kennb

I got to thinking. This looks like an easy build from scratch. Would there be some interest is a tutorial that you can follow with drawings and step by step guide so some can build along with this. All you would need is the plastic, which I could supply in smaller quantities that full sheets, the basic tools and some patience. I would not recommend for someone that has not done a little scratch work before tho. I would go through the entire process a little at a time. the body, frame, interior, wheels, and motor. Obviously some things are not going to come out like in a kit of well machined parts. The idea would be to show the entire process and maybe you will find the satisfaction in building one car from scratch, and find ways to do things you thought you could not do. It would also be a way to interact on doing things differently, or with others on problems. I think that gives you an idea what I have in mind.. Any takers??? It wont be a one week or one month build. It will be so all can keep up, maybe 2 months????? KennB

Eye-ore should be pleased. My techniques are very carefully planned and carried out for getting the body ready for paint. Be mindfull that this is a very quick build and was a small diversion from my other build. (It is a 7 day build and will be done Saterday> painting on Wednsday).There will be no fancy frame nor motor at this point. The filler is very carefully applied to the areas that i need to smooth out. (see photo) For this I am using the carpenters filler. It does not react to the plastic and does not crack when it drys. I like the model body filler also but it does not come in 1 gallon tubes It does take a few fine finsh coats to get the little divis filled. I used a lot more filler on this than I normally use. The lower sides did not come out as good as I wanted thefirst run through. This takes about 5 hours to dry out so that I can sand it down. I use 150 grit and a wood ruler to block it out. For fine details I use a set of 2 dollar needle files. (I tend to go overboard on buying them for high buck). After blocking there are aways voids to take care of, See the front fender. At this point it is ready for the first primer coat. I use rattle can that I get at WalMart for a buck. But will gt into that part later. To get the plastic roughed out I use the sand paper and files for that too. Plastic falls like rain about me. The one thing to keep in mind is that the panels need to be as straight as you can get them with the ruler and sand paper. Use long strokes the full length. After the primer i use 600 wet or dry. I use a limited supply of tools to work. Basically an exacto knife, wood ruler, pencil, sand paper and files. I make all the parts by hand and scale them with my eyes. (I use 3 power maginfing glasses). I use the files a lot to make the different parts. The second windhield frame is 4 pieces cut to cshape, assembled and filed to smooth them out. I will finish sanding with some 600 before I primer them. I don't go overboard until after the primer since the stuff I use fills a lot of the sanding makes. I hope this answers some questions and if anyone wants I can add some more on this later. I appreciate all the questions and hope that I convey the answers adaquately (sp) Thank you for al the comments, they all are helpful to make a better model. KennB

type 2 windshield Kennb

I have the windshield done but think it is not right. Maybe too high. KennB

Progress looks slow but have not ad much time today.It is schedualed to go to paint on Wednesday. Grill and part of the front bumper are on the hood. Side trim added and some more details have been made that will be chromed. KennB

Some general Specifications to answer a few questions. Note: The plastic is from the sheet I bought from U.S Plastics (see 1954 Hudson Italia for ordering instructions). Material cost so far on this project: plastic..........................$1.50 super glue...................$1.00 I am using Loctite liquid for this one. They have a new gel super glue, DON'T use that. Any liquid super glue will work. Time used in actual construction: 10 hours There has been time invested in figureing this out to get this far. This is not included. Time spent unsticking fingers: 10 Hours Filler used: Elmer's carpenters wood filler natural color. As far as approaching anyone to cast this project. I have not thought about it on this one. It is possible but would be a challange to get a mold. It is fairly clean inside but there is also a lot of sharp points and severe undercuts and therefore would require more than the typical 2 piece mold. It would have to have a 4 piece mold split front to back down the middle and even the some parts of the mold might not fill properly. (I have cast model railroad cars and still cast parts). I am always happy to answer any questions. Thanks for all the nice comments. KennB

