1/25 Candies & Hughes Barracuda

[Dan Cooper]

While waiting for my nerves to clam so I can finish my dragster I started this kit as I wanted to try a funny car.

 

 

I don't know much about these Polar Lights kits but they seem alright.  A bit lacking on part placement and I didn't see anything to help in decal placement so a bit basic.  On looking over the body shell one thing hit me.  I was never going to get the decals to fit over the deep door/ panel lines.  So with no real idea what I was doing I filled all the panel lines with thin Evergreen strip and super glue.  I block sanded the whole body and worked as hard as I could to get it smooth and straight.  I also got rid of the wheel arch details as they don't seem to be there on the picture on the box top.  

I then shot some white Tamiya primer sanded out and then colour coated with Tamiya TS - 53 Deep Metallic Blue.  Bumpers got some Tamiya Silver Leaf and a few coats of TS - 13.  ( I also bought the ubiquitous Tamiya paint stand which wasn't cheap but works surprisingly well) I have started the decals ( which I'm no good at) and here's where I'm at.

 

 

I have found the decals thin but brittle and got a lot of chipping around the rear wheel wells.  I have found that Vallejo 70.961 Sky Blue is a good match for the light blue of the decals.  Not the best effort as there is one spot on the bonnet that I managed to get a tiny speck into the paint and not see it until the end.  The decals don't quite line up to the pictures but then that may be down to me not being very good with them.

I've started on the chassis but the motor has some very thick chrome/clear lacquer that I'm struggling to get off.  More once I get that sorted out.  Building kits like these reinforces my thoughts on just how hard it is to get nice clean glossy finishes as everything just marks, gets dirty so easily.  My next big brain teaser is how I do the headlight assemblies as I though you used the kit seperate parts but it looks from the pictures that you use the body shell alone.  

Thanks for looking in, any advise or comments welcome as I trying to learn this whole gloss finishes/decal thing.

 

Dan

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Dan Cooper

[bytownshaker]

Looks good so far Dan.

Ed

 

[Deuces ll]

Awesome!.....🙂👍 

I remember the other versions of their funny car kits in the early '70s... Not sure who put those out.. I wish they would bring them back.....

Edited May 17, 2021 by Deuces ll

[dragcarz]

Looks great to me!

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Awesome project, looking forward to see more

[TransAmMike]

Ahh, a car from my old stomping grounds (southern Louisiana).  Looks great Dan👌

[Sledsel]

I think you are doing a great job.

[Dan Cooper]

Thank you gentlemen for all your great comments and encouragement.  It's super to have the feedback.

I have spent the last week slowly adding more decals, only one side left to do and making a start on the chassis. 

Now I might be a bit rough in building things but I have to say there isn't much in the way of clear drawings or attachment points for all these chassis parts.  I now know that I have messed up the front axle assembly ( It's too far back and I don't think it's alined properly in the vertical plane.) and getting the motor to fit is going to be a nightmare as there doesn't seem to be any alinement pins/slots/tabs for any of the motor bulkheads.  The cross members have some to let you get the basic rails alined but that's it.  This isn't helped by the instructions being frustratingly vague and a little misleading.  I'm not sure how I'm going to proceed as I think the wheelbase on my build is a bit short and I have no idea if I can get the motor to pop through the windscreen in the correct place and angle.  I may have to stretch the frame rails to get the wheel base right and not worry too much as the model will always have the body on.  Better everything looks right from the outside.  

I think the best thing is to get the body finished and clear coated so I can make the chassis fit it rather than fuss with it in it's current state.

More pictures this weekend when I have a bit more time to sort it out.

  

[bisc63]

There was a really detailed article not too long after these kits came out as I remember, that had tons of building tips and heads-up on proper location of parts. It was heavily illustrated, with pen and ink drawings as well as photos. There were even good scratch-building suggestions for extra, more proper detailing. I believe it was a father and son team and they built two different Polar Lights funny car kits. I can't remember for sure which magazine it was in, it was either Model Cars Magazine or Scale Auto, but it was awhile ago. Maybe Tim Boyd or one of the other gurus can chime in. Ring any bells, anyone?

[Tortuga Kustomz]

19 hours ago, bisc63 said:

There was a really detailed article not too long after these kits came out as I remember, that had tons of building tips and heads-up on proper location of parts. It was heavily illustrated, with pen and ink drawings as well as photos. There were even good scratch-building suggestions for extra, more proper detailing. I believe it was a father and son team and they built two different Polar Lights funny car kits. I can't remember for sure which magazine it was in, it was either Model Cars Magazine or Scale Auto, but it was awhile ago. Maybe Tim Boyd or one of the other gurus can chime in. Ring any bells, anyone?

definitely need to check that, i have this kit and i want to do a good job on it

[Dan Cooper]

Thanks Rusty and Marcos I have been looking for intel on how to add better wiring and plumbing.  I have found this old post by Daniel Himmel which has been a lot of help.  ( and shown I need to change some stuff on my kit  )  It might help others too.

Plumbing information for early funny cars

Dan

[Tortuga Kustomz]

That is super interesting, got the file for my self, i have a huge plan to build a 1/16 scale funny car, and this info will hep me a lot, thanks for sharing...

[Dan Cooper]

Progress;

 

 

All the main chassis subassemblies are in their base colour.  Now I can have a play with the detail painting and a little bit of wiring.  I still need to do the rest of the work on the body.  and then see if I can get all the bits to fit together.  

