swede70

Some small refinements, although tedious enough to achieve... Here each cast-in flush door handle assembly has been drilled and filed out of the shell, with slightly lighter colored resin substitutes added for creation of a mold to reproduce such. The hope is that I can experiment apart and away from the model with finish options and not suffer unduly for trying to detail something already covered with layers of primer and paint. In addition, the RKE hood bubble needed some refinement before being bonded to the hood. Here I've addressed matters for adding material along the sides of the addition which could be filed and contoured comparatively straighter. The height across the rear in particular is less, and overall it's considerably cleaner. Finally, the recycled '68-'69 Javelin standard hood has been cut underneath in anticipation of gluing and blending the bubble to it. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Greetings, For trimming the chassis and fitting the part seen above, the air dam dropped right on. Thanks... The trimmed chassis with discreet additions... Mike K./Swede70

A bit hair-raising given I don't want to damage rare parts, here I've ground out the sides of the grille surround to accommodate the strange flat metal panels fitted to the racer. A pair of ignition wiring loom clips have been attached to each valve cover, while an offset wiper motor necessary to make room for the ram air system atop the abbreviated tunnel ram setup has been added. Hardly noticeable are pair of SC/Rambler shock absorbers poking through the front suspension turrets awaiting the fabrication of more structure to hold each fast. Finally, seen forward is the new front air dam w/ducts, a promo-issue radiator support/cross member base, as well as an oil cooler that awaits fitting. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Very well handled. Thanks for sharing... Mike K./Swede70

Looks beautiful - certainly an icon. Thanks for sharing... Mike K./Swede70

Looking very clean indeed. Thanks for sharing... Mike K./Swede70

Kind thanks for the sustained attention afforded... Rather tedious, but the raw outlines of the front air dam/duct system have been worked up. Some chassis work including the addition of a cast resin clone of promo tool only radiator support (the bottom of such anyhow) will be required to make room for the center duct. No - I'm not versed on the intricacies of the board concerning policy rooted in comment moderation - sorry! For collecting photos, the air dam/duct system always looked a bit raw. Three angled panels lead back to a flat wall in the center, while the ends bend back to a small degree with brake cooling ducts situated in a pair of segregated pockets. The oddly shaped panels noticed on the right and left ends of the grille surround will be fabricated soon... ...a little thick around the border walls, although some careful sanding and shaping will hopefully leave me with a usable assembly. Thanks for your review of this project update. Mike K./Swede70

My thanks again for the kind words and interest expressed... I've seen pictures of the '69 Javelin racer captured above, although I know very little about it. I think it's based in the U.K., but I can't claim to have pursued any leads consistent with filling out the history of such. Neat though, undoubtedly so. Thanks for uploading these... - Modest stuff and long delayed, at some point I wished to expand the base of the front wheel arch openings to reflect clearance issues encountered on such racing vehicles at full lock and a full compression/jounce. The top of the profile is stock, although heading towards the firewall the profile is pulled back. The front of the arch contour is expanded out a bit, although not so much as it is towards the rear. Although John Martin is obscuring the arch profile forward of the front tire, notice how the opening is pulled back rear of same... ...opened a touch forward too. Viewed head-on, the profile is even, although it appears a bit irregular viewed from the top given the presence of subtle flaring. ...and nothing huge, but the cast-in 'JAVELIN' rear license plate goes away even as I'll have to fill in a gap remaining atop the rear valance panel. Thanks for skimming this project update. Mike K./Swede70

Greetings, Trying if you will to reduce the mass of the hood bubble as per photos and for reasoned feedback afforded. Happily enough material exists beneath what I've worked up to allow such, hence no great issue. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Greetings, Mostly detail changes consistent with cleaning up past work, a replacement radiator support wider than the one used to date was substituted in, largely correcting the gory mismatch formerly seen with regards to how the front grille/bumper/fender end trim caps meshed with each front fender. Work is still needed, but at least it isn't embarrassing to contemplate now. Multiple careful applications of putty better blend the new rear flares to the shell, the front headlamps now have a convex shape versus flat fill panels as seen before, while the clumsy turn indicator overlays have given way to flush plugs. Also, the annual and promo issue 'JAVELIN' identification otherwise a feature of the front bumper license plate area has been scrubbed out entire. ...just a small study of the headlamps, covered and bulging out just a bit even as they're just non-functional silhouettes. The flush turn signal inserts are likewise seen, while other things noticeable would be the five panel Wink rear view mirror as well as the odd three duct air dam which is soon to come. The half-width sunshade is a fun detail in particular. Period SCCA Trans-Am cars look tough! As related above, better panel alignment, headlamp and turn signal fill panels redone, and no more 'JAVELIN' license plate i.d. I didn't have suitably sized solid plastic rod, so smaller plastic rod was mated to larger plastic tube to come up with what was required. For the new radiator support install and the dash board fit, the inner fender alignment has been thrown off and must be reset. Otherwise it's looking cleaner - especially the rear flares which received some light surface profile work as well. Difficult to make out, just behind the hood may be seen a pair of cast resin flush door handles which will replace the cast-in stuff on the shell. I'd rather finish the handles off of the shell versus covering them with layers of primer and paint, hoping to recover matters after the fact. Thanks for reviewing this project update. Mike K./Swede70

