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Ian McLaren

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  1. Ian McLaren
    Going back to Fast Eddies 57 Corvette Super Gas car. But the two and a half hours spent on the R-M Pro Stock hood gives me an idea of the magnitude of this project getting the body coutours and surface finish to acceptable levels, let alone the chassis, drive train and interior. This is the surface finish on almost every square inch of the body. This isn't the printer, I just printed two Jaz seats and the scoop for the car from Ron Olsen's files and all the surfaces are perfect. All reactions:
  2. Ian McLaren
    OK now the personality is starting to show, all of the Z28 parts are gone, front bumper is close to the correct contour, printed the scoop tonight,now it's just a matter of refining the body contours and removing the quite frankly poor surface finsh, there was very little or no attempt to blend in the flat surfaces used to create the curves in the body. There is going to be a ton of sanding and filling before it's even close to paint ready, the only saving grace is that the proportions are pretty good.
  3. Ian McLaren
    While waiting for parts to print and decals for the other two projects spent some time on the R-M Camaro cleaning up the seam through the doors where the print was split and also removing the front Z28 flares and spoiler . I also managed to cut out the hood with only minimal damage to the surfaces
  4. Ian McLaren
    A different but also apparently correct front end treatment, probably came about from trying to lift the toothed grill back into the nose. I think I like this better. Thoughts?
  5. Ian McLaren
    This is still on hold however there was a major break through. Ever since the start of this build we have been searching for high res photos of the Firebird graphic on the hood but to this point nothing suitable has been found that could be used in a photo rendering format. I had pretty much given up and had made one last request to a few of the historic drag racing groups I belong to a couple of weeks ago, and the numerous replys that I got didn't product anything significantly better to work from. A couple of days later I got a PM from a gentleman (David Ferrin) offering to draw and color the emblem for me. At this point I had nothing to lose so after a couple of emails I send him the dimensions of the hood area and wheel blisters and began the wait. Three days later I recieved a message with two different line drawings and some questions that all of the photos did not really answer. After some discussion I was confident we made the right decisions and David felt so as well. He said he would get back to me in a few days. Four days later I recieved a fully colorized proof photo of the emblem that blew me away. I have every confidence this it is perfect, or so close it absolutely won't matter. The proof is now being added to the rest of the decal set that has been done for a bit. Once printed they will be sent to me. I can now go back and completely strip the body, refining the surfaces on the way and put the final gloss white finish on in preparation for the decals arrival. The lower green will also be removed and re applied once the decals arrive so I can match the angle of the stripes perfectly. David you have basicly saved the whole project, you are a gentleman and an extremely talented graphic designer and artist in the truest sence of the word! Thank you again so much! The photo posted is intentionally blured and the ink used on my printer ran when I wet the paper (normal bond) to make is conform. Trust me the final product will be outstanding!
  6. Ian McLaren
    Some progress interior tin is started, dash instruments fabricated Autometer Monster Tach, and Moroso bracket, Autometer Shift Light and Autometer 2 5/8" Competition Series gauges once the paint is completed
  7. Ian McLaren
    The car is now fully supported by the front and rear suspensions. The major building is now complete what is left is adding detail improving finishes,accessories paint and final assembly, almost forgot decals and lettering.
  8. Ian McLaren
    Built the rear suspension and rear coil overs today. First time resting on the rear suspension. Not a lot of room back there but everything fits,just, just some detailing and minor adjustments to do. The major work is completed in this area.
  9. Ian McLaren
    Pretty hard not to get excited by a 10,000 RPM small block in a tri five Chevy or Anglia, pulling the front wheels and rowing the lever somewhere north of 9000. Great memories!
  10. Ian McLaren
    Engine work continues plug wires, Vac-U- Pan plumbed, Morosso valve coves painted Titanium Gold installed with breathers for the Vac-U-Pan system, also shown the valve covers painted and treated.
  11. Ian McLaren
    With the BubbleUp funnycar on hold for the foreseeable future I'm going to be working on the 57 primarily. I removed everthing from the firewall forward and completely redesigned the chassis. This corrected the ride height as well as adding more realism to the engine compartment. A new aluminum firewall is being fabricated to accomodate the changes made to the chassis and also allow for a hight level of detail. The position of the engine has been set with the height of the carbs being very close to the original car. I also fabricated and all aluminum distributor to fit the tunnelram manifold. Also the car now has correct sized mismatched Cragar Super Tricks and correct height front tires. So it's full speed ahead on the project, very likely all the way to conclusion
  12. Ian McLaren
    Thank you Daniel, coming from you that means a lot my friend. Yes the chassis is turning out to be close to what I envisioned and as a result the body, which I thought might be ready for final finishing will be getting some additional work to better compair with the chassis.
  13. Ian McLaren
    Thank you Brian, thank fully it won't, but it will raise the back end a bit. This era of cars were fairly high at the rear anyway. As far as the tin goes, I had to make some modifications to accomodate the added details on the chassis, so it requires some additions refinishing regardless, so any additional changes to restore the body ride height would not be as painful were it fully completed.
