’72 Dodge Demon Drag Racer 1/25 scale

[Ian McLaren]

9 hours ago, iBorg said:

(why does this forum always think I misspell that word?) 

Because you type in English not American or Canadian  LOL   I get the same deal when I put the U in a lot of words.

 

[Straightliner59]

The tinwork is sweet! The Pentastar is an excellent touch!

[charlie libby]

impressed as always. such nice clean work. i love the doors and hinges. if i send you my address can you send me a big box of your patience. obviously you have tons of it.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:08 PM, Ian McLaren said:

The new fabrication looks great, the logo is a nice touch and the inner window surrounds/supports are spot on. 

Thanks Ian !  I hope it won't make the build too "Mopar Maniac" but I always liked this kind of detail in real drag cars. ?

Francis

On 5/3/2023 at 3:41 PM, iBorg said:

As always top notch work. And with great work comes questions.

How did you cut the aluminium? (why does this forum always think I misspell that word?) 

Thanks a lot Mike !

I'm not an English teacher, but I think you should try "aluminum", at least I don't see a red line below the word when it's written that way. ?

As for cutting the aluminum, I simply use my X-Acto to create a line for straight cuts and break off the part to be removed by bending it in both directions.  Curves are filed manually, you can drill a hole in the aluminum sheet to remove some of the material and finish the job with the file.  I only use "Diamond Pattern" files by the way, It makes more beautiful finishes.

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

10 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

The tinwork is sweet! The Pentastar is an excellent touch!

Thanks Daniel !

I think it gives a bit of a vintage look, I had done the "M" in the new Mopar logo for my D100 pickup but I wanted to keep a touch of «nostalgia» for this project. ?

Francis

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Wow Francis!! How have I been missing this one? I just went through this whole thread. Amazing work as usual!! I’m looking forward to seeing more!! I’ll be watching!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 5/4/2023 at 4:26 PM, charlie libby said:

impressed as always. such nice clean work. i love the doors and hinges. if i send you my address can you send me a big box of your patience. obviously you have tons of it.

Thanks Charlie!  I don't know if you need my patience, but my shipping box would be "consigned" and you should send it back to me with some of your ingenuity, because you obviously have a lot of it my friend.  I really like what you're doing on your side and I'm taking notes! ?

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

19 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Wow Francis!! How have I been missing this one? I just went through this whole thread. Amazing work as usual!! I’m looking forward to seeing more!! I’ll be watching!

Thank you for your kind words Brian !

Don't apologize for only recently finding my thread, it's not your usual build subject but I really appreciate your visit and comments.

One of these days I may do a "Diesel Swap" on a car as it's very trendy these days and I'll definitely need your knowledge on the subject if I'm going to go for it. ?

Come back whenever you want !

Francis

[Tortuga Kustomz]

awesome piece 

On 5/3/2023 at 11:34 AM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Hello everyone,

I again come to a time of year when there is a lot of work to be done around the house with the spring slowly setting in.  My time available for the hobby is decreasing week by week but I will try to keep moving forward when possible.  Over the weekend, I made the panel that closes the opening between the passenger compartment and the trunk.  I had already made one for my '70 Plymouth GTX and chose to do a bit of the same for the Demon, it's quite common for drag cars.  I used thin aluminum sheet and rubbed it with a Scotch Brite pad to remove most of the shine and create a more realistic scale effect.  To avoid wasting material, I made a cardboard template like the professional modified car makers do (I may have watched too many TV series on the subject...), it saves time and makes it easier to get the desired result.  Another piece of aluminum in this ocean of white plastic doesn't hurt either! ?

See you soon I hope, Francis

I saved you the filing and sanding steps, here is the panel once cut.

After minor adjustments, the panel fits pretty well in its intended place.

Seen from a different angle, I will make openings for the roll bars later in the build.

I decided to add the Pentastar logo to it.  It would have taken a long time to make an embossing die, so I cut out the shape and glued them to the panel with 2 part epoxy.  You can see the cardboard template I made to cut out the panel.

I made angles on each side of the triangles to simulate the embossing effect.  I like the effect produced and the general fit of the panel.

The finished panel (almost) after a little rubbing with a Scotch Brite pad to reduce the gloss of the raw material.

Awesome piece

[absmiami]

Yup

[Straightliner59]

It's been over a month, since Francis posted anything, here. I hope that's just because he's busy.

[Claude Thibodeau]

On 6/12/2023 at 3:31 AM, Straightliner59 said:

It's been over a month, since Francis posted anything, here. I hope that's just because he's busy.

HI!

My friend Francis always slows down model building during the summer. All is OK with him. Just too much to do around the property. He'll spring back in full force in august, I guess...

CT

[Ian McLaren]

5 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

HI!

My friend Francis always slows down model building during the summer. All is OK with him. Just too much to do around the property. He'll spring back in full force in august, I guess...

