’72 Dodge Demon Drag Racer 1/25 scale

[AmericanMuscleFan]

8 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Hi Francis, I'm very glad you are back on the bench, I just got caught up on your project and it's obvious the the lay off did not affect your skills.The dash and front clip are spot on and very appropriate for your premise of the kind of car this will be, I know the decision for the dash has been made, but yes to the aluminum.  I do have some distressing news regarding you "Plastic TIG" I think you have been beaten to the punch on this one.

Oh yeah!  I knew there were ingenious builders on this forum, now my patent is burned... I should have done more research... ?

Thanks for the kind words on my return and recent progress Ian, I hope to start the milling machine and lathe soon for the countless aluminum and brass parts to be made.

Francis

[charlie libby]

Hi francis, really looking good.your front subframe is really amazing.glad your back to work.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

16 hours ago, charlie libby said:

Hi francis, really looking good.your front subframe is really amazing.glad your back to work.

Thanks Charlie!  Not much aluminum and brass so far but I'll fix that in the next few weeks. ?

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone.

Just a few pictures to show you the installed hardware on the frame rails.  I have already started working on the panels to dress the engine bay, I hope to show you something at the beginning of next week as I will be kept away from my workbench for the next 3 days.  Comments and questions are welcome.

Francis

In order to have a perfect alignment, I decided to make the grooves with the milling machine.

As you can see I put a piece of styrene between the frame rails so as not to risk breaking them during surgery.

Luckily I had just enough room for the cutter and the supports lined up perfectly.

Different point of view (sorry for the blurry picture).

You can notice that the attachment points for the upper A-arms are flush with the frame, I wanted it that way because they are tabs welded onto the frame rails on the real car.  If you look closely, you can also see the tiny brass bolts I added to the shock mounts for added strength.

[Straightliner59]

It's just a pleasure to watch you work! It's you, who really inspired me to employ the use of my mill, much more frequently than I ever did. I thank you, for that!

[dragcarz]

I’m sorry, I just don’t have words, amazing work Francis !

[Nitro330]

Wow, just wow!  I am blown away with every update you provide.  

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/30/2023 at 1:08 AM, Straightliner59 said:

It's just a pleasure to watch you work! It's you, who really inspired me to employ the use of my mill, much more frequently than I ever did. I thank you, for that!

Thank you Daniel, we certainly share the same passion and working with these precision tools only fuels this same passion and the desire to surpass ourselves. ?

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

21 hours ago, dragcarz said:

I’m sorry, I just don’t have words, amazing work Francis !

Thanks Roger!

I appreciate your kind comments and rest assured that your own work amazes me every time I visit your threads.

Francis

20 hours ago, Nitro330 said:

Wow, just wow!  I am blown away with every update you provide.  

Thanks Terry!

I think the best (and hardest) part is yet to come with the fabrication of the mechanical components so check back frequently, if you are interested in aluminum and brass parts, there should be plenty of them. ?

Francis

[Straightliner59]

10 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Thank you Daniel, we certainly share the same passion and working with these precision tools only fuels this same passion and the desire to surpass ourselves. ?

Francis

Yessir!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

OK, time for another small update, I started working on the details to complete the engine bay.  As I indicated in a previous post, I do not intend to make the inner fenders like the OEM version but perhaps a more stripped down or racing version.  I might change my mind on this point along the way but there are other elements that I am going to try to make like the original and I will start with those.  Today, I made the details of the front fenders in the engine bay, I added the photo which served as a target for the fabrication.  Next, I will work on the radiator support.  Comments and questions are welcome.

Francis

The target.

I take a riskier route by making a notch in the fender and gluing an "L" shape rather than a simple strip of styrene to the inside of the fender.

Using this method I was able to find the required hood clearance and achieved a perfectly straight seat between the hood and fenders, It is also stronger.

To create the embossing, I cut small sections of 0.010" styrene strip and glued them as seen in the target photo.

