slusher Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Cool shifter Jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 18 hours ago, slusher said: Cool shifter Jim! Thanks buddy! Someone sent me a message on Instagram and said they have a scale skull that they use for shifters that has a LOT more detail...so it might get swapped as and when a couple arrive in the mail, but even if not I’m happy with it for what it is... Little update today - made a metal pedal assembly and got it in place - it’ll be pretty well hidden anyway but certainly visible enough if you peek under the dash that I didn’t mind spending a couple of hours on it: I also didn’t like the color of the embossing powder so I gave it a black wash to see if that would get it closer to the color I imagined - actually worked pretty well! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Jim, the Hot Wheels car you used for the skulls is called Rigor Motor. I have used them several times myself. You can find the skulls in black, white, green chrome and gold chrome. If anyone is hunting for these at a flea market, do be aware that the latest issues DONT HAVE the skulls anymore - so check before laying down your quarter! Love your roadster, especially the flames. They are silky smooth and the clear came out like glass. This should look sensational when it is al done. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimJ Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Excellent work on the paint and I love the shifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, alan barton said: Jim, the Hot Wheels car you used for the skulls is called Rigor Motor. I have used them several times myself. You can find the skulls in black, white, green chrome and gold chrome. If anyone is hunting for these at a flea market, do be aware that the latest issues DONT HAVE the skulls anymore - so check before laying down your quarter! Love your roadster, especially the flames. They are silky smooth and the clear came out like glass. This should look sensational when it is al done. Cheers Alan That was it! Thank you!!! I grabbed one in Target last Halloween so I could open it up and see if the skulls had changed...and yep, they weren’t there! ??♂️? 3 hours ago, TimJ said: Excellent work on the paint and I love the shifter. Thanks buddy! Got the frame polished (which took three repaints before I got it where I was happy) and the block painted - these two bits took me a few tries and were holding up basically everything else, so I’m glad they’re done finally! Haven’t seen valve covers like those since the nineties...I thought they’d fit this build tho! More soon! Edited June 12, 2020 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 Good news! My generic-brand streetrod radiator came in from Jegs! ? I added some hose-receivers top and bottom - I haven’t quite decided what kind of hoses I’ll run but I didn’t want them just disappearing into a hole, so I used some silver tubing for those. Then I wired the fan (man, that red wire was tiny - looks about in scale to me though, and correct if we pretend there’s two wires hidden inside it powering the motor) and added a drain plug and some other little bits - need to find a cap I like for it now! Didn’t go too crazy because you won’t see most of this when the engine’s in anyway but I wanted to do something to detail the kit part a little: Weird thing - I originally painted this gloss black to match the body but it looked awful - when I mated it to the grill shell it made the grill look real bulky and lumpy, so I stripped it back and reshot with a semigloss instead. Not often I have to strip a part because it looked TOO good ??. Id been waiting for some nice machined pulleys for the engine too - I took a shot on the ones I liked hoping they’d work ok but they’re just too deep compared to the kit part to work without moving the engine or messing with the frame...so I guess we’re using the kit part this time. Again though, they’re mostly hidden when the radiator is in and the hoses are on so not the end of the world... More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 A little more bench time today - LOVE workbench Sundays! Shot the carbs and intake parts with Alclad and then plumbed them - I’m not sure if silver fuel lines exist, but the satin silver rubber cord I have here looks close enough to grey that I can say they’re grey if I have to ?: I wanted to do something for the transmission pan rather than just paint it and install it, and I had the idea of a little aluminum plate like the photoetched ones on the top, so I invented a parts company and drew up a logo... Then messed with it for WAY too long to get a layout I liked and engraved it on a little sheet aluminum to make the piece: It’s REALLY hard to photograph, but the engraving came out pretty nice - I’ll seal that and the pan with some Future to protect it from tarnishing (does aluminum tarnish? I guess it might eventually...) and make it look a little more finished before installing it onto the trans. Excuse my dirty finger - I usually have paint on my hands somewhere, and today it was black’s turn. Then, finally for today, a couple of quick mockups with the wheels I chose for this...This build