I hate chunky bumpers

[BDSchindler]

i’m not a huge fan of the Fast N Furious franchise nor am I a huge Mopar fan but I will admit, I really do like the murdered out look of Dom’s 71 GTX.

All that said, I also feel there’s some room for improvement, especially in the rear end and the chunky bumper

So I started work on Revell’s 1/24th scale version which is nothing more than regular kit (Satellite?) with some extra parts. Wheels, tires, front suspension, engine and other such items. Nice effort at least.

First up was to drop the front and rear bumpers into Windex for dechroming and went to work on the GTX’s backside.  Here’s the result in primer:

 

The rear valance came with the cut outs for the exhaust so I added the reveals with thin plastic rod that was plastic-welded into place and sanded down to its current subtle look. The rear bumper was sanded and narrowed with the seams filled to give it that all one piece look. The bumper is very thin plastic and I ended up sanding through it but added plastic from the backside with a bit of solvent to melt the plastic into place and shaped it with a putty knife. Filled and sanded as needed.

Planning on using a Viper V10 engine in it (just because I can) and Viper seats. Rear seats are gone for a more stark looking interior. No pics yet of the engine or interior.

That’s the current plan so far but as my imagination tends to wander off, who knows what may result. Stay tuned!

Edited February 1, 2021 by BDSchindler

[Cowpunk]

I say you won. Or something.

[Danno]

Oh. When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was about the Kardashians.

??

[BDSchindler]

10 minutes ago, Danno said:

Oh. When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was about the Kardashians.

??

That too!

[89AKurt]

That's nothing, just before the NHTSA mandated battering ram designs that I consider the Dark Ages of automotive design.

[NOBLNG]

Looks a lot cleaner. I like it.

[misterNNL]

I have a lifelong friend who was directly involved in the automotive industry who will tell you that if you don't like how are vehicles look don't blame the automakers....blame the US government and their safety standards. Everyfeature we love to hate about chunky bumpers and other design elements of our cars and trucks can be directly traced back to government mandated standards.

[Straightliner59]

3 hours ago, misterNNL said:

I have a lifelong friend who was directly involved in the automotive industry who will tell you that if you don't like how are vehicles look don't blame the automakers....blame the US government and their safety standards. Everyfeature we love to hate about chunky bumpers and other design elements of our cars and trucks can be directly traced back to government mandated standards.

That's very true. I remember it, as it was happening--as I'm sure you do, as well. Of course, crash data suggests they were on the right track, safety-wise, but, it took them  a couple of decades to catch up, aesthetically. IF they ever did.

[BDSchindler]

So I little more done on the GTX. I mentioned I planned on a Viper V10 engine and here ya go...

Lettering and stripes are flat red paint over BMF and a little acetone on a tightly wound q-tip to carefully remove the paint.

Made a test run to make sure the engine, chassis and interior tub all fit together. Had to make only a few minor alterations to a crossmember for the transmission but bottom line is it all fit just like it was made to be!

[Modlbldr]

Looking very nice Brian. I like the work you did to mold the rear bumper into the body. Very smooth. The V10 does fit well and look good in the engine bay. I did the same thing with my custom GTX. I added the V10, seats, steering wheel and shifter from the Viper. I'll be watching to see where this one goes.

Later-

[BDSchindler]

8 hours ago, Modlbldr said:

Looking very nice Brian. I like the work you did to mold the rear bumper into the body. Very smooth. The V10 does fit well and look good in the engine bay. I did the same thing with my custom GTX. I added the V10, seats, steering wheel and shifter from the Viper. I'll be watching to see where this one goes.

Later-

Thanks Tom.  If you have a picture of your engine bay, I'd love to see it

Not sure what I am going to do with the engine bay.  I'm not a big fan of the molded in Battery and Washer/Overflow bottle or whatever that thing is.  For the battery, I'm thinking just cutting it out making a tray and drop something a little more realistic looking in it.  I also opted to use the seats from the Viper.

I still haven't figured out just where I want to go with this tho'.  Just kinda making it up as I go using the F-n-F GTX for a little inspiration with a good dose of imagination gently stirred in.

[Modlbldr]

On 2/16/2021 at 1:13 PM, BDSchindler said:

Thanks Tom.  If you have a picture of your engine bay, I'd love to see it

Not sure what I am going to do with the engine bay.  I'm not a big fan of the molded in Battery and Washer/Overflow bottle or whatever that thing is.  For the battery, I'm thinking just cutting it out making a tray and drop something a little more realistic looking in it.  I also opted to use the seats from the Viper.

I still haven't figured out just where I want to go with this tho'.  Just kinda making it up as I go using the F-n-F GTX for a little inspiration with a good dose of imagination gently stirred in.

Here is my engine bay. Nothing spectacular but it's completed! 

Later-

 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Modlbldr

[BDSchindler]

Thanks Tom...looks great!

[David G.]

Nice work on the bumper blend! 

Your detail work on the engine is great too.

David G.

[BDSchindler]

Slow progress but I was looking at the grill/front bumper and got a little crazy. I decided it needed the grill opened. I sacrificed the headlamp buckets but some round stock solved that and help to strengthen it.

I attached it to the body, added some primer and mocked up with the lower valance...

also drilled out the rotors and painted accordingly

That’s it for now!

Edited March 18, 2021 by BDSchindler

[Mattilacken]

Very nice work there on the grill! Looking real sharp!