’72 Dodge Demon Drag Racer 1/25 scale

[absmiami]

nice

scale tolerance hell ...

 

[Straightliner59]

Excellent work, Francis! Those doors tuck in, nicely.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/12/2023 at 9:32 AM, Ian McLaren said:

The hinges look very good, and the doors appear to be operating correctly. I would call that a win.

Thank you Ian, I call these small victories and it will take many to deliver a finished product as I envision it!

Francis

On 4/12/2023 at 11:13 AM, bytownshaker said:

Beautiful work Francis, thank you for the continuing photos of your work as you progress through your build.

I hope you didn't get affected by the recent ice storm.

Edgar

Thanks Edgar!  The current state of the project is probably not the most interesting, but it is one of the "musts" that I have to go through before I can have fun with the machining part.  It will come one of these days but thanks for continuing to follow me!

We were rather spared here by the freezing rain unlike the Montreal area which once again received the worst of the precipitation.

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/12/2023 at 5:01 PM, absmiami said:

nice

scale tolerance hell ...

Thanks Andrew, You have to pay the price when you decide to make only 1/25 scale models.

Francis

On 4/13/2023 at 12:42 AM, Straightliner59 said:

Excellent work, Francis! Those doors tuck in, nicely.

Thanks Daniel,  I didn't take the easiest route but I'm pretty satisfied considering the complexity of the operation.  It adds hours to the project but it's something I really wanted to do! ?

Francis

[Nazz]

 Those hinges look amazing! Another "best" seller in the works!

 

Jerry

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/16/2023 at 11:11 AM, Nazz said:

 Those hinges look amazing! Another "best" seller in the works!

 

Jerry

Thanks Jerry!  Now I just have to bury them behind styrene... at least the part of the hinges mounted inside the door panels. ?

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

I've had a lot of reason not to move forward lately because there's been a lot of action in my life.  It would take a long time to explain to you but this site is not made for that so I will limit myself to saying that I hope that everything returns to normal soon!   On the scale model side, I have almost finished the details of the doors and I will have to add an aluminum panel as interior trim, make the handles and the window cranks.  For the latter, I will probably proceed later because I have to concentrate on finishing the structural components.  The photos are in order of construction progress so it speaks for itself.  I planned openings to insert side windows but it is not yet certain at this stage that I will put them in, at least the slots are there, that adds a little to the details anyway.  I added a lot of bracing that will help support the panels on the interior side of the cabin.  I hope you like them, I think they are my best so far although I haven't done many before. ?

See you next time with more progress.

Francis

I used styrene strips to try to recreate the shapes of the doors on the interior side of the cabin.

After a bit of sanding.  I will add a thin aluminum panel as trim.

Again, the dime is not to promote the Canadian currency, but to get a good focal point, this is the best trick I've found so far! ?

[Straightliner59]

Those will look fabulous with aluminum skins! Great work, my friend.

[absmiami]

The Canadian dime thing is a great trick - can i get these dimes on amazon ?  And are they re-usable ?? ???    

[AmericanMuscleFan]

6 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Those will look fabulous with aluminum skins! Great work, my friend.

Thanks Daniel, I also think the aluminum skins will take the doors to the next level and I'm considering doing an aluminum sheet to close the opening between the cabin and the trunk.   This will give continuity and a "drag racing" look to the project! ?

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

3 hours ago, absmiami said:

The Canadian dime thing is a great trick - can i get these dimes on amazon ?  And are they re-usable ?? ???    

I don't know about their availability on Amazon but I advise you to look in your little change, sometimes we can find the American version on our side of the border.  To be reusable, I think so because I intend to do so! ?  The only thing is that the Canadian currency is losing value but luckily the format of the coin seems to keep its size! ?

[bobthehobbyguy]

Those doors are a work of art. For the quality of the work ,the work rate is necessary to achieve that level of craftsmanship. I know I wouldn't be able to do it that quick.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/19/2023 at 11:20 PM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Those doors are a work of art. For the quality of the work ,the work rate is necessary to achieve that level of craftsmanship. I know I wouldn't be able to do it that quick.

Thanks for the kind words Bob!

This is just a drop in an ocean of things to do for this build and I think the rest of the details to add to them will make a big difference.  We end up being caught in a spiral when we want to make details and it forces a little to continue so that what follows is consistent.  I'm starting to discover unknown territories and I like it, it takes me out of my comfort zone and it makes me feel good!  ?

