talon63 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 (edited) Picked a couple of these on clearance at HL for about third of retail. Was gonna put them on the shelf, but after doing a little research, and locating some useful information, decided to build one of them out as the second iteration of the car. That meant first swapping most of the motor with the one from the AMT 1969 Corvair. This one will end up as the quad-carb version, not putting the turbos in it. The bottom pan will be Silver. The top a medium metallic blue. Note the hole in back of where the passenger seat goes. Also chopped out in the same area in the floor pan/engine bay piece.. The passenger seat will be hinged along it's front edge, and a battery will be inside that space. Here's the first rough out of the dash and steering wheel. Didn't realize just how rough the original surface was until it got some color on it. Will be addressing that to smooth it out somewhat, and finish detailing the steering wheel to better match the one in the second version of the car. Steering wheel is also from the 1969 Corvair kit. My goal with this is to rework the center console piece and the "control panel" cover to both be "functional" by making the center able to rotate to display the communications face and hinging the Control Panel cover. Among other plans for this build: 1. Re-hinging the gull-wings. 2. Making the two panels above the taillights functional. 3. Relocating the parachute to behind the rear license plate space. 4. Making the cover for the weapons storage functional. 5. Maybe attempt to duplicate the headlamps, and make the covers removable. (Need to check my stock on Bic pen caps, lol) 6. Pose-able steering, although that may be a reach. As always, thanks for looking, and happy building! Edited January 8, 2017 by talon63 progress update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Cohen Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 There was a photo-etch accessory kit on the market a couple of years ago with lots of neat parts including hinges for the doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Very cool! You don't see these built that often, and I don't think I've ever seen a WIP. I'll be following this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 There was a photo-etch accessory kit on the market a couple of years ago with lots of neat parts including hinges for the doors. I've seen them. Will probably just make my own along with the two pieces that go under the rear bonnet for airflow. Already sketched out in styrene along with the build up for a rear view mirror that hangs below the laser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagercr Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 Look forward to seeing it completed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 I have one of these in my stash so I'll be watching for all those pointers, tips and pitfalls.David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 I'll be following along to see this built as it should be. As a kid, I loved everything U.N.C.L.E., I watched the show religiously, and had all the paperbacks. You really should have titled this "The Spy Car Affair"! I bought a body and engine for this kit from ebay, but mine is far from stock and barely resembles the stock kit. It's amazing how just adding wheelwells to it can change the look of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Interesting project.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 It's amazing how just adding wheelwells to it can change the look of it. Well NOW you've got me thinking.... (I assume you mean opening up the wheel openings?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Well NOW you've got me thinking.... (I assume you mean opening up the wheel openings?) Yes, along with shortening the back, filling the tops of the doors, reshaping the trailing edges of the roof, reshaping the nose, removing the rear plate box, and filling the turbo exhaust outlets and sinking the top of that area to add some styling to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 There was a photo-etch accessory kit on the market a couple of years ago with lots of neat parts including hinges for the doors. Appears it's still available- http://www.paragrafix.biz/product_detail.asp?PPartNum=pgx192 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted December 25, 2016 Author Share Posted December 25, 2016 (edited) First up, hinging the rear flaps for the countermeasures. Still a bit to do, but hope to have the mechanics sorted soon. Passenger seat hinge. plenty of space to drill and use more material than may have been required, but shimming the front of the seat allows for the very front edge of the seat to be glued to the rod, as seen here. with the rod remaining out of site once everything is set. The slight forward movement of the seat to accommodate the hinge is virtually invisible. another angle of the seat rotated up for access to the compartment behind the seat, where the battery will be installed. Quick and dirty cast of a battery, and here, nearly ready for install. Started work on the engine, getting the improved details added. Created one of the operating bits on the dash, hinging the "glove box" cover. carefully drilled and inserted styrene rod, glued with a gel superglue. Still needs to be painted. here it is open. Once it's painted, it will be invisible based on the dash placement in the car. There is a slight bow to the hinge which allows it to move freely without binding, yet doesn't kick the cover out. Still need to give the woodwork a light sanding and a mild lightening wash, the wood still looks a little dark and a bit too shiny. Next up will be weapons cover/bullet shield hinging.... this one is proving a bit trickier due to the location and somewhat close tolerances, and more work on the dash. Edited December 30, 2016 by talon63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) Added a small update to the previous one. Also, I need to get a close up the gauges. I tried something new to give them some depth, which is hard to see in these pics. I did the face and numbers, let it dry, then put a large drop of Elmer's Clear in each gauge, enough to fill the cavity about half way. Let it dry, it may take a while, but it will dry very clear and shrink quite a bit. Then I add the needles, let dry and another drop of the Elmer's Clear, almost filling the cavity. Allow to dry and by the time it shrinks back down, it's basically right where the "glass" would be and the needle does appear to sit above the face of speedo or tach. Edited December 30, 2016 by talon63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Real nice progress and work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) Starting work on the poseable front wheels. Using most of the kit parts, although I may yet swap out the coil-overs and scratch build a couple. First thing I did was carefully drill out the A-frames, cut the tiny nibs off of the spindles, and drill them for pin insertion. Next up will be cutting off the actual spindles and making new ones, as the kit ones are too short, and don't allow for rolling (I know, but that's another topic elsewhere ; )), as well as increasing the length of the mounting points for the rack and pinion. A couple of shots of the work in progress. Painting and such to be completed before final assembly. And finally a dry fit in the chassis during the work. More updates on the way as time permits. As always, thanks for taking a look and your comments are always welcome. Edited January 6, 2017 by talon63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Finally started the hinges for the bullet shield and added the wood grain inlays in the door frames. More updates on the way as time permits. As always, thanks for taking a look and your comments are always welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Beautiful work, Allen. You're doing this car justice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thanks, Curt. It's been fun figuring out how to make the mods on this one. Not a lot of room to play with, much like the 1:1. The door sill panels are printed on paper, lightly coated with Elmer's clear glue and allowed to dry. I applied them to the car with contact cement. The latch holes are just dots from a Sharpie right now, but I may drill them out. Front suspension is coming along, it is currently poseable, with rack and pinion in place. Need to scratch build the tie rod, as the kit one is insufficient. Will also need to add some pins to the spindles to mount the tie rod to. I just realized that, outside of all the hinging mods and the engine assembly, I've only glued 4 pieces of this kit into their final position so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Almost pickup this kit but passed. I have been really enjoying your build Allen.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talon63 Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) Thanks, Carl. I passed it up several times, but Hobby Lobby put them on clearance in December for around 10 bucks, so I picked up two of them. As soon as I started looking at reference pics and looked over the assembly instructions, I grabbed a pen and started doodling in mods and making notes. Still need to make a rear glass piece, since the kit doesn't come with one. [Edit: Research has confirmed that the original car did not have rear glass, it was open to the elements. Only the bullet guard/weapons area cover provided any coverage for the rear glass area.] Back to the bench! Edited January 9, 2017 by talon63 correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.