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What Did You Accomplish Today? (Model Car Work)


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Fruit of the Evening - Detailed out the battery for the Jeepster.  According to MPC you merely glue the battery to the firewall. That would be okay for some folks, and they’d probably be done building by now!

For me, I had to make the tray the Jeepster battery sits in from scrap thin plastic sheet bits. Then while the paint was drying, I found a few images of batteries and scaled down the labels to fit. 

And now I’m happy! I don’t care if anyone else notices, I know it’s there!

I also cut and installed a windshield  and vent wings from Evergreen clear plastic sheet. I made enough for all three Jeepsters I have planned while at it.

I also have battery labels for four different brands scaled and printed. They’ll show up on my future builds.  
 

Onward...

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While thinking through things on  the Elcamino, I had a squirrel moment while looking for something else.  That led to a restoration of this Chevy Titan.  I liked the looks of it and the ob definitely put some work into it.  So I scrubbed it up, figured out what was missing, and started work. One front wheel was missing and I did not have the correct color, so I mixed it.  Original is on the right. 

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I got quite a bit done today. Got the BMF done on my 49 Ford and got the glass and rearview mirror installed. Finished the dash and steering wheel for the 50 Ford and about half of the interior painted. I also got the chassis plate and engine block painted for my 63 Mercury Meteor.

Later-

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Getting my Rubix Cube together! I had cut apart the Jeepster interior to mold in the pickup bed.

Nobling is building the same kit and we’ve been comparing notes. He warned me the kit’s windshield interfered with the dash bottom. I was past that step, I cut mine from Evergreen clear sheet. 

I knew the remaining interior wouldn’t slide in as a unit. Here is the door cards that I glued inside the body, while capturing the dashboard between them.  Next step was the back wall of the cab, which needs to key in between the door cards and the fixed pickup bed. To add to this, it also needs to match up with the pickup roof. Lots of temporary taping and that’s all drying now. 

Tomorrow I can glue in the floor and maybe get this all mounted onto the rolling chassis.

Edited by Tom Geiger
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I’m back...

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Here’s the underside. Looks like little progress but is quite tedious since everything needs to key together...

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And with the floor glued in place. If you know this kit, note that the trans hump is a completely different shape to accommodate the transfer case and transmission from the Jeepster straight four.  The floor also covered up the glue showing in the first photo. Anything still showing is under the chassis rails when done.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to mate this with the finished chassis. Then it’s all little details beyond that!

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On 12/21/2020 at 9:09 AM, TransAmMike said:

Goodness Bruce, looks like glass.  I'm sure at least some of us here would like to know what paint and your process on the  Toyota.  I know I do. ? 

Hello TransAmMike. This is going to be a little long winded. I’m going to humble myself and say most of you guys are better modelers than myself. With that being said I have been in the body shop business since 1969. Going to retire very soon. I do have most certifications on most automotive paint systems. So I do know paint just a little. I CANNOT paint a model car body with model paint. I have tried several times with very poor results. I do not know how you guys paint with that stuff. I do know how to weld( mig,  tig  etc with all certifications on those as well) ( computer frame equipment certs also) . I’m currently working on a 2020 corvette. Just a little history on myself. So I am very lucky to be in model car building. I have a lot of money in paint guns. A new paint gun costs $1000 today. Gone are the $100 spray guns for automotive refinishing. ( although you can do a backyard paint job on the cheap) but not on a 2020 corvette. Now to get to the point. I use a sata minijet for most models. It’s a small detail spray gun. But it’s expensive. This is what I use for the base paint. I use a iwata lph 400 for the clear. I am painting this for DeAgostini model space company. The body is going to England. The base I use is a water based automotive paint with a urethane clear. DeAgostini gave me some zero paints for the color match, but I could not use it. In the real automotive world we call it BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. I sent the zero paint to my paint company and they hated it for a spray out. They also called it BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. I repeat, how do you guys use this stuff?  So my paint company called Toyota archives for the actual paint code. Soo I painted the Toyota 2000 GT with real automotive paint. If you want , I can give you the actual stuff I used but most guys find it too complicated and it is expensive. I’m very lucky in that respect, that I get the paint and clear for free. Since our dealership spends a lot of money a month for paint, I get my stuff for free. Here is some examples of the models I have painted. BAAF2DED-C8B0-4EF4-92F5-0CA4280283FB.thumb.jpeg.e871362b705dd12d26dfd1d71856e470.jpeg. If you decide to jump into the world of automotive paints, I can direct you in the proper and least expensive path. Just give me a PM. 

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Wow....and WOW again?.  Those paint jobs are awesome Bruce and so are those model builds!!  Your skills being a professional auto body painter certainly reflect (no pun intended there) in the quality. I'd say, the majority here use model  paints (air brushed or rattle canned) with some use of craft acrylic even and more of a  hobby grade air brush.   And there are some here that do great paint jobs with it.

My painting skills leave a lot to be desired and my modeling skills in general are far from that of a lot of the guys' on this forum but heck, I just keep plugging away.

 

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Well, it wasn't today, it was over the course of about five, but I built my first big rig and trailer! It's the AMT semi box trailer and the Revell Peterbilt 359 Conventional. As I do every year I struggle to find what to get the family for Christmas. I thought since I've got the model building bug it would be a great idea to build a big rig and trailer for my dad who was a truck driver for nearly 50 years. I put it in a box and dropped it off to him yesterday, he's very anxious to know what's in it! It's been a long time since I've looked forward to Christmas day, his reaction is going to be priceless! haha,

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Today some work on a Heller Citroen Mehari..

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So wheels/tyres on, dashboard, steering column, gearchange and pedals. Also front seats.

On one of my recent purchases from Shapeways a 3D Honda based Custom Ruckus scooter..

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From the Shapeways site.

Today, brush painting undercoats, prior to a matt black engine, gloss black floor board and yellow gloss body/frame. All have to be in Acrylic paints.

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I also bought from Shapeways..

A 3D VW tuned air-cooled Beetle engine..

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And a Westphalia VW Bus/Camper Roof Rack..

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As these are all 3D printed painting them is.. let's say Interesting! 

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A couple of days ago, I managed to finally put the paint down on my first vinyl top job on a model kit. I used .010" x .030 " styrene strip for the trim and seams. I then sprayed some Folkart craft paint mixed thicker than for a normal color coat, and sprayed through my Paasche H at about 30psi and at a distance of about 12 inches or so to try to get a texture to it. Not perfect, but I'm very happy with my first attempt at this. BMF for the trim after Christmas, and then final assembly hopefully before the New Year, if my back cooperates?☹️.

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Yea I’m just making a mess!  Attempted to get the chassis under the Jeepster and it just doesn’t wanna be there! Seems the chassis is warped ever so slightly to one side at the rear.   

In trying to coax it into place, I broke a leaf spring and the rear came loose.. I could still see previous repairs to the rear, one wheel was sitting a bit further out than the other side too, so I’m preparing a new rear and leaf spring. Then I’ll try again!

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