seems to be leaning in a kinda 90s street rod direction in my mind, and these Boyd tri-spokes look pretty cool with it I think: The overall tire height is about a scale inch less than the kit tires, so coupled with the 3 inch-ish drop I gave the front and whatever I can reduce the rear by should have this thing sitting a fair bit lower than Revell intended. More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 When I'm at work in the week I like to find a quality thread with lots of detail in which to absorb myself over lunchtime, and this has perfectly met my requirements! It looks great so far, with some fantastic detailing. I think it may be the first time I have read about someone polishing the chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Very good progress Jim! The engine looks very good. I do have a roll of small soldering wires that is roughly 0.031" diameter and I think that I bought it at The Source (Radio Shack) few years back but yours actually do the trick. Very nice engraving on the transmission pan, what kind of device did you used to make it? This little Ford is heading in the right direction sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattilacken Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Cool build! Nice attention to details! Love the fan with cables! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said: When I'm at work in the week I like to find a quality thread with lots of detail in which to absorb myself over lunchtime, and this has perfectly met my requirements! It looks great so far, with some fantastic detailing. I think it may be the first time I have read about someone polishing the chassis. Thank you sir! I always enjoy really detailed threads too! I like seeing all the little steps! I didn’t go for a SUPER glossy dipped-in-syrup look for the frame, just not too lumpy ? Frames are HARD to polish, too many chances to burn through on the edges, but I gave it my best shot anyway! 12 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: Very good progress Jim! The engine looks very good. I do have a roll of small soldering wires that is roughly 0.031" diameter and I think that I bought it at The Source (Radio Shack) few years back but yours actually do the trick. Very nice engraving on the transmission pan, what kind of device did you used to make it? This little Ford is heading in the right direction sir! I like picking up supplies like that too when I see something useful! Got a bunch of weird wires and cords and stuff here! The engraving was an experimental technique which I’m going to keep working at. My Silhouette scrapbook cutter has an optional attachment that allows you to insert a pen or pencil in place of the blade. Good for card making and so on, I guess - you can have it duplicate a design multiple times and have it look hand-drawn. Instead of inserting a pen into the attachment I put a regular pin into a pin vice, inserted THAT into the machine and used it as a scribe with the cutter tracing the design onto some aluminum sheet. I actually used a little material from an unbranded beer can in this instance - my brother in law is a craft beer fan and a lot of small breweries don’t print their packaging like the big ones do. Their cans make great scratchbuilding and experimenting material! I’d like to try some other material from my stash and see what I can come up with - maybe see if I can trick the machine into doing some embossing to make nice bead lines and so on. 9 hours ago, Mattilacken said: Cool build! Nice attention to details! Love the fan with cables! Thank you! ? I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to have something worth posting each evening on my builds - but today was mostly sanding and prepping parts. Tomorrow’s adventure is messing with the kit headers: There’s an ejector pin mark on the back that I wanted to fill, I didn’t want to use ‘diverters’ (or whatever they’re actually called) for the optional underfloor exhaust system, and I had an idea for another little change I’d like to make too. More on that tomorrow! Thanks for looking everyone! Edited June 16, 2020 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) Had a couple of days of prepping, sanding and priming parts this week, so didn’t have as many updates worth sharing. Made a little progress here though... Smoothed out those headers and changed the tips for some straighties rather than some bendies: Then shot them with some Molotow: I want to use SOME of the kit chrome on this build, but not nearly as much as it comes with...going for more of a monochromatic look like people used to do (just not pastel peach or mint green in this case ?) so I stripped and cleaned up a bunch of the suspension parts and got those painted and cleared ready for installation too... (Ignore the frame, that’s for another one I’m doing...) Whilst I was thinking about suspension pieces I decided I didn’t like the rear coil overs that come in the kit...they’re nicely done but I thought I could maybe improve on them a LITTLE. Now, the kit frame has two locators for the rear axle that wouldn’t work in 1:1 but make it easier to build, so I made things harder on myself by chopping them off. It looks better, but means that these