GrandpaMcGurk

Being I do pretty much all my modeling in large scale those itty bitty overpriced "hobby" spray cans come up way short of of making me a happy hobbist. There never seems to be quite enough paint in the can and they spit and sputter at the worst possible times....not cool! This is a budget build so I'm not going to drag out the airbrush, when I use rattle cans I shop at Wally World or the local auto parts store for real world rattle cans. In my never ending search for "chrome" paint this is the best I've found. it's Dupli-Color chrome. It has a very fine spray pattern and dries quickly, it only needs 10 minutes between coats and in my mind looks great. Not exactly chrome, but better than anything else I've used...it's cheap, shiny, lots of paint in one can and user friendly....what more could you ask for? I've tried Future floor wax, polishing, clear coats etc. on this stuff and all it accomplishes is to make it look more like polished aluminum than chrome, I'm only saying this so that you don't waste your time thinking it'll get shinier...it will look like other metal finishes but no gain in shine. Here's a tip...after you spray your final coat, put it away to gas out and cure...if you handle it, it will dull. I usually let it set for 4 or five days before I install the parts and they stay nice and shiny.

Cool...I'll give it a try next go around. I bought one the Dremel things months ago and it's still in the box. I usually go to my shop size drill press for those tasks and didn't want to risk tossing the RP part across the room at a high velocity, that's why I used the tried and true pin vice. I'll give the Dremel mount a go and see if it works for me.....sure would speed things up a bit. Nice going Tim.

I dug through the parts box and found some cast metal acorn nuts that looked about the right size...they aren't threaded, they just have a stud below the acorn, I got them from SMC, don't know if he still does them...you'd have to contact him or another supplier if you need some. I needed 14, found 13....that's the way my luck runs at times. I cast a few in resin to take up the slack and will paint them to match the metal ones....yeah, I'm a tight wad. While I was drilling out the head for the acorn nut studs (used a pin vise) I had a senior moment and chipped out one of the bosses....bummer. JB Kwik to the rescue....I swear by this stuff, it can be sanded, drilled tapped, whatever. Being a 2 part epoxy it's not going anywhere or cause me any problems later. Like the man said..."a little dab will do ya".

Hey gang, I know this is a bit off topic but I just heard from Mario, I hope you don't mind but I'll post a piece of my correspondence with him just to let everyone know he's okay, he can delete this post later when the dust settles..... _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ My dear friend....I just got back the internet a few moments ago....electricity, running water and telephones were back only last night....this has been a nightmare you just can't begin to imagine.... This one has been the strongest earthquake here in Chile for the past 100 years by far.... Though the epicenter was about 600 Km. South of Santiago where I'm standing, damage here is second to none.....never in my 64 years of life I had seen so many structural failures in houses and buildings.... Luckily my house here in Santigo didn't suffer anything serious, and the house on the beach either.... We are all well, no injuries, just the scary moments.... By the way, when this movement came I was absolutely alone here in Santiago, my whole family was in the beach house at Santo Domingo....luckily I could contact them some moments after via telephone, one hour later I had no water, electricity and phones (Mobile & fixed)....never been so scared in my life, not knowing about the family.... Thanks so much for your concern, buddy.......I'll be mailing you with more details later, describing my hairising experience.....got a lot of mails to answer, mainly from relatives who doesn't live in Chile....

Locating pins are provided on the bell-housing and & trans for this RP kit which makes assembly a no brainer. They fit very well and and even though I'm not drilling out the bolt holes at this point they are dead on. The indicated holes from one part to another line up exactly. That should simplify things for you bolt together guys tremendously. The only part that required any massaging was the oil pan to block. The pan didn't want to slip easily over the lip on the bottom of the block. I relieved the inside of the pan a tiny bit and knocked a little off the block lip, that allowed the pan to fit flush against the block. I'm using thick CA for assembly and as you know you only get one shot at positioning parts before they grip unless you use a slow set CA. Take care to make sure the head is positioned to line up with the front cover. If you line it up with the front of the block, the front cover won't be flush with the head. I'll be installing the exhaust manifolds upside down to allow me to mount the turbos on top. That way I'll be able to mount an inter-cooler over the top of the engine and have a straight shot to it from the turbos to the cooler and then run tubes from the cooler to the intake. This engine is already long enough without me running tubing in front or back to get from one side to the other. I can mount the turbos together in the center as shown in the 1st picture below ...or put one in front and the other towards the rear. The exhaust will run down the left side of the block.....if I use the small TDR turbos, I'm hoping I can get them to fit in the center position...if not I'll have to go with the out board set-up like the second photo...which location would you guys go with?

Yes I do, I haven't heard back yet. If I don't hear from him by tomorrow, I'll see if I can get through by phone.

