MrObsessive

He's very fortunate to have a dad that motivates him in the hobby! I wish I had even a 1/4 of his talent when I was 13..........you couldn't even get me to look at a model! :shock: There is hope for the youngsters to follow us oldies! :mrgreen:

Wow! Lucky you! That is a nice kit and with some attention, builds up real nice as Mr. Beachum has shown!

Now that the main bodywork is out of the way, I can now focus on the floorpan. I want to make some changes to the chassis/floorpan before I start to paint it, or build up any suspension pieces. As I mentioned in my last update, the rockers needed to be "widened" and "straightened". This particular mold of this kit left the body very slightly warped.................unfortunately not uncommon as the years progressed and the subsequent reissues of this model. Here I used Tamiya putty to smooth out the transition from the square plastic rod that was added to the rockers. This looks better than before where there was a significant gap without the added plastic. As I'm holding this I'm squeezing the body sides ever so slightly-------when I get to final assembly, I may add a bead of epoxy or superglue to keep the tension permanent. Before: After: Tsk, Tsk, Tsk!! :roll: Look at how "empty" this rear area looks around the wheelwells and trunk area! While to the novice this may not be a big deal...............but I'll be adding fuel and brake lines down the road and this empty look just won't do. Meanwhile, I took a look at the interior to see how well it mates up with the door jamb/hinge support. It's a little off here, so I took a pencil and marked off what'll be filed away. Okay, I got some sheet plastic and crafted an extension of the wheelwell and trunk area. Later, I'll spot primer these sections and get out the Dynatron Putty and smooth this out better. At least it doesn't look so empty anymore! There's a significant gap where the floor needs to meet the lower door sill. This is a very early example of "platform" building where there is no interior tub. 1:1 cars have no interior tub as the seats are bolted directly to the floor pan. I'll need to add some plastic here to close the gaps and then shape it a bit to conform to the size of the door jamb. What's neat here is that like the 1:1's there will be a "step down" that most cars of that era (even today) have. Chrysler was sort of the pioneer (save for Studebaker with the '53 Starliner) for this type of engineering. They intro'd this type of design starting with their '57 models by lowering the floor and raising the transmission tunnel, yielding the "longer, lower, wider" look. That's pretty much all I can do at this point as I go to work tonight and have to get to bed in a couple hours or so. Throughout the week I'll finish up those wheelwells, then make a couple little clamp thingies for the fuel and brake lines and drill the holes for their placement. I'm pretty much wingin' it for the chassis details as I've never seen the bottom of the Turbine Car, just some drawings. So I'll have to take some "artistic license" as to how the chassis may have been done circa 1963. More to come later! :mrgreen:

Nothing beats a hardtop 'Benz for style! Nice work Chris! I think I had this kit too (or actually the base model) but must've traded it for something. :? Tamiya's always build up into nice showpieces!

Here's a few pics to help you out Del............ Hope this helps!

Paul you can also check out my fotki page for a '55 Ford I was working on. This shows the "gooseneck" type of hinge for the kind of doors that swing away from the body. While the Turbine Car I'm working on has hinges that allow the door to turn inward toward the inside of the fender. Hope the pics speak for themselves as it's difficult for me to put in words every little bend and angle that goes into making a hinge. Pretty much most of what I do is trial and error. One thing that's important is that it's a MUST to have very good photos of the car you're working on. Not just the hinges, but the shape of the door jambs, (body and door) kick panels etc. I haven't done much in the way of hood hinges, because if the engine bay is detailed, a lot of what is done is lost because the hood is in the way! There are some exceptions.........(vintage 'Vette, Viper, Ferrari, T-Bird) where the hood swings up high enough to view the engine. But mostly the hoods just lift off.

Very nice and clean build! I wish I could take pics of models outside...........we're still stuck under a ton of ice after that really nasty storm last week!

You could check here as they sell stuff from a variety of manufacturers. Or you could check out Micro Mark as they sell a bunch of hobby tools and such. HTH!

Zeb, I don't like to soften up something as thin as those strips beforehand. As big as my fingers are they would be smushed in no time! :wink: Also, Evergreen if it's too heavy with liquid cement can dissolve quite quickly...........Especially the thin stuff. It's not as dense as Plastruct which makes styrene strip also. I just don't have any Plastruct in that type right now. Actually, I'm not a big fan of Tenax..............while it works okay for awhile, after a period of time it loses its punch and evaporates too quickly in the bottle for me. I switched to Ambroid Pro Weld years ago and it seems to hold up better in the jar over the long run. This is the car that has that V-12........... It's the Italeri 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB ............I modified the body somewhat to represent Sterling Moss's car as it is today. I originally built this back in '98-'99. Thanks for askin'!

Nice grille work! I like it!

Hi Mike! Long time no see here! What a stash! That'll keep you busy TFN! You wouldn't mind sending that Pinto to a new home just in case would ya? heeheehee

Nice weathering job! I had a 1:1 '74 Dodge Dart Sport (Duster clone) in the early '80's that rusted in the EXACT same place as you've done!

Steve, the 3x5 card method seems to work for me..........if you can slip a 3x5 card in and out of the opening with no gaps around it, that should be fine. I'm also careful not to spray too heavy around those edges. I can always touch up the edges with a brush if there are bare spots.

