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Hello Everyone! The time has come to start a new project, cold weather and the first snow covered the ground here in the province of Quebec, so nothing better than a little good time making models to get through these cold days. I must say that I had a hard time deciding on my next project simply because I had 3 or 4 subjects that really interested me to build and I thought for a long time about the pros and cons. As we often say, too much choices but not enough time to make them… My next subject will be a 1972 Dodge Demon drag racer, YES, another Mopar... did I mention I'm a Mopar fan? 😁 I must mention that didn't put "Pro Stock" in the title simply because I want to keep some freedom to do things my way and there are too many details to respect to recreate a correct historical car of this class. Also, it's very hard to find good close-up photos of many of the critical details of these cars and I'd be quite happy not to take another 4 years to build this one even if I don't give myself a date to complete it. Note that I have several sheets of Slixx decals of well-known Pro-Stock cars from that era, so the project could go that direction if I change my mind, we'll see. Before I started, I bought and read an excellent book called "Chrysler's Motown Missile" and I was very impressed with the quality of this publication and the incredible dedication, determination, ingenuity and of all the challenges they faced during the years their cars were campaigning, never giving up was obviously part of their philosophy!!! That being said, the team, with the exception of Don Carlton himself, never used the ’72 Demon body, so my current choice would not be correct for a tribute car of the "Missiles" team but rather a good match for the "Billy the Kid" car… 🤔 I have in my stash the ’73 Duster, ’71 Challenger, ’72 Barracuda or ’74 Dart kits for a more accurate build but I really want to build a Demon and preferably a 1972 because it has never been done in kit form and the challenge of trying to make the front grill is irresistible, not to mention I really like that A-body. 😍 I have a new sealed MPC '71 Demon kit and a good old built kit that I bought about 20 years ago, so I'm going to start with the latter since the damaged areas on the body shell are exactly the parts I want to try to improve on the original kit. The taillights on the MPC kit are not well represented in my opinion and can be improved, this very damaged area on the body will be a good opportunity for me to try the exercise without much guilt. I'm also going to use the recent ’71 Duster as a donor for some of the body parts, the trunk panel obviously and some of the more modern and detailed components of it. I must confess that I had a good and constructive discussion with one of the masters on this forum regarding the new kit I have and despite my choice I really think he’s absolutely right and the new kit should be build instead of sitting on my shelf. I feel like I have to try to save this rare body and I will have a good "plan B" if something goes wrong with this used body that would be sleeping in a box if I didn't use it. Anyway, only the body shell would have been used for this build so it would be a waste in my opinion. The sealed kit will keep its value and I could probably sell it at the end because I don't think I will build it anyway, I have way too many ideas for other subjects. Tim (Codi), I hope you'll forgive me someday but rest assured that your way of seeing things has still made its way into my head! The first part of this WIP thread will be primarily devoted to body modifications and I will incorporate aluminum and brass structural and mechanical components later in the build. I hope you're not in too much of a hurry because this is going to be a slow moving build, I don't know if I'll post as many updates or pictures as I did for my ’64 D100 pickup but I'll try to show the basic, especially if I find any new tricks to share with you. Unlike my D100 pickup, I don't have to create the body from scratch so I'll have more time to work on some of the details for this project and I have some new construction ideas to put to use. Note: I started working on the project a few days ago, so I'll post some pictures of my first surgeries soon. It starts today… the thread, I mean… but I hope you'll be along for the ride! I'll be back soon, Francis First pics: The donor in all his splendor before going to the scalpel... or the Dremel! All this part of the body will be modified, including trunk which will open of course. The rest of the body shell is very nice and the front wheel openings will be adjusted to look more like the real car.

