OldNYJim

Thanks fellas! I love hearing about stuff like this - our local track has a ‘bomber’ class too, but I’m not sure of all of the ins and outs of it. I should research those earlier cars - probably some cool build ideas there! Tiny update - mixed up some pink, similar to the die cast that inspired this build and shot the body this evening: Just Createx red and white, nothing fancy - but I get to do some fun masking over the next few evenings so I’m excited about that! Quick mock-up with the wheels… Next project will be figuring out the most painless way to get this back seat out of the interior tub…it’s not going to be the most fun part of this build… Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

I never realized One Shot MADE a clear - huh! I’ve been looking for a good replacement for the old Testor’s enamel clear…I’ll have to give this a shot! Pardon the pun…

My favorite! Both are cool tho… A little mini-project tonight…wheels and tires! Painted the stock Crown Vic wheels in stock Crown-Vic-wheel-semi-gloss-black: And I guess I could’ve left it at that, but you know how some demo derby guys really like painting their wheels and tires for some reason… Shot the outside faces with some Vallejo white - built it up in thin streaks to try and emulate them being rattle-canned and a little imperfect: Then, masked them and shot some Vallejo red; same deal, kinda patchy and imperfect… Then removed the masks, and blended the edges with some Tamiya Soot and a q-tip and gave them a light mist of dark brown and tan, just very lightly: Most fun I ever had painting some wheels and tires ? Started prepping the body for paint too - just shot a light coat of primer to make sure I didn’t miss any flaws that I didn’t put there on purpose…excited to get to the paint on this one! Need to start figuring out the interior next, that’ll be the biggest project on this build by FAR. Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Ok, so today’s progress was body prep. I downloaded the local stock-class rules and used those as my guide and worked on de-niceifying this nice clean body… Local rules allow the doors to be welded up to the pillars, so I did that: Trunk lid can be welded too, so same deal there: I’m a little worried about these details disappearing under paint so they’re a little bolder and less small and crisp as they could’ve been - some good ol’ tractor welds ? Local rules also allow three 3” by 6” plates on each door, so I found some reference pics of a CV built to similar rules online and did what they did: You also HAVE to remove external mirrors, and can plate over where they were, so I added some nice heavy steel plates there, plus it’s a requirement to run either a chain or a steel bar from top to bottom of the front daylight opening - I tried a chain but it looked a little TOO agricultural for my poor Crown Vic, so I ended up with a bar: Rules also require a 12” x 18” number board on the roof, so I made one of those with some Plastruct sheet and angle: And you’re allowed four hood bolts with 4” square or round washers - I found these Titchy Train plastic bolts in my stash that worked PERFECT: I need to figure out the lights - I wanted to make some styrene fillers but the angles are a little tough to make some nice one-piece fillers in styrene, so I’m modifying the kit pieces to LOOK like I’ve filled them with plates. Added some Mr Putty Sprue Goo to the front headlamps and the clear red taillights so I can smooth them out tomorrow: Interesting how much red color leeched out of the taillights into the red putty - turned it pink! Thanks for looking, more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

I’ve been enjoying a bunch of those videos too, lately - plus there’s some cool ones of people building Crown Vics into various different classes of racecar. Fun to watch someone working on the 1:1 while you’re building a little one! Another rabbithole to fall down, thank you! Are they dirt or asphalt cars, mainly? Agreed! A nice clean low-mileage Crown Vic is on my ‘want’ list in 1:1. I’d really like my next car to be as close to a ‘forever’ car as I can get…and I figure if I drive 10,000 miles a year and a lot of the NY Crown Vic taxicabs could make half a million miles if cared for properly I could probably get 40 years out of one ?. And by the time 40 years is up I guess I could try one of those new-fangled nuclear cars that we’ll have by then… I spotted the 4-lugs on the wheels too - I found the file online and it looked well-done when I checked my reference pics aside from the missing lug. I guess there wasn’t a four-lug version of these wheels so I guess it’s an error on the part of the designer, but not such a major one that I feel like spending a week trying to correct it… Thanks for the nice comments so far fellas - update after the jump…

Agreed! It’s such a nice clean look! Great looking build!