KennB

The interior is being assembled at the same timethe body is being worked on. The designer has so mant ideas flowing now he felt he had to get something solid to look at hoping that it fits with the rest of heis creation. Coffee filled cups lay around the studio as he works at a fever pitch. He looks at the location of the rear wheels and scratches his head.....the do have to be moved back a foot or so........another hold up. Muttering he goes back to the clay mock up and starts tearing the rear wheel wheel out to move it. &%*%%$ &#@^ *^&$ KennB

working through th early morning hours the designer starts to get the look he is after. Smoothing the clay model to the shape, he adds here and removes there, bulking up the front spears as the form slowly begins to take shape. He hollors for more clay and more coffee, his blood shot eyes from too much work look over the progress to see what needs to be massaged. KennB Thank you for the comments

Time line: 1955 Location: Behind locked doors at undisclosed styling studio. Project: Tomorrows car Sometime in early 1955 a young designer is trying to show his skills in looking into the future of the automobile. He sets pencil to paper and clears his mind of the things around him, the 1956 models in clay, square boxy, and no more than a freshened last years model. The other designers look toward the wings and jet engines, and fins. His mind takes these elements and starts to develope his idea of what this mind holds for the next generation of cars. Fins, huge fins like an airplane, exhaust ports round and big, sleek lines,breaking from the norm,something so far out that no one can even imagine something like this on the road. What he creates is by far decades ahead of anything now being done. In one short night he comes up with a bold design that he can taste, feel and see on the road. It is low and looks like it is ready to take off. KennB

I was thinking of finding a 55 bird to use as a base for this project. Ya ,,,,,,,right.................I need to do the research first before I open my mouth.....The only bird of this era they make is the 57, strange............did they ever make a 55 bird kit????? ...I did find a promo but I am sure that is not going to be cheap.,,,,,,,I guess I could use the 57 as it should be really close. I may end up doing the whole thing from scratch too. I was kinda looking forward to trashing a bird for this project ..........BTW...this design was the precurser to the Cougar,,,that finally came out in 67. KennB

I ran across this and thought I would like to give it a shot. I am not going to start it quite yet but wanting a little feedback before I get it going. . All I have is the side view with no front or rear so I would have to guess at what the designer might have wanted, It is a concept drawing done in 1955 by Ford Motor Company based on 102" Thundrbird chassis. By the looks of the side view the front is a split front bumper with a grill headlight assembly together. The rear is either 2 vertical tailights connected by a bumper or a full back light. I tend the think the first idea would have been closer to the thoughts. For this I could use the T-bird chassis if I could find 1 laying about. KennB

I finaly have the chassis arranged properly. I had to shorten the suspension parts and narrow the frame. I just have some clean up to do and waiting for a new bottle of glue. i have yet to get the springs and the shocks placed. The ride height is close int he second photo. KennB

Speaking of first builds. Mine was a 59 Pontiac convertable, in 1959,,,,,the origional 3 in 1 kits. Hand painted yellow "details". All I had was a bottle of yellow. Most of it was left plastic white. Dont think I used any of the decals. Looking to be a nice 58...... KennB

The window frame has been finished along with the glazing channel. I was reworking the frame and thinking I better make some new side rails. It is not coming together the way I would like it to. I am going to set that aside for now and work on the trim, and roofs for it. KennB

It comes in sheets only as far as I know. They do carry shapes, but not sure what sizes, there. I have been using what I already had on hand from a long time ago.You can go throught their site to see what they have in that regard. They have various thicknesses but for what I do I have found the .40 the best for me. KennB

I have had no problems with this material to date. When I get it shaped and the parts glued together it seems to be very stable and does not warp. I think a lot has to do with the fact of the way the material is designed. After it is formed, it needs to be stable. The design features are that is be heated to 150 degrees(roughly) vacumn formed and cooled, and then retain it shape as formed. The same material is used for plastic plates, and containers of all kinds that are thremal formed. (side comment, my brother owns most of the patents for this process as well as most of the patents on the machines to produce them).There is probably some addative to the composition of the plastic used for thermal forming that is not present in evergreen plastics or even injection molding. I hope this answers your question in some ways. If you have problems with warping you may want to try this plastic. One sheet would last the normal modeler a lifetime. KennB