Francis

[Ian McLaren]

Francis, again you have out done yourself, the doors are jaw dropping. Fantastic work my friend!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

3 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Francis, again you have out done yourself, the doors are jaw dropping. Fantastic work my friend!

Thanks Ian!  Let's say that these are just doors but they open the "door" to even more details to make bad a pun! ?

Francis

[1930fordpickup]

I think you are building this model better than the real ones were built back in the day.  I like to follow your builds; the topic education is as good as the model itself. 

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/23/2023 at 7:46 PM, 1930fordpickup said:

I think you are building this model better than the real ones were built back in the day.  I like to follow your builds; the topic education is as good as the model itself. 

Thank you for your kind comments Andy!

These cars were not known for their build quality, but rather for their body style and performance.  It is certain that mine will not show rust any time soon! ?   As for the educational aspect, I would like to be able to show more pictures but I think the construction would never end.  I am glad to see that what I do is of interest to some who like this kind of build.

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

This is my smallest update to date!   I didn't have much time on the bench as I was forced to make an unexpected purchase that took up most of my weekend.

Basically, I've started making the interior rear panels now that the door structure is complete.  These will be glued to the body, the floor pan and the rear fender tubes (which are glued together) will fit together in the final assembly.  Since I'm into this kind of fabrication, I intend to make the roof reinforcements to give continuity to the whole.  The inside of the body was a bit damaged by the glue that held the windows, so this will be a good way to hide some of the scars left behind.  I won't do all the details of these but I want to create a light car look with a partially emptied interior.  Anyway, this will be a first for me and I will improvise as I go along in the making of the components, photos of this kind of detail are rather rare as you can imagine.   Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Francis

I copied the radius of the rear wheel tubs onto a sheet of .020" styrene.  I then cut and sanded them until they fit perfectly.  I glued a strip of styrene to give them rigidity, these were sanded to fit inside the body before gluing them in place.

This is what it looked like before I glued them in place for good.  Of course, I used the floor pan to get the right position to glue them to their final location.

Before I couldn't do it anymore, I had planned a seat for the rear windows but I had omitted to show you this because I found it rather simplistic. The hardest part was engraving a seat so that the syrene piece I added would fit into the roof.

Seen from the outside, I'm thinking of moving and redoing the rear window support which should be closer to the side windows.  Obviously they must be thinner than that, I am thinking of a solution... ?

[bobthehobbyguy]

Progress is always a good thing. Progress brings us closer to our ultimate goal.

As always I enjoy seeing how to find a way to achieve each step.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/25/2023 at 9:34 PM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Progress is always a good thing. Progress brings us closer to our ultimate goal.

As always I enjoy seeing how to find a way to achieve each step.

Thanks Bob!

I am currently working on what I call the "necessary but not exciting" components.  I hope to be able to offer you more interesting fabrications in the near future so I appreciate you still being along for the ride!

Francis

[Butter 1]

Hi Francis. I hope the other things in your life are working themselves out.

Beautiful work on the doors. 

The window post that is "not in the correct position" according to you is not noticeable to the rest of us. However to make it get closer to the rest of the window trim it may need to be thinner.  You may consider cutting about a .1 mm groove into a .15 mm piece of plastic and gluing a small stiff wire into the groove to give the plastic some strength  (I use piano wire for this) and then narrowing the piece of plastic to the width you need for the post. This is a technique I use around delicate window sections of doors I cut open so that everything stays in place during the build and painting process.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 4/29/2023 at 8:13 PM, Butter 1 said:

Hi Francis. I hope the other things in your life are working themselves out.

Beautiful work on the doors. 

The window post that is "not in the correct position" according to you is not noticeable to the rest of us. However to make it get closer to the rest of the window trim it may need to be thinner.  You may consider cutting about a .1 mm groove into a .15 mm piece of plastic and gluing a small stiff wire into the groove to give the plastic some strength  (I use piano wire for this) and then narrowing the piece of plastic to the width you need for the post. This is a technique I use around delicate window sections of doors I cut open so that everything stays in place during the build and painting process.

Thanks Ron!  Obviously the post needs to be thinner, it is currently as thick as the rail of a frame.?   I'm thinking of making the post out of thin aluminum and gluing it to the side window with two-part epoxy.  Thank you for your suggestion, there are several ways to do it and it is good to know how others would choose to proceed with this type of surgery.  I'll come back to this a little later, I have a lot of other structural stuff to make before that.

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

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.

[Ian McLaren]

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

[iBorg]

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?)