’72 Dodge Demon Drag Racer 1/25 scale

[GoatGuy]

Francis, love how you jump into a build and solve problems. Your results are great!! I look forward to more of this.

Dave

[AmericanMuscleFan]

13 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Not yet, but the bones are there! I don't draw plans, either. When I am soldering up a dragster chassis, I mark a centerline down the length of a 1/2"X4"X12" piece of balsa (depending on length needed), and lines for the motor plate and wheelbase, and build off of that. I pin the tube to it, and solder, right on the board. I would say that all our projects are a labor of love, but, some are a bit more special, and we've known for an extended time that we'd have to build them. I always enjoy your work, Francis. Your results are something to aspire to

Thank you Daniel, I really appreciate your kindness and your way of thinking, besides I notice since my arrival on the forum that we work a lot in the same way.  It's a great hobby, so why not make the most of it?  The bonus is the great people we meet here and at the shows!

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

4 hours ago, GoatGuy said:

Francis, love how you jump into a build and solve problems. Your results are great!! I look forward to more of this.

Dave

Thanks Dave, I have high expectations for this build and hope to bring some new things to show.  I am progressing slowly, as usual, but my goal is to improve and learn from the invaluable source of information that everyone brings with their comments and knowledge on the subject.  It's just a scale model but why not do it right when you can?

See you soon with more progress on the grille among others... 😁

Francis

[Straightliner59]

11 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Thank you Daniel, I really appreciate your kindness and your way of thinking, besides I notice since my arrival on the forum that we work a lot in the same way.  It's a great hobby, so why not make the most of it?  The bonus is the great people we meet here and at the shows!

Francis

You're so right about the people! I've met a whole bunch of awesome people through modeling!  We are certainly interested in most of the same aspects of the hobby--scratchbuilding and detailing are the things that really get us going.

[mustang1989]

You never miss a thing when it comes to the details of a build Francis and this one is no exception to that rule. Fantastic work on display. 

Slam dunk bro.  

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 1/28/2023 at 8:55 AM, mustang1989 said:

You never miss a thing when it comes to the details of a build Francis and this one is no exception to that rule. Fantastic work on display. 

Slam dunk bro.  

Thanks Joe!

I will have more in store for you my friend, there are many details to create but I lack the time to materialize them, the winter we have this year keeps me busier than expected.... 😢

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

I'm almost done with the grille and I must admit that I'm very proud of the final result.  The vast majority of the work consisted of sanding and filing so I didn't take a picture of that because I had both my hands busy and didn't see it as relevant to do so.   As far as making a styrene part from scratch, I think this is one of the most difficult but most successful of what I've done so far but I'll let you be the judge.  I still have some small details to do but the main thing is done, I think that once painted and detailed it will be quite convincing.  Your comments or questions are welcome.

Francis

If you refer to the last photo in my last post you will notice that the small section between the headlights and the end of the grill was not present so I made them.

Basically, I drilled a hole the same size as the headlights and made two grooves to insert styrene strips and finished the rounded shape with a small file.

I made two openings to insert the pieces I made, you can see I also wrapped a thin strip of styrene around the shape to create the detail.

The insert are finally installed.

Different angle.

I made two rectangular shapes to add to the turn signals at the back of the grille, it will be visible with the hood open.  The holes for the wiring are already made.

Parts glued in place and for the good cause, I made the opening for the hood release lever even if there won't be one...

View from different angle.

The final part on the side that will be most visible... I just realized I forgot to put the turn signal lenses on for the photo... 🙄 I'll get back to you on that!

[1972coronet]

Gorgeous work, Francis! 

Perhaps I'm a bit biased here, but I've always preferred the 1972 grille to its '70-'71 predecessor. My first car was a '72 Swinger [LH23G2B307811] which I bought in 1989 for a song. I fell in love with its grille immediately -- really popped with the factory Hemi Orange paint.

Keep up the great work!