CT

Thanks Claude, I was wondering also,but hesitate to bother people in case there is some kind of issue.

[Straightliner59]

16 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

HI!

My friend Francis always slows down model building during the summer. All is OK with him. Just too much to do around the property. He'll spring back in full force in august, I guess...

CT

Yes, I knew he gets busy, this time of year. Generally, he'll check in, from time to time. As long as he's okay!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to say I'm sorry for my long and unusual absence of activity on the forum lately. I have no more free time for the hobby but rest assured that the Demon build is still alive.  The dust has started to cover my workbench but I'll get back to it as soon as possible, hopefully next fall with new updates.  I've never had so much to do in such a short period of time, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...   I had done some extra fabrication before I put the project to sleep, so I'll try to post the photos when I have time.  Thanks to those who were concerned about my absence and to those who continue to visit my thread, I'll try to make up for it with more interesting work, the best is yet to come.  For those who prefer aluminum and brass, the parts to be made with these materials will be more and more present as much of the bodywork is nearing completion.  There are a lot of projects I need to check out for updates on the forum and I'll go comment as soon as I can, I've got some catching up to do!

Time to pack my lunch box and get back to work! ?

Francis

[bobthehobbyguy]

Thanks for giving us an update.  Looking forward to seeing more progress when you have the time.

[Ian McLaren]

It's good to hear from you Francis, awaiting your return!

 

 

[Straightliner59]

I second Ian's sentiment! Looking forward to what's next! What's Next? is also the name of an album by Canada's own Mahogany Rush. It has a pretty cool album cover!

Edited July 14, 2023 by Straightliner59

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 7/14/2023 at 3:24 AM, Straightliner59 said:

I second Ian's sentiment! Looking forward to what's next! What's Next? is also the name of an album by Canada's own Mahogany Rush. It has a pretty cool album cover!

That's cool Daniel, the album was great and so was the car on the cover, a Dodge Omni with a big Hemi that represents all the excess of that NHRA era! ?

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

After spending a few hours on the forum this morning to catch up on some projects, I decided to take a few minutes to update my thread with the latest details I completed a few weeks ago.  Sorry to have so little to offer, summer doesn't allow me much free time but I'll try to get back to it as soon as I get the chance, there are some great things happening on this forum!   My last job on the Demon was to fabricate certain elements of the interior roof structure.  I didn't want to do too much, but just enough to simulate the look of a drag car with some elements removed to make the car lighter.  It's probably not allowed in some class, but I'm not making a tribute car, just one that could have competed at a local drag strip on a nice Saturday afternoon.  Thank you for your patience, I'll be back as soon as possible with more meat on the bone. ?

Francis.

Some of the roof structure made using thin Styrene strips.

It won't be very visible on the finished product, but I wanted to add this detail from the start.

[Ian McLaren]

It looks great Francis, more than enough to convey the look you are going for.  Good to have you back if only for a bit.;

 

[Straightliner59]

15 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

That's cool Daniel, the album was great and so was the car on the cover, a Dodge Omni with a big Hemi that represents all the excess of that NHRA era! ?

Agreed on all counts! Those little cars with those big engines were very cool!

[dragcarz]

Good morning Francis, I’ve been following along, but not commenting as I simply don’t have words. It’s just simply amazing what your doing here. It looks so real, just like the real car. Having owned 4 A body Mopar’s,  your capturing all the nuisances. Thank you for sharing, a break in the building process can be good as you come back refreshed and enthusiastic about working on it again. God bless you my friend!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

17 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

It looks great Francis, more than enough to convey the look you are going for.  Good to have you back if only for a bit.;

Thanks Ian, I miss the action and can't wait to be back on the bench to join you and our other friends with your fantastic builds!

 

4 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Agreed on all counts! Those little cars with those big engines were very cool!

It's a different story with today's cars, whose engines are smaller than the air-conditioning motors of the cars of the time... ?

 

3 hours ago, dragcarz said:

Good morning Francis, I’ve been following along, but not commenting as I simply don’t have words. It’s just simply amazing what your doing here. It looks so real, just like the real car. Having owned 4 A body Mopar’s,  your capturing all the nuisances. Thank you for sharing, a break in the building process can be good as you come back refreshed and enthusiastic about working on it again. God bless you my friend!

Thanks Roger, your comments are very appreciated and reinforces my decision to add this kind of detail.  Your knowledge of the subject is obvious, as your builds are always very realistic, you know what you're talking about, as we say around here.  It's a bit the same for me, I follow your projects even if I don't comment every time.  You're always welcome on my thread my friend, my crazy excesses are there for those who like this kind of detail and would like to take the plunge!

Francis

[Bainford]

Nice work. The headliner sheet metal looks great, and considerably less glue-bomby than the original build.