Those both look quite nice. Happy too to absorb a good customer relations/customer service tale given it offsets many tales of woe shared by others in relation to shipping gone wild, etc. Neat items surely. Mike K./Swede70

And with the assembled chassis without any adjustment to the rear track. It looks pretty decent. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Greetings, The flares reduced in shape and introduced into the shell I'll use for the '69 then. Some fine putty work and wheel arch shaping is still required, but mostly nice. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Thanks for the kind notice everyone, while just a bleached out fourth-generation Polish-American here; i.e. the handle name refers to one-time Dan Gurney protege David 'Swede' Savage and was reached for when I needed an eBay identity long ago. - ...the topic again, a bit scrunched prior to the start of the '69 season-ender at Riverside. Mike K./Swede70

Looking very clean. Thanks for sharing... Mike K./Swede70

Thanks for the kind interest expressed... Just further refinements as I start to tuck the flares into the shell. About 60% of the mass will be removed from each side before matters are declared done, although it's generally going smoothly. Given I'm going to overlay each onto a Jimmy Flintstone resin Trans-Am Javelin shell, I've substituted in my scrap example as I tighten things up. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Moving along... Here the four layers of sheet plastic have been glued together, while an initial effort has been made to arrive at a basic shape twice over. Seen in the background is a scrap 1968 Javelin SST promotional model that is being used as a fit surrogate until things are closer to what I desire for overall dimensions. The '69-specific flares look enormous now, but better too large than too small as filing down what is discerned isn't that difficult. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

No trouble David and thanks for your interest and reply... I picked up an Action Performance Chevrolet something or other at an area hobby shop as a trade-in for $14.95 and was doing nothing with it. I think the model dated back to maybe 2000-2005, but I'm not sure given only scraps of such remain. Indeed - no sidewall engravings are to be seen. Be alert that I effectively fried my first tires when I opted to remove the sidewall lettering given it's pretty stout stuff, while it might be good to dilute 100% acetone down to come up with something less hot than what I employed. Said sidewall letter seemed immovable for use of light duty nail polish remover, hence my first effort using something milder met with failure. I did have to boil water and immerse the wheels and tires within consistent with rendering the vinyl pliable enough to move. Later when I fit the wheels to the tires I decided to economize a bit and simply reused my original tire decal application. I took two bowls of water and added only enough to creep up to the top sidewall lest the water damage the decals, while know that enough heat spread through each tire to get the job done both front and rear. The IndyCals sheet was really inexpensive at $3 for two sets/sides, with shipping maybe $1. Happily I'm good to go for I ordered two sheets and will be ready when more Minilites arrive in maybe a month. The Legende Miniature Minilites received some outer edge reshaping, but I did nothing to turn them down to fit either the front or rear tires identified. The unseen rear lip of the front wheels was added to make things look complete, while some structure was added to the back rear centers to accommodate the axles I'd fabricated. The axle material settled upon was 2.5 mm brass wire, while nothing had to be carved out of the rearward axle recess on the resin chassis plate to ensure things sit evenly. All in all, it's pretty easy... Yes - somewhat underwhelmed with how the fade out center stripe on the hood came through. Even for having gathered a reasoned amount of research I wasn't familiar with the detail (i.e. the white to red fade), and yet I hovered over it upon delivery thinking that wow - this just isn't amazing even as it looks o.k. on low resolution web images. Earlier I was pondering the removal and replacement of the accessory decal 'stack' seen forward of either front wheel arch/housing, although I stopped given I didn't have equal or superior decals at the ready to replace what is seen. This understood, I still made an inspection of the decal work consistent with mulling the possibilities, and I fear the decal work has a clear coat atop it rendering it immovable. I'm still thinking about it and certainly the criticism is valid. As a low-risk project I might take a length of white decal stock and do a fade-to-red treatment atop it consistent with overlaying what Replicarz afforded us. Should I fail, the effort stays off of the model, although maybe it'll work? The rectangular shape would be no issue to cut, while the surface the decal image would rest upon is a flat as could be imagined. If anyone looking on has ideas on how to attack something like this, please feel free to contribute. Thanks... - Thanks Rex for the interest and the image... I suspect later this year I'll grab the '72 Geo. Follmer RWR release as you've captured above. I'm glad I wouldn't really have to attack the front spoiler, while nice too that they mastered the smaller of section A-pillar fresh air duct given scratch building something like that takes nerve and application. One of the new sets of Legende Miniature Minilites will be prepared for the '72-season winner, while I'll try to grab an Action Performance Ford-powered something or other consistent with grabbing suitable tires as well as all that might be taken from whatever iteration of a Cleveland Ford small block exists under the hood of such. I have a bunch of Welly/ACME '69 to '71-season BOSS 302 Trans-Am topics that beg for powertrain implants, and while I have worked up maybe 80% of what I need to do this for copying select parts of other tools in resin, some further parts and assemblies still need to be fabricated and/or gathered before I'm ready. Kind thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Thanks for the kind words... Not glamorous, but these would be the four-layer 'pucks' intended to be the basis for the '69 RKE/JRT Trans-Am Javelin rear flares with material sufficient to allow for as much mass and I'd desire topside, as well as what would be required in the tumblehome area. Sculpting and final shaping these will likely prove to be easier! Mike K./Swede70

