DonW Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 "...while the roll cage members leading from the main hoop into the trunk area enroute to terminating atop the subframe rails were redone given they frankly hung in space. It's frustrating to imagine that some aspects of the build have been appropriately seen to and then to discover it just isn't so..." Never a good thing. One of the drivers I was with in the BMW club races rolled his car and found to his and the car's cost that the main feet of the roll cage had been spot welded at an angle between the sill and the floor pan on each side. So they just punched through the whole lot when the car landed on it's roof. The car was a write-off and he was taken away in an ambulance. These details matter, and you're doing a great job with a great car. Cheers, -Don. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) Thanks again for the invested interest and tale sharing... Here I've trimmed the base of the flares to better meld with the character line that picks up along the bottom side flanks of the second generation Camaro. I hadn't really done all the work necessary to square matters away in this regard, hence further work on view. I can work on these and exert effort to trim away what seems a lot in total, although the result always translates into a very slight improvement at best. Not shatteringly different then - but better! Mounting the individual flares on clay blocks four times over for the purposes of resin casting mold manufacture won't be fun, although I just can't conceive of risking all the work up until now for but a single try when it comes to bonding these permanently to this shell - or another. Generally happy days - albeit slow... Mike K./Swede70 Edited July 9, 2020 by swede70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 (edited) Greetings and picking up on a long-neglected thread here... Succumbing to temptation, I picked up a sealed resin 1:18th scale Replicarz '70 Jim Hall Chaparral Camaro which recently touched down in stores. I don't know; i.e. more than a few things leave me unenthralled across the release, although 'fire in my belly' with regards to selectively and gingerly correcting what I may as has been my practice. Retailing at a cool $239.95 and not featuring opening panels (thus it's a blob affixed to a blob, glued to another blob of resin), I'm wondering how the market will respond to it. An Ed Leslie iteration is also sold, although such is not seen here. Concerning myself, I suppose too the stark absence of some details/elements will prompt reengagement with my ERTL-based, opening panel late-season Vic Elford effort, and with the change of seasons (as I write then), I'll have more to do indoors in the coming weeks. Not strictly the beginning of the end then for the ERTL-based effort - but perhaps the end of the beginning! - Fast, ill-illuminated evidence of work on the wheels (refinished then in a proper magnesium alloy hue), the removal of the tiny 'Chaparral' decals on the roof edge, plus the addition of some discreet 'Firestone' bowtie accessory decals along the fenders just back of each front wheel arch opening. A bit of progress then. Kind thanks for your review of this post. Mike K. Edited August 19, 2023 by swede70 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted August 20, 2023 Author Share Posted August 20, 2023 (edited) Small updates again, and barely rating an update as things go... Just quickly, noticed with be a black wash applied to the cowl vents situated along the back of the hood, call outs (in black then) relating to pit crew where to position a jack along each respective rocker panel, the removal of contemporary pull point/hooks (these rendered as photo-etched parts), plus some modest wheel lug paintwork hitherto neglected. If I could (somehow) extract the interior away from the body shell, such would be refinished in light gray, although at this point it doesn't seem that the glued resin castings are necessarily going to yield to my efforts to separate them. All I know is that I don't want a replica of the restored topic, rather I want the period topic! I did try applying a small length of packing tape to the headlamp bezels and what I'll term 'jeweled' headlamp/lenses set within the same (why weren't these rendered as proper flat fill panels?), but found my efforts futile when I tried to basically yank them off with force for so trying. Worried too that I'd remove white paint from the resin shell, hence chary of doing real damage to this far from cheap model. On a related point, still unenthralled by the painted bumpers and headlamp bezels; i.e. I thought the transition to production spec. would witness these items chromed... With the chassis off the car via the careful removal of four screws access to the inset bezels was no better, hence a limited effort here to fabricate and fit fill panels overlays even as such ride a bit high. I suppose I could grind the lenses down consistent with having them sit deeper, although I'm not (yet) convincing the risk is worth it. The chassis plate is off the model, hence no exhaust dumps or brake duct hoses are seen fitted further forward given these are the last items glued and reinstalled before declaring the work undertaken across days complete. Kind thanks for your review of this project update... Mike K. Edited August 20, 2023 by swede70 