AmericanMuscleFan

Thanks Ian, I really hope to have a productive new year too. Have a great holiday too, my friend. Thanks Joe! Thanks Scott! Thanks Ray, It's probably more madness than talent...?

Thanks Bob, it is very difficult to take good pictures but the effect in person is even better, I guarantee it. Thanks Marcos, this is the kind of detail I like to do the most! Thanks Daniel, I think these pieces will be a nice addition to the details I plan to do in the trunk. Thanks Roger, I am well motivated to improve this kit and I think the back part is well on its way to being improved! Thanks Andrew!

Merry Christmas to you too Tim. ?

Hello everyone, It's crazy how fast time flies, just five days before Christmas and 2022 will soon be over but I don't think anyone will complain... Time for a last update before the Christmas weekend and I took the opportunity to add a little bit of red for the occasion. I spent the last few days working on the taillights with a part of the mounting brackets if I can call them that way. I machined the brake lenses and the back-up lights with acrylic rods by reversing the measures used to make the openings in the rear panel. I referred to photos on the internet for the basic shape, but I don't claim they are exact replicas, as many details are too small to be incorporated but the whole is quite convincing, an owner of the real car could be a better judge than me. I will then make the brackets to mount the units in the trunk and I think I will make them out of brass as they need to be very thin and rigid. Anyway, there is no shortage of choice when it comes to what to make, everything is to be made but I must admit that this is my favorite part of the hobby. ? Comments and suggestions are welcome. Francis Brake light at the beginning of machining with red acrylic on the rotary table. A little later with all the lens shapes machined. You can notice that I machined the 5 shapes because my first idea was to paint the back lights white. Turned 90 degrees to separate them into two identical parts I then decided to make the reverse light out of clear acrylic. Parabolic receptacles for bulbs in progress. At a later stage of fabrication, I drilled small holes for the wiring. Part of the brackets at early stage of machining. At a later stage. I glued the two parts together and refined the details. The parts before final assembly. You can see that I machined notches on the brake lenses because I think they act as replicators on the real lens? I put chrome (Bare Metal) and glued the acrylic lenses with 2-part epoxy. Test fit, not bad I think? I will probably add some black around the lens to create a tunnel effect as the acrylic is very transparent.

Fantastic job Daniel, the nuts on the wheels are always a nice addition and give a lot of realism. This is the kind of subtle detail that most enthusiasts love and I am one of them! ?

Demonstration of museum quality, your crafting techniques are unique and allow us to see an art that is being lost at the expense of the pre-made. Simply beautiful and addictive! ?

Thanks Bob! This is what I would call trying to turn a flaw into something better. ? Francis Thanks Chris! I am quite satisfied with the progress made so far, but I think the best is yet to come! Francis

Beautiful work Ian! The Camaro loses nothing by waiting, a little break is sometimes beneficial for the continuation of things and this project so well started will only be a winner I am sure. Good luck with your new restaurant project and try to keep some free time to keep us entertained! ?

Thanks Ian! Thanks Marcos!

Thanks Scott!

Thanks Mike! You are a brave and passionate guy, I have tried working with a resin body before and it takes a lot of skill to get good results like the ones seen on the forum. I like to use solvent glues like Bondene or Tenax but they don't work with resin and that's sad because resin kits are often the most interesting subjects. I used double-stick tape (the kind that sticks to both sides) to hold the trunk lid in place and added masking tape on both sides as you can see in the photo. The plate on which the trunk lid is mounted is a 5" Rotary Tooling Plate (#3725) from Sherline, it is designed to mount unconventional or special parts on the rotary table, it is very useful and inexpensive. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to making parts with the milling machine and the more you use it, the more you will discover that this tool is versatile, so don't let it intimidate you. ? Always a pleasure to help, Francis

Thanks for your visit and kind words Trevor, the project is probably not as intense as the D100 at this stage but I will try to remedy that a little later in the build. ? Keep checking back, I expect to incorporate aluminum and brass on this one too. ? Francis