Thank you I have been thinking of a top fr this. Theroretically it would fold into the trunk so it would be a hard top. I am thinking also of a soft top option but not sure yet. I am barely 2 weeks into the build and should be 2 to 3 weeks more before I am finished. I will be building the engine which is just a flathead 6 with duel carbs. Fairly standard for the Hudson of this time period. At this point it will be on a stand like I did with the Tatra. I did the final work on the sterring and tie rods last night and ran into a problem that I have to fix. It seems that I did not leave enough room for them and need to narrow the from part of the frame. Since I did not plan enough in advance I guess things like this can be anticipated. I design as I go so problems do come up that need to be addressed. Not sure if i will just cut things up and fix it of make new side rails and reassemble things with the narrower frame up front. The rear is fine so i am not sure yet. I am going to be working on this today I think I will have additional photos of my progress later today....stay tuned KennB

This morning I started the windshield framing. Starting with some cut strips and 1 cut piece for the foot around the base (where it forms to the cowel) I assembled the parts as shown. I also added some small scrap on the unerside to act as a "snap fit" to the body. It is removable this way and can be put back in place after everything is painted and chromed. So far everything that is chromed is a seperate part. This makes the painting a lot easier and the chrome parts a snap to do. The only parts that are chrome and attached permenently will be the side spears and the rear fender gravel shield. I dont know how I can do them any other way, as small as they are. Thanks again for all the comments. They make me try to do things even better. KennB

Here is the link to my supplier for plastic. The thicknesses vary but I use .40 It is thermal setting, i.e. for vacuforming. it is a commercial grade. I use liquid glue and superglue. As you can see it takes shape very nicely and paint very well. They will sell in single sheets although I buy in quanity since I use it for my 1/2" scale trains. http://www.usplastic...22883&catid=715 KennB

Here is one of he seats roughed out. It is assembled temporarily. I did get a little carried away and made it so it will fold forward like the orgional does. It was a mater of a few pins is all so was very easy to do. The seat tracks show when the seat is pushed back. They will be chromed. KennB

The forming of the styrene that I am using can be handled in 2 ways. Use of heat or very hot water of the shaping with needle nose pliers.l used the pliers to form the seat backs. A little at a time curving the styrene to the desired shape. There is also a small U shaped piece towards the bottom on the back that forms the bottom flair at the back. This plastic holds its shape fairly well, which is why I use it. (I get it out of U.S. plastics in Ohio.) I used heat to form the spring mounts on the A frames on the front of the frame, and the hub caps. I used heat as little as possible since on larger pieces it is harder to control. The Evergreen styrene is far to stable to form and hold the shape. It is a different type of plastic. All the plastic starts out at .40 and filed and sanded to different thicknesses or layered to get the desired thickness. I hope that you can follow how I shaped the seat backs. If not i can try do do a short demo video at some point. Thank you for the questions and comments. KennB

I am going to take a break from the frame for a while and start working on the interior. I have the dash done and the floor was roughed out before. But, as I am working it is all wrong and going to be trashed along with the door panels. I drew some rough scale drawings for the seats and then flatened them out so I could cut the plastic to size. After a few trys this is what i came up with for the back panel that the cushions are screwed to. Will post the finished seat this afternoon Thanks for looking. I hope that as you see how this is done you can find things to use in your own model building. KennB

I am ending up with operating sterring and suspension. I also am adding working shocks. You can see how this is done from the photos. The copper wire slips in the smaller tubing with ease, the shocks will not rebound on their own but will work with assistence. The steering is a simple setup the I will have an adjustable tie rod in place. I have yet to place the springs but will place them after everything is painted. Thanks again for looking and all the nice comments. KennB

I have the control arms set up and the steering set up.Both will be working. I also have the rear wheel wells adjusted and installed. The tranmission mount is in place. The seats are very different and the backs are 2 piece with screws holding them to a formed plywood base that is covered with leather and padding. I will be getting to those when the frame is further along. They almost look like the more modern racing seats the way the plywood backer is formed. The chassis is indeed based on the Jet but what is not said anyplace is that there was some adjustments made to accommadate the lower body. I have found no photos or drawing of the Jet chassis setup in any form. KennB