Hi everyone, this is a new thread centered around a JoHan Maverick Grabber I bought off ebay some months ago in the U.K. The car was in it's original box, no warpage, and even original shrink wrap. I thought they didn't exist to be honest. I'm doing a Pro Stock / match racer that is a "what if" type build. The what if centers around the leaps in car development made from 1970 with the introduction of the Pro Stock class in NHRA to the mid-70's when Hemi Colts were just one of the wild rides of the day. From the research I've done, many if not most Pro Stock racers spent a lot of time match racing as well. It was very lucrative for them and the factories (at least at the beginning) were happy to jump in and assist. My car will be a bit different as it will be a "Pro Stock" car set up for match racing of the day.......or what "could" have been. Wayne Gapp (check out Gapponline.com for great reference material btw) was part of the Ford team that created & developed the Boss 429. Even though Ford bailed by 72' from direct factory support, it seems that Wayne maintained a "pipeline" of parts and good will with Ford. Without going on about historical this or that, Ford had developed an all aluminum, 494 C.I. Boss (big by the standards at that time) for Mario Andretti's Can Am effort. Records mention anywhere from 12 to 18 alum. blocks were cast. Hubert Platt had one as did Gapp & Roush. Interestingly enough, Wayne also developed a set of twin plug Boss heads that were never introduced because of Ford's sudden pull back of factory support. The Gapp link I noted above gives great insights to the car(s) they were racing & developing. My "what if" match racer is a Maverick with the lowered stance of the red "Shotgun Express" Gapp & Roush car which was unique at the time but with a Can Am 494 & his twin plug Boss 429 heads. Holley dominators with a Weiand/fabricated manifold should set the engine off. Sorry, way too many words but this should give you and idea. Pic's are a general theme and I have a bunch of after market items (resin, PE and 3D printed parts) on the way to compliment the machined / fabricated parts I'll be making. The JoHan chassis will be a big hurdle as it's worthless in my estimation. I have "Minor" brass leaf springs coming among other oddities to hopefully achieve what I have in mind. Norm from Replicas and Miniatures has already shipped his Boss 429 (he is GREAT to do business with btw) as a reference and I'm sure I'll utilize some of his engine parts for my build. I just have the firewall & chute to install on the Bantam and this new car will be front and center. Cheers to all, Tim I'll fab a new scoop but I wanted to see how straight the body was in primer.............first coat.......my kit was made in an ugly green plastic btw a Boss 494 aluminum Can Am motor..........mine won't have the stack intake of course. Dominator's and a fabbed manifold for my car. The twin plug Boss 429 heads that Wayne was developing for the engine. Remember the twin plug Chrysler hemi heads of the day............I love this kind of stuff as if you couldn't tell. Wayne's early Maverick the "Shotgun Express" which is a great reference for my build. My car would have raced in 1972 if and only if factory support hadn't stopped. I like to think that Ford could have more than held their own if this had come to fruition.

Hello Everyone! This is my first time on this forum (in fact on any forum) and I want to share with you my latest project. First, I want to introduce myself with some significative episodes of my builder experience. I’m not new in the hobby but I think it’s time for me to jump in the parade since fantastic and inspiring projects (and people) are present on this forum. Like some of the older model car builders I came back to the hobby after several years of absence. I spent my youth building plastic model cars but I left (as many of us) for more important thing like a full time job and less important like weekend partys with friends. The spark came back roughly 10 to 12 years ago when I attend a model car show in Montreal Canada. On the table was displayed a couple of incredibly detailled drag racing cars built by a good fellow named Del Paone (RIP). I was too shy to talk to the guy but I made some search on the internet after the show and found that many detail parts (like photo-etch and nice decals) were available for the hobbyist. In the following year I started the build of my first detailed model, the legendary Pro Stock 72 ‘Cuda Mowtown Missile. It took first place at every show I attended (Quebec and Montreal area) and the desire to do always better has never left me since. Few weeks later, I saw an article in the Scale Car Magazine featuring Sir Augie Hiscano (RIP) using a Sherline Lathe and I knew right away that’s was the thing that I always wanted to do. I bought a new lathe and started making simple parts like aluminum pulleys and perfectly round plastic parts. Couple of years later I bought a Sherline milling column and started making more complexe parts. My last completed project was a 70 Plymouth GTX (1/25 scale using a promo JoHan body) and extensive scratch built plastic parts, aluminum and brass parts including an all aluminum 426 Hemi engine, aluminum rear end, aluminum mag wheels and functional drive shaft to list a few. I spent around 2000 hours on a 3 years span on this build (I’m a very slow builder and doesn’t build much during summer time). I will try to share some pics later but I lost some of the construction photos after a computer crash (during an OS update). I now take more precautions with frequent backup on USB key. I’m a Mopar guy but I do love all American cars from early ’60 to mid ’70 no matter the brand, It was a fantastic era with large variety of nice body lines and engines. My current build is a 1964 Dodge D100 Sweptline Pickup Pro Street. It’s a kind of « what if » project since I never seen one on a race track. I know that this model is loved or hated but for me it’s just a cool truck that bring good memories of my childhood (my uncle had one as a farm truck). This model has never been made in plastic but a cast resin version was available from some caster including Modelhaus. I bought a copy a few years ago before they closed their doors for retirement. I was pretty exited when I got it but I soon realize that the limitations of resin reproduction was not for