1:18 Dodge Charger Build from scratch

[Rider]

Wow, what  a mammoth undertaking. Best of luck with this project.

[dosimeter]

Added B pillars insides, and A pillars. More filling and sanding too. Getting A pillars aligned was tricky, and I messed it up a little bit. But then I covered them both in depoxy and sanded until they looked the same, pictures of that later. These ones are before the correction.

[dosimeter]

More sanding and filling. Added this flat piece on the rear deck, the trunk comes after this. A pillars still not sanded in these pictures.

[crazyrichard]

i have to say you have a great eye for creating shapes ..the shapes look spot on  ! , roof might need work but the shapes are there ! very cool ,

 

idea > to make the moldings around the windows you could use round wire and after they are on .. sand them in shape ..

i made the window moldings on my 1/25 revell charger from brass , bend them and glued them on with superglue .. then filed the shape in them

and as for wheels you can look for some 1/18 wheels online there are nice rims/tyres out there .. or get hold of a old 1/18 model and use the wheels?

your windows ..rear window is easy its pretty flat you could use clear material from anywhere , food containers .. bet would be to get hold of some thicker lexan ... but  that front window is harder .. it curved ...i could be poible to make a mold from styrene or wood and then put on some clear material and by heating it (oven?) make it ink over the mold ...

[dosimeter]

i have to say you have a great eye for creating shapes ..the shapes look spot on  ! , roof might need work but the shapes are there ! very cool ,

 

idea > to make the moldings around the windows you could use round wire and after they are on .. sand them in shape ..

i made the window moldings on my 1/25 revell charger from brass , bend them and glued them on with superglue .. then filed the shape in them

and as for wheels you can look for some 1/18 wheels online there are nice rims/tyres out there .. or get hold of a old 1/18 model and use the wheels?

your windows ..rear window is easy its pretty flat you could use clear material from anywhere , food containers .. bet would be to get hold of some thicker lexan ... but  that front window is harder .. it curved ...i could be poible to make a mold from styrene or wood and then put on some clear material and by heating it (oven?) make it ink over the mold ...

Thanks Richard. I actually cut paper parts when it came to matching the complicated shapes like fenders. Others are very simple for this car as it turns out. 

The window idea is great. I think a copper or brass wire will be quite easy to sand than steel. Will try that for sure. Did you tape the windows while painting or put them afterwards? Heating and molding came to my mind earlier but that is way too out of the things I can do  

Edited June 19, 2016 by dosimeter

[dosimeter]

Sanded A pillars today. They do look symmetrical but there is still some fine sanding to be done. Also the rear is taking shape very well. Sanded that too. Still needs some filling but I ran out of depoxi.

The part where the roof ends is a little more curved downwards when I compared to the original pictures and other models. I am thinking of leaving it as is though I can change it by filling. Also, can I use plaster of paris for filling?

[dosimeter]

Could someone please answer these?

1) What sandpaper should I be using for final sanding? Currently I am using 120 and 220 grit. This works well with metal but when it comes to filler, I think I should be using a finer grit because it leaves it rough.

2) Wet sanding or dry sanding? I haven't tried wet. Is it preferred? If so then why and when?

3) Can I use Plaster of Paris as filler?

[crowe-t]

For final sanding 300 and 400 grit should work and then some 600 grit. 

Wet sanding keeps the sand paper clean with no build up.  

For filler you might want to try Bondo or some other auto body filler.  These will adhere well to the metal which they are made to do.  Plaster may not stick as well on the metal.  You can spread the auto body filler right over the panels and shape it to match the die cast body.  The auto body filler sands easily.   

[crowe-t]

i have to say you have a great eye for creating shapes ..the shapes look spot on  ! , roof might need work but the shapes are there ! very cool ,

 

idea > to make the moldings around the windows you could use round wire and after they are on .. sand them in shape ..

i made the window moldings on my 1/25 revell charger from brass , bend them and glued them on with superglue .. then filed the shape in them

and as for wheels you can look for some 1/18 wheels online there are nice rims/tyres out there .. or get hold of a old 1/18 model and use the wheels?

your windows ..rear window is easy its pretty flat you could use clear material from anywhere , food containers .. bet would be to get hold of some thicker lexan ... but  that front window is harder .. it curved ...i could be poible to make a mold from styrene or wood and then put on some clear material and by heating it (oven?) make it ink over the mold ...

