Tommy Iv o's Showboat wip

[MAGIC MUFFLER]

Nice build!!  Looks great and nice to see someone truly enjoying making it as correct as can be.

 

I used to work on the car all the time for Ivo.  I do have some pics of the interior but when it had the Riviera body on it.  It was basically the same though. 

[Farmboy]

Wow Billy, nice to meet ya!  Glad you like the build!  If you have shots you can send them here, I'd love to see 'em!  I'm doing my best to interpret the car in 1/25 by adding a few xtra detailing touches,  and I thought there would be a few modelers on this site who would enjoy seeing someone attempt this much-maligned kit lol.  I did write Ken Foran (he did a brass scratch build of this car) a text concerning the fuel system and he was kind enough to post an abbreviated diagram by Mr Dyda himself for me.  I'm thinking of posting the engine builds as a separate thread if there's any interest.  Thanks for the shout out!

Edited December 10, 2022 by Farmboy

[Farmboy]

Another item not included in the kit are the magneto kill switches. These are located attached on the lower right side of the dash, mounted to a separate metal panel.  There were 4 of them, one per magneto, removed from a junked WW2 aircraft.  Everyone's seen these in movies, lift the red cover and press the button, but I'm not sure if these ones were just covers or the actual switch.

I made mine in one piece from styrene tubing, making the separator lines in a tube cutter, then cutting the tube in half lengthwise.  The unit was painted red and given a black wash.  For the record, the black lines are not near as thick as they appear in the photo.

Comments and observations welcome

 

[Farmboy]

This is the mockup. While the clutch lever and magneto kill switches are attached to the dash, the dash is only in the car for the shot

The clutch lever is made from my good friend Mr Solder.  I was going to use aluminum but I felt it was just too thin

 

And the kill switches

A little touching up then it's the brake lever and steering wheel.

Comments and observations welcome.

[Farmboy]

The kit supplied dash has a slot on the right side allowing the brake arm to fit properly.  This slot didn't exist on the real thing, and, after rebuilding the dash I intentionally covered it over. Short version; I substituted a piece of rod for the kit part.  The bend is how far the arm had to travel behind the dash to reach the cylinder.

After the install I cut the vertical part of it to approximate length, snipped the ball off the kit part and remounted it on the new piece.

The steering wheel had blobby spokes and lightening holes in it.  I filled the holes to get the solid look, not happy.  I found an identical wheel with lightening holes in the spokes in much much better shape in the parts box and used it.  Happy.

Comments and observations welcome.

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Farmboy

[Tortuga Kustomz]

excellent

[Straightliner59]

Hey, Mike. You've got some really nice work, going on, here! It takes some real dedication, to see something like this, through. Good job, by you!

[Farmboy]

Thanks for the shout outs you two!  Just did a re-coat on the cowl piece.  I'll give it a day or two to cure.  Shouldn't be too long to finish the build.

[Farmboy]

DONE!!!
Thanks to all for looking in during the build!   I got a lot of enjoyment out of this kit.  It's not 100% accurate by anyone's standards, just a few details where I thought I had skill enough to add them.  Only a couple or three pics here, I'll post a few more in a separate thread.  Incidentally, I have pertinent photos and descriptions on how I did the fuel delivery system.  I'd also post a thread on that if there was any interest.

 

 

Comments and observations welcome

[Joe Nunes]

Very, very, nicely done!  I have not previously seen this model kit constructed so well and it was a pleasure to enjoy watching your build come together. Thanks for sharing. 

Joe

[MAGIC MUFFLER]

The model turned out fantastic! I know Ivo would be proud how well you did this.

 

I mentioned that I worked many years for Ivo on all his cars.  I heard funny stories many times while I would work on one of the cars and Ivo would just keep telling me about his times as a drag racer back in the day. I heard many stories!

But, it was Tom McCoury that bought this car from Ivo and put the Riviera body on it and went racing as a whole different car.  I was friends with Tom McCoury as well and had lunch with him many time and also hearing his great stories.

One story I always remembered was when he told me Ivo wanted the body back (the one that is on your model) and he always told Tommy that he needs to get it out but he'll give it back to him.  Ivo wanted the little red original body back for what ever reason.

 

So, McCoury tells me that Ivo kept bugging him for this body back but he had it at his property in the old garage up in the attic and just couldn't find the time to get it. As time would pass, McCoury decided to rebuild the garage and decided it was best to just bulldoze the garage and start over.  He said he realized after they bulldozed the garage down that the body was still up in the attic but of course it was completely crushed now and off to the dump.  He said he never had the heart to tell Ivo he accidentally had it crushed when doing the garage so he just kept telling him he'll get to it eventually.  I'm not sure he ever told Ivo because in the end McCoury passed away not long after he told me this story. I feel very fortunate to know both Ivo and McCoury and have heard the funny stories they would tell me over lunches or while working on the cars.  Of course there is so much more but we'll leave it here for now.

 

Here's a photo I took of the interior when working on the car.  A little ratty but original >

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by MAGIC MUFFLER

[Farmboy]

Thanks for your good words on the build Joe, so glad you enjoyed the build process.

Billy, keep the stories coming!  Very interesting stuff!  Nice shot of the cockpit...shows I got most of it right.  It's the first I've seen of the ring for the chute release, brake lines are more visible, and that's some interesting bit o' snake bending for the brake lever!  I agree the seat needs a bit of lovin' but all in all its the same machine.  Thanks for the pic!

 

 

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Excellent job my friend, you did just an amazing detail work on it

[Farmboy]

Thank you Marcos.  Maybe the build will be of some reference help when you do your restoration.

[cobraman]

You did one heck of a great job on this kit.

[Farmboy]

Many thanks cobraman, I say again, even as an out of the box build, with a little care it would look great on the shelf.

[sflam123]

Farmboy, your work on this Ivo Showboat is fantastic!!  It turned out beautifully!  Great job and congratulations.

[Farmboy]

Thank you sflam for the kind words.  

[Brandon17]

Absolutely amazing build! Ive wanted to build this car for so long! I have the kit that was issued in the 90's and just bought the latest reissue of the kit to start fresh. I think im gonna start it now after seeing your magnificent build!

[Farmboy]

Well Brandon, I don't know if magnificent fits, lol, but thanks much for the kudos.  I believe I have progress photos on my other laptop for the fuel distribution setup.  While not the final word on engine detailing I'd be happy to post a separate thread to show you how I did things if you think it would be of any help to you.  I paid attention to this part of the assembly as it's basically the draw for the car.

[Pierre Rivard]

Beautiful build of a most intriguing car. My ears a bleeding just at the thought of the noise this monster could make!

[Tortuga Kustomz]

On 12/22/2022 at 10:07 AM, Farmboy said:

Thank you Marcos.  Maybe the build will be of some reference help when you do your restoration.

Definitely will hep me a lot, hope to star soon on that restoration

[Ian McLaren]

Mike this is a great model and a very ambitious project.  Good to see another Canadian modeler hitting it out of the park, well done!

[Farmboy]

Pierre, standing next to 32 pipes roarin' wide open would compete with just about any rock concert sound level  I've attended I'm sure.

Post your progress Marcos as I'm sure there are plenty of people that need that push to start their own builds.

Model builders are where you find them Ian.  Thanks for the shout out!

 

 

[Tortuga Kustomz]

hope to star that soon