me. I do love thin walls (more in scale…) and I understand that’s not easy or doable with resin cast. So I decided to make my own version starting with a donor body shell. I bought on eBay a used 1962 Ford F150 unibody (just the body without hood) as starting point. I will start the thread with the body creation and I will add more picture showing the mechanical construction in progress. All the drivetrain will be aluminum and/or brass (hand wheel machining no CNC whatsoever) but some elements will be determined during the construction. I wanted to make it twin turbo but I think that the space under the hood will be too limited since I want to keep the cab as close as possible to the real thing (I spent a lot of time making all nook and cranny as close as possible to the original cab). I must say that I was very inspired by the work done by masters including Tim Boyd, Clay Kemp, Bill Davis (Vintagedragfan) and more recently by the incredible skills of Tim Hoagland (Codi). Please be lenient for my english since I’m from Province of Quebec (french tongue) along with my full time job so I will try to answer ASAP to everyone interested by the project. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have to move forward in this project! The donor truck 62 Ford CustomCab Unibody I cut the box right behind the cab to make the wall for the D100 Add styrene to the corner of the cab and window frame since the D100 is totally different I cut the roof at the top of windshield pillars and sliced the top to move it forward I glued a 0.125’’ strip to extend the top and connect both pieces together. I also glued a 0.020’’ thick strip to create the gutter I glued a 0.125’’ tube to fill the gap and to create the reverse radius for the fenders The wheel opening was relocated and I glued some styrene strips in order to recreate the original shape machined the cowl vent opening in a 0.010’’ brass sheet I test fit the brass sheet on the new plastic piece for the cowl. I was forced to do that in order to modify the bottom corner of the windshield (the Ford have radius but the D100 are square corner) I drawn the front grille on a 0.125’’ plastic sheet and machined the contour using my milling After several hours of filing and sanding I finally got the almost final piece. The grille has mounting tabs like the real one for proper installation on the radiator frame. I also reserved the center opening for the D100 ornament (to be made later) I made the front facia form 0.015’’ styrene strip and 0.250’’ rod for the front lights and 0.125’’ for the flasher bezel Windshield frame done and front fenders 90% done I moved forward by cutting the doors open. I also extended the gutter on the side windows With the windshield done I used a piece of paper to trace the inside contour in order to make the dash. The rough piece is on the lathe in order to engrave the speaker using a 0.010’’ end mill The cab is on the milling in order to engrave the top valance shape. You can also see some of the jamb, step and the anchors for the gas tank behind the seats (I made the detail but the fuel cell will be located in the box) Same operation but different angle of view Final dash with instrument bezel. Aluminum cluster bezel and instrument will be made later Dash with bezel in position but not glued yet Top view of the dash showing the speaker grille, heater vent openings and ash tray Interior door panel made from 0.020’’ styrene. Detail engraved with a panel scriber and bottom stripes made with 0.010’’ strips. I put a piece of plastic in the middle of the door as a support since the door panel is slightly curved and not flat Some job done on the door frame and step (emboss on step are made using 0.040’’ half round strips) You can see the curve on the inside door panel and the side window frame. Side window glass are glued in place and were made from 0.005’’ clear styrene Back window extension and top surround molding (sorry for the blurry picture) Back window in place, you can also see some of the shapes made on the back of the cab (will be hidden at the end but made it for the sake)

Hello Everyone! Following the requests of some fellow members I'm starting another thread of one of my completed model. This one is less detailed than the ’70 Plymouth GTX and it will be like that for the subsequent posts since they are older builds (you are the judge so I hope you will be indulgent for the flaws). On this thread you will see my drag version of a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 1/25 scale. I don’t recall if I had taken many pictures during the build but I can’t find more than what is posted in this thread. I wanted to build this small Dodge pony car for a long time so I bought a resin kit on internet but I wasn’t satisfied with the rendering so I decided to start my own styrene version with extensive scratch building. I recreated the body by using 3 different kits including the recent Revell ’68 Dart Mr Norm, a used MPC ’70 Dart Ramchargers Funny Car body and the remains of a junk MPC ’71 Dodge Demon. The first operation was to cut the body of the ’68 Dart at the door line, keeping the front fenders and at the base of the back top pillars and between the back window and the trunk lid. I made the inverse operation on the ’70 Ramchargers body keeping the doors and back portion of the body. The Ramchargers front fenders were unusable because the wheel openings were enlarged and at the wrong position, close to the front bumper since it was a Funny Car body. I did cut the front fender extensions on the ’71 Demon body and glued them on the ’68 Dart front fenders. I also used the front grille, valance and hood of the ’71 Demon. A lot of operations but the mock-up picture is self explanatory. I did use the ’68 Dart floor pan as well and add large wheels tubs, recreate the trunk floor in order to add the fuel cell, an electric fuel pump, the battery and a fire extinguisher (all scratch built). The interior has been done using the ’68 Dart door panels, modified to represent a drag racing car. The ’68 Dart dash has been modified to receive the round style cluster like the Dodge Demon and instrument faces made on my computer using Adobe Illustrator and printed on negative film at high resolution (same technique as for the ’70 Plymouth GTX). I spent around 800 hours on a 2 years span working on from mid 2011 to May 2013 on this build. Cheers, Francis