CabDriver Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Well, my trusty Mikky D's tray is empty - time to dust off a kit off the shelf and really test my skills (if the parts count and reviews of this kit are anything to go by this should be a patience-tester): Sure is a lot of chrome in this one! And, bizarrely, just one resin piece?! I figure I should strip the chrome for the most part and re-Alclad seeing as this thing is flash-city and I'm planning to detail it as best I can without blowing 500 bucks on parts - lets see how we go here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Yessir...the original issue had a styrene hood. Somewhere along the line, i assume the tool was damaged or modified (for another slightly different version of this kit), and the re-issue you have has a resin hood. Odd indeed. It takes a fair amount of effort to remove all the parting lines and flash from this thing, but it WILL build up into a beautiful model if you take your time and work carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randx0 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I've always thought this is a really cool car , I hope the build goes smoothly for you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) It takes a fair amount of effort to remove all the parting lines and flash from this thing, but it WILL build up into a beautiful model if you take your time and work carefully. That's the plan Bill! So, like all responsible modellers I've studied the instruction sheet carefully (because we all follow those exactly, right? Right?) and after a little research on the 1:1 jumped right in with step 1 - the engine. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Glue the block halves together and put the heads on and call it ready for paint. WRONG! First challenge to overcome is that the two upper block halves either line up nicely with each other but not the bottom of the block (leaving a noticable gap on one or either edge) or they line up with the edges of the block and leave a wedge shaped gap on top. I decided to line them up with the edge of the block itself to keep the correct silhouette and fill the gap with a tiny sliver of styrene cut into a wedge shape Note that to get everything line up as I have here, you'll need to remove these little locater nubs as indicated with my trusty knife here and eyeball it to get it straight: This is a beautifully designed kit with some well thought out ideas but next issue was that the valvetrain also has locater pins didn't allow them to line up properly . So, I removed one pin from one side to allow it to fit properly and both from the other et voila! A perfect fit! Next challenge to overcome is that the centre part here (top of the intake system) seems as though it should snuggle down flush without a gap....and doesn't. Another small wedge of styrene fills the gap... ...and just three short hours later we've got the block mostly assembled and ready for sanding the flat surfaces back flat in the morning Edited January 17, 2016 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I'll be watching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 OK, front of the block is sanded smooth (hopefully wont need any filler either) and I added those two tiny squares of styrene on the front of the head to match the pics I found of the 1:1's engine - I guess it's a late fifties Olds mill, but I'd love to hear from anyone who knows for sure: Next job was drilling for plug wires, which took some careful scraping away of the moulded in plugs with am Exacto blade and then redrilling: Whilst I was at it, I drilled a hole in the rear of the block and made a little simple stand to hold the engine for painting - the block is a different colour to the gearbox so I can't assemble it much further before painting it but when I get as far as paint and primer this little stand will be a big help Next job - getting the two gearbox halves together (this model works on the 'why use one part when fifteen will do' principal, which suits me just fine) and assembling the rest of the block parts so I can see what space and opportunity I have for additional detailing. I'd kinda like to get a scale dipstick in there at least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Nice work on the engine. And yes, it's definitely 100% a first-generation Oldsmobile OHV V8. It's appropriate for anything in the 303-324-370- (and 371 GMC)-394 engine range, built between 1949 and 1964. Looks like you have it about beat. This Revell Olds engine, and all of their other kit and parts-pack engines from this period CAN be built into great-looking models...as you're proving here. The dimensions are very close to right for all of them, and they're loaded with detail. What I discovered over the years with these engines (this basic Olds engine appears in the first Revell Stone-Woods-Cook Willys, the Anglia and Thames gasser kits, and at least one Ed Roth custom too...and this parts and assembly design is shared with the Chrysler Hemi, the old nailhead Buick, several versions of smallblock Chevy, Ford FE engines in parts-pack and Mysterion versions, the parts-pack and Challenger One Pontiac engines and several others), what works best for me anyway, is to start by removing all of the locating pins and tabs, and then "machining" all of the joining surfaces dead-flat on a piece of 180-grit stuck to a flat piece of glass. It's a little tricky to get the upper-block halves just right on the lower surfaces, but once they're flat, the pieces all fit together remarkably well. Removing the molded-on crankshaft detail from the bottom of the block and machining the oil-pan rail flat is also a good idea. You can do the same thing to the top of the pan itself, and thin the pan flange to a more scale-correct appearance at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Great tips Bill! Thank you so much! That's roughly what I've been doing, reassuringly, so its good to know I'm on roughly the right track here Meanwhile, I popped some chrome parts in a little tub with a good serving of Dollar Store bleach and went to get a burger. Seemed a good way to pass the time whilst the bleach did it's work I figured I should strip and replate the chrome parts almost as I need them - there's a lot of small bits in this thing! I dont wanna get too confused! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) I cant believe I worked all weekend on this and all I got finished was the engine and gearbox - and they dont even have paint on! Joking aside, I'm really enjoying the challenge of trying to make each piece as perfect as it can be and add a little detail where I can - that gearlever assembly in particular is screaming at me to remake it with some thin aluminium bar...hmmmm.... I need to order some colour for this thing and a suitable primer so i can start attaching bits to the block to see where I'm at - the lack of any Orange paint here is holding me up but there's plenty of flash to be removed in the meantime Edited January 17, 2016 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 It's real-life time again because it's a weekday, but I got some supplies today and made a wired starter motor with some Plastruct tube and some photoetch sprue to add some detail where required... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Woodruff Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The engine/gearbox is looking good James, this kit is on my must do list so I'll be following along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Thanks Gene! Much as I'm ragging on it a little it's a beautifully designed and engineered kit - it seems more like the manufacturing end of actually making the thing lets down the beautiful detail they've tried to design into it. An actual cam molded into the block, valves in the head - all kindsa little details that are really cool when you find them. One they missed though, was the dipstick. No surprise really, it'd be too small to mold in 1:25, so I drilled it out and added one myself: That's ACTUAL hollow tube (although, the hole is so small I can barely see it unless I photograph it ) - I'm waiting for some thinner wire to come that will allow me to bend and make an actual working dipstick to put in it. That's the plan anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Nice, still watching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) The magneto was the next thing to get handled. The one in the pics on the box and in all the reference material I managed to find of the 1:1 show a different design to the part on the sprue, so a little scratchbuilding was required: The original part is on the right, new part on the left and one of the few decent reference pics I managed to find of this part on the real car: Edited January 21, 2016 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 OK, next order of business was the shifter - I liked the kit one but I figured I could remake it with some thinner bar and make it look a little more scale: Made some decent progress this afternoon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 The shifter you made looks better. Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Since everything is exposed once you flip the body open, the time you are taking to make things more accurate is really going to pay off. Looking forward to more progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my80malibu Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 The magneto was the next thing to get handled. The one in the pics on the box and in all the reference material I managed to find of the 1:1 show a different design to the part on the sprue, so a little scratchbuilding was required: The original part is on the right, new part on the left and one of the few decent reference pics I managed to find of this part on the real car: Red Alert on the plug wires they appear too thick to be 1/25 scale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Good job so far on this one James! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino246gt Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Great work making a fiddly kit go together like it was intended, or better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 OK, it's taken over a week to get the next tiny detail added - and I mean TINY... Tiny working dipstick! I used a syringe tube for the outer part and some 0.2mm craft wire (it took a few attempts to find something that would fit in the tiny pipe) for the stick itself...really pleased with this little piece. Took AGES! The only problem is, the wire's so thin I keep bending them when I either insert or remove them...I've had to make 4 already! This one's staying in for the moment until I've got the patience to make another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62rebel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 pass 9v across the wire to make it keep it's form. also good for making functional coil springs. you might want to put it at a steeper angle, as it appears to go straight to the crankshaft instead of down into the pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagercr Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Great detail work. Can't wait to see more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 pass 9v across the wire to make it keep it's form. also good for making functional coil springs. you might want to put it at a steeper angle, as it appears to go straight to the crankshaft instead of down into the pan.Never heard of the voltage thing before Curt - how does that work? Sounds perfect!. You're right on the angle, I'll tweak it a little accordingly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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