Trying to make something cool out of the AMT Rod-Rageous slammer

[OldNYJim]

I’ve had this AMT Rod-Rageous slammer for a couple of years now, and kept pulling it out and trying a paint job on it, then kinda changing my mind, then getting it nearly done but the kit stance and wheels were horrible and so on and so forth.  So, trying this thing at least a third time (with some better tools and a better plan...)

This is the kit as it comes (probably my fastest ever build! ?)

Kinda dorky and weird - and I got stuck for a year or so trying to think what I could do for wheels to improve it, and settled on a nice set of directional Boyd tri-spokes from the Aluma-Coupe kit.  I mocked up one with rim that I machined...now we’re talking!  I get get on board with that! 

Made another three - I’ll keep the AMT treaded tires for the front but switch in some more conventional ones for the rear.

I really wanted to get the nose way down in the ground, and couldn’t figure out a better way than hacking it all apart and moving those wishbones up a bunch...so here goes:

Sliced and diced and tacked back into place with a rudimentary jig to keep everything aligned:

Adding some material to replace the kerf losses from the saw, and to fill the gaps:

And now it should sit something like this:

Way better!  I’ll actually have the tail end about where nature (AMT) intended, but getting the nose down will help a bunch I think!

A little filler to level out all the seams:

And a blast of primer to see what all needs fixing before paint!

Got a really fun paint idea for this one, once I get my head around how to achieve it...more soon!

Edited March 22, 2021 by CabDriver

[misterNNL]

Great ideas here. I'm liking it a lot so please keep posting your progress.

[NZanglia]

Nice work. The first photo looks more like a close up of a hot wheels car rather than a model kit. The re-work looks so much better.

 

[kruleworld]

it looks better already

[r60man]

Lowering really transforms the look entirely. I would hate to come across a speed bump while driving that! Fun stuff, great work!

[cobraman]

Looking forward to seeing more of this.

[OldNYJim]

Thanks everyone!  

2 hours ago, r60man said:

Lowering really transforms the look entirely. I would hate to come across a speed bump while driving that! Fun stuff, great work!

I’d hate to have to steer the thing - no idea how they intend for the steering to work?  I’m pretending this thing has in-board disk brakes and some kind of arrangement like a Bobcat to make it turn, but who knows. I’m also pretending there’s an air ride system hidden under the body there ??

Got some base color laid down right before bed last night - sure went to a lot of effort to make this neon green slammer into a slightly different neon green slammer ??

Been trying to figure out a cool idea I had for the paintjob - excited to get home and start masking and airbrushing...more soon!

Edited March 23, 2021 by CabDriver

[geemoney]

i inherited that car!

i yanked the wheels/tires off an CHUCKED it...

now im sorry i did!

yours looks so good!

[Bullybeef]

With a little imagination it would make for the beginnings of a decent salt flats racer

[SSNJim]

With a little work, that looks like it could be a good basis for a Speed33 kit car. Slap a 33/34 Ford frame under it, come up with an interior, massage the body a bit, and you're in business.

I've been playing with the Slammers series lately. Just finished a Street Fury, and am working on the Street Heat. Having a blast with them. 

[Spex84]

Cool! It's definitely looking better. One thing I wish I'd been early enough to this thread to suggest...would be moving the front wheel "wings" forward a scale 6" or more, so that the front tires are even with the front of the grille, or even projecting a little beyond it. Kit-stock, the wheelbase looks a tad short.

 

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Jim!

Interesting recycling work.

I remember Chip Foose had a late 30's rod coach-built at Boyd's before they split, and the front suspension was akin to a Ford PU "Twin I-Beam" system, except each said I-beam was indeed triangular and flat, made of billet aluminium, narrow at the wheel spindle, and wide at the junction with the body, not unlike your current shape. The shocks were severely canted, and mounted INSIDE the body, therefore not visible.

You may be able to serach that on the web, and see some pictures. The car was of  a copperish hue. I think it was owned by a gentleman from Plains, NY, who also later bought and repainted the yellow 32 Boydster in black, under Mr Foose supervision. 

Just my two cents...

CT 

[Oldcarfan27]

I always had a hard time taking these things seriously. Flight of fancy designs, cheap looking wheels and tire treads that say AMT don't impress me much.

Glad to see you've figured out how to make a "silk purse" from them!

[David G.]

Lowering the front suspension is certainly an improvement. I'm interested to see what you do with the rest of it.

My first thought was that those front "wishbones" looked like submarine diving planes, more so now that they're midline. That, along with the "rudder" on the rear deck lid, I might have put a bubble on top and tried to make it a mini-sub. 

David G.

[OldNYJim]

On 3/23/2021 at 11:49 AM, geemoney said:

i inherited that car!

i yanked the wheels/tires off an CHUCKED it...

now im sorry i did!

yours looks so good!

You did it the wrong way round - shoulda kept the car and chucked the wheels ?

On 3/23/2021 at 3:28 PM, Bullybeef said:

With a little imagination it would make for the beginnings of a decent salt flats racer

It really would! 
 

On 3/23/2021 at 4:42 PM, SSNJim said:

With a little work, that looks like it could be a good basis for a Speed33 kit car. Slap a 33/34 Ford frame under it, come up with an interior, massage the body a bit, and you're in business.

I've been playing with the Slammers series lately. Just finished a Street Fury, and am working on the Street Heat. Having a blast with them. 

