François

Did the leather on the door's inside panels. It's not perfect but I should be able to get it close with a bit of tweaking here and there and a bit of shoe polish.

All body parts have been primed, wet sanded and primed again. They are now ready for final color.

I did the rear seat today. Here's how it was done. I first made a paper template of the back rest. Which was then transfered to a .015" thick plasticard I 3d printed a bunch of domed strip to create the back cushion shape Which were glued to the plasticard Next came the leather And once glued I then cut a piece of white foam for the seat cushion And covered it with leather But I didn't like the gap between the back cushion and the body so glued a 1/16" dia styrene rod to create a lip that will hide the gap. The rod will be painted the same color as the bodywork. I'm very happy with the result even though it's not final since I have to remove the seat for painting. And the last project for today was to make a new bigger spray booth. The hydra body didn't fit in the old one. At 28" wide x 14" deep, it will accomodate bigger parts.

With the rear wheel covers done, that concludes the body printing phase of this project. I think I'll do the rear seat before priming the body.

Did a bit more work on the Hydra Coupe today, both under-fender cases are printed, as is the fender step mats. I also did the fender step ladders and wired the rear brake lights. I'm almost done with pre-primer sanding and should be ready to prime pretty soon. I still need to print the rear wheels side covers but not a big deal. Side case Step mats and ladder Wired brake lights Body parts ready for primer

The second fenders print did the trick. The fit is pretty good althought I'll have to wait till the final assy to properly align everything.

The fenders on this project were among the hardest to 3d model and they prove to be just as difficult to print. They are also very big so they need to be printed in 2 parts. My first try didn't come out so good. I printed the left side fender and althought it has good dimensions and fits as it should, the front amd middle were badly printed. I'm hoping the second try will do better. It wasn't easy to properly locate it again the body so I made a hook up rail that fits perfectly against the body and is glued there. The inside edge of the feeder can then be hooked on the rail in order to be in the correct spot. Hook up rail glued to body Fender edge near rail Front of fender badly printed But it's promissing

Thank you everyone for the positive feedback. Big John, the shield is printed on the inside so it's not visible when the lid is closed. I want it to be discret.

The body is slowly coming together, and the fit is surprisingly good. The doors open and close easily as does the trunk lid. I still have a lot of fitting and sanding/puttying to do. I'll ve applying a sandable primer before paint. Here are some shots as of today. I also took a few shots of the undercarriage. Door sill, will be chromed with black lettres 20250502_140340.mp4 Trunk lid prop bar added aluminium micro tubing over brass pivot rod Leather trial, it's a nice reddish brown that I think should look pretty good with the gun ship gray of tge body Undercarriage Close up of the wired starter

It's update time. I started gluing up tge body together. First is the rear two halves. I installed some fish plates to better align the two halves and to get more gluing surface. It came out good, is rock solid and very well aligned. I'll need to do a bit of epoxy putty on the seams and gaps but I think it should look pretty good. Both door hinges are glued in and I even added some rivets to the only fish plate that will be visible (with the trunk lid opened). I also printed the trunk lid but it's not to my liking, I added some longitudinal stiffeners to the new one that should help to better maintain the shape. But even with it not being perfect, it still looks good. Two halves glued together with white styrene fish plates in place Riveted fish plate Hinges installed Test fitting of the bleu cube thingy which fits as planned test fitting of not perfect trunk lid captain america's shield cameo And a few general pictures

I'm glad you appreciate my work,

Thanks BK, I found the problem, there was a tear in the film on the botton of the resin vat which means that the resin was leaking onto the screen. I was very lucky that the leak was minor. It's an easy fix.

Second try is much better but there's a hole in one of the parts and I have no idea how it got there. I think I'll add another. 010" to the thickness.

Thank you Chris I printed the hood today, really not a success. At .030", they are way too thin. I reprinted with a .050" thickness and with stiffener ribs. I think it should help. But at least, the pivot works

Reprinted the doors with thicker outter panel and it is now perfect. I also beefed up the hinges a bit. I did a preliminary test fitting of the door on the rear body and it looks like it will work. 20250424_203951.mp4

All major body components are printed. I had another issue with a rear body half ( problem with the U shaped cutout for the bumper) but this time I was able to repair it. I printed a patch and replaced the section. Still needs a bit of putty but it should be ok. Also printed a test door, the outter sheet is too thin. I'll have to thicken it a bit. I decided to print the outter sheet and inner panel as a unit. Once painted, I'll be able to apply the leather. Speaking of leather, I found a piece of nice thin brown leather that should look pretty good. Rear end repair And once repaired Test door Door hinge insert And so far The brown leather

Since the bentley and this car are both 1/12, I barrowed the seats from the Bentley to see how they fit in the cockpit. The size is pretty good, but the Bentley's seat are small to begin with. I'll widen them a bit and it shoul be ok. The Bentley's tub next to the Hydra's just for fun

The body is slowly being printed. The rear end is quite big to print, even in 2 halves. My first try didn't work. But still, it's starting to look like something a vilain would drive. First rear end half print, close but no cigar. It's as if the max printing volume the slicing program gives me is incorrect, the top of the part didn't print (circled in red). It took over 12 hrs to print and 500 ml of resin, oh well... But still, it's getting there For those wondering where this gadget is going

Thank you everyone for your positive comments and insights. So here's the 3d model showing the modified left front body panel that give a good view of the engine. And when seen from the other side

Absmiami, I've already used clear resin but it's not 100% translucide, I would even say it's a far cry from being translucide so that's a no. I post on 3 different forums and explained on all 3 my conundrum. I received plenty on interesting ideas (including yours). But there's one that I think will be best. I'll but the body on the rolling chassis but I'll modify one of the front lower panels to give a good view of the motor and all the bits and pieces that are worth seeing, probably on the steering column side. The underside of the model could be seen by reflexion on a mirored floor. I can also raise the hoods to give an even better view. I slightly modified the body to be able to lift it from the frame if need be. With this solution, I get the best of both worlds, a good view of the fun moving stuff and the great looks of the body on the frame with the wheels and all the trimming. I'll post à pictures of the 3d model showing all this soon.

For those who wonder why I hesitate in hiding the rolling frame, here's a reminder. 20250418_215155.mp4 I just can't hide all this neat stuff.

That's pretty much what I intend to do. I might redo the the yellow support go incorporate a upper rack to hold the body. I'll design the new support and post à picture shortly.

First body panel test. I have a bit of a conundrum. Do l make the complete body and install it on the frame and hide everything ? Do I make a second frame (without any mecanical components on it) to hold the body? Do I make a half body mounted on the completed frame? I'm really not sure where to go with this.

I decided to go with yellow for the model stand. Reminds me of the large assembly jig I saw at Canadair (became Bombardier aeronautics) back in tge early 80's on during my first summer job.

Thank you all for the nice comments. Bainford, yes it is much more impressive in person, pictures can't do it justice. Big John, kraken tentacles would be nice but I think I'll stick with the stand I made. It will eventualy be part of the display case which should have a similar Dr Doom/vilain look. It's not all clear in my head yet but it's slowly forming. Anyway, I'm still a long way from doing the case. I just installed the front and rear bumpers so that pretty much completes the frame assembly. The completed frame is now on it's stand (which still needs to be painted).