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70 Plymouth HEMI GTX 1/25 Scale


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Hello All!

Following the requests of some fellow members I will start a new threads of some of my completed models starting by the most recent.

On this thread I will present my drag version of a ’70 Plymouth Hemi GTX 1/25 scale. I started making plastic models as a youngster in the mid seventies so I just build 1/25 scale and not 1/24 since they were not existing back then. I also want to be able to put my models side by side and don’t want to see any unrealistic proportions between them (I’m kind of purist…).

I will go in outline because there are too many details to list and must save my time for my current project (remaining pictures should speak by them self).

Using a promo JoHan body, I open-up the hood and trunk with a panel scriber and the back of an Xacto blade. I reproduced all the shapes and reinforcements with various thickness of styrene strips based on pictures found on internet. I also thinned the hood on my milling to make it more realistic. It was roughly 0.080’’ thick without detail since it was molded shut on the promo body. I grafted the underhood section of a newer Revell ’69 Charger Pro Modeler body since it was a perfect match for this project. I also used the floor pan because the JoHan original one was not acceptable for this kind of build. I removed the molded in gas tank and reconstructed the trunk floor with Evergreen styrene sheets. I also tried to recreate all the trunk’s details and embossings of the real car using references found on internet.

On the interior, I salvaged the dash of the Charger but I was forced to create all the door panels using styrene (the cup style of the GTX promo was useless and the Charger was too different). I also used thin aluminum sheets to create a drag car interior. I pushed the realism by recreating the instrument cluster gauges with a professional drawing software (Adobe Illustrator). I found pictures of the gauges on internet and used them as template on my computer to exactly recreate them and print in high resolution (2400 DPI) on negative film (pretty crazy…). I also machined all bezels around the gauges, all dash knobs and a radio delete plate (a lot of hours spent in the interior).

I machined all the engine components including the block mostly with 6061-T6 aluminum and some brass parts including the oil pan. The Dominator carb itself took me probably 80 hours to build and counts more than 50 parts including the bolts from RB Motion and Scale Hardware. The transmission is a Liberty 4 speed from Futurattraction and I machined a mounting plate for the shifter. I also machined the rear end housing, the Dana 60 cover and a full functional drive shaft including the yokes.

I machined my own set of American Racing slot mag wheels with aluminum and they are mounted on wheel hubs with threaded studs and nuts from Scale Hardware. I made all direction components and rods with brass tubes, aluminum rods and RB Motion rod ends.
I made the radiator including upper and lower tanks (machined) and photo etch mesh grille (we can see through).

Plumbing and wiring as well plus a mirror finish EK2 Go Mango paint job with black accents. Hand made front grille support and machined headlight bezels along with front flashers and rear backup lights bezels. All glasses are made with 0.010’’ clear Evergreen styrene and embedded to the body shell for a more in scale look. Bare Metal done on all body trims including the GTX logo on the side rear fenders.

The list can go on and on for hours so take the time to check every pics and judge by yourself… I surprise myself by finding details that I forgot when I look at it after some time on the shelf!

I spent around 2000 hours (I’m slower than a turtle…) on a 5 years span working on and off from early 2013 to May 2018 on this build. Unfortunately, I lost most of the construction pictures after a computer crash during an OS update but you should have a good idea with the remaining pics posted. I just taken new pics of the completed model but I really think that they can’t do justice like seen in person.

I will be more precautious in the future with frequent backup on USB key as I currently do for the ’64 D100 Pickup I’m building.

Dana rear housing in progress1-Dana_Milling.JPG.156ee6be9c7ffc1924a97c5b06c6a8f9.JPG

Gas tank in milling vise2-GasTank_Milling_1.JPG.c63afe37ee30ec5af09ee853cd367199.JPG

Gas tank final2b-GasTank_Final.JPG.caa89560c2ec788633457a66cc346d28.JPG

Valve covers unpolished3-Valve_Cover_Unpolished.JPG.d296e9e1d74b9e9a50c9c46eb06112b7.JPG

Engine block in progress4-EngineBlock_Milling.JPG.a42080f12807c437b3cf1a9a60a5e180.JPG

Engine block front view details4b-EngineBlock.JPG.32139e65a6f02c33387e83ec1c79aa40.JPG

Intake in progress5-Intake_Milling.JPG.bd339e3d9617ea103fbe7214a7c51f6a.JPG

Water pump in progress6-WaterPump_Milling.JPG.a69983a7b5a4a68239352cbc7c360e5c.JPG

Oil pan installed7-OilPan.JPG.678971458ca80d63c30a2c64ec208f2e.JPG

Spinles and brake calipers8-Spindle_Brakes.JPG.e5b32dd9b0777c6393ca83853972df7e.JPG

Engine exploded view177872656_9-EngineTrans_Exploded.JPG.c0266a50d15610766205347a3f37ef96.JPG

Engine final. The blurry part near the headers is the clutch linkage10-Engine_Final.JPG.7545b507aa3c8087a8037d23662c4ecf.JPG