  14. Ian McLaren
    While waiting for a couple of things to print for the 57 Corvette, I decieded to start some of the minor corrections to the Rehr-Morrison Camaro. Opened up the rear wheel wells some (it may require some more once i get the correct sized slicks printed) Printed the Weld Wheel Drag Lites and front tires (with the extra space on a build plate for the Corvette. I also removed and filled the side fender Z28 vents and well as removing the mirrors and fill the resultins divits. Lots of body work to do yet, primarily removing the front spoiler which is going to take a bit of work to get correct. It's going back up on the shelf now as I concentrate on the 57 Corvette
  15. Ian McLaren
    Just when I'm getting used to the level of your detailing you go and jack up the bar another notch or two, the shifter and steering wheel look tremendous. This has become a truly exceptional model my friend!
  16. Ian McLaren
    I have gone as far as I can on the Bonin Swindahl chassis, the body is just waiting for some refinements and the final graphics. I also encountered a issue I have never dealt with before, once the chassis was assembled there is almost no ground clearance at the rear motor plate. I had checked the angles and every measurement I could be sure of but couldn't find the issue. A message for another modeler about a funnycar with what appeared to be a similar chassis led me to some further research. The article was an acount of the restoration of a well known funnycar that pretty much covered the complete car. When they assembled the car they found exactly the same problem I was facing (no ground clearance). It turns out that the car was originally designed around the taller Top Fuel slicks of the day. This probably should not have come as a shock as Al. was always primarily a Top Fuel guy. It also seems to have contributed to the unusally large rear wheel openings these cars had. Long story quick measurements confirm if I print a set of taller tires my problem will also dissappear. Sometimes the answer just comes from a source you never considdered I will be concentrating on the 57 Corvette Super Gas car for the forseeable future.
  17. Ian McLaren
    Ready for the engine and pumbing, firebottles and lines, steering arm and rods plus a few other odds and ends. The front suspension is the stand out feature of this Swindahl design
  18. Ian McLaren
    Finished the wheelie bar assy tonight.
  19. Ian McLaren
    It's at least together and very soild, and the roof is close to the correct profile with just a moderate amount of labour. Working with resin and a paint brush with using an ultraviolet curing lamp works very well for glueing the halfs together. It also works suprisingly well as a filler for low spots and blending contours, almost instant body putty, but you have to work in very thin layers and cure as you go. The main advantage is that once cured (just a few seconds under the light) it sands exactly like the body material (which is actually is). Feathering edges is a breeze. Setting this aside now but it has been a valuable learning experience. In the mean time I'll look at the changes that need to be done and develop a plan of attack. I am working on modifying one of the files to print a second hood rather than having to remove the existing hood without damageing it. Photos are captioned. Marking the scribe line with Dymo tape as a guide Cutting off the leading edge of the rood with a Tamiya Scriber II, great tool easy to use stays sharp seemingly forever Finishing the very ends of the cuts where the thickness is a bit much for the scriber Body fitting together with virtually no sanding adjustments required and the Ultra Violet curing lamp I use. Curing a joint and a couple of low spots I filled The body together with the roof fairly close, and the side seems just glued with the resin but not finished or dressed.
  20. Ian McLaren
    The front half printed with no drama. The two together are about 6 scale inches too long in the doors and roof. I left this overlap purposely to try and get a near perfect match before starting the body work.. Now to glue the frant and back together, I have never done this before with photoresin. Any words of wisdom would be most welcome!
  21. Ian McLaren
    The seat belts are in and secured
  22. Ian McLaren
    Well it ain't pretty but I have worked with worse. My first attempt at printing a body and I learned a bunch. This is for a future Reher-Morrison ProStock Camaro. What have I learned, the STL file I chose to print is not very good, a series of flat planes to form a curved surface so there is going to be extensive body work above joining the two halfs together (going to print the front tomorrow). I will say that although rough, the size and overall proportions don't appear too bad. I think I used way too many supports, but I always have and I still haven't experienced a print failure. Have I been able to use every one, no, but that all comes down to opperator error and the necessary learning curve, never had anything fall off the build plate. The extra resin used for the supports is way less money and aggrivation than a failed 8 hour print. Also learned that printing your own bodies is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced modeler and may be best left to the professionals who sell printed bodies. You guys know who you are. I may be in over my head on this onw.
  23. Ian McLaren
    Starting to come together, I have the correct steering shaft housing but have misplaced it, using brass just to show its placement
  24. Ian McLaren
    Still building bits for the chassis, todays project was the seat belts. Hall Racing Products belts are now ready to install, I used a combination of Future Attractions hardware, Pro Tech webbing material and custom designed and printed maunfacturer patches, done by me
  25. Ian McLaren
    Daniel Himmel . Thank you so much Daniel, in reply to your comments on another site , yes he was most noted for Top Fuel cars, and the funnycars from what I am told were mostly NHRA Division Six and Seven cars. Due to the distances involved only a few competed nationally which lead to the lack of documentation. As to the uniqueness of the chassis , I can't wait to unveil the front axle and suspension which is where the Swindahl influence is most apparent.
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