Richard, do you have a build thread?

[dosimeter]

Started making doors today. As it has slits on them, I decided to make a plain door and then added this E shaped bit to make the slits. Now all relies on sanding. Any idea how can I file/sand inside the depressions? It will take a lot of time!

[dosimeter]

This is how the door currently sits. The lines match and that's great!

[Timok1]

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/109269-68-charger-gasser-final-assembly/?page=1

 

Richards build

[dosimeter]

What paint should I go for? I was searching for tamiya paints and turns out there's several types like acrylic, enamel, lacquer, polycarbonate. Which would be good for metal? And are primers different for different paints or same?

[crowe-t]

Ahmed, I recently used Testors Model Master Custom Lacquer System paint for a car I finished but I don't know if you can get this paint where you live.

I would use either an enamel or lacquer for the body.  I use Tamiya Fine Surface primer and really like it.  It's for plastic and metal.  It should be good for your project.  Tamaya also makes lacquer spray paints.  Tamiya paints are easier to come by. 

Polycarbonate paint is for R/C car bodies.  I'm not sure if it would be good for the metal body.

Mike.

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by crowe-t

[dosimeter]

Ahmed, I recently used Testors Model Master Custom Lacquer System paint for a car I finished but I don't know if you can get this paint where you live.

I would use either an enamel or lacquer for the body.  I use Tamiya Fine Surface primer and really like it.  It's for plastic and metal.  It should be good for your project.  Tamaya also makes lacquer spray paints.  Tamiya paints are easier to come by. 

Polycarbonate paint is for R/C car bodies.  I'm not sure if it would be good for the metal body.

Mike.

 

Thanks Michael. I have found contact of a Tamiya distributor in Pakistan. Will be contacting them shortly!

[dosimeter]

One more thing, what do you guys do for chrome parts? How do I paint the bumpers in chrome? Silver paint does not give that look.

[crowe-t]

Alclad makes chrome lacquer paint.  It has to be sprayed over gloss black but does give a convincing chrome finish.  

Edited June 25, 2016 by crowe-t

[Custom Mike]

Polycarbonate paint is for R/C car bodies.  I'm not sure if it would be good for the metal body.

Mike.

 

The Tamiya RC paints would work fine on a metal body, they're way too "hot" for polystyrene though. I'm not sure if the dry flat, since they are sprayed on the inside of a clear body, they don't need to be glossy.

[dosimeter]

Alclad makes chrome lacquer paint.  It has to be sprayed over gloss black but does give a convincing chrome finish.  

Thanks. Will look for this.

[crazyrichard]

looking good , love the progress , doors look good maybe try to make the raised line around the indentations with small round rods ..

oh and about the window question always put windows in after paint .. will work best ....

[dosimeter]

looking good , love the progress , doors look good maybe try to make the raised line around the indentations with small round rods ..

oh and about the window question always put windows in after paint .. will work best ....

Hey thanks Richard. Have done some more work. Made both doors, working on the raised lines. Also I have installed the boot. My diecast model's boot did not open but I made this one to open too. Will share pictures later!

[dosimeter]

The Tamiya RC paints would work fine on a metal body, they're way too "hot" for polystyrene though. I'm not sure if the dry flat, since they are sprayed on the inside of a clear body, they don't need to be glossy.

Yeah I just remembered that RC paints go on the inside of the transparent body. If I can get both enamel or lacquer, which should I use? I've heard enamel takes longer time to dry but is more durable than lacquer??

[crowe-t]

I like lacquer since it dries fast and polishes out to a nice gloss finish.  I guess durability depends on what brand of paint you use.  Maybe someone else who uses enamels can elaborate on how well they work.

[72 Charger]

I would use an etch primer first for metal as this will bite into the surface before you prime and paint anything

[Bennyg]

Wow! Will be watching. I scratch build components on trucks and thought that was hard enough. You're going next level with this and so far is coming along nicely. Cheers. 

 

Ben