Engine front details11-Engine_Front.JPG.d8e5c24354239e4568d48a3001ed911c.JPG

Alternator and brackets closer view. 12-Alternator_Closeup.JPG.4811406c8694d8ddc000046757d2cb9a.JPG

Resin Liberty transmission, aluminum support and aluminum Bellhousing13-Liberty_Transmission.JPG.f1b4097e354cf26748f0dedc31afbf98.JPG

I hand drilled all the holes (around 1000) in the honeycomb pattern promo grille using a 0.018’’ drill bit (I know I’m crazy…).14-Grille_Drill.JPG.26543157b427983f8e685594b525b217.JPG

Fuel pump, brass straps for gas tank and hand made housing stoppers15-FuelPump.JPG.0b2c86024b19c4c6f78873ef6da0d442.JPG

Cool can, electric gaz pump, Optima battery and kill switch (you can see some of the trunk floor details)16-CoolCan.JPG.012b65a30d572d0578ac4ce31e5741cf.JPG

Dash bezels and knobs17-DashBezel.JPG.3e8bf88f05817ffe5b83b13a3cf32f09.JPG

Cluster gauges installed (I put a flashlight behind to show all the gauges details)18-Dash_Closeup.JPG.b08686155c113e3ca5f40add4859f8da.JPG

Interior in progress19-Interior_1.JPG.b2db8ede1db4b1fa061b4d0287a23d98.JPG

Interior with dash and panels in place (hand made Tuff steering wheel)20-Interior_2.JPG.7b7111f0ab75945bdf7082560e3a9ae8.JPG

Interior back panel details (all aluminum)21-Interior_3.JPG.e09bba10319ffd9c44eff02ddcc3523a.JPG

Front bumper details including brackets22-Front_Bumper_Back.JPG.47f6524e96c51cb6bb0ae601659ce263.JPG

Final view23-Final_View_1.JPG.b2edbe9e77e8e28460e519ff0c875309.JPG

Final view showing mag wheels and wheelie bar24-Final_View_2.JPG.1383af9947da69879675457165ad2bdc.JPG

Under view front25-Final_View_3.JPG.70dbcbeb0ec4cf80de09f1ca87d7d965.JPG

Under view back26-Final_View_4.JPG.72d5f14ab838fe077a84d86fd1d926f9.JPG

Front grill details27-Final_View_5.JPG.d7f7a8c8f053c3f770fb8e8b028adbce.JPG

Engine bay final28-Final_View_6.JPG.536a4528fbdf061498f926f47e275f60.JPG

Trunk view final29-Final_View_7.JPG.0c97a9ebc5b42bdf9da58ee2b3ad034a.JPG

Front bumper closer view30-Final_View_8.JPG.03f0e40fb696717bacec4189ce63af9c.JPG

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Hello to all of you guys!

I'm very honored for your kind words and positive comments!

It was a long process to end up with this build but with time and patience we can achieve superb results. Keep in mind that's just a hobby and when your are not in the right mood then stop working and go back when you are motivated again.

I do have several other heavily detailled models including a '70 Dart Swigner 440 Wedge, '72 Roadrunner 426 Hemi, '69 Coronet R/T 440, '68 Hemi Dart LO23 Super Stock, '71 Demon 426 Hemi and '72 Barracuda Motown Missile. All are 1/25 scale with many scratch-built elements so I will try to make new threads but probably just next spring or next summer (dead season) since I need most of my time on the '64 D100 pickup I'm building.

I you do have specific questions, don't hesitate (I have nothing to hide) so I will try to answer as soon as possible.

Cheers, Francis

 

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Thanks Francis for taking the time to post the pics of this build.  I really enjoy seeing other machinists work and approach to doing things.  Can always learn something new from others!   The overall model is truly great and you're no doubt right to be proud of it.   cheers, tim

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Hello All,

Many thanks to each of you for your kind words about the GTX, I really apreciate your support and humor (specialy for the giant dime... it was a big job to machinate...).

The GTX is done since 2018 and not WIP (maybe I should have posted in Under Glass) so I had no plan to add more pictures but I think I forgot to take picture of some elements so I post the some taken this morning.

Some pictures are a little blurry since I wanted to focus an area in particular and I'm obiviously better on the workbench than behind the camera...

Cheers, Francis

Rear suspention and wheelie bar

31_Back_Suspension.JPG.f3274688b5cf244107c7b43b290940ec.JPG

Trunk panel details (you can also see the gas cap and gas tank straps by the bumper opening)

32_Back_Details.JPG.4e06e34d7067a2567cd018c59e0f48b2.JPG

Hand machined American Racing slot mag wheels

33_Mag_Wheels.JPG.d5225cdb42a471e9bd4ffd0e9a7e7833.JPG

Under hood details made with different thickness of styrene strips

34_Under_Hood_Braces.JPG.a2a3edfd6b9a796e28ac44f877156bdc.JPG

Under full view

35_Under_Full.JPG.71e46f78e4e0bec7b0b98854f113b4a9.JPG

Top view (Coke bottle shape)

36_Top_View.JPG.cb65f66573047638c2408b38635853b0.JPG

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