Burn Baby Burn

[Dr. Cranky]

As in toast, as in singed, as in roasted crisp and done for . . .

I am talking about examples of burned out cars (whatever the reason) and what they might look like. I am taking a lead from Mig Jimenez (military modeler extraordinaire!) who loves to build and paint and weather battled damaged and exploded vehicles.

I'm interested in achieving the same look by using cars . . . although obviously not in theaters of war, although that's one of the most convincing scenarios and possibilities as to why a modern car would catch on fire.

I'm wondering if anyone here has done this, ever, and what types of vehicles lend themselves well to building and painting to showcase the ravages of a fire. For some reason I keep thinking of Japanase cars as being good candidates, although I don't mean any direspect.

Obviously most modern vehicles are made out of plastic, so I don't know exactly what would be left of them in a fire.

I can use ideas, sample pictures, anything you are willing to divulge . . . thank you in advance.

Also, if anyone else is interested, I can see this evolving into a unique CBP.

Cheers, Cranky.

[Dr. Cranky]

Thanks, buddy. This is EXACTLY the kind of inspiration I am looking for.

[TimKustom]

It's made of plastic and it's burnt. "Built" by the esteemed Tommy May.

Probably not the kind of inspiration you're looking for though...

Edited July 21, 2010 by TimKustom

[Art Anderson]

As a kid growing up back in the 50's, there was a small automotive scrapper about half a mile from my home, used to go past there every morning on my paper route, and saw burnt out cars there constantly (they used to torch old cars before rolling them flat with an old Caterpillar tractor, sending them to the steel mills for recycling).

A burnt out steel bodied car looks for all the world like the shell of a dead insect, which is the best way I can describe it. Ultimately, everything that isn't steel or cast iron is gone, burned away, leaving only the exoskeletal remains of the body, with a curious cache of bones in the form of chassis, seat springs and framing and the like. As most all body brightwork by the 1940's was polished stainless steel, that remained, but with the look of a burned chrome-plated motorcycle exhaust, in addition to having been warped and buckled out of shape by the heat. All the glass would be gone (that old laminated safety plate glass would shatter, and then the gummy clear plastic center layer burned completely away. No rubber moldings left around windshield and other windows. Diecast metal parts such as door handles, badges, scripts and hood ornaments would melt to puddles on the ground, as did diecast grillwork. If the burned out vehicle still had its wheels and tires mounted (cars being scrapped usually had those removed) the rims would be there, no tires anymore, save for the rings of piano wire used inside the bead of the tire casing.

But the sheet metal wouldn't remain shaped as it was stamped, certainly not hoods, roofs or deck (trunk) lids. Those sunk in downward due to being heated to red-hot by the intense heat of the fire, looking for all the world as though an elephant propped its feet up on those surfaces for a pedicure.

Burned, painted sheet metal begins to rust almost immediately. The rust begins when the steel is heated to a certain point, and then continues immediately after the metal cools to the temperature of the ambient air around it. This rust tended to be bright orange in color, but varigated, mottled in appearance, and assuredly--it was dead-flat dull.

Art

[Eric Stone]

Mike, what kind of inspection? What do you do?

Cranky, you'd be pretty accurate to build a burnt up 80s to current F150... I see or hear about those catching fire a lot.

[Chuck Most]

I always prefer to model cars in the "while burning" stage instead of after they've burned...

Mark, still my favorite C3 Corvette model ever!

[Jon Cole]

How crispy do you want to see?

[modeler]

[Jim Gibbons]

In a 2005 issue of Hemmings Classic Car, the writer Tim Howley described the loss of a building full of his cars during one of the California fires. I'm enclosing the link to the article, but only one photo is in it. You'd have to order the back issue to get the full set of photos that accompanied it. He took them right after the fire, so the oxidation Art described isn't evident yet.

http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2005/06/01/hmn_feature25.html

[MyBradKeselowski]

How crispy do you want to see?

I can't even figure out what type of car this was...

[Mercman]

I can't even figure out what type of car this was...

It's a 2009 Whatyamacallit.

I really like the realistic flame job on the Corvette model.

[Mercman]

Cranky, you'd be pretty accurate to build a burnt up 80s to current F150... I see or hear about those catching fire a lot.

[vizio93]

I can't even figure out what type of car this was...

Mercedes maybe ?? Looks like an AMG wheel, but I dunno

[Railfreak78]

I'll have to take some pictures Cranky. I am in the middle of a 1/43 scale 69 Camaro burn car that I have not posted yet. I've been doing a lot of cars lately for some reason and forgot about this. Nice topic Cranky.

[MyBradKeselowski]

Mercedes maybe ?? Looks like an AMG wheel, but I dunno

Maybe, that's what I was thinking by the wheel, but again maybe

[highway]

Cranky, you'd be pretty accurate to build a burnt up 80s to current F150... I see or hear about those catching fire a lot.

Hey I drive a 98 F-150 never had any trouble with it, except for a coolant leak. It has only 98,000 miles on it, and I got it with 24,000. Just now starting to see some rust.

I second that! I drive a 1990 Ford F350 dually 4X4 with a diesel with 181,000+ miles on it that uses almost as much oil as is it does diesel! Even when I had fuel pouring out of an injector on the exhaust, which got fixed VERY quickly, it never went up in flames!

Of course, Eric, I think I might know what you are talking about, though, just the years are a little off. When I was working for a local towing company around 2001, they bought a brand new F550 wrecker. Another company we were friendly with also had bought a similar wrecker, and one night it went up in flames parked in front of the owner's house. Those diesels were recalled because, somewhere in Ford's genius thinking, the alternators were mounted at the very highest point they could be on the engine. Well, with the hoods closed, the alternator TOUCHED the underhood insulation, and the heat was causing the insulation to catch fire. That's really the only problems I've ever heard of Ford pickups going up in smoke.

[guysmilie]

I can't even figure out what type of car this was...

Sadly, it's a new Ferrari 458 Italia

[Dr. Cranky]

Wow, these are the kinds of pictures that are perfect for reference. Thank you.

[Jon Cole]

Sadly, it's a new Ferrari 458 Italia

What he said.

[Dr. Cranky]

I've been reading up on how Mig Jimenez builds his roadside burned out tanks and other military vehicles, and he sugest that the builder do all of the scratch-building and panel manipulation up front, then paint the vehicle the way they were intended, AND THEN begin the burning/weathering process. It's going to be time consuming, but then again anything for excellent results.

[torinobradley]

I think the deal with the Ford pickups was a cruise control sensor or something. There was a recall for it. I own a '97 and had the recall service performed so I'm good. 149k and still going.

Oh yea, the burned out cars... How many of us older kids haven't seen a burned out beetle?

Edited July 22, 2010 by torinobradley

[Harry P.]

What? No exploding Pinto photos yet???

[Dr. Cranky]

Pintos, Vegas and Pacers would be fabulous candidates for internal combustion!

[dustym]

Here's a live one.

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh man, I love the way the firefighter uses his axe to pry the hood open. Those are the kinds of details that can be incorporated into such a build.

I hope everyone feels free to post more reference materials here. The more the better. Wow, thanks.