Pierre Rivard

Hi Michael, the build phase was a quick 3 weeks due to a self imposed deadline to finish before taking off for a vacation. I would have normally taken 5-6 weeks at the pace of 2-3 hours/day I usually work at. The planning phase was on/off for about 2 months, researching rules, searching the web for data/photos, acquiring parts and considering the design iterations and methods I should use. Not unusual for me to spend more time planning than building. Thanks Charlie. I would not say perfect but the experiment turned out pretty good. This salt rat makes me think that ugly can be beautiful. Beauty in the eye of the beholder?

Thank you friend, it is different but I like exploring new areas. First LSR'ish kind of build and first rat rod type paint. I really enjoyed it. Thank you very much sir! Thanks Ulf. I was fortunate to start with a body that was molded with crisp panel gaps. I just scribed them a little deeper and used a Vallejo wash to highlight the panel and window trim joints. Thanks John. I like them too. I just painted a 10x12 board to mimic the salt surface and used photos on my laptop screen as the background. Sometimes simple does work! Thank you Carl!

Oh boy, these pinstripes zig zagging around or over body seams and features. Just being off by 0.5 mm would be very visible. They look absolutely perfect. I could not survive that un-medicated! 🥃

I think it was a bit of beginner's luck. I picked up the idea from another builder on the net and it worked out better than I thought possible. It does open up an avenue into new types of builds for me.

Thank you sir, I am on a learning curve with patina effect but this sponge & sand technique looks pretty promising. I want to try this again in a not too distant future.

You have absolutely nailed the yellow hue. Gloriously beautiful!

I'm speechless... I struggle to line up the corkscrew into the cork... yet you machined a very complex engine block measuring about half the size of the cork. This is next next next level stuff. I need a drink!

Beautiful build. Impressive how this old tooled body has retained crisp lines and details.

I had been wondering about these Top Studio fittings. They look really good on your powertrains. I find the RB Motion fittings to be extremely accurate but difficult to handle and quite expensive. I think these are an excellent alternative. Thanks for the tutorial professor Mark!

Looking at the back end of your chassis picture, you really have a way to make these metallic finishes look so real. This and supreme detailing mare for quite the realism experience. Inspiring.

Thank you Claude. This was completely new to me and I very much enjoyed it. Your salt cars inspired me and I am hooked. I'd like to build one every year at least. Look forward to the Rive-Nord club event! Thank you so much Francis. I get bored easily so building the same kit twice cannot happen. The only way forward is trying new things. This was a first time supercharged V8, first time rat rod style paint and first time salt car. Versatility keeps me motivated. Thanks Steve. I surprised myself with the paint job. It was fun and easier than expected. Thanks Chris. A bit off the wall but definitely an enjoyable build.

Watched the teaser/trailer. Doesn't feel good. Feels like... hey let's do a remake of Driven... We have not been treated with too many really good racing movies. For now Grand Prix, Le Mans, Rush and Ford v Ferrari are the ones that make the cut with me. I doubt this new one will.

Absolutely!

You have produced an absolute winner. The body modifications fix all the kit's inaccuracies. Most impressive is the front end & bumper. It looks so spot on. The engine in this kit may be a bit generic looking but with all your added detailing and paint finishes the whole engine compartment now looks very cohesive. Altogether a most impressive replica of this beautiful race car.

Merci Francis. This one was built very fast. I did in 3 weeks what I usually do in 8. I just wanted it finished to clean up the bench for a self imposed 5 month break (travel and golf on the menu). I'm happy you like the result, one of these rare builds where everything falls in place. Even the weathered painting process, something I had not even tested came out good. Next project (fall) will not be so easy, a Fernando Pinto resin kit.

Thanks Rich. I usually try to replicate a real race car at a specific race venue, which requires research of facts and replicating it as best we can. In this case I did research salt racing but the car is is pure imagination. Refreshing change. Thanks Kyle. A strange combination but researching LSR at Bonneville indicated there are many many strange combinations out there. So why not? I have about 700 hp, was geared for 200 (foolish me) but inexperience, aero of a brick (well... it IS a brick), stability issues, not enough ballast... So we went 170 on the first run, spun on the return run. We'll be back next year... salt fever!

Proof that simple vintage kits can be shaped into wonderful replicas when creativity, skills and resolve are fully leveraged. Fabulous effort!

Thanks Ken. I built this thing too fast to fully enjoy it. I need that vacation! Thanks Chuck. Making our builds look like real cars is what we always try to do but only occasionally achieve. Thank you sir. I just painted a 12x12 board to match the salt and use my laptop screen as a background. Works surprisingly well. This new technique for creating this paint effect has produced surprisingly good results. Actually easier than trying for the perfect paint job. I like the look and will definitely repeat the experience. Thanks Larry, much appreciated. Like I said, I just found neat pictures and used my laptop screen as the background. Quick and easy but it does look pretty cool! You are so right Bill. Your words perfectly describe what this build is about. Thanks! Thank you sir, it is actually my first LSR build but I am fascinated with these so these is definitely more of them in my future Thank you Andrew. I ended up adding more details to this build than I initially planned but it has come together quite nicely. It helps when we start with a good quality kit such as this Revell Nova is.

Lovely kit isn't it? Hang in there man!

Thanks Carl, much appreciated Thanks Charlie, actually much quicker than my usual pace due to a deadline to "close the shop" for travel. Well you are here now and that means a lot. Thanks for the constant support. Thanks a lot Chris. Mad a few mistakes with regulations but we showed up. Let's try to pass inspection! Thanks Mark. The weathering piece was tons of fun. Not bad for a first try. Likewise Claude, an immense pleasure to meet yesterday. Your job is to bug me until I cave in and participate in November. I think I could be convinced... Thanks Ken. Just posted under glass

A bit off the wall. Imagine a low budget effort run at Bonneville. It starts with a barn find 72 Nova. The sun burnt paint with plenty of surface rust makes it look ratty but the structure is sound. Fix up the chassis, build a nice 427 with a 6-71 blower and Hilborn injection, add the mandatory roll cage and lets go racing! So it is an improbable, unrealistic endeavor but it adds up to a fun scale model build. I started with a Revell Yenko Nova kit and mashed in parts from the spares and some home made aero elements. Paints are all Vallejo acrylics either brush or sponge applied. The car was designed to run in the B engine size Classic Blown Gas Altered class. It looks like a rat but is meant to be a salt racer, so a SALT RAT it is.

Made a parachute Re-did the rear wing which was too big. Brush painted aluminium and sponge finished with a slightly lighter shade to give it an unpainted aluminium look Engine installed and chassis installed to body, which allowed the final engine component sets to be integrated: ignition coil to firewall and inline fuel pump to right inner fender. I decided to leave the bumpers rusted, and fabricated sheet metal inserts to block off lamps and grille inlets Last item on the check list: exhaust dumps, made from 4mm Evergreen tubes with ends hollowed out. This one is done. I'll try to post photos underclass tomorrow.

Last set of updates for this build I had to rush to finish. I wanted it done before final preparations for an extended vacation. Aero hubcaps are from Parts by Parks. Original finish on first photo. I flat cleared them and added graphite dry pigments (photo 2)

I have a question? I finished the bumpers with rust effects. I'm not sure it is good enough, and perhaps too much of the rust theme here. I'm considering stripping them and going for a black finish. Might make the car look a bit more sinister. So what do you guys think, keep the rusty chrome or go with a black finish?