Scale-Master

I thought I could get away with only machining the snaps, (male and female) for the lower front parts of the seats. Until I installed them and realized that since I polished the rear panel it acted as a mirror and the back snaps (or lack thereof) were clearly visible in the reflection. So I went back to the lathe to make another eight parts…

The harnesses are ready to install. Except for the reworked anchors they are fully scratch-built. The driver's side lap belts are already in the car as I needed to use them to determine the lengths of the latched passenger side ones.

The driveline tunnel was textured to look like it was shot with an epoxy bed liner and painted Wolf Blue, and then the raised rivet detail was scraped off to show the raw aluminum. I also painted the interior panels Wolf Blue and then hand painted the rivet detail in silver.

Thanks! I draw what I want in vector and cut vinyl for the resist. I use hydrochloric acid.

I decided after I made the seat belt hardware to make the passenger side all clipped together. So I created new artwork and acid cut a new connected piece from brass for the buckles. This is it fresh from being cut.

I machined aluminum snaps to fasten the seat covers to the seats.

Thanks Bruce. I made patterns for the sides and was able to do it in five pieces.

I didn't like the way the polished metal finish looked on the seats after they had been sitting for a while. They lost some of their luster and were becoming slightly splotchy looking. So I polished off the aluminum powder finish and Bare Metal Foiled them.

Thank You David! Means a lot. I modified the Tamiya anchor pieces by thinning them and filing the slots to accept a scale 2.5 inch wide belt instead of the 2.0 they normally accept. Top ones are roughed out; bottoms are "factory" sized slots. I machined these buckles on my mill. The kit parts would lose integrity if they were widened to accept the wider belts I plan to use. They are in primer here ready to be cleaned up.

Thanks Pete. I plan to not install one of the seat covers and just fold it up and either lay it on the seat under the harnesses, or in the back.

I finally got around to making the seatbelt hardware for it. It's acid cut brass. I drew the parts and made a resist (in black) then burned the parts out of the sheet.

Thanks Ray. First thing I painted with my Dad's old airbrush (from the '60s) that I just rebuilt. Still makes a pretty decent line.

Tamiya kit, not a lot of parts, but an interesting subject and a very fun weekend project. Used Tamiya paints and Panel Line Accents.

You are right on David. I have a pile of scraps that come in handy all the time. Scratch-built brass roof, loosely dry fitted together, it doesn't all fit the way it will in the end since some of the panels need to be bolted in place for them to line up properly. But I like the way it is shaping up…

I made the rubber pad for the edge of the scuttle from some vinyl tubing I slit down one side.