Finally I've gotten to the last inning of the bodywork! I'm still amazed out how many things that needed to be fixed on this car..............it's funny how 22 years can change your perspective on things! ................and that doesn't necessarily always apply to models of course, but to life in general. :wink: I have to give credit where credit is due however.............The engineers at Johan really did some daring things circa 1964 when this kit was considered state of the art. I suspect though that they were ahead of time inasmuch as this kit has some unique build troubles and techniques that the average modeler in '64 just couldn't overcome. :shock: The leading edge of the door as I mentioned in another post needed to be reshaped to conform to the contour of the right side fender. Some sanding and filing and constant test fitting was done to make sure that the shut lines aren't too wide, and also at the same time, the door can open and close without scraping. Now I've turned my attention to the deck lid and GASP!!!!:shock:.....................look at that gap on the right side!! :x No centering could have been done here as the "windsplit" would have been off center..............This would be cured after I check the framing. I decided before I did any work to the decklid, I needed to make sure the decklid would open and close without much trouble. Johan did a nice job of making this a separate piece as it does make for nice detail when the decklid is open. The decklid has positive locator pins to center the frame, but the lid did not swing "high" enough for me. This was cured by reshaping the radii of the hinges on the inside, and test fitting again. Note that there are slight channels that were molded in the tulip panel for the hinge pins to rest in. During assembly the shelf area beneath the backlite "traps" the hinge pins enabling it to swing up and down. I have to admit that the last time I built this in '85, this was a trouble spot as over time the hinges could slip out of the decklid tulip panel and make for a sloppy fit. Once again, the decklid edges are too thick for scale appearance..........after I add some plastic to slim down that gap, this will get filed down to a more scale appearance. Here's some plastic square rod on the right side of the lid and attached with Ambroid Pro Weld.......... Come to think of it, the leading edge of the deck lid will need to be "angle filed" to make for better clearance when the lid swings up. When I was test fitting the movement of the frame and the lid, I noticed binding of the edge against the tulip panel. Once the Ambroid was allowed to dry overnight, I used some Tamiya Putty to fill in the area a bit where it will be sanded away. This was let to sit overnight again for it to dry thoroughly. Okay, I did sand the edges down a bit and it does look better and more "in scale". I also filed down the leading edge of the decklid and it now swings up and down much better in the body without binding or scraping. After I sanded down the side that needed the square rod, I wanted to check and make sure that area was featheredged cleanly. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I like to use Tamiya Acrylic Flat Black as a bodywork checker. Once it dries and everything looks to my satisfaction, you can take some Windex, (or other ammonia) and wash it away. Now we're talkin'! That huge gap is gone, and I replaced the chrome strip on the tops of the fenders and decklid with Evergreen Styrene Strip (.010" x .020"). Things have finally taken shape on the Turbine Car. I did deepen the fender skirt panel lines on both sides as they were very shallow, and I may tweak the chrome strip again on the right rear fender so they line up better with the door. The front fenders won't be permanently put on until final assembly.............there are locating pins on the fenders to make things easier to hang, likewise the doors hinge pins won't get epoxied until the interior and chassis are done. Next, I move on to the chassis floor and its fitting...............I did do some work on the rocker panels to fix some errors there------so sometime over the weekend I may do another update of what I've done on the floorpan and some corrections I think that may need. Thanks for bearin' with me.......it's gonna be a loooooong ride! :mrgreen:

Thanks for that Cruz...........I thought about that after I made my kinda lengthy post that he might not understand. :oops: He can respond to me in Spanish, 'cuz I understand much better than I can write. :oops:

All of them are Excellent!! 8)

Hi Daniel! Welcome! You and I met at the get together Miguel Barbosa had last year before the show in P.R...........I'm the guy who had the models with the crazy working stuff. :mrgreen: I also met your son, and he's an excellent builder too! Hope you post here often! I found these pics on Mad Slammers (Fanfancito)Fotki page..........is that you and your son on the right? I remember when these were taken! Marcos Cruz and Luis Ayala were there ........:mrgreen: That's the back of my head talking with Rogelio(?), Miguel Barbosa, and Carlos DeJesus.

I can give you a little hint Izzy..............as far as the make, think of a "shooting star". heehee

AAHHHH! I figured out #9!.............I've never seen one of those outside of a magazine! :wink:

That's a pretty spiffy roadster! Looks like it might have some decent leg room for us tall guys unlike the Solstice/Sky. I wonder how close to the production car this one is?

Neat Quiz! I got a 96...........but for the life of me, I have no idea what #9 and #24 are...........:?

I have to give it to the Roadmaster too in this case. I always have loved two door hardtops........but they were very common in the '60-'70's and are mostly what is seen at the collector shows today. However, 4 door hardtops are hardly ever seen, and I think they're a bit better looking in some cases. From a practical standpoint though...........one of the reasons I won't consider a 4 door today is I CAN'T STAND that ugly center pillar! :shock: It blocks my peripheral vision because being a tall guy (6'3"), I have to have the seat as far back as it'll go. It never fails that the "B" pillar is right on the side of my face blocking my left side vision, not to mention seeing traffic from the right side of the road if at an intersection. The first car maker that can come up with a 4 door hardtop that can meet today's federal rollover standards will have my money! :mrgreen:

Bro, this goes without saying......but that Beetle is clean as a whistle! I've got that kit and the Karmann Ghia...........I should add a couple VW's to my builds sometime!

Is that the F&F Supra Seth? Good Bondo work so far.......what color were you planning on? 8)

Gregg, is there any way to have the MOD work on other templates? I've been using the "Getaway" template, but the MOD seems to only work on the "SubSilver" template. It's no big deal..........it's just I kinda like the look of the Getaway template a little better on my monitor.