Straightliner59 Posted August 31, 2022 Author Share Posted August 31, 2022 16 hours ago, Ian McLaren said: The interior is coming along nicely and the cage style is very appropriate for the era, I also see the start of some wheelie bars sticking out. I've used the Eduard belt sets in a couple of aircraft, I was very impressed with them Thanks, Ian. I've been digging through all my magazines from '84 to '86, or so. I found some ads from Alston, etc., that illustrated the cages, pretty nicely. I should get back on the chassis and finish it and the front wheels. I really wanted to get the cage figured out, though. I still have a few tubes to install, but, it's figured out! I have the brackets for the wheelie bars and wheels drawn and drilled, but haven't finished shaping them, yet. I am looking forward to trying the belts. I usually make my own, but thought, "What the heck?" They look nice, for sure! I'm looking at a set of their 1/24 WWII-era belts for an early dragster, next time I build one. I think I might be getting an itch to go back to work on my Nostalgia Fueler, once the Vega's done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted August 31, 2022 Author Share Posted August 31, 2022 I got a few photos of the roll cage and interior, sans body. I need to add the door bars and make the lower main bars, but, I'm pretty happy with what's there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 1, 2022 Author Share Posted September 1, 2022 Did some work on the wheelie bars. The struts are .047" craft wire, straightened, then bored .035" to accept HO scale handrail stanchions. The side plates are cut from two sections of mashed aluminum tubing, drilled, then pinned together for finish shaping. The caster is turned from a plastic coat hanger. I thought the color and sheen looked right. They're pinned together with .023" nails, currently. Questions, comments and critiques are always welcomed. Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 Very nice work ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADmodelDOCTOR Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 On 8/29/2022 at 11:15 PM, Straightliner59 said: I have the main cage loop built. I think I have a nice cheat figured out for the front lower bars of the cage and the halo section that should make it a pretty simple installation; key word "should".😄 The cage is .060" styrene rod--it's not quite in its place, in the photos. Once it's sorted, I can finish installing the tunnel, and the bits for the shifters. Then, it'll be on to the seats and dash, and a scratched tach for the dash. I've started kicking around ideas for an appropriately-styled (tacky?) '80s paint scheme. Questions, critiques and comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking! I would go with fogged candy blue down the middle with purple on the sides, over the candy red base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Laski Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 Nice project, Dan! I really like the interior tin. Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 18 hours ago, cobraman said: Very nice work ! Thank you, kindly, Ray. 15 hours ago, MADmodelDOCTOR said: I would go with fogged candy blue down the middle with purple on the sides, over the candy red base. Except the car's going to be Mulsanne Blue.🙂 I'm thinking purple and teal stripes/bands, outlined in magenta, down the sides, and maybe the hood and roof. I'm playing around with a couple of designs. Subject to change! 14 hours ago, Art Laski said: Nice project, Dan! I really like the interior tin. Great stuff. Thanks, Art! That stuff was a blast! Anything to keep me from having to do things like...paint!😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 Here's how the wheelie bars look, crudely placed into position. The body is lower than it will be, in these photos, because the tub isn't in it. Still a fair amount of work to be done to them, but, I wanted to see! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 They're a bit more stable, now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 5, 2022 Author Share Posted September 5, 2022 (edited) I threw together what there is of the headers, this morning, and got them mounted. I bent them from .080" styrene rod I got in an assortment, on Ebay. A Dremel was used to grind away some material from the bottom of the chassis, to add clearance for the headers. I'm now not sure that was necessary. I used a Tamiya weathering set, to add the color. Edited September 5, 2022 by Straightliner59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 I got a few more things done. I built the bottom tubes at the front of the cage, and mounted the pedals to the crossbar. I got the door bars cut, but they still need to be drilled, so they can be pinned to the cage. I finished the wheelie bars, but, now, I need to figure out what's cause them to be so low that they are holding (slightly) the rear of the car up. Other than that, I think they look pretty nice! I painted them with Testors Metalizer Titanium--which necessitated a moment of silence for my penultimate can of that fine substance. Your critiques, questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 I got the front wheels painted, and the brakes done. Next up will be the lugs/nuts and valve stems. I couldn't loosen the wheelie bars, so I had to rotate the slicks, and put the flat spots up! 😀 Hey, sometimes ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do... I have often avoided using my airbrush, because I hate even messing with it. That said, Alclad's chrome really is good stuff, Maynard! As I mentioned before, I just shot it over Walmart's Color Place Gloss Black spray. It looks great! As always your comments, questions, etc. are welcomed. Thanks for looking! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Clone Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Haven´t been on this site in a long time. And the first thing I look at is this awesome Super Gas. The mailbox on the hood is just so right. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBorg Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Very impressive! Each time I look at your WIPs, I learn new ideas. What you do looks quite doable but I'd never thought of things. I absolutely love the idea of turning down a plastic hanger for the wheelie par wheels. The Lenco is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 16 hours ago, SS Clone said: Haven´t been on this site in a long time. And the first thing I look at is this awesome Super Gas. The mailbox on the hood is just so right. Keep up the good work. Thank you, Tomas! Originally, I wanted to use one of the scoops from the Monogram 2nd generation Glidden Pro Stockers. Research led me to this one, as the rounded ones were a couple of years later. I may, however, push the nose of it down, a tad, because that was beginning to be a thing, in '84. Thanks again for your kind words. I hope you'll follow the project, as it comes along. 