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1/16 Scale Army Vega Funny Car - Finished 10/14/2018


Mooneyzs

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Greg... Thanks Mate. Hey I am just a tad over 5 feet myself... I claim 5'-6".... :lol:

Henry... Thank you.

Scott... Thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

Marcos... Thank you. I appreciate you following along.

Dave... Thanks... You would think I would be able to build a real one at the speed I have been going...haha

Mike... Thank you...

John... Appreciate the kinds words Brother!!

Dave... Thank you. Maybe one day I will get to a NNL show back east.

Alan... Thank you. you are so right about how something can not only drive you nuts but take 3, 4 or even 5 times longer than expected... :angry: ....lol :lol: . I never would had thought I would have still been on this hatch detail...lol

Arnold... Thank you.

Brad & John... I have a special treat for both of you. I am uploading pics to photobucket as I type. Will have some pics up shortly.

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Hello Fellas.... I appreciate all of you following along with this build. I wasn't able to get to the bench much this week due to having to take my dog to the vet on Tuesday only to find out that He had to go in for surgery on Thursday. Surgery went well and he is doing good. He had to have surgery on his ears for Hemotoma's that he has been having and after a good 8 to 12 of them that I have had drained the vet thought it was time to do surgery on them so this wouldn't happen again. He is doing well I just feel bad that he has to wear the Cone of Shame as I call it but it keeps him from scratching his ears while he is healing. Maybe I will post a pic or two of him. Ok enough about my dog lets get to the update on this build

So this after noon I have been working on the latch mechanism for the hatch. I am calling it good even though that I wish I would of made it feel a little tighter when it is moved but it functions and does what I wanted it too. I still need to work on cutting the glass out from acetate and drilling holes in it that my buddy John Teresi was kind enough to supply me with acetate to use. I will let the pics do the talking now. There will be about 3 posts with pics to break them up so I don't upload so many at once....

I started out by working on the slide mechanism. I used the smallest piece of flat brass that I had. Drilled a hole, then tapped it for a 1.0 mm Scale Hardware Hex head bolt:

DP-Army-Vega4546-1_zps5e60a85a.jpg

The bold will get threaded into the slide so that I can install it after everything has been painted:

DP-Army-Vega4549-1_zpsb8a04718.jpg

Here I was basing the box around the latch trying to make it as compact as I could:

DP-Army-Vega4552-1_zps0eef96a7.jpg

Now I had cut a section out of the Lip on the hood that the latch will go thru and added a track that the latch will somewhat run on:

DP-Army-Vega4560-1_zps182c4016.jpg

Pics continued on next post.....

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Here I have cut down the main box to size, As well as fabricated the top with a slot that will allow the distance that the latch can move:

DP-Army-Vega4564-1_zps85608658.jpg

I next set the slide into place and needed to fill part of it in so there wasn't a big gap and I created a small opening that the latch would move thru:

DP-Army-Vega4565-1_zps85f35e90.jpg

I then added some .010" thick pieces to create a track that the latch would slide in. I wish now I would of at this point made the slot a little tighter but was afraid of not giving my self any clearance so that it would bind up and not work:

DP-Army-Vega4570-1_zps621fb5c4.jpg

Here it is with the top added. I need to sand the top piece flush to the main body of the latch, Here it is in the retracted position:

DP-Army-Vega4574-1_zps85a48d80.jpg

Another post with pics coming....

Edited by Mooneyzs
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Now it is in the extended position:

DP-Army-Vega4575-1_zpsaf6a1ecf.jpg

Here it is installed in the body, Extended:

DP-Army-Vega4576-1_zpsf256123c.jpg

And Retracted:

DP-Army-Vega4582-1_zps2e3d6bde.jpg

Picture of it right side up:

DP-Army-Vega4588-1_zpsc87f31d2.jpg

Well time to give my dog his meds and heat up some left overs, then I will be back at the bench working on the next part of this. Hopefully I will have another update later today for everyone. Thanks for following along.

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Chris…….you are totally insane……..and I mean that in a very good way………you are the Albert Einstein of model building. :)

Thanks Brother.... I know I am pushing myself on this build and going to farther lengths just to prove to myself I can do it. Don't think I can do this on every build though. I would never get anything done...haha

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Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris. I mean really. Chris?