I also drilled the bolting holes according to the target image.  I still have to do the small section where the hood support is bolted.

[Straightliner59]

Using the angle stock is an excellent idea. Going into the memory bank!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

17 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Using the angle stock is an excellent idea. Going into the memory bank!

Don't keep all my ideas or experiments Daniel, they are not all good... LOL

Sometimes it gives better results than expected... ?

Francis

[Ian McLaren]

A simple but elegant solution to the embossing, as with Daniel that's going in the hard drive. As usual the rest of the work on the front clip is off the charts for precision.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 12/7/2023 at 11:49 AM, Ian McLaren said:

A simple but elegant solution to the embossing, as with Daniel that's going in the hard drive. As usual the rest of the work on the front clip is off the charts for precision.

Thanks Ian, this wasn't my most elaborate update... I've already started work on the radiator frame and I think this should all make more sense soon and will make the area under the hood more realistic as this is often an overlooked point in kits in my opinion.  This is certainly the case for kits from another era like this one!

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

Another small update, I have made progress on the radiator support (the upper part) and I will then make the lower part, this will be mounted on the frame rails and the upper part will slide behind to create the illusion of a single part once finished (at least that's the plan...).  I'll be back soon with more material.

Francis

I decided to emboss the headlights in separate pieces just to give myself some trouble... ?

I made the back (parabolic shape) on the lathe using a file and sandpaper.

I used a sheet of 0.020" styrene as a base and used the front grille to find the exact location to embed them.

I added 0.010" sheets of styrene on top of each other to simulate embossing as in the photo of the 1:1 part.

I made more engraving around the concave areas to simulate the 1:1 part.

Viewed from the rear, I'm thinking of adding rounded strips to simulate the embossing around the headlight buckets.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Another stunning update.  However that is a misnomer as this is an chapter in the tutorial to building amazing models. It's a joy to watch each part come together.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

15 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Another stunning update.  However that is a misnomer as this is an chapter in the tutorial to building amazing models. It's a joy to watch each part come together.

Thanks Bob, It's always nice to know that what we do can help or motivate our peers and I appreciate your enthusiasm.  I have lots of new ideas for this build and I hope to keep you smiling, I have a lot of fun and I plan to share it.

Let everyone who likes take it, it's free! ?

Francis

[GoatGuy]

Francis, motivation and education is all here. Thanks for sharing your builds!!

Dave

[AmericanMuscleFan]

7 hours ago, GoatGuy said:

Francis, motivation and education is all here. Thanks for sharing your builds!!

Dave

Thanks Dave, I have more in store! ?

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

The good times are passing too quickly, my weekend is still over but I wanted to show you my latest progress.  I made the lower part of the radiator support and it is now permanently installed as for the upper part which has now found its place between the front fenders.  My goal with all my builds is to try as much as possible to create a model with no visible gaps or as little as possible.  With this build, I thought of making the radiator support in two parts, the upper part will slide between the frame rails and the lower part to create the illusion of a single piece.  It works great, the alignment is how I wanted it and I allowed some room for the thickness of the primer and paint.  I still have a lot of details to do for the front end but the foundation is now in place with the radiator support installed.  Comments and questions are welcome.

I have something else in the works,

Francis

The lower part of the radiator support has been made with a mix of 0.010", 0.020" and 0.030" styrene strips.

The two little brothers together.  Sorry about the ten cents, it's not to promote our currency but to help focus.

The lower part of the radiator support is glued in its final place.

The desired illusion of a single piece is not bad in my opinion!

I glued a strip of brass on top to help keep the piece straight, the Evergreen styrene is less rigid than the kit styrene and the radiator support I made is rather thin.

Seen from the engine bay, you can also see in this photo (and the two previous ones) the part of the front fender where the hood support will be mounted like on the real car.

 

[Steve H]

Francis my friend! Hope you are well. Just getting caught up on your latest posts. Awesome to see you back. Absolutely stunning craftsmanship as always, the details you add … