crazyrichard Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 a nother awsome build ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Great Progress! Beautiful Work Bill... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) My sincere thanks for everyone's interest and comments !! For some reason, this one's really got me motivated to at least get it to the 'bare metal' stage, so between moving the house and shop (and re-habbing a badly vandalized house), I've been trying to snatch a few minutes here and there to sneak up on the correct profile. This shot shows a little of how different the plan view of the early tail is compared to the supercharged version. T And this gives a little idea of how the nose plan views differ...early car on the right. This is the profile as she sits today, with a total of .040" of styrene added to the insides of the front wheel openings, which has allowed me to lower the fender tops and make that pretty curve...(which still isn't quite right). The tail of the car will be lower still in the rear, and more squared. The underside of the later car rises much more behind the rear wheels. This front 3/4 shot begins to capture the subtle voluptuousness of the original design... ...but I think this may be my favorite angle. Edited October 20, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 This looks better every picture Bill. I was just thinking if you only changed one side you could have both cars in one build . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 This looks better every picture Bill. I was just thinking if you only changed one side you could have both cars in one build . Thanks. And I would like to show both versions of the car together, to better illustrate the differences. I don't know if I'll have the patience to build another one though...just doing one side and putting it on a turntable could be my lazy-way-out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Not lazy but creative Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 As to the rear section ; have you considered taking a tiny sliver of a pie-cut out of it ? The wider part of the pie piece would be from the top . This would elevate the rear slightly .This might get rid of the models "droopy"look in the rear and perhaps be closer to your reference photo. I'm not sure whether this is even possible without creating some kind of interference with the rearmost frame section(or requiring unrealistic frame alterations). I always appreciate thoughtful suggestions, but I think the majority of the "droopy" look is coming from the angle the car is viewed from in that photo. The lower rear surface of the early body is actually LOWER than the later bodywork, closer to the ground, and more squared off. Compare the latest photos to the reference profile and you'll see that the tail on my model is STILL too high. As for interfering with the frame, the bondo is getting mighty thick and heavy in some areas, but that's okay, as this body is only being used to display once, and then it will be the plug for a set of molds to make a complete set of skins in .020" thick fiberglass. I'm sure some of you guys have seen he almost-scale-thickness parts I've done for other builds, and these skins will utilize the same techniques. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggie427 Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Sign me up for a copy PLEASE. Seriously, outstanding work Bill !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) I'm going nuts, slightly (more so than normally, anyway). As I try to bring this one home (while moving the house and shop, and in time for the Nov. 9 ACME NNL-style Southern Nationals) I'm finding more and more subtle differences between the early and late versions of the car, and it's a lesson in measuring, analyzing carefully and planning FIRST (if you want to do an accurate model of an actual vehicle) to avoid surprises down the road. I've been tearing my little remaining hair out trying to identify what was eluding me about getting the 'look' of the early car just right, even though I'd made templates of the profiles of the fender tops from a good profile shot of the car. My eye kept coming back to the relationship of the height of the front fender relative to the height of the lower side panel... I'd assumed the lower side panels were re-used in original form on the later version of the car, and were therefor the same height on both versions. Wrong. After carefully scaling good, crisp profile shots of both versions of it, using the wheel / tire diameters as references, it has worked out that the later side panels (as presented in the Revell kit) are indeed slightly taller than the originals, and after allowing for measuring errors and averaging a few repeated measurements (in order to allow for slight inaccuracies in interpreting the edges of the panels in the photographs due to fuzziness of the images), the difference accounts for what my eyeball was telling me all along...simply put, the discrepancy in the profile 'feel' of my model is right there. The numbers don't lie, and I'm working on a solution that doesn't involve disassembling what I've already got. And...I'd been being careful to preserve the engraving of the fuel-fill access panels on the nose of the car, BUT, a very good shot of it in original condition on the cover of the December 1959 Hot Rod magazine shows them farther rearward than as presented on the Revell model. The box-art photo of the Revell bare chassis shows the filler-caps on the Moon tanks positioned to the front of the car, and they roughly line up with the molded access panels on the nose. Several shots of the real car, sans-skins, appear to show the fillers on the Moon tanks positioned to the rear, which would account for the difference in location of the access panels. Fine...but here's the weird part...the INSTRUCTIONS show the filler caps to the rear, while the box-art shows them forward. Interesting. Anyway, all this also effects the nose profile, as I was taking my interpretation of said profile in reference to the location of the fuel-fill access panels, and they're different on the early car, I THINK, will have to be changed, and the profile altered accordingly. Oh man...tearing out more hair. The best