GerN

Yeah, AFX, I immediately checked after I posted and then deleted my post. Its been a really long day . . .

Thanks, guys. I just cut a flat piece of styrene close to the Daytona shape and glued it to the rear using two part epoxy putty to get the spacing I wanted. There is also a fair amount of Bondo in this multi-piece model. After looking (staring intently) at the mockup, maybe a smaller wheel and tire combo would work better. This almost has an SUV look.

Photos in primer - much easier to see the shape. Yup, it does resemble a 240 Z, and also a Ferrari 250 GTO and other front engine GTs of that period. I think it has enough of it's own character to justify my effort.

Thanks for the comments and interest. The roof is my resin copy of a Mustang, circa 1965. The nose is my modified copy of the rear end of a Porsche Boxster. The Bathurst car may be a modified Superperformance Daytona; I couldn't find a good reference with a brief search. My skills aren't up to making an acceptable Daytona, and I'm really aiming at a reasonably practical GT, not a racer. My retro-styled GT will use unibody design with front and rear subframes taken from the 427 Cobra. Also wheels of my design and a modified modern Ford engine. I prefer to limit the websites I sign up for and I'm pleased with how my posted photos here look, but thanks for the Fotki suggestion. That would be particularly tempting if I wanted to set up a site with all my models.

I've admired the Cobra Daytona for many years, but there has never been an affordable, decent kit to my knowledge. Since I always do customs, I decided to do a modern GT restyle of the 427 Cobra with a nod to the Daytona. In order to fit the necessary safety, performance and luxury equipment, it is about the same size as a modern Vette, which would be a natural sales competitor. The front and greenhouse use resin copies I made of other cars. Hopefully, photos of it in primer before too long. tech note: my files were way too big, so I used GIMP (photoshop-like freeware) to shrink them from over 4 MB each to about 300 KB each. GIMP's export function allows this; I went with 19%, but I think they're still acceptable.

Many supercars have gone to extremely forced, repellently aggressive styling. You're going in the right direction (I think) and I hope you'll do more to your Vette.

Thanks for building and sharing these unusual cars. And they appear very realistic.

Your work is simply beautiful, as always. I also admire your discipline: you stayed true to the original, and I know how creative you can be. Btw, I would have made a quick resin copy of the seat after all the effort put into it (I need to save all the time I can because I'm slow and lazy), but your way probably does look better. Great model!

A real treat! Very well integrated design.

Here's a slightly modified copy of Chromecop's version:

I ran off to check my MID4 - its the production car, not the prototype. Who did the prototype model? Here are some shots of mine in it's current state: I plan to add an engine after finishing the hood and copying it in resin, but I haven't decided on that yet; maybe the Nissan V8 race engine. I've already copied that, so its tempting. Ah ha! Fujimi did it (the MID4 proto) and it is still available. But I'm trying not to buy more kits until I finish one or two.

Very, very original, and good!

I would probably make a resin copy of the front wheel openings and replace the rears. That would say "sporty" and lighten the rear quarter, giving better balance. I would not shorten the wheelbase - might even move the rears back a little for a longer look. Try doing some photoshop playing (if you don't have PS, check out GIMP 2 - its great).

Wow! An immediate response. Thank you, but I already have one, just failed to make the connection (too many kits, not enough neurons). As you probably noticed, this is going to be a restyling or custom. Which is all I seem to be interested in any more. Again, thanks for your prompt response.

I picked this up from a vendor at a show for a few bucks - a glue bomb. I striped it , and, even worse, I started modifying it without taking any photos. I thought it would be easy to identify a plastic Ferrari. That's what the engine looked like, but now I suspect it didn't come with the kit. The body and chassis detail are good. I've added to the rocker panels (the body looked too shallow to me), replaced the front and eliminated the cooling intakes behind the doors. The latter are very nice with open slits, but I wanted to convert the car to front engine. It has a liitle similarity to a F355 or a 512, but I can't find anything really close to it. So . . . HELP!

Great concept - worth a long, hard look. With a stock front end, maybe a little reminiscent of an early Chevy suburban.

Its great to see something so original executed so well.

A very good-looking Cobra, especially the engine and wheels. Those seats in this car made me think of the extravagant collar on Bella Lugosi's Dracula. Fangs for nerf bars would give it a Dahmish personality.

Very impressive. You have managed to successfully combine some quite disparate elements into a believable whole. I'd love to see the chassis and the design work there as well.

I've begun making a Cheetah, starting with clay, then a mold, then resin. I discovered I'm not very good at working with clay. Here are the images I've been using as reference material.

Good Work! BTW, Bordinat.

Excellent work - design and execution. Its a treat to see such a well-done (and unusual) custom.

Your guess is correct wrt the plugs. Google 2006 Mustang V8.

You might try rubbing that area of the body with a paper towel. This will bring up some shine and help to tell if there is a problem. If so and the body behind the crease is thick enough, I'd try sanding it out on one side. Then I'd compare the two sides and decide whether simply removing it was an improvement, and whether or not to add a new crease parallel to the bottom of the body. If it helps, I've been working on a custom based on the AMT 1955 Corvette, and am trying to do something similar. This kit is terrible; I'm sorry I started working on it, but here I am. I need to reshape the lower back of the rear fenders which are not even close to correct. In my case, I've filled in Bondo behind the area to be removed because quite a bit must go. This is your model, so your opinion is really the only one that matters.

The side view at the bottom of page seven shows the crease above the rear tire pretty clearly. My thought is shiny paint will bring out the "droop" look this crease seems to me to give the back half of your car. On the other hand, it does echo the slant of the front fender. I really like this model, and I'm just trying to be helpful, not a pest.