Thanks... Although almost tedious beyond words at this point, the wheels will be refinished again - this time in a rather muddy low-gloss white. With this topic it's a challenge to put what images may be found in event order, while it seems that as the season progressed a more vibrant finish was applied to the wheel consistent with better matching the white employed on the body proper. In particular, the exterior spec. and accessory decals hardly alter after the season-opener at Lime Rock, CT. Given the competition and series itself was in a healthier state earlier in the season, the slightly mismatched white body section relative to the wheel finish then-run will be what I aim to capture. Pity I didn't reach for the right stuff and/or test finish combinations prior to spraying this last time... See - even Mark's growing a bit weary of my vacillation in relation to finishing what it is I intended to do... - Earlier today I ordered new wheels, set aside all materials to create new assemblies, and tested an application of Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White which is a variant which just stumbles across the line for being identified as a white and not a gray. My previous effort in AS-16 Light Gray (USAF) is simply too dark. It might be a month, although matters will be set right. Mike K./Swede70

Looks beautiful... For long there was a low-cost 1:18th scale diecast TR6 out there done by Britains Collectibles that was reasonably good, although not standard-setting. The Minichamps release depicted here looks far better. It's nice to know some firm has finally stepped up and done honor to the topic. Thanks for sharing... Mike K./Swede70

Happily the wheels/tires/axles worked up dropped right on. Pondering if I should try again given the gray chosen could have been lighter still. Anyhow, this is how matters stand at present. Tiny cylindrical jacking points have been added along the rocker panels on either side directly below the GOODYEAR identification on the doors, painted to match the interior and what might also be used on the chassis should I devise some means to mask cast-in detail for use of Silly Putty or some such. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Greetings, Hopefully good to fit, here would be the wheels and tires awaiting installation. Note some effort was made to add a bit of negative camber as well as a measure of toe-out up front. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70

Quite an effort. When diecast enthusiasts want to traverse the country with their respective favorites for view or for participation at select events, they need only call you! Mike K./Swede70

Greetings, Indeed - it's a bit of a shock to open one of these resin models only to discover all the expense and bother is restricted to the surface. Coming from a kit background where it's a point of honor to finish aspects of the model that are fated to be out of sight, looking at a sealed resin model broken down is akin to viewing what might be the product of prison labor. I don't see much romance in it, while if I can may a light overhaul of things for simply putting resin wheels on fabricated brass wire axles, so be it... - Pondering a final finish to apply to the Legende Miniatures resin Minilites I intend to use, I've decided to apply a light gray that might almost be mistaken for white. Magnesium decays for exposure to oxygen, while in-period it wasn't unusual to see bare Minilites or those with an exposed and machined bright outer lip painted over either at the end of the season ('69 and '70), or fairly early in ('71). Notable examples include the '69 Ronnie Kaplan Engineering/Javelin Racing Team Javelins (Riverside at least), the '70 Gurney AAR 'Cudas (solid white at Kent and Riverside), and soon enough the '71-season '70 Bud Moore Engineering BOSS 302's. Review of photos by many attuned eyes lean towards wheels painted white, although for a bit of recent discussion and for reviews of images like the one seen below, my impression is that a very light gray akin to Traco engine gray was used on the wheels after the season opener at Lime Rock, CT. The image pasted in is from a series of photos captured at '71 Mid-Ohio presumably during technical inspection for being on the scales... ...certainly darker than the white used on the body, darker than the sidewall tire lettering, and almost akin to the finish applied to the bare interior. Some believe the wheels should be finished in white, while the restored car is outfitted in such a fashion. As for me, I'm not quite a believer... - With the above in mind, seen are my replacement wheels and tires after applying Tamiya AS-16 Light Gray (USAF) paint, Testor's flat clear lacquer to the sidewalls of the tires to knock down the gloss on the fronts in particular, but also to blend the carrier film to the sidewalls, etc. The lug surfaces have been cleaned up, while the lugs soon to be painted are missing here. Tape weights and duct tape to safeguard them from shifting may also be applied. Thanks... Mike K./Swede70