ismaelg

Hello, Due to a work related situation I have to fly "impromptu" today to Houston for a few days. I'll be in Willowbrook (zip 77070), west, southwest of the airport. Any good hobby shops in the area? Not sure if I'll have time but just in case.... Thanks,

Hello! Not much bench time but here is a little update. There is a fluid tank in the C7R engine. Not really sure what it is for. Trying to find out. So I machined my own tank. The lid was machined in place. It came out thinner than I wanted but no big deal. Added aluminum strap to eventually attach it to the bracing and added a fluid line that will disappear underneath. Thanks,

Hello, I took a little break from body mods, which are far from over. My original idea was to build it as a curbside. Yeah right.... Then I though, Well, this will be a "Curbside Plus" with just a lump between the fenders. So here is my idea of a lump between the fenders I thought of machining my own pulleys and all that BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH but I would have never finish it. So I took the kit's belts and sanded them down, plus a few more bits here and there. Still a curbside plus. The headers are loose as they need to be installed after the engine is in place. the heat wraps should go all the way down but that won't be seen anyways. The mold lines in the air box are actually in the real thing. Something I have noticed: In previous cars like C5R and C6R, the engine was a jewel! Glossy carbon fiber with exquisite decals and all. Today's car has more raw carbon parts which is dull and not many decorations. Hope you like it. Thanks, P.S. If you look at it for a while and close your eyes, you can hear it idling...

Hi Marshall! It's been quite a while! I can't believe I've been away for about 7-8 years! Did you ever finish the Astrovette? Cheers!

Hello, Wow! Almost a year with little or no progress! Workbench time is really tight. But anyways, got a few minutes to detail paint the chassis. This is all one piece with 4 huge holes for screws, so nothing to write home about. Just some fun. Looking at the pic I noticed I did not paint the oil filter. I'll fix that, hopefully before 2018. Thanks,

Thanks Tom! I'll try that.

Hello, Not much visual progress, but it took a significant effort to mate and blend the brass and the plastic to look seamless. Some minor tweaking still needed but getting there. Thanks,

Hello, Roof hatch scribed. I ended up doing another template as the first one was too small. Thanks,

Hello, Regulations changes for 2016 allowed for improved aero packages. In the back of the car, the smooth splitter has been replaced with an aero diffuser to optimize airflow and improve downforce. This is a rough mockup but you get the idea where I'm going. OK: Repeat with me: "What part of keep it simple you don't understand?" Thanks,

Hello, Changes in safety regulations for 2016 now mandate a hatch in the roof. This is not an escape hatch like NHRA funny cars. This is for the safety crew to insert a spine brace before extracting the driver in case of an accident. Here is a screen shot of a pit stop video during the 2016 Rolex 24. Not the best picture but you can see the outline of the hatch. And here is mine. This is a template to scribe the outline. For some reason, I made it a hint bigger and it did not look good. This size looks the best but I think it is a tad small. Bu that's OK. My car will not have a driver Thanks,

Hello, The front splitter was longer for 2016 and had aero fences on the sides. So, after removing the kit's splitter, I started working on my own. Added the aero stepped fences Again, minor tweaking is still needed but getting there. Thanks,

Thanks gang! Albert, the 60th Anniversary is still in process. Actually, I started with the chassis last week. But is very slow and the C7R took center stage. Regards,

Hi Shaun, Places like CorvetteRacing.com but mostly google and youtube. But you need to make sure you are looking at the correct pictures. Many times you get to pages with mixed pictures from different tracks and even different years. It is very common to see pictures incorrectly tagged. Somebody may take a picture in say Road America and tag LeMans, Daytona, Sebring etc. Thanks,

Hello, For 2016, rules changes allowed for aero package modifications. The rocker panels are new and bigger as you cans see here: After removing the kit's molded rocker panels, I started working on updated ones. They are still a bit rough but getting there. Thanks,

Hello, The hood is moving along nicely. Very minor tweaking and it will be ready. Another important modification to bring the kit to 2016 specs is the rocker panels. These were updated for 2016. Here is how the other side looks, but not for long. Thanks,

Hello, The hood is slowly getting there. Some minor tweaking still needed but getting closer. Oh wait! After the hood I still need to work the rest of the car! Thanks,

Hello, Despite having some restarted projects, the truth is I haven't finished a model car since 2008. It's been years since a model release had me excited. But it finally did! And LIFTOFF! We are officially back! The molded nose emblem was the first casualty. My plan is to do a 2016 Daytona (or maybe, just maybe, a Sebring) car. Several modifications are required to bring the kit to 2016 specs. I started warming up with the hood. Note the hood pins were drilled out. I don't plan to go crazy with this one. Just a curbside build. Times have changed. I no longer have the luxury of lots of spare time so this will be rather slow but I'm happy to be back. I blame Jay Savarese and Jim Drew for this..... Thanks,

Hello! I've been away from the workbench for a long time but I still support the hobby! If you are in Puerto Rico Sunday, November 6th, we will have the 13th annual Caribbean Scale Auto Expo in the Samuel Rodriguez Coliseum in Aguas Buenas. Here is the promo video made by yours truly. It is in Spanish but you get the idea. Hope to see you there! Thanks!

Hello, I have always been fascinated by Land Speed Record vehicles. One of my favorite Hot Wheels of all time is the Tricar X8 rocket vehicle. I rescued an worn out specimen and I'll try own LSR design. Let's see how this goes! Not sure where this is going, but it is certainly not going back to original. After the right side is done, I'll have to mirror the mods to the left. And that's where we are! I have some rough sketches and a good idea on how I want it to end up looking..... What do you think? Thanks,

Hello, Not really sure if this is relevant in this forum, but this is my first video review of a particular Hot Wheels. Of course the first had to be of my all time favorite, the Jet Threat and its variations. I hope you like it and your feedback is appreciated. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, With all the work in the body, I forgot the rest of the car! While cleaning up some overspray of the stripes painting, a minor boo-boo happened and the white needs to be retouched in a small area. Took a break from the body and did the interior. The interior of this special edition car is diamond blue leather and dark grey. The Heads Up Display projector, center console screen, AC display and instrument cluster all have acetate "glass". Added scratchbuilt seatbelts, buckles, latches and door leather trim. Flocked carpets. Suede in the steering wheel, shifter boot and parking brake boot simulated with acrylic grey and drybrushed white. Didn't bother with the back as it won't be seen. The passenger seat is still loose that's why it looks a bit crooked. I'll fix that tomorrow. Not bad for a 9 part snapper interior.... I'll put it aside and come back later to it to see if anything else is missing....... Hope you approve. What do you think? Thanks, PS> Forgot to mention, the instruments face is a scaled and printed picture of the real thing. you can't see it but the odometer reads 39 miles

Hey! I had not seen this! Welcome back! Good to see we are coming out of hibernation Looking good so far. May suggest a color? how about...... BLUE? Thanks,

Excellent build so far! Question: Where or how to get those magnets? I've been trying to find something like that for a while. Thanks,

Hello, First burst of color.... Still a long way to go. Scalefinishes G7H Laguna Blue What do you think? Thanks,

Hello, I experimented doing an exhaust tip in brass. It kinda looks like gold plated. But I'll keep the aluminum ones. Thanks,