Ferbz

An update: I've sprayed the engine bay and front/rear window trim with matte black, and a flat clear over the color coat to copy that weird blue-ish primer on the 1:1 car. I used some old BMF to mask the matte black...what a mistake that was lol Some of the edges did not come out as clean as I had hoped. Maybe old drag cars didnt always have super nice fit and finish paint details?🤪 Final assembly has begun! I've glued the red tinted rear window and front windshield glass into place. I think the two separate windshield pieces butted together in the center looks pretty good. Slowly creeping to the finish line on this thing! Q: Anybody have any advice on how to make chrome look NOT so new? I dont want the grill and rear bumper to look completely ratted out. I just want them to look just a little aged:

Ah, very good info👍 Thanks!

Hey gang, I've had lots of experience with many brands of rattle cans but am relatively new to using Tamiya spray can lacquers. They are pricey for the small amount of paint that you get in those tiny cans, but I've discovered that the quality is worth the cost 😉 My question: I recently used the Flat Clear lacquer (TS-80) for the first time and it could be just me, but it seemed to subtly lighten the Coral Blue (TS-41) I sprayed it over. I started with two light coats then one final medium coat. I don't mind the effect as it adds to the theme of my current build, but has anyone notice a similar thing with it?

Thanks! The original 1:1 car has a very distinct vibe that I wanted to mimic in the form of a 49 shoebox ford. This build will have decals that will help tell an imaginary tale about my version that I have brewing in my head.....stay tuned! 😉

Good eye there 👍 Unfortunately, the entire intake (except for the angle brackets, carbs, scoop) is a single 3D printed piece. The 3D piece is also based on how the engine is angled (quite extremely now that I'm looking at it) on the original 1:1 car, shown here from a pic I grabbed from the interwebbages:

Ha! Indeed. And you're probably right. Yeah, it's funny how I can stare and stare at something and not see anything odd until I take a pic of it. The camera tells all...... 🤪

One more mockup to see where things are headed. I'm liking the vibe so far, but one thing I notice is that the intake is pointing downwards a bit. It's the result of an oversight on my part as I did not mount the engine at a high enough angle...bleh. I want to raise the whole intake system up at the front but I'm not sure how to remedy that at this point. The engine is already glued into place, but fortunately the intake is not. Maybe I can add thin 'gaskets' at the bottom of the manifolds and make them wedge shaped to cheat the height up in the front? It wont be accurate or realistic, but it might solve the 'nose down' attitude of the air scoop/carbs/plenum:

I've used 1.5mm, 2mm, even 2.5mm Evergreen half round for tuck and roll. I prefer the larger 2mm and 2.5mm size as it makes for a little less work 🤪 You can be precise with your build if you like and choose the size based on what custom car era you're going after with your build. I think in general that early 50s tuck and roll was larger than in the later 50s/early 60s? For any particular area, cut as many of your rods first to get them as close as you can to the same length. Then sand all the ends to curve them down giving them that 'sewn in' look once they all get glued down. I also use spark plug wire for piping along the edges. This gets glued down after all the painting is done. Here's the tuck and roll work I did on my custom 59 El Camino:

Well I'm glad it's not just me then lol It's a bit of a downer to have to address these problems instead of getting on with the fun parts of the build. We will continue to suffer with our craft I suppose....🤪 The newer 1/25 Monogram 40 Ford kit is much more consistent and cleaner, but there are a few things I dont like about that kit. One being the windshield trim being molded into the glass. The Revell 49 merc kit suffers from the same thing, but that's a whole other can of worms...... lol

This delivery body was an old glue bomb, maybe from the era when american kits had less than ideal quality. As a result, the gaps between the hood and the cowl needed filling/fixing. It may also have something to do in small part with the fact that I'm using the hood and fenders from the sedan? I used sheet styrene strips to fill the gaps and am in the process of fine tuning them. I did essentially the same thing with the rear door, gluing styrene strips to the edge of the rear door and sanding/filing them to fit the opening better:

Feel free to send me a pic or two in direct message. Maybe I can help! 👍

Thanks! Yes, lots of custom body mods going on here for sure. My customizing skills did not develop overnight, but over MANY years of trial and error figuring out how to replicate what was being done to 1:1 cars. Luckily, I did pick up techniques from more advanced custom model builder pals(I still am!), and learned what tools/materials work best for this kind of work and figured out what works best for me. It already sounds like you have the desire to do custom body work...big plus! I would suggest these tips: I would get a good razor saw, small #11 xacto blade sized saws. Get a good set of hobby files. Use a good medium speed liquid styrene adhesive(WeldOn #3 and Tenax7 are two I've used and like, altho I've switched to using M.E.K. solvent the past few years. It's way cheaper and works really well! The fumes are stronger tho so use with care). Use a thin, clear plastic ruler for measuring. If you can't find one that's 6in. long, buy one that you can cut down to 6in. length. Learn how to 'plate' your body mods. Plating is the practice of backing up your cuts from behind/inside the body with sheet styrene to strengthen them. Learn to use the baking soda/super glue technique for filling imperfections like cracks, seams, etc. As much as you can, make your mods with plastic, rather than putty. When you DO use putty, use the good stuff! Avoid puttys like the green Squadron putty👎 When I need to apply putty thicker than 1/8in. depth, I use DAP Plastic Wood. It hardens relatively quickly, and doesn't shrink/swell under paint. I could go on, but this quite a bit of info already lol You also may already be using some of these techniques/materials so disregard if so. Dont be afraid to cut things up! But do smaller, simpler mods first like frenching headlights, shaving trim, adding scoops, molding details in etc. If/when you're ready to try chopping, try a 32 Ford or model A before doing chop top on say a 49 Merc. Us old glue bombs to practice on so in case things dont go the way you wanted you didnt mess up a fresh kit 🤪 Plan ahead as much as possible, sketch things out if you need to and study how the process looks with the 1:1 cars. If I can do it, you can too! before you know it, you'll only be limited by your imagination 😎👍

Welcome! I'm glad it helps 👍This is not how I would normally chop a top, especially if i was building a traditional 50s style custom, but it seemed a good way to roughly achieve the vibe of the original High and Mighty car's proportions 😎

Thanks! Yeah, it's pretty close! And seeing as how this build is only meant to be an inspired version and not a replica of the real car, the color is totally fine. Also, the info I found online about the real car said the blue paint was a kind of primer. All the pictures I see if it shows it to be a satin/flat finish so I'll be attempting to spray a dull coat over the top of it.

Here's one of my favorites: my customized 50 Ford pickup, painted with Testors Metallic Gold topped with satin clear. This one came out surprisingly smooth for me 🤪

Great work on those tires/caps! Which kit did you rob for those wide whites?

Thanks! Those little Tamiya cans are pricey too for the amount of paint that you get! There doesn't seem to be a cheaper alternative out there tho of equal quality and variety that i know of.

Thanks man! It's a crazy idea but sometimes you have to follow them to their absurd conclusion lol It's part of the fun of being creative I think 🤪

.....And we have paint! The color looks more saturated in these pics than in real life, but the Tamiya lacquer Coral Blue (TS-41) is a pretty close match to the 1:1 High and Mighty turqoise-y blue/green color. BTW I love the Tamiya quality, but anybody feel like those little cans are BARELY enough for a build? lol I'll let it cure before I do a light wetsand with 2000grit. After that, some tricky masking of the front/rear window trim and engine bay so I can spray some flat black is planned. Then some decal work and a satin clear coat before final assembly. (You guys ever get close to the end of a build only to realize there's lots more work to do to get it to the finish line?)

Thanks! Hopefully the overall result will be that early custom vibe I'm after 🙏😉

Yes indeed! I'm slowly getting better at ignoring that queezy feeling I get right before I start cutting lol It's also about trusting your gut when you get an idea. In your head you see it working out great but It's a matter of seeing if the idea can actually exist outside your mind and in the actual physical world. There is something to be said about studying what's been done, having a plan, then thinking things thru as much as possible. But at the end of the day there's no way to know for sure until you 'throw yourself in'! 😉

Thanks! I've never done this mod before so I wasn't sure if it was going to work or not, but I had to give it a shot 🤪

Front end update: the cut lines in the slightly sectioned hood has been filled, and I've filled the gap between the hood and the grill area (see previous posts) and cut open the grill area to accommodate a 41 Ford grill center piece. Lots of gap fine tuning and smoothing up ahead but I think my idea of using the unusual 41 grill just might work! It's a subtle but effective modification, a change that might require a double take: It's initial appearance might look like a 40 deluxe grill with the sides filled in, but the longer you look, the more you'll see: the grill bars are vertical and not horizontal, and it's wider and more round with no sharp peak down the center. More to come!

Yeah the LaSalle grill was/is a popular option for sure, but I wanted to try something not only era appropriate but a also a little unusual. I'm also up for the challenge! (I think lol) 🙃

Thanks! Yes, the 39 grill was sanded smooth and glued into place. What I plan to do is cut an opening into the center of it so that it will house the 41 grill. Essentially, I used the 39 grill to fill the space(s) that will surround the 41 grill. Some of the early customs of that era had sheet metal to fill the factory grill opening when an alternate, smaller grill was used. Here's a pic of the front of the Jack Calori coupe as an example (pic borrowed from CustomCarChronicle): I'll also have to fill the gap above the grill on my model with styrene(the empty space right below the hood lip). I may have bitten off more than I can chew here lol Stay tuned to see if I pull it off! 🤪