Scale-Master

I started building the transaxle so it might be ready when I get the bellhousing from Fraxional, (the 3D printing service I've been using). First up was to cut off and drill out all the bolts, studs, drain plugs… and fill some sink marks.

Just got the kits from one of our sponsors, Round 2. Killer selection and some really cool kits for the winners of the contest! Thank you Round 2!

There are some really well thought out perspectives in this thread, and some great examples of when open discussion is beneficial to all involved. I especially liked Bill Geary's example of the way things should go. I know I have been given undue heat for trying to help fellow builders when I've noticed a huge error while it was still easy to fix. It's too bad some people tend to be predisposed to read negativity into other people's comments. Things offered to be helpful are often mistaken for "attacks" and the person making the observation is too often incorrectly labeled a "hater" or "jealous". It doesn’t help when others pile on instead of thinking for themselves. It is not conducive to the betterment and growth of the hobby, and I hear continually that is one of the goals of these types of forums. You can't have it both ways. Another facet I didn't see discussed in this thread is the possibility the person(s) posting less than stellar work and receiving over the top praise for it isn't who they portray themselves to be, or they may be playing joke or trolling other members of the forum. (Don't dismiss the thought; it has happened several times just in this forum alone on some pretty significant levels.) And who knows, maybe some of the people offering the high praise are doing the same in return? Or maybe they genuinely feel sorry for the builder? If the latter I'm not sure how encouraging poor workmanship is helpful in any way. Either way, is it really what we want to do within the hobby to make it better? Do we want to encourage others to troll the forum, or on the other hand hinder the potential growth of a budding builder by telling them they are doing awesome work when they could be doing so much better with a little honest help? I can't see yes being to correct answer to either scenario, if that is what is happening.

Thanks Tim!

The bolt-on rear spoiler is made of brass. I hand cut two identical pieces from 0.010 sheet. Then drilled 19 holes in each and scored one side of both for the upper "tabs". The upper "tabs" were bent using an angle template for continuity. Then I soldered them together. This is the rear side. I acid cut a recess that will accept a clear spoiler element/window. This is the front side.

Sure Rich, I'd love to see more photos. Thanks David! I also made the bellhousing in SolidWorks since the kit item wasn't a fit or match for the new engine. Again Fraxional is my go-to 3D printer. This is will be a stand-in for mocking up the engine mounts and rear suspension and might get modified later.

I sent you a PM Trevor. Hopefully it went through. I drew the valve covers (copied from my real car) in SolidWorks. I'll have Fraxional "grow" them.

Thanks Trevor! Maybe you can come up on the 28th for the CFAC show on the 28th? (Info is listed here in the contests section.) The rear of the block didn't look bad when it had a bellhousing molded to it, (and was going to be hidden by a firewall), but it turns out it is not at all symmetrical. Since the rear of this engine will be very exposed when in the car I had to rework it. I added 0.020 sheet styrene and reworked it.

Thanks Tim! The kit engine is a SB Chevy, but it doesn't quite look right on its own and it builds up differently than a "normal" American kit. (Probably due to it being designed to house an electric motor.) Plus the heads were molded to the block halves and the rear of the block is a separate piece creating interesting seams. I borrowed the engine parts from the Monogram '69 Z/28 Camaro kit and made molds then cast resin copies. I cut off the oil filter, bellhousing & engine mounts from the oil pan, and the transmission & bellhousing from the block halves as well as the fuel pump from the front of the block. The timing tab was also removed from the timing cover and the bolts were cut off and holes drilled in their place.

Looks much better in primer…

I added the top edge of the rear spoiler(s) by sawing a notch into the existing peak to accept some strip styrene and fairing it in.

I started adding the rear spoiler fairings. Sheet styrene instead of brass, but installed in slots like the front winglets.

Saturday 9-28-19 at the Costa Mesa Fairgrounds. 88 Fair Drive. Building 10. Costa Mesa CA, 92626

Then I cut and annealed a couple strips of brass, shaped them to the fender and curvature of the winglets and soldered them in place for the mounting flanges.

The little winglets are shown on the box art but are not included in the kit. Not a big deal for this project, but I wanted some on it nonetheless. I hand cut a pair from sheet brass and slotted the nose to accept them.

Thanks guys! For a multi-piece body it can be assembled into a nice piece if you don't follow the instructions but figure it out logically. The chrome has fit issues that are a problem to fix because of re-plating. I just used the chrome parts as they were from the kit. It is very bright but also has sprue points in visible spots and different sized gaps.

Thanks for the tips Rich. I don't think this one will have the potential tire problems as the original issue, (mine's from '97) and the tire material seems different from some of the kits I have from that earlier era. They even sand differently. But I might shore them up with foam as these projects tend to gain a good bit of weight compared to the stock ones and I have had some sidewall cracking issues over the long term on other cars. I'm not up on what's available for alternate versions as I just fabricate what ever I want. But I can see making it into a spyder could eliminate some of the body fit issues. Care to send me a PM with the name of our mutual friend? (I have my suspicions based on your state...)

I started this at least 15 years ago for a movie themed contest, but I decided not to go to the show and shelved it. I came across it last week and thought I should take a shot at finishing it since it was mostly done. It's from the movie It Started With a Kiss and this is how it looked before it became the Batmobile. Being a 63 year old kit it has some issues. The chrome on the bumpers wasn't the best so it didn't seem like it was worth it to BMF the side trim as I originally planned. Plus there are other fit issues I didn't worry about fixing. I just had fun finishing it as a sidekick for the Batmobile.

A little BMF for the canopy… I had already assembled the tires 15 years ago and the sidewalls were painted white. I masked them off and shot them black. The paint was dry...

The last part of fitting the door skins to the openings was to add the gaps at the bottoms of the doors.

The interior parts were in much the same shape as the body. Since most of the areas are flat finished just a soap and water wash was done. Same for the chrome pieces. The top and bottom had been somewhat reengineered back when I started building it, so the two halves went together pretty easily.

I just compared it to my Round2 Batmobile and it is not quite as long. I assumed it was 1/25th, but I'd say it might be in the 1/28th range by eyeballing it.

I guess both, it's the Revell 1/25th scale kit from 1956.

I started this at least 15 years ago for a movie themed contest, but I decided not to go to the show and shelved it. I came across it last week and thought I should take a shot at finishing it since it was mostly done. It's from the movie It Started With a Kiss and this is how it looked before it became the Batmobile. The paint was still OK, but covered in a lot more dust and grime than I expected. A quick wash and polish took care of it… (My camera is having a hard time seeing it.)

Most of the finished ones I've seen don't look like they fit very well at all when all closed up, including the one in the kit's instructions. The doors and main bulkhead line up particularly very poorly. All the body panels have serious fit and symmetry issues. (I spent over 300 hours to get the body to this point.) In some cases an 1/8 of an inch of material was added and I'm not sure how to track how much was shaved off. Granted, the real cars were not show cars but racing machines. In addition, the engineering makes it difficult to paint/assemble many of the most visible pieces of the body. As far as the fit of the internals, so far it seems to be OK. That said, I even with the misalignment of the body panels, they still look impressive when finished. I'm just trying to do a little better than box stock...