Yes, he lives in Santiago....I'm trying to contact him now to see if he & his family are okay. I don't know if he'll be able to get back to me, but if I hear anything I will certainly let you know. We're very good friends and honestly, I'm a bit concerned.

Not much in the model car arena, lots of full size car shows, bike week etc. The weather flat out sucks and many have pulled their horns in to wait out the economic crunch. Unfortunately.....slim pickings in the forecast right now. If we could gather up enough support and interest I could call in a few favors and maybe, just maybe, we could do our own in Ocala. I have enough pull with a place that sells only (full size) classics, antiques and muscle cars that does shows from time to time. I could get the space and local advertising piggy backed with their stuff for a model car show...but I wouldn't have the time to do all the promo & leg work other than locally. So if any of you central Florida guys want to start at a grass roots level...contact me off site and we'll see if there's enough interest to give it a shot.

Just for giggles I thought I'd post a pic of the TDR Jag next to the TDR 426........it should give you guys a pretty good idea of how much longer the 6 holer is.....it's skinny compared to the elephant but from the back of the block to the front it eats up some real estate, fortunately the bell-housing and tranny are quite a bit shorter than the 727 auto behind the 426. There isn't much room inside the body of a bucket or in my case a C-cab for an engine set back.

Now that's funny.... I had much the same reaction when I heard the word plaster. However, when you think about it......in all the years that have passed, we are still building mega structures with wood, concrete, steel and whatever else comes from our natural resources. The Hi- tech engines that power things like the Bugatti Veyron and all the rest are based on the internal combustion engine....it hasn't changed much since day one...ignite the fuel to cause a controlled explosion to move a piston etc. etc. Sure a lot of hi-tech bells and whistles have been added over time but it's still mighty old school (in your words). So what's wrong with old school?

You're cracking me up Mario. Guys when Mario says "bought or homemade" understand that he's an accomplished machinist as well. If can't find a particular bolt or fastener he'll make his own. He even makes his own tools from time to time if he has to. I learned long ago that this guy has no problems....just solutions. He gives a whole new meaning to the term "detail freak". Way to go Mario.

Well hello there Mario. Looks like Rick and Harry beat me to the welcome, that's cool. Yeah buddy, strut your stuff.

As I said earlier in this thread I'm doing this build from a modelers point of view and that includes the boo boo's and things I feel you guys should be aware of with these TDR products. This stuff isn't styrene or resin, it has it's own characteristics. It's easy enough to sand but as you can see in the photo I got a little heavy handed prepping a tiny part for paint and snapped off a little tab. Easy enough to repair but when handling the really small fiddly stuff a little extra care is in order. Another thing to remember is you can't use regular model cement on these parts. The cement has no effect on them and there is no fusing between the parts. CA works great...I use the thick kind as it fills in the tiny pores and results in a very strong bond. The TDR kit comes with a nicely detailed generator and if I ever get around to doing an older or retro build I'll put it to good use. However for this build I'll be using something a bit more modern. Pictured is the alternator that comes with their Hemi engine....it's perfect for what I'm doing.

The chrome covers don't hurt my eyes to look at so I figured I'd add even a little more "bling". I spent a few minutes sanding the front cover and then sprayed it with gold epoxy. I'll do the same with the oil pan. I don't think this engine (the way I'm building it) would fly too well with the Pebble Beach crowd but it is starting to look like a heater for a Hot Rod. I haven't sanded the mating surfaces yet so please overlook the fact the parts aren't quite flush.

Tim, I cut the R/M Jag block up long ago and made a 4 banger out of it. I did find the bellhousing and trans from the XKE kit. When you called it a brick, you were being kind...although I've cut the R/M parts up for other uses I did not sand off any of the lack luster detail...here's a side by side pic of the kit parts with the TDR parts. Nuff said?

Marshall, let me start by saying thanks, it makes me all warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that I've inspired you to tackle a biggie project. Rick and I are a bit shop worn and have probably between the 2 of us bought, modified or otherwise abused many of the parts & bodies that are available. I've had dealings with Mike (eDeuce) also. As Rick said, never been disappointed. Good service, a quality resin casting and no worries. So why are we blowing his horn? Simple.....like you, even though we are wearing the TDR moniker we are just large scale modelers. Personally I see no reason for you guys to throw more good money at door stops only to be disappointed or handed a bunch of B.S. I would like to suggest that if building a replica of "well known" car blows your skirt, by all means that is what you should do. On the flip side how 'bout keeping that coupe in mind as inspiration and build one that would suit you if you were doing it 1:1? In other words, build the Marshall Coupe. That's how Hot Rodding was born and it's alive well even these days.