I've got 2 words for you. "Over the top!" Three, three words. "Over the top, Man." Four, only four words to describe, "How totally over the top man you have gone with this build." .........10, 11, 12! That's it. I'm done.

Rock On Sir, Rock On.

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Ron... Thank you sir. I appreciate the kind words. My advice about adding more detail is to not be afraid and go for it, and do it little steps at a time. I can't tell you how many things on this build that I redid 2 or 3 times.

Brad... Thank you. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. just wished the latch moved a tad bit smoother. But it works and does what I want it to...lol

Brett... Thank you my friend. You know maybe I am trying to make it look too nice. I am sure the real car some of it was beat up a little bit...lol I really appreciate your kind words. I am really proud of this model so far and let along its the one that I have the most detail work to ever. I have been proving to myself that I can do some of the things I have always wanted to.

Joe... Thank you. I guess I have gone a little over the top with some of the little details I wanted to see if I could do...lol

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Well I was able to do a little more tonight. I got the glass installed and holes drilled for it in the Acetate that I am using. Actually not final mounted but more so mocked up, fabricated with the mounting holes. I have to give a big Thanks again to my good friend John Teresi for hooking me with the couple of Acetate pieces he sent me. That stuff is crystal clear and works great. I ended up using the .010 thick material and here are a few pics of it installed. I am thinking also about shooting some primer on the hatch tomorrow, I know I will have some minor body work to do but at least if I get a quick light coat or two It will give me an idea where I need add a little bondo to the hatch. I was also trying to think if I could shoot a little video with my phone to show how the hatch works to everyone. I will try an mess with that tomorrow.

Here is the hatch installed again with the Acetate in place:

DP-Army-Vega4591-1_zps5127ec8c.jpg

Underside with all of the bolts and nuts to make sure everything works good and lines up:

DP-Army-Vega4594-1_zps350f01c1.jpg

Here the hatch is in the open position. I will need to take the rivets and cut them down to length:

DP-Army-Vega4603-1_zps38ede8e3.jpg

For Comparison:

EscapeHatch-5copy_zpsde1faa31.jpg

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Chris, I think we are running out of adjectives to use for this display of GREATNESS out of 2700+ replies I think some have probably been used several times :lol: but that's OK you just keep them updates coming it's been a joy to follow you along on this project cause your skills really are insane and hope your dog is doing well!! :)

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This is going to be difficult for me, but I'm going to be serious for a change. You have done so many things right, from the frame to the engine to the tin work, etc.

In my mind, the hatch is the "stand out" feature that makes this build truly unique. But I still have to keep an open mind for the details yet to come.

Also, look at it this way. In addition to all of the trophies and plagues and, hopefully, "Best Of......" awards it will garner, you'll probably get a "Lifetime Achievement Award" as well.

Whew, I did it. I stayed focused and somber the whole way through.

So anyway, this Funny Car driver and a Crew Chief walk into a bar......

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Brad... Thank you sir. You know I had originally though of putting a spring in it so it would be spring loaded but the size I was trying to make it I wasn't sure if i could l find a spring that small. I could always see if I could fit one in there. I am glad you brought up the point of shorting the length of the bolt I didn't really think about it. I think I will cut one of the brass ones down because i have to be honest I didn't like how it stuck so far down...lol. I had thoughts of sanding the head down so it was some what smooth but if I leave it with the hex I will be able to use my wrench to put it on and off during installation of it.

Larry... Thank you. I appreciate all of the kind words. I am enjoying sharing this with everyone and hoping to have more updates soon. I appreciate the kind comments on my dog, He is recovering well.

John... Thanks Brother. I took a look at my time on the hatch and I have a total of 49 hours into the hatch where it is right now. For the total build I am currently at 990 hours for the whole build.

Dave... Thank you. I am planning once I get this build done I will be building a Power point together with the pictures and will print out a build book of this build. I think I will try and turn it into a PDF and will be able to email it to who ever would like it.

Dave... Thank you so much for the kind words. I can't thank you enough the help behind the scenes on the multiple questions I have messaged you about.

Danno... Thank you sir. I am really trying to have this done by Desert Scale ;)

Mike... thank you my friend... Coop is doing great.

Joe... Thank you so much for the kind words. It really means a lot with the nice things you have said about this. I have Challenged myself with this build to see if I could do some thing i have never done before, so far I am happy with the outcome, I know its not perfect by any means and I have made a lot of assumptions since I had a limited amount of reference pics for this car.

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