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholmes1 Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 (edited) Yes, I can see what you mean. It does appear they took some shortcuts with the front details of the car. I look forward to seeing your continued progress and appreciate your hesitancy to cause damage to a new model I also see that you added the jack-plate marker on the lower sill. Nice touch Edited August 21, 2023 by cholmes1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted August 22, 2023 Author Share Posted August 22, 2023 (edited) Thanks for the kind continued interest and support... With respect to the brakes on the Replicarz Chaparral Camaro, the discs and rotors are rendered as a single part uniformly finished in an iron hue. As fit they vanish from sight when viewed head-on suggesting they sport no detail at all, although given these fall clear when the wheel and tire assemblies are removed, the possibly exists to paint the discs appropriately prior to refitting. Consistent with this knowledge, here I used small mounds of Silly Putty as a masking agent, followed by an application of Rust-Oleum Mirror Effect (chrome in an aerosol can then). Simple shapes painted simply enough, but a nice improvement all the same. Looking more Hurst/Airheart vs. Delco-Moraine I do think. Oh well... The 'Chaparral' and 'Camaro' characters situated atop the wheel arches seems a bit thin, whereas the 'Camaro' lettering isn't even centered atop the rear arch. Notice too that the script seems to bend/radius a touch to more or less match the rounded arch openings and contours of the panel work even as the period topic doesn't display this characteristic. Wondering then if select decals could be commissioned to rectify what I describe, or if I should speed up work on outsourcing the labor for a full set given the ERTL conversion won't come together without such. Teresawulf and Patto's Place sheets/artwork on this topic exist and could be ordered, hence there's that. Happily the calipers are positioned as they ought to be (the rear calipers were reversed from the as-delivered spec for being situated rearward as witnessed here), whereas some tiny strips of white decal stock have been overlaid atop the small rectangular exterior door latches where the stock items would be indented and color-matched with decals to the body color. I'm not sure if Chaparral strictly bothered with this detail on the actual racers, but nevertheless the application cleans things up a bit. Thanks for your review of this project post. Mike K. Edited August 23, 2023 by swede70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted August 23, 2023 Author Share Posted August 23, 2023 (edited) Small stuff this... Mulling other things to attempt, I became fixated on the middling quality of the exterior rear view mirror fit to the model, a plastic affair simply painted silver as can be made out below. Given I have some spares from models broken up for other projects, a rare 1:18 Lane '68 Firebird 400 side view mirror was found and cleaned up consistent with substituting one for the other. As can be made out, the chassis is back together and largely untouched. Further small stuff would be the addition of an SCCA Tech. Inspection O.K. decal to the nearside headlamp fill panel. Hardware has been painted onto the front spoiler mount, although such is hardly noticeable and certainly not discernible for review of this photo image. With the metal exterior mirror sourced from the Lane Firebird then. Here I've temporarily affixed such with white craft glue in anticipation of working up a more sophisticated fixture to hold the mirror in position when better adhesive or maybe some means to pin the item in place is devised. Another angle to be taken is that sometimes a part is so exposed to being knocked off that little justification can be made to really bond such on; i.e. choose instead to use a light-duty glue and accept the risk with the trade off being that a less toxic or 'hot' glue won't strictly damage the underlying surface if a thing is fated to be reset repeatedly. Concerning the substitution of the mirror, unquestionably better quality in appearance though - and more in keeping with the price point too! Thanks... Mike K. Edited August 23, 2023 by swede70 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholmes1 Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 Excellent additions and adjustments, Mike. It is amazing to see how something as small as painting brake rotors can make such a difference. The mirror is also an excellent touch. I agree the Chaparral decals do need minor adjustments. I will send a PM with an idea… As a question, is your tech sticker on the wrong lens? I don’t recall ever seeing them anywhere but on the passenger side. Keep up the amazing work. Your work certainly raises the bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 (edited) Greetings and thanks for the interest expressed... This was a shot captured at '70 Mid-Ohio which at least suggests how things might have appeared at one venue regarding the Tech Inspection Passed decal. Indeed - at '70 Laguna Seca these were applied to the other side as you've noted, with a slightly different label design/color employed reflect whomever decided such at the regional level. Hmm - those differently colored windshield retention clips attract the