carsntrucks4you Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 getting the front organized. I wont use any filler until I get the entire body roughed out to my liking. I try to use the styrene even to fill small voids. Filler has a tendancy to fall out of openings so AI use it sparingly in the final steps. Kenn B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 This project is amazing! I can't understand, how it is possible to build something as nicely as this... I know, it's hard to make fender skirts from styrene. You are building the whole body from styrene and it will be looking very good when it's done. Have you been thinking of doing resin copies from it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 And so ends the first week of this project with the filler on the left side bulking up the body a little, and bringing the hood to the final shape. I opened up the grill opening and worked out the headlights and hoods. Not totally pleased but will wait a bit so see how the come across when I get further down the road. It is starting to look more like the car than a pile of plastic. The inside is finished like the outside with little tails and excess plastic is trimmed off and cleaned up. I am proceeding with getting the body ready for casting and then from there will make the adjustments for the coupe.I will start on the bumpers and chassis next week. Since I dont have any thing to go by for this I will wing it using the typical standards for the time period. This is a step down frame on it so the side rails are going to be a challange, wide at the interior and closed back in for the wheels. Since this is going to be cast also I will start with a floor pan and work off that with some of the suspension on the front cast inplace. As I see it now the rear end and details will be seperate pieces. All the chrome will be plated instead of painted, a first for me. Thanks to all those looking at this and for all the comments. If you see something you feel could be improved upon please let me know. It is rough at this point and still a lot of details that have to be worked out and parts made. KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Great scratching so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 ...And I bawl like a baby chopping a '34 Pickup top. This is so cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo426 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Wow! How did you come up with the technique of turning flat styrene into 3d car bodies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 I guess it came about becasue I had the material at hand and wanted something to do.I know that sounds rather simplistic. The first scratchbuilt car I did was the Tatra. (In plastic, I have worked some with paper models). I have another car on the back burner. At this point it is evolving and a mater of trial and error, a lot of the later . You are seeing with me the first time I do things and if the work great and if they dont I show you me doing them over. I will say that the polystyrene that I use is very giving and be formed a lot easier that Everygreen. That will flatten back out over night, great for some applications but not this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatt88 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrobuilder Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony T Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Fabulous...your Tatra was awesome and these (roadster and sedan) should be inspiring as well! Keep at it and thanks for taking us along for the ride!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 I have started the front bumper with the signature A shape. I left part undone so you can see how I do the bumpers. I am planning on using a different way on the rear and will post how that method works when I get to it. KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lombardo Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Wow, a huge undertaking and very impressive. It will be one of a kind. It sure looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 I started the interior and have the boor panels and dash worked out and roughed up. Still working on the detailing to bring it out. I added some photos after the filler layer. It is starting to bulk up properly. Kenn B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo426 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Wow1 Talk about making something out of nothing!Pretty amazing work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 Started the wheels and tires today. Have a few roughed out but not with the rim inserts. Not sure what I am going to do, maybe just some hubcaps tha look Hudson since I am not going to do the wire rims that came with the car. One photo shows how the tires and rims are made. I did use a tube for the inside of the rim. (I cheated a little). Of course more ont he way. I try to update at least one time a day so keep checking back. Thank you for your interest. I dont chnage the header since I still havent figured out how to do that . KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 I have been thinking about the hub caps and tryed to make some 50ish caddy style. I heated the plastic and pushed it one way with the knife handle and the other way with a needle file handle. These are rough but you can get the idea. I was thinking of using the Hudson triangle in the center. The photo leaves something to be desired but you can get the concept of what I am working towards. KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) This is the part that I have not been looking foward to, the frame. I have not had good luck with them in the past so i was dreading it. I did get the side rails cut and shaped to what I am guessing it would have looked like. Then set up a frame jig to make sure everything is square. In doing this i have it at the proper ride height, I hope, for it to work out. I set the rails in place and glued up a few channels and the engine mounts. I trashed what i did for the engine mount when I was working on the frame for the engine mount and will rework that so it works out the way it is suppose to. I have to put together the front steering and rear end but with the frame jig this should be a little easier, Thanks for looking and commenting, KennB Edited October 26, 2011 by kennb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Okay Ken. I gotta ask this. And PLEASE do not take this as a bash, because I certainly don't mean it to be. I have nothing but respect for you and the astounding work you do. Why do you scratchbuild everything? I mean, while impressive, your wheels and