model I've seen so far of the early car is this one done in 1/43 by Ugo Fadini. It captures the look of the first-gen car quite well. His model of the later 406.6 mph version of the car really makes the differences obvious... and a top-shot shows up more changes... Edited October 28, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 The filler thickness issue was going to be my next comment/question, was wondering just how you were going to stabilize all that weight on the existing plastic. Please,show your progress and technique when you get to constructing the plug and the "new" body. Very impressed with the way that this one is going, can already see that it's going to be a beauty when it's finally finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Hang in there Bill. I know you will get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardik Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Hah, who needs hair, anyway. It's results that count and so far you've delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Just checking in to say it's a pleasure watching this progress I love bodywork intensive builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) Thank you all again for the interest and encouragement. I had forgotten my cardinal rule for working on things...FIRST: Pretend you're smarter than what you're working on. So, I had to hack into the nose to shorten and re-shape it, and there wasn't anything to support putty. Hence, some styrene stock got added in... UNPAID PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT : I had run out of my usual glazing-putty favorite USC Icing, I had a motorcycle tank to finish up here, and the guy at NAPA suggested trying a small container of Bondo brand "Professional" two-part glazing putty ($14). I'm in the midst of moving, so I won't be doing any 1:1 bodywork for a while, and I didn't want a regular, expensive tube of Icing sitting around going bad. I used it on the tank, and liked it so much I used it to finish roughing the Challenger model. This stuff is great. It's the finest-grained putty I've ever seen, it mixes easily, spreads like butter, and fills even the most minor scratches beautifully. It even sticks to properly prepared (sanded 180 grit) styrene better than anything I've used so far (darn near all of them). The nose continues to progress, and I found a nice, period reference shot of the car in bare metal to supplement the other pix I've got. Edited October 30, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I see you are still rolling along nicely Bill. I was just wondering how many times this car ran before he changed things up? It seem there are different photos of this car that look just a bit different from each other. I am not talking about the version that this car started out as , the version you are doing know . It could be just my eyes are seeing something that is not there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Thank you all again for the interest and encouragement. I had forgotten my cardinal rule for working on things...FIRST: Pretend you're smarter than what you're working on. So, I had to hack into the nose to shorten and re-shape it, and there wasn't anything to support putty. Hence, some styrene stock got added in... UNPAID PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT : I had run out of my usual glazing-putty favorite USC Icing, I had a motorcycle tank to finish up here, and the guy at NAPA suggested trying a small container of Bondo brand "Professional" two-part glazing putty ($14). I'm in the midst of moving, so I won't be doing any 1:1 bodywork for a while, and I didn't want a regular, expensive tube of Icing sitting around going bad. I Awesome work Bill and great focus, but you can't let these things sit around too long. Looks like yours is growing hair I picked up some of that 2-part Bondo glazing putty but haven't tried it yet. Glad to hear the good report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 I was just wondering how many times this car ran before he changed things up? It seem there are different photos of this car that look just a bit different from each other... You're right...I've noticed the same thing. I've read just about everything published that I could find on the history of the car, and I still don't have dates to go with a lot of the pictures floating around. Scoops and openings in the body appear and disappear, and the color seems to have changed from a very light blue to the sky blue usually shown on the first iteration. I'm sure there was a lot of R&D done during the run up to the record attempts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 ... but you can't let these things sit around too long. Looks like yours is growing hair Maybe I can transplant some to my head, to replace all that I've pulled out while trying to get the shapes right on this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) Just about got it, close enough for primer. [/ Edited October 31, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Fabulous ! I've been inspired to make a phantom dual engine front blown salt car from seeing this, somewhat shorter. Good Job!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyboy Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Great job on the bodywork Bill!!! The end result is looking spot-on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Fine job young man, keep up the great work ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Wow, Bill that's a huge difference, watching this one for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozono Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Nice job............. need to see more.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 (edited) Thanks again to everyone who's encouraged this build. ... I've been inspired to make a phantom dual engine front blown salt car from seeing this, somewhat shorter. That's a GREAT idea...I'll be watching for that one. And thanks for the kind words. Great job on the bodywork Bill!!! The end result is looking spot-on! Thanks Ken. That means a lot, especially after seeing your work on the Ferrari. Edited November 1, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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