Hello everyone. Time to put a little bit more meat on the bone... Before moving on to the tail lights, I decided to focus on the Demon's trunk lid. This part of the body (including the rear panel) was the most damaged, so everything was removed and thrown in the garbage. I bought a new 71 Duster body on eBay as a donor for this project and put the saw in it without restraint. The rear body of the recent Duster was a little wider than the Demon's, so I had more problems with fitting and sanding than expected, the fabrication took me longer than expected. The Duster trunk lid was also very thick (0.100"), so I decided to etch the reinforcements directly onto the inside of the lid instead of adding the shapes to the part I should have thinned. The rest of the shapes (contour) are Evergreen styrene strips glued with liquid cement and shaped with a small file and sanding sticks. I have provided the entry points for the hinges but I could instead use pins at the four corners as is sometimes the case with drag racing cars. I'll probably make the tail lights before moving on to making the front end, I intend to make all the body parts before moving on to machining the aluminum or brass parts. Francis The donor for a good cause...? I traced the desired shapes on a piece of thin cardboard and used it as a guide to transfer those shapes to the thick panel of the Duster. This is the first time I've done the engraving directly on the plastic part, I started by making the rounded junctions. I glued the piece to a plate mounted on the rotary table, so I could rotate the piece to engrave in a straight line and join the circles. The higher contour is made of Evergreen styrene strips filed and sanded to shape. It took a lot of adjusting and sanding, but it fits pretty well, I think. Sorry for the blurry picture... again... View from inside. Decidedly... sold this morning at a good price, I couldn't help myself, it's a lot of money...

I would also add a good dose of talent which you obviously have my friend!!! Coupled with an apparent pleasure in advancing this high caliber project, the pleasure also becomes ours in seeing your techniques in action. There is way too much to comment on, but I like what I see. ?

Hi Steve! Thanks for joining me on my new adventure, my friend. Yes, I decided to go with the Bluenose coin for this project but I think I'll try to find an older silver minted coin as this one is very shiny and the details are finer than the American version. The use of the coin only serves to give a reference of size but it is sometimes difficult to make the focus when it produces reflections. I am not yet at full speed on this project and I have yet to finalize the direction it will take but I hope to be able to produce updates on a weekly basis when I have more time available. Francis

This is fantastic Ian! I really like this kind of build and you have done some great work on the frame and cage so far. ?

Glad to see you back on this build Marcos, you've made good progress so far, it smells like Street Outlaws! ?

Very good source of information Daniel, this project is going in the right direction! ?

This is great Ian, I love this kind of build so much, the brass frame is on a very good start! ?

Thanks Roger! I've been thinking about building a Dodge Demon for a while now and I feel inspired, many of the building techniques I've been thinking about for a while are working their way through. My pickup took me 4 years to build and going back to a car is good for me I think... ? More progress next week. Francis

Thanks Joseph, It is always a great pleasure to share my experience and I am delighted if it can be useful to someone else. Francis Thanks for the kind comment Marcos! Francis

Thanks Tim! A bit of brass will certainly find its place somewhere in this build but I can't hide that I'm much more comfortable with Styrene for this kind of details. It's also a little sad to hide brass work with paint as opposed to styrene which is made specifically for that not to mention I have a much larger inventory of the latter... ? Francis

Great work Sergey, glad to see you back on this build, your progress is impressive as usual. ?

Hello everyone! After a few days off before returning to work, I was able to finish most of the trunk gutter detail. As I pointed out on a previous post or reply, the Demon and Duster body does not have a metal extension between the trunk lid and the rear window, so the gutter construction commanded extra care to keep the body straight. I was very apprehensive at first when I removed all the moldings and the trunk lid, but the more Styrene strips I added, the stronger the back of the body became. Once again, I referred to a few photos to create the details and the result is quite satisfying, what do you think? Your comments are welcome and appreciated. The build will resume next week, Francis The rear panel is finally installed with the rear bumper mounting structure. Part of the gutter between the rear window and the trunk opening. I added a 0.010" Styrene strip around the opening, it is interrupted on the corners as I saw in the reference photos. View from a different angle. Overall view, I put the dime to get a more accurate picture because it is very difficult to get a good focus point. One last one for now...

Thanks for your kind comments and to joining me in this new adventure Doyle! The final assembly is not for tomorrow as you can see, even if I don't have to create the whole body like I did for the D100, a lot of parts will have to be made to bring this kit to the new millennium. ? Francis