I went to the local county fair for the first time this summer (didn’t have county fairs in Brooklyn) and REALLY enjoyed the figure eight, oval racing and demo derby they ran. Came home inspired, and wanted to build something county-fair-ish. Then, the next weekend, was in Meijer and saw a little Johhny Lightning Crown Vic demo derby diecast, didn’t buy it, and then thought about it so much for the next three days that I had to go back and get it ? And then I picked up this on eBay for cheap: So I can build my take on the street-stock derby car I saw at the fair, with some inspiration from this little guy: Best I can tell, for the entry level oval / figure 8 / DD cars at my local event are REALLY close to having just come off the street…head and taillights removed, kick out the windshield and windows and…that’s about it. Some had the doors welded shut, some just ran stock seats and factory seatbelts, and some were a LITTLE better prepared, but still not really race-prepped at all. And that’s ABOUT where I’m going with mine - simple roll cage, bolt and weld all the panels shut and call it good for a day at the fairground. First step, because the kit has plastic hubcapped wheels, printing some ‘bare’ stock Crown Vic wheels, and a set of tires: And while the printer was running, printed a Recaro race seat - not a super-fancy fabricated aluminum one like a higher level class would likely require, but the sort of thing a racer might have in his shop already and could easily bolt in: And…that’s about as far as I got today: This kit doesn’t have an engine, so it’ll be strictly curbside, but getting the interior looking more like a stripped track-ready car is going to be a scratchbuilding challenge all of it’s own… Thanks for looking, more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Found one of these for cheap on eBay: So I can build something a little like this:

Looks awesome! Who makes the push bar bumper thingy?

Not the kits, but some of their photo etch upgrade sets have all kinds of useful pieces on - little brackets and rings with faux screws and rivets on, stuff like that. I picked up a few a little while back and keep finding good uses for them

Don’t tell OSHA ??

I’m actually really enjoying your superb craftsmanship and I’m enjoying seeing it come together - regardless of how long it takes!

I’ve been researching them for a fun, unusual build project…my friend races a late model and showed me some video of them racing and now I’m HOOKED! He showed me the English equivalent of demo derby, where they actually race for positions too, and I’d like to do a build of one of those cars for my display case also.

Wow - sounds like you know more about it than I do! But yes, I think so ? This’ll be a fairly involved project…not many kitbashable parts to use for a 3 wheeled English fibreglass micro-van from the 70s. I DID print some tiny 10” steel wheels for it today though…

I’m a professional designer, but I never get to design real cars. I need a creative outlet for my frustrated design ambitions, plus I want to work on being the best craftsman I can be at SOMETHING - if model cars didn’t exist I’d maybe want to make the best tables I could make instead, or pens or SOMETHING. I watched a Masterclass (online learning course) with the director David Lynch and he said something to the effect of “every area of artistic interest is an endlessly deep rabbit hole of creativity and discovery. You can keep doing as deep as you like and never reach the bottom.” I liked that - and now I want to see how deep MY rabbit hole goes (although, at my current skill level I’ve barely even fallen in the hole yet…)

Couple of swap meet finds today… Buck fifty for this slammer - always wanted one of these but had never picked one up… And double the price for this sad Prowler…I already have one, and it’s not even really something I want multiples of, but for $3 I’ll find something to do with it…

After checking the local Hobby Lobby five or six times (good thing it’s on my route home from work…) finally managed to grab one of these: Plus, a cool little illuminated sign for the shop:

Printed something unusual for a future project…

I’ve always found Createx easy to spray, infinitely mixable and almost foolproof to spray. Make sure to use primer, and thin with their thinner if you need to. Once you get the feel for them, they’re pretty easy to work with… Some projects painted with Createx, and cleared with either enamel or Rustoleum clear:

Not sure if you’re still looking, but if you know anyone with a 3D printer Nahuel sells one on Cults3d…I did a test print of one today (didn’t quite nail it, but the file is good and looks well proportioned to me…) (Sorry it took 13 years to reply…?)

This is coming out great!

Thanks Tony! I came to do my traditional Sunday night update, and realized that I didn’t achieve anything that interesting all week - doh! Lots of sanding, priming, parts prepping, painting - but not too much achieved… Painted a bunch of metal parts - lots of steel tones mostly, on this particular batch. I’ll have SOME chrome in the mix on this one, but a lot of raw metal tones too… Added some tips to the headers and a little detail: Saw some variation of this view most of the week: BUT got everything straight and smooth enough for final little tweaks and one more coat of primer this evening… Ready for the base color: This one will have some subtle period-correct graphics but nothing too crazy - next job will be a coat of intercoat and then some masking and painting fun ? Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Stunning work

Thanks fellas! @TarheelRick - I picked up the metal-tin too…got a bunch of build ideas for these! A little more progress the past few days…most bodywork stuff, but started getting some parts into primer, slowly… Fixing all the hackery on the ‘tins’…this Mr Hobby styrene putty is my new favorite for fixing little flaws: Just made some ‘weld lines’ along the seams to strengthen them and smooth them out: Leave to set-up overnight then sand and we’re pretty close: Got the frame cleaned up, into primer and then into black: And I’ve been researching the little in-out box that this kit provides you…if anyone recognizes it as being based on a 1:1 part I’d love to know exactly what that part is… Just a little update, but it took me all week ?. More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

That’s about what I figured - I tried finding good reference pics online of the exact model that it might represent, but no joy as yet…thanks for the reply! And thank you too, @Daddyfink!