tires are not nearly as well done as whats available in kits or aftermarket. The time saved alone would make it worthwhile. Why, since you are assuming chassis design, don't you just use one from a kit with a similar wheelbase and chassis design? I can understand the sense of pride, of saying "Yep, I built that from just some plastic sheets and tube stock." But the bodies and interiors ALONE are so impressive that NO ONE would fault you from doing some kitbashing to help move things along and onto the next project. There are so many projects I want to accomplish as a modeler and only so many days allowed on this planet. If I can make "this" work by using "this" to help move it along, I certainly will. We obviously have two different work styles and ethics even. Looking forward to your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 You are very right, and i think it is a valid question, and taken that way. Why do I waste my time making the tires and the frame when I could get a kit and rob parts from there. It obviously would be quicker and granted they are better considering that I dont spend a lot of time roughing things out. I has to do with one simple thing. I want to. I have built a lot of kits and have 2 I am working on. They are in a box. I do not find them as fullfilling as building it all from scratch. I thourghly enjoy making all the parts, The wheels, as tedious as they are, but do bring satisfaction of my doing them myself. The challage of building a square frame can be both enjoyable and frustrating at the same time, but when it is done I look at the completed frame knowing that I did it all myself. To be blunt I get very bored with building a kit. I am not trying to sell any of the projects shown here short by any means, but I simple do not find a kit challanging enough for what I do. Also, there plainly are no kits that would provide what I want to build, with the exception of the tires. This particular car has a drop center frame that has a 105.2" wheel base. I would have to totally rebuild any frame to start with to get it to work. There are a lot of cars that there are no kits for. There is an unlimited supply of material (cars) to work from so yes there is a lot I want to do also. It takes me about 6 weeks to build a car working about 1 to 2 hours a day,,maybe 3 hours some days. That is about as long as one takes to build a really nice kit with the same hours spent. Yes very nice projects can be completed in a few days and are really great. That last reason is totally economics. I spent 12 dollars for enough plastic to build maybe 6 to 8 cars. How much are kits now. 20 on up to 60 or more. I won a 60 dollar kit in the only show I put my Tatra in. It is still sealed. But for the most part I can not afford a big outlay for kits. I have a very limited budget so this is a way to enjoy the hobby with very little expense. For 12 dollars I have enough material to last for sveral months. Thank you for the question and comments. I do have some interesting things coming up for the next build. Stay tuned. KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Thanks for the reply Ken. That's one of the great things about this hobby. Like minded folks doing things in a hundred different ways. I'll be following your progress. BTW, what sort of research material are you using for this? Manufacturers specs or are you just winging this by eye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 This is a great build, do you have any links to your other builds? I'd love to see a finished one. Where the heck do you buy your plastic that you can build about 6 cars for $12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 Finding drawings for some of my projects is very difficult. Specs are even more vague. I have the wheelbase and tread and some drawings I found online for this one. All my work is done with an exacto knife, wood ruler , some needle files and a pair of needle nose pliers. I dont have any fancy equipment and use the drawings for scaling the best I can. Most things are done by eye. As for things I dont have information on, i.e. the frame, I try to use what was common practice for the era. This can be a challange for some things. Some things there is just no information on, so you have to depend on the photos that you do have for the details. As in case of this car and the Tatra, there is the fact that over the years the cars have changed and it ends up that you dont have any 2 cars that are the same. With my Tatra, cars even the same year were not the same as things along the line were changed at the whim of the company. Cars like the Italia were all hand built and this ment that there was even variations within this small group. All my research is limited to what I can find online. I have the Tatra build in this forum, I started it in June and finished in July. I also have photos of the build on photobucket. There are some albums there of my paper builds, and a few others cars I am working on. http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/shutter-bug/2nd%20set/ As for the plastic I use. It is thermal setting plastic that I buy in 40" x 72" sheets, .40 (thousanths) that I get from a supplier in Ohio. I can get about 6 cars from 1 sheet, depending on the car, and how many times i have to remake specific parts. If I am not happy with something I restart and throw the previous away, hence "wasting" material. I think I have responded to the questions. Any other questions are welcome and I will answer the best I can. I enjoy the process of construction and willing to share how I do it. You may find that you can use some of the techniques and even improve upon what I do. Someone mentioned in one of the posts that this is art. It is more closely related to an art form in as that I am as accuratly as possible, with what I have, trying to show the feel, the texture, and look of the car as opposed to detailing each nut and bolt. I use no commercial parts but will steal plastic from swizzle sticks, as shown in the tailights in this picture. The glazing is a coke bottle and donut container. Thanks for the continued support and comments. I will have more photos of this car later today as I make progress on the frame, steering and rear end. KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 This is the specs that I am working from for this car. I also have a data base of several dozen photos that I got from the net. Thank You..KennB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I have deep admiration for your patience and skills. Amazing work. David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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