16 hours ago, iBorg said: Very impressive! Each time I look at your WIPs, I learn new ideas. What you do looks quite doable but I'd never thought of things. I absolutely love the idea of turning down a plastic hanger for the wheelie par wheels. The Lenco is amazing. Thanks, Mike. You know me, by now--I will try just about anything, to see if it'll work! I was looking for some opaque plastic rod, to purchase, when I noticed the coat hanger in the closet. I'll be getting to work on the rest of the interior, soon. I just about have the chassis wrapped! I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to do the cage. I'm going to paint it as bare metal, but, I think it'll have to be installed, in sections. That's the next major quandary.😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 I got the front wheels finished and mounted. I turned the dust caps from an aluminum knitting needle from Dollar Tree. I also formed some aluminum over a wood buck, to represent the fuel cell, but, it'll be barely visible, if at all. One shot shows the underside details, obviously minimal, and limited to what might be seen from a distance, and below the body line. Comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 On to the interior... Boy, that Lenco shifter cluster was fun! Now for the knobs. Next, I'll finish the shift towers. I'll wrap up the Lenco with the linkages from the towers to the shifters. Your comments, critiques and questions are always welcomed. Thanks for looking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 More progress...I somehow managed to build a .063" styrene rod roll cage that was sturdy enough to go into out of the interior, for fitting, etc. I got the door bars made and installed to it, as well. Next, I'll finish up the Lenco. The dash will at least be partially painted the same Mulsanne Blue as the car's exterior. There's still a fair amount of work, to go, here, but I am very happy with today's progress! Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 I don't generally use stuff that's in a "finished" state. I was, however, intrigued enough by the Eduard safety harness sets to order a couple of sets of them. I like that the metal is soft enough to be easily cut from the fret with a #11 X-Acto blade. Most frequently, I use lead foil (actually foil from wine bottles, which is no longer lead, but has most of the same properties as Pb) for the belts, because I really don't think 1/25 scale belts need any texture. I digress. The belts that Eduard provides are photoetched with a textured pattern that I'd call heavy, but not annoyingly-so. The sets go together fairly easily, and they look good. Most of Eduard's harness sets are Sabelt. Obviously, in drag racing, Simpson is pretty dominantly used. So, I printed some Simpson decals (heads-up: On Simpson's website, their logo is in .svg format, which is perfect for making decals!) to place over the Sabelt markings. Speaking of markings, I also like the stitching that's printed on the belts. It's nice touch. I think it will look better, toned down, a tad, with some grey/tan pastel. I'll do a bit of touchup, and cover the visible portions of the Sabelt tags with the same paint, while I'm at it. Anyway, here are a couple of shots of Eduard's harness set, before and after...Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 18, 2022 Author Share Posted September 18, 2022 I made the knobs for the Lenco shifters from sprue from an '80s Monogram Pro Stock kit. I sliced thin discs and made a slit on the side of each, to fit over the handle(s). I may use the red roll cage padding, but I have black, as well. Work is progressing! Comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 The seat belts are mounted/installed. The lap belts are fastened to the floor with model railroad hex nut/bolt/washer castings. The Eduard belt material is pretty stiff to work with, so I had to fake the wrapping of the belts on the shoulder bar, rather than the actual way it's done. The cage will be installed once the seat, dash, wheel, and shifter details are all installed. Comments, critiques and questions are always welcome. Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 The linkages for the Lenco are done! Since the photos, I've painted them (Tamiya Titanium Gold Acrylic). I'm happy with the way they worked out. I used some old MSC (I suppose that's redundant!) silver/grey 1/25 plug wire, to make them. Anyhoo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 I got the seat installed, along with the lap belts. The shoulder belts are attached to the cage, but the cage can't be installed, until the dash is completed and installed (I'm working on that, next--I think! 😄). One thing I like best about the Eduard belts is the printing of the stitching. One of the things I like the least about them, is the stiffness of the material that stitching is printed on. It's very difficult to get it posed, so that it doesn't look posed. I'll mess with the shoulder belts some more, next time I pull the cage out of the tub. The shoulder straps are "wrapped" around the shoulder bar, as nearly as I could do them, given this material's rigidity. They're secured in place by an apparatus (in 1:1) that bolts around the bar. I faked it with Contrails round styrene tube. The seat covering is painted Krylon Chalky Finish Charcoal(?). Once that dried, I drew (no pun intended) a Prismacolor black pencil through the patterns, to give them some depth. I think that's about it, for now. As always, questions, comments and critiques are welcome. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McLaren Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 The shifter, linkages, and seat look great and I understand what your saying about the belts. In the aircraft the belts hange fairly straight and flatter so the stiffness was less of a problem for me but visually they are hard to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLIBUD Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Great job so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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