taped the front of the top to the windshield header and swung it up into position from within the body to find it's true rear surface location.... SUCCESS... I think that located the top perfectly into position! Now to mark the location on the inside of the body and cut it away.
×
×
  • Create New...