eye as well... Regarding other things, I did try to paint on the Lexan spoiler attachment hardware here (albeit with middling success), while the headlamp fill panels look about right even if mine aren't resting inside the bezels as deeply as I'd desire. I will attempt to add the front turn indicator fill panel hardware (perhaps done as four 'dots' of silver paint upon each), although stymied concerning how to position the model to apply such given the weight of it short of reaffixing things to the as-delivered base. Still pondering what else to try, worried for risking too much again. Thanks... Mike K. Edited August 27, 2023 by swede70 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 Greetings... Some alternate waterslide artwork arrived in the mail earlier today, whereas I'd hoped to replace the 'Chaparral' and 'Camaro' side lettering on the Replicarz model given it doesn't strike me as particularly convincing. Worried I'd either damage the underlying paint finish applied to the resin casting that makes up the body, or be seriously disenchanted with the aftermarket decals ordered, happily things worked out as can be witnessed below. ...certainly a fair take on the font style as found within the press release materials dating from early 1970. While seen above would be a 1:25th waterslide decal sheet first done by Fred Cady a great many years ago, whereas behind it is a 'Teresawulf' (eBay seller I.D. then) 1:18th waterslide sheet to afford a size comparison. It's entire possible that the latter was scanned from the former... As can be made out, little reason exists to strictly cling to the as-delivered state of the Replicarz side lettering given the underwhelming font employed. But could I remove the lettering safely? Whew - yes, apparently one can! No residual haze either, hence a bullet dodged... Quite decent then, and subsequently a guilt-free modification. The decals ordered via eBay prove reasonably robust, cutting the images while observing reasonable discretion concerning the integrity of the image contrasted to what would likely tear or fold certainly worked out well enough, etc. Mike K./Swede70 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholmes1 Posted September 1, 2023 Share Posted September 1, 2023 (edited) Excellent work, Mike - The car continues to make great progress Edited September 1, 2023 by cholmes1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted November 10, 2023 Author Share Posted November 10, 2023 Greetings... Variations on a theme for seen is another Replicarz '70 Chaparral Camaro (not mine) with late-season fender accessory/contingency sponsor decals, while also made out (in brief) would be small dots of paint applied to the center of the inbound round rear tail light lenses to suggest back up lamps. Removing all the carrier film from the fenders wasn't huge fun (speaking of the decals that were very strongly adhered), whereas the decals substituted in constitute a mix of items sourced from sheets that are thankfully replenishable. Kind thanks... Mike K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 (edited) Greetings... Just something quickly. As Don Adams might have said across the space of an episode of Get Smart back in the day, this would be 'Evidence of the famous brass wire employed as a paint brush/applicator trick' in a decidedly old school vein. I wanted to reproduce discreet mounting hardware to hold the turn signal fill panels consistent with lending a bit of visual interest up front, hence a length of brass wire and some chrome paint was employed to do this by (my unsteady) hand. Not laser precise perhaps, although not so horrible as to suggest the worst of the American folk art tradition. Thanks... Mike K. Edited November 13, 2023 by swede70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kegger62 Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Is there a chance you might be able to resin print all the modifications you have done to the ertl car for others to build? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede70 Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 7 hours ago, Kegger62 said: Is there a chance you might be able to resin print all the modifications you have done to the ertl car for others to build? Greetings, If it helps, for long I've hand cast resin parts of the bulk of what's made out consistent with supplying my own project needs, whereas typically I've worked out something informal between myself and the bare handful of other period SCCA Trans-Am enthusiasts consistent with making stuff available. Mass orders of anything I've done never seemed in the cards, hence I never formally went into business, but again - usually something can be finessed. Not everything strictly has a mold (i.e. the roll cages are hand bent and essentially one-off's), while some other elements await more elaborate application to create mold and hence duplicates of (i.e. specifically the hand sculpted wheel arch flares seen on the Chaparral Camaro above). Sometimes too it happens that the urethane molds I create pretty much give out and expire if you will, hence I'm prompted to create new ones to work up a new supply. PM me via my contact information and a dialogue may begin. Kind thanks for your notice... Mike K./Swede70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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