[Straightliner59]

I knew you'd get it just right! Simply gorgeous work, my friend!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

22 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Gorgeous work, Francis! 

Perhaps I'm a bit biased here, but I've always preferred the 1972 grille to its '70-'71 predecessor. My first car was a '72 Swinger [LH23G2B307811] which I bought in 1989 for a song. I fell in love with its grille immediately -- really popped with the factory Hemi Orange paint.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks John, I like both versions (71 and 72) but I always thought the '72 had a more aggressive look.  Also, I've seen a lot more photos of drag racing with '72 Demons than with '71s.  Who knows, maybe it has something to do with the beginning of the Pro Stock class?

Francis

21 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

I knew you'd get it just right! Simply gorgeous work, my friend!

Thanks Daniel, I really appreciate your kind words.  I have to admit that I surprised myself, there is not much margin for error with this kind of details, the grille will really be in the foreground!

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

I took two pictures of the front grille about where it will be mounted between the fenders.  I had to hold the body at an angle because the lenses wouldn't stay in place but it gives you a good idea of the product.

I'll be back in a few days with more progress, I'm moving slowly and I'm choosing my next steps more according to the inspiration of the moment than strategically because everything is to be made.  It's strange but it looks like one of my previous build...🤔

Francis

[Scott8950]

Nice job Francis.  The grill is amazing!

[charlie libby]

every time i come here i learn something new. if i could only remember i learned. very ingenious.

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Francis!

Spectacular work, as usual. Can't wait to see it "in the flesh".

Now, on a financial note: It's a good idea to put a Canadian dime in the pictures at this time: the quality of your work might actually raise the exchange rate of the Canadian currency! We never know! 

CT 

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 1/31/2023 at 9:01 PM, Scott8950 said:

Nice job Francis.  The grill is amazing!

Thanks Scott.

On 2/2/2023 at 7:04 PM, charlie libby said:

every time i come here i learn something new. if i could only remember i learned. very ingenious.

Thanks Charlie, It's hard for me to believe that I can teach you anything in terms of creation, your subjects are lessons in know-how and resourcefulness my friend! 😊

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 2/2/2023 at 9:15 PM, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Francis!

Spectacular work, as usual. Can't wait to see it "in the flesh".

Now, on a financial note: It's a good idea to put a Canadian dime in the pictures at this time: the quality of your work might actually raise the exchange rate of the Canadian currency! We never know! 

CT 

Thanks Claude my friend !

It seems that I can only commit to long term projects, I thought this one would be much easier and faster than the pickup but it doesn't seem to be the case, as you get older, you only become more stubborn... I'm going to have to start reviewing my list of future projects and make a list of kits to get rid of...

As for the Canadian currency, I have lost hope for a long time to see its value return to parity with Uncle Sam's and the price of the hotel room and the NHRA New England National tickets reminds me painfully ! 😢

Francis

[Mike D]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:24 AM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

I am glad to know that another member is working on a similar project Mike.

Do you have a Styrene or resin kit for your project?  Have you started a thread or do you plan to post the final product when it is finished?

As for the final look of mine, I'm far from it and not sure yet because I have hundreds of hours before me to create all the details of the body so I have plenty of time to think about it and change my mind several times... 🙄

Thank you for your visit and come back anytime.

Francis

Hi Francis,

Sorry for the late reply, but I find the forum hard to navigate so I don't visit often. I plan on using the body, interior and chassis from the MPC 75 Dart Sport kit. It's not the same as Carlton's car, but I don't get to tied up in all of the things you do mainly because I don't have the skill required to address them.

I think the Hemi will come from the AMT Super Bee kit and everything else will be aftermarket or scratch built. I'm still in the process of gathering everything I need and will post something once I have a plan of attack. 

I'll be following your project and picking up tips and techniques from it. 

Thanks for reaching out!

Mike

[dragcarz]

Just amazing work Francis!