If Lindy ever comes out with their 1/8th comp bodied dragster I'll just have to put one of these monsters in it. Oh, yeah! Can you imagine how big your quad Al would be with 4 of these puppies? You'd need a trailer to take it to model shows...LOL.

This is a Hot Rod Jag and I wanted to add a little bling, so as the old rodders saying goes "if it don't go, chrome it". Rather than go through all the metalizers, rub & buff stuff to try to get these covers to look chrome plated, I scrounged through my overflowing/junk parts box and found a set of R/M Jag covers. I know that TDR parts are to scale and as luck would have it, they fit...the plating has held up fairly well so this engine gets a bit a glitter....cool beans.

SWEEEEEEEEET! Love the way she sits, that car definitely has an attitude.

I've sprayed several coats of primer on some of these fiddly parts but as you can see in the pics they still need a lick & kiss with the ol' sanding sticks before paint to acheive the finish I'm after. I want some of these parts to look stamped and smooth and others to appear as if cast and polished from perhaps aluminum. So like it or not it's time to sand. BTW...I buy the sanding sticks from Hobby Lobby, they are cheap and work great for getting into those little nooks and crannies. A couple of bucks gets you an assortment of 25 sticks in several grits. They are flexible and easy to use.

Thanks for the kind words buddy, I'm having a ball building this model, it's allowing me to do some scratch building, kit bashing and just plain have fun.......glad you like it. It's going to be different for sure. Here's a couple of pics from the TDR catalog of an engine built and detailed in stock configuration......Rick, isn't this the one that our pal "SYD" built for us? Anyhow...that's what it's 'posed to look like.

So be it...I'll order a couple of the small mirror image turbos and see if I can build a bag of snakes to take the grunt from the exhaust, up over the valve covers, thru an inter-cooler and deposit all that fat air in the intake side. Milk Truck, Ice Cream Truck? Do I look like the Good Humor man? How 'bout Grump's Magic Elixir & Traveling Side Show. LOL

Rick has informed me that some of you guys (like me) have better things to do (with already scarce hobby time) other than dragging out sanding sticks and magnifying glasses to polish out things things like blocks etc. The texture on these parts is what is...just the nature of the beast. Rather than moan about it or spend hours sanding around details and such...I figured there had to be a way to take advantage of it and there is. I saw no reason to try sanding and finishing a part that is supposed to replicate a mass produced cast iron part...in fact, I've spent far too much time before trying to duplicate that factory cast iron look on baby butt smooth injection molded kit parts. The photos below show the TDR Jag block, head, trans, bell-housing with several coats of primer surfacer and a couple wet coats of color. No sanding or prep work at all. The primer & paint got the texture to the point where (at least to my eye) looks like full size cast parts...no fuss, no hassles. I will have to sand out things like valve covers etc. but we're half way home already. I'm also including some close-ups that are far larger than the actual parts so that you can eye ball them. Notice that the detail is still there, including the little stuff like letters and numbers......and the texture looks cast. What do you guys think?

Some of you know that I'm one of the partners behind TDR, now before anyone says I'm bias towards their products, please understand that if I don't like something or can see a running improvement that needs to made I have absolutely no qualms about letting them know. Guess that's why the rest of the TDR partners call me grumps. LOL. Anyhow, they asked me to run some of their products through the wringer in an effort to keep you guys happy campers and satisfied with the wares they offer. I figured being this C-cab project was off the wall anyway...let's hop the ###### out of their Jag engine and see if I can put it in a Hot Rod. Now I'm sure the purists and detail freaks are going to scream foul, but this is a build to suit me and with your input to this thread let's have some good old down to earth fun from an average modelers point of view. In other words...no fancy tools or equipment or expensive hardware....just basic modeling skills and hobby tools. Below is a pic of the kit as delivered......not too shabby, lots of parts, great detail and most importantly it's to scale. No problems so far. I'm sure by now Rick is biting his lip wondering what I'm going to say next.

These photos show the outer and final skin in place (I'll be adding rain gutters, rear doors etc.).....some of you may have noticed that the firewall is now solid, that's because it's going to be cast and it will allow you to open it up for whatever you decide you want to use for your builds should you decide you want one. At this point I'm going to add a lot of bracing, etc. inside so that it will hold up to the mold making process. If you scratch build the tub as I've outlined you could at this point make a top out of balsa etc. for an original Woody or a surf woody...C-cab pickup...whatever. Once the tub is done it's up to you to suit yourself. The only top I'm going to have cast is the unit I've displayed. I'll post pics of the finished ready for casting body with all the ginger bread and get started on the frame and drive train for my own personal build and post pics as I go along if you guys are interested.