Still having fun and I think it looks okay, well all the four wheel touch the ground.

Thanks for looking in.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Dan Cooper

[Deuces ll]

🙂👍

[Dan Cooper]

Progress;

 

 

A bunch of lead wire, some plastic scraps and some vinyl fly tying tubing and the basic wirings done.  I have some braided fuel line coming in the post so we'll see what I can make with that.  More painting to do, but I think it's okay.  Need to buckle up and just finish the body so I won't be waiting ages once the chassis is finished.  

Thanks for looking in.

Dan

[Dan Cooper]

 I worked hard to finish the motor today.  First time using the braided fuel lines, much to learn but I think it looks okay.  A pity it will hide under the body but good practice.  I tried adding a few more details and I'm calling this one done.

Progress;

 

 

Lots of room to improve on the next one.  

Thanks for looking in.

Dan

Edited June 2, 2021 by Dan Cooper

[dragcarz]

Nice clean detailing!

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Nice and clean job , well done on the fuel lines 

[oldscool]

Beautiful work.

[Dan Cooper]

Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments.   I'm glad you like my little efforts.  One thing I note from looking at other work is that I need to work on keeping everything clean and tidy.  I don't know how some of you guys build such super sharp models.  For me the dents and paint muck ups seem to pile up one upon another.  

Progress;

 

 

 

I couldn't get the exhaust pipes to stay round so I cut some brass tube and soldered four bits together and grafted them on to the ends.  Not perfect but learned enough that I can do it better next time.  The plumbing is all in but I'm not super happy with it( I'm sure I could do better next time).  Once again learned more about what not to do rather than what to do.  I can't imagine using the tiny hose fittings as even without them my nerves are shot to pieces.  I had ordered some seat bets but the ones that came were, for me, unworkable so I have some others on order to see if they are better/easier. A few more bits to do on the chassis but it's time to address the elephant in the room and tackle the body work. So far so good and I'm looking to do mid 70's funny car next.  Anyone have a suggestion for a good kit to try?  Preferably one that you can still get a hold of.

Thanks for looking in and your comments and encouragement are most appreciated.

 

Dan

[Tortuga Kustomz]

On 6/5/2021 at 6:32 AM, Dan Cooper said:

Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments.   I'm glad you like my little efforts.  One thing I note from looking at other work is that I need to work on keeping everything clean and tidy.  I don't know how some of you guys build such super sharp models.  For me the dents and paint muck ups seem to pile up one upon another.  

Progress;

 

 

 

I couldn't get the exhaust pipes to stay round so I cut some brass tube and soldered four bits together and grafted them on to the ends.  Not perfect but learned enough that I can do it better next time.  The plumbing is all in but I'm not super happy with it( I'm sure I could do better next time).  Once again learned more about what not to do rather than what to do.  I can't imagine using the tiny hose fittings as even without them my nerves are shot to pieces.  I had ordered some seat bets but the ones that came were, for me, unworkable so I have some others on order to see if they are better/easier. A few more bits to do on the chassis but it's time to address the elephant in the room and tackle the body work. So far so good and I'm looking to do mid 70's funny car next.  Anyone have a suggestion for a good kit to try?  Preferably one that you can still get a hold of.

Thanks for looking in and your comments and encouragement are most appreciated.

 

Dan

You’re doing a great job on this project man, looks really nice and clean, but I do have a question my friend, how did you the text after to put the pictures

[marv13]

On 6/2/2021 at 5:03 AM, Dan Cooper said:

 I worked hard to finish the motor today.  First time using the braided fuel lines, much to learn but I think it looks okay.  A pity it will hide under the body but good practice.  I tried adding a few more details and I'm calling this one done.

Progress;

 

 

Lots of room to improve on the next one.  

Thanks for looking in.

Dan

Awesome build, where did you get your barrel valve and fuel lines? 

[Bainford]

On 6/5/2021 at 7:32 AM, Dan Cooper said:

One thing I note from looking at other work is that I need to work on keeping everything clean and tidy.  I don't know how some of you guys build such super sharp models.  For me the dents and paint muck ups seem to pile up one upon another.  

The other great models have issues, too. On those models, like on yours, only the builder knows how many mistakes there are, and where they are. Most of us would never see them. Your Build is looking great. The engine detailing brings it to life.

[Dan Cooper]

On 6/6/2021 at 9:26 PM, Tortuga Kustomz said:

You’re doing a great job on this project man, looks really nice and clean, but I do have a question my friend, how did you the text after to put the pictures

Thank you Marcos - Not too sure what you mean as I add my photos from the box at the bottom of the posting then hit return twice to get the curser to drop to below the last photo and then keep typing away.  If you are referring to my little Squirrel Built logo I add that in when I'm post processing my photos.  I hope that helps.

[Dan Cooper]

22 hours ago, marv13 said:

Awesome build, where did you get your barrel valve and fuel lines? 

Thanks Vi, I'm glad you like my little efforts.  As for the barrel valve and throttle linkages.  They are all just bits of Evergreen styrene rod, strip and brass wire.  I just try and break the part down into the simplest shape and then glue little bits together until I get something that looks close.  The Optvisor helps with being able to see close up and doing each part in lots of small steps / subassemblies to let it dry helps.  The Fuel lines are 0.15 lead fly tying wire for the injectors( As are the spark plug wires) and little drilled blocks of 2mm square Evergreen strip. The braided line is from Top studio ( 0.6mm) IHTH.