[Scott Colmer]

Wow! This is really good stuff Francis. I'm a bit late to the party, but I got to binge through all the posts in this thread. The tail lights are art. And your correction of the front fenders is spot on. Of course, the grill is amazing. You managed to avert the wavy bar curse that is a problem when building a grill from styrene. Perfect!

Scott

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 2/4/2023 at 12:11 PM, Mike D said:

Hi Francis,

Sorry for the late reply, but I find the forum hard to navigate so I don't visit often. I plan on using the body, interior and chassis from the MPC 75 Dart Sport kit. It's not the same as Carlton's car, but I don't get to tied up in all of the things you do mainly because I don't have the skill required to address them.

I think the Hemi will come from the AMT Super Bee kit and everything else will be aftermarket or scratch built. I'm still in the process of gathering everything I need and will post something once I have a plan of attack. 

I'll be following your project and picking up tips and techniques from it. 

Thanks for reaching out!

Mike

Don't apologize Mike, I didn't expect an answer right away but don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything when your project become real.

I love these cars and you don't see them being assembled very often, it's always interesting to see how other modelers go about making their own parts from scratch.

As far as skills go, I've seen some of your models and you're obviously an excellent modeler so I'm not too worried! 😊

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

20 hours ago, dragcarz said:

Just amazing work Francis!

Thank you Roger, I really appreciate your support, the project is well underway I would say and I hope to be able to make regular updates if everything continues to go well.

I love your Hornet, rare subjects are my favorite and it's hard to find a rarer bird than this! 😉

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

18 hours ago, Scott Colmer said:

Wow! This is really good stuff Francis. I'm a bit late to the party, but I got to binge through all the posts in this thread. The tail lights are art. And your correction of the front fenders is spot on. Of course, the grill is amazing. You managed to avert the wavy bar curse that is a problem when building a grill from styrene. Perfect!

Scott

Thanks Scott, you are not late at all, this is only the beginning and there will be many things to do, in fact everything has to be made so come back from time to time to see and bring your ideas, I know what you are capable of!

I look forward to seeing your FXI Hot Rod Peterbilt completed my friend, it is a project of great interest to fans of unusual subjects. 😊

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

Now that most of the more complex and/or missing body parts are finished, I want to move on to another part of the build, the floor and frame.  From the beginning, I thought about a game plan and decided to go with good old styrene again.  I'm sure many of you would have loved to see a brass frame, but I'm not ready for that yet.  Basically, I don't want to sacrifice the detail that styrene allows me to incorporate for the strength that brass could give me.  The Mopar cars of that era had monocoque and I want to do a good old-fashioned leaf spring suspension with maybe some newer traction options added.  Due to my inexperience and lack of resources, I know that doing the whole base of the car with brass will only add hundreds of hours to this long project.  Also, everything will be painted in the end so all those beautiful shiny things will be hidden away anyway.  So nothing very impressive today but just an update on what's to come and where I'm headed.  Fun with styrene without wanting to steal the punch from a good friend of mine!

See you next week with more progress on this thing.

Francis

I chose the Revell '68 Dart floor pan as a starting point instead of the MPC '71 Duster despite the latter having the same wheelbase as the Demon.  I prefer the styrene from Revell and the details in general, anyway a lot of changes will be made to this one.

It start with the saw, the car will have a fuel cell in the trunk.

I had done a bit the same way with my '70 GTX so it's a bit of a homecoming... 😁

[Butter 1]

Hi Francis.

The grill is perfect!!!  Good choice on starting with the Revell chassis. I also agree with your thoughts about brass versus styrene  in some cases.

FYI I started a thread in WIP pickups called 48 Ford Ranchero.  I always appreciate your comments.

[Ian McLaren]

Great job so far on this Francis, as usual your attention to detail is off the charts. I also have to agree with your assessment of the brass verses styrene situation, especially in the case of the Mopar unibody construction (there's a term I haven't used in decades) where unlike other manufacturers everything was body color from the factory.