little shocks will play a big part in locating the rear end properly. I made a little jig to make sure I could make them identical side to side relatively easily and made a pair that, whilst not totally accurate to a real shock are at least sturdy enough to hold the car up properly and not fall apart: Got them in paint ready for some assembly tomorrow: Finally, whilst I’m waiting for paint to dry so I can assemble some stuff, I cast some resin brake disks to swap out the kit drums and shot them with a little Rustoleum to give a little color variation from the Molotow and Alclad I’ve used elsewhere on the build so far: I’m running out of parts to paint, so some more-interesting stuff soon! ? Edited June 19, 2020 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 It’s Frame Assembly Friday! Got the front and rear ends on - the rear took some fiddling but after some careful measuring and gluing I got it all straight and proper: The front was basically as-kit, except for the fact I inverted the crossmember to drop it a few inches...and with that done I could get the engine in and do a quick mock-up! I wanted a kinda roller-skate look with a wider front end than you often see nowadays - so I shimmed out the front axle so the tire edges are the same front and rear. I like how the rear looks with those accent-piece pink coils! And a quick mock-up with the body too - it’s looking pretty 90s Street-rod I’d say! More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Excellent progress! I really like the look of the frame with the wheels and engine fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) 16 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said: Excellent progress! I really like the look of the frame with the wheels and engine fitted. Thank you sir! A little progress today - got the floor mounted now that I’m (mostly) done with the frame - I shot the floor with the same pearl red as the flames, not that most people will see under there anyway... Then shot the interior panels - I wanted a black interior (this thing already has enough bright colors on it ??) but not as dark as the body and frame so I used a little 79 cent craft paint I picked up at Michael’s a little while back: Once it dried I gave it a little buff with some Novus plastic cleaner and gave it a little sheen: Then, the bit I’ve been waiting for, today was body-polishing day! Need to give it my customary second-round of attention tomorrow with fresh eyes and better light, but looks ok so far I think! More soon, soon as I’ve done more! Edited June 20, 2020 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Great way to show off a million dollar shine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 On 6/20/2020 at 7:50 PM, misterNNL said: Great way to show off a million dollar shine! Thanks buddy! And it only cost me a dollar at the Colorado Wild West museum ? I was waiting for some photoetch to arrive so I could add belts to the seat - thankfully the mail here seems to be speeding up so I could make some good progress today! Belts and buckles made and seat installed: And with that done I could install the dash - I smoothed out the kit dash, drilled it for a speedo and used some epoxy for gauge glass: Made a billet-looking steering wheel: (that’s my wife holding it, in case you wondered ??) Looks cool in there I think! And then pinned the kit headlamps and attached them to a bar I’ve hidden behind the radiator - mounting then to a bar like this has given me some wiggle room to get them angled nicely and evenly which is one less thing to screw up once the lenses are in... It’s starting to look like a thing! More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MININORTHFORDMAN Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Wow! Looks Fantastic So Far The Flames Look Sick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Looks like a very cool thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codi Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Nice build Jim. I like the attention to the tiniest of details that you're putting into her. The paint / flames are gorgeous. cheers, tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 Thank you everyone! Last few touches today - I could’ve gone on building this one but I ran out of parts! ?? License plate on - I wanted an New York plate and then spotted this 90s era-correct one in my decal stash and figured it fit the build: I wanted a dark red or purple tint for the taillights so I colored the kit chrome ones with a (knock off) Sharpie, then hit them with candy red - they flip to a nice reddish-purple in the sun: I decided I wanted to have a tinted windshield so a pair of 3D glasses ‘borrowed’ from the cinema gave up a lens to make that: And then when the glue sets on that, the headlamp lenses (which I shot with Future with a little pink Pearl Ex in, just for my own amusement) and a couple of little photoetch washers and bolts it’ll be about done! Thanks for all the nice comments everyone - finished pics under glass soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Finished pics - thanks for looking everyone!! ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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