They’re fun kits aren’t they?  I’d like to do a full-detail version...I think the Testors Aluma Coupe (not the snap kit, the one with the engine and interior) would be a good parts donor too...

On 4/3/2021 at 4:12 PM, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Jim!

Interesting recycling work.

I remember Chip Foose had a late 30's rod coach-built at Boyd's before they split, and the front suspension was akin to a Ford PU "Twin I-Beam" system, except each said I-beam was indeed triangular and flat, made of billet aluminium, narrow at the wheel spindle, and wide at the junction with the body, not unlike your current shape. The shocks were severely canted, and mounted INSIDE the body, therefore not visible.

You may be able to serach that on the web, and see some pictures. The car was of  a copperish hue. I think it was owned by a gentleman from Plains, NY, who also later bought and repainted the yellow 32 Boydster in black, under Mr Foose supervision. 

Just my two cents...

CT 

I would love to see that build Claude!  I’m a big Boyd fan, and that sounds like a really interesting one!  I’ll do some research!  Thanks for the heads-up!

On 3/23/2021 at 10:28 PM, Spex84 said:

Cool! It's definitely looking better. One thing I wish I'd been early enough to this thread to suggest...would be moving the front wheel "wings" forward a scale 6" or more, so that the front tires are even with the front of the grille, or even projecting a little beyond it. Kit-stock, the wheelbase looks a tad short.

 

Actually, yeah, that would’ve looked cool too, you’re right!  I always liked that ‘wheel at each corner’ look!

On 4/3/2021 at 11:18 PM, Oldcarfan27 said:

I always had a hard time taking these things seriously. Flight of fancy designs, cheap looking wheels and tire treads that say AMT don't impress me much.

Glad to see you've figured out how to make a "silk purse" from them!

Thanks buddy!

On 4/4/2021 at 6:23 AM, David G. said:

Lowering the front suspension is certainly an improvement. I'm interested to see what you do with the rest of it.

My first thought was that those front "wishbones" looked like submarine diving planes, more so now that they're midline. That, along with the "rudder" on the rear deck lid, I might have put a bubble on top and tried to make it a mini-sub. 

David G.

That would be cool too!  Definitely has a kinda marine look to it!

Had a busy week, but got a little more done on the paint...first up was designing some flames.  I want the main color scheme to be dark with blacks and purples and have a bright neon flame cutting through them, so most of this neon green will disappear when I’m done...

Laying out flames in Illustrator:

Ended up making a smaller version that runs back out of where the headers will mount but pretty close on the original design...I have an idea for color on the nose and decided the start the flames further back...

Next up, a base color of Createx black sealer.  It laid down a little lumpy tonight (didn’t notice my moisture trap on the airbrush was full) but this acrylic always seems to level out nicely after a few minutes:

Now getting to start the fun stuff...I wanted the color scheme to be a kinda galactic space scene, with starts and pretty purples and blues and all that kind of stuff.  Started off with some white patches, and a light mist of splattery white:

Doesn’t look too good here, but it doesn’t need to - just looking to add some contrast to build candy layers up on top of.  Next up, shot some candy red on the nose and tail, and a little candy blue in the middle.  Now, I want the middle to have more of a blue tint and the front and back to be more purple but you can get more depth and contrast by layering the candies than you can by just shooting one layer...

Next up, some blue over the red to make purple...

 

Starting to add some more light blue fades to add some different hues:

 

And that’s the end of my fun for tonight - need to let the paint setup a while before the next steps...more soon!

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by CabDriver

[David G.]

This should be interesting.

David G.

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Jim!

The Boyd car I was referencing was called the RoadStar. It just came back to me. I'm getting older by the day, you see...

CT 

[NOBLNG]

Looking good so far, ? A nice gloss on there should really make it pop. 

[Tom Geiger]

On 4/4/2021 at 12:18 AM, Oldcarfan27 said:

I always had a hard time taking these things seriously. Flight of fancy designs, cheap looking wheels and tire treads that say AMT don't impress me much.

It’s a funny thing..

This car was part of a series of snap kits made to get kids interested in models. 

People  here moan that our hobby will surely die because the model companies do nothing to attract kids.  And when they do we get comments like this!

[SSNJim]

Bring on the snappers!

Shoot, I'm in my 60's and I really like the series. I just finished the Street Fury and Street Heat, customized to suit my tastes. The Fury had the blower hole filled, and the top part of the side moldings removed. The Concorde had the spoiler and aero bits removed. Very simple, fun models, and I'm anxiously awaiting other releases in this series.

In fact, the last two of the four models I have finished recently are a Snap Prowler (fenders and bumpers removed), and a Smyth Performance-ish VW Snap New Beetle. You'll never hear me complaining about snap and simple models. I build more detailed models too, but few get finished, especially with any real underhood or chassis detail.

[Oldcarfan27]

2 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

It’s a funny thing..

This car was part of a series of snap kits made to get kids interested in models. 

People  here moan that our hobby will surely die because the model companies do nothing to attract kids.  And when they do we get comments like this!

It's great that you take the caption out of context to comment on it!

You seem to have left out the part where I commented how he was able to make a good model out of it!

If I seem to recall, these kits didn't attract kids much either - that's why they ended up in the mark down bins. So your snippy remark is a moot point anyway!!