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1959 Ford Skyliner - Revell


shaunmza

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So I finally have an update, much has been done, but have been sneaking it in every now and then. Took some time today to photograph progress and so on.

I am calling my motor done, will be the first to admit it is not perfect, but considering it is the first and only motor I have ever done I am quite happy with it.

You will see there is paint on the other parts, I was jumping around quite a bit before I decided to do one thing at a time and finish the motor off. With that done I am moving on to the chassis / body.

Because I love pictures in other threads so much, here are a bunch!

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Motor in the chassis, the fan is one I scratch built from a soft drink bottle top after I though I had lost the original. I cannot tell you how much time I spent on my hands and knees looking for that on the floor. Then one day I move my chair and heard something fall to the floor, lo and behold, the original fan! Decided to use the one I made, just because I made it :)

DSCN1666-vi.jpgJust a different perspective

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With some flash

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A lot of that was brush painted, definitely a skill I need to work on.

You can see above how close the air cleaner is to the firewall now. Originally it sat about 3 mm forward, as did the motor. I worked on both of them to get them to sit further back, this looks more like the photos I have seen. 

You could see a fair bit of the gearbox originally.

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Under the car, with the body kinda taped on

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So much effort has gone into getting these wheels to tuck in under the fenders and not push the body out. They still touch, but don't force it open anymore. I worked down the shaft, on the differential, filed down a lip on the wheels to get them to go further in. It's the best I can do without cutting on the chassis.

DSCN1674-vi.jpg

The front wheel seems awfully far forward. Going to have to work on this too I think.

 

 

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I have a bit of a conundrum. I plan on gluing the body together, using the chassis to make sure if fits ok. That is I am going to glue it around the chassis, than pop it off when it is dry.

Then fill, sand, paint etc.

Does this sound ok? Should I glue it up off of the chassis instead?

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Go ahead and assemble the main body and tape it tight to the chassis. Do not glue to the chassis. Tape the interior side panels in and it will stay in place for ya. It will come off easily. Sand the bottoms of the interior panels a little to give it a loose fit when reassembly. Mine I did not do that and the gap from the bottom body lip and interior panel was pretty snug and took some push to snap it in.

Another hint, add heater and radiator hoses and it will dress up the engine compartment nicely. Use some solid core wire of different gauges and you can bend them to shape similar to your wires. Leave the insulation on and color with paint or marker. That is what I did on this Buick

Looking good on this build. Patience is all it needs to look good.  

10378924_10202733247866314_5299147822593458271_n.jpg

Edited by Sledsel
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Go ahead and assemble the main body and tape it tight to the chassis. Do not glue to the chassis. Tape the interior side panels in and it will stay in place for ya. It will come off easily. Sand the bottoms of the interior panels a little to give it a loose fit when reassembly. Mine I did not do that and the gap from the bottom body lip and interior panel was pretty snug and took some push to snap it in.

Another hint, add heater and radiator hoses and it will dress up the engine compartment nicely. Use some solid core wire of different gauges and you can bend them to shape similar to your wires. Leave the insulation on and color with paint or marker. That is what I did on this Buick

Looking good on this build. Patience is all it needs to look good.  

10378924_10202733247866314_5299147822593458271_n.jpg

I was thinking of adding heater hoses, battery wires and radiator hoses too, then just got tired of fiddling with the motor. Seeing that though I may just give it a stab, going to be eyeing out every wire I see :)

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I did end up taping the body to the chassis, then using the chrome bits on the rear fenders to try and keep the rear fairly square.

It was a bit of a battle as the body kept moving around on me. I ended up using CA glue as it dries quick enough. That meant I could glue a small piece and hold it firmly in place while it dried, then move on a bit and glue some more.

I started on the one front fender, when i had that in place I moved to the other side, then finally the rear, with the trunk lid held in place with masking tape. I also put some tape on either side of the trunk on the edges, to act as a spacer. I think this worked, I did not want to glue it up so close that the body caused the trunk lid to bind.

There really was quite a bit of flex in the body and some parts did not fit very neatly, but I got around that gluing small lengths at a time.

'Twas a battle, but I saw it through and am so happy that I can look at the car without it being held together with tape :D
Well, almost no tape...

Starting to look like a car now.

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The hood is going to give me a hard time, I can see it. It refuses to stay down. Otherwise it is looking good I think

DSCN1689-vi.jpg

The joints are right where the doors shutlines are, very clever. I was gluing it from the outside as its impossible to get the glue in underneath when it is on the chassis.

This is after sanding the glue down, and my amateurish attempts at scribing. Still some work to do as this side there is a marked difference in heights between the fender and door, even after I put a great deal of effort in to get them to match up when gluing.

 

Even with all the extra work, I am glad I am building this kit, I am learning a lot and I think the next one will feel like it is falling together, with any luck I will have another update soon.

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  • 1 year later...

I actually managed to finish this, well, finished for now...

 

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Getting the roof to fit and fold down properly was the straw that broke the camels back. It frustrated me so, that I stopped enjoying the process of building and eventually packed it all away.

It took a good few months before I took it out the box again, this time I was seeking to relieve frustration (ironic I know)

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Giving the parts a quick once over I realised how close it was to completion. I started getting excited about it again and all the issues I saw before seemed so much less significant. I was going to finish and get it done quickly.

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Now getting things done quickly, generally means badly, keeping this in mind I did try to do the best I could. When a choice arose I still took acceptable over perfect though.

This sounds silly, but as I work I have all my completed and incomplete models on a table next to my computer. Every now and then I will steal a glance and the visual change, from a screen to something I did with my hands lifts my spirits.

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I had this model, unfinished, waiting for me to get it done so that it could become the centre piece.
So going for done as opposed to perfect made ... prefect sense.

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Perhaps you have a keen eye and have noticed some of the many faults? Thats ok, I see them too.

I also see how the paint shimmers in the light, particularly sunlight. It's a great colour.

I am really glad I got it done, and now I can move on to the next project.

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Nice build and great colour. Congratulations on completing this difficult build. Very impressive indeed. I have one of these in my stash of kits which I would love to build but keep putting it off due to its difficulty. Seeing your build has inspired me to give this kit a try.

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On 2/16/2018 at 8:59 PM, Eric Macleod said:

That came out very well. What's next?

Thanks!. I have 2 on the go.

One is a F1 Alfa 159 F1 car from the 50's, I need to take photo's of that.

The second is a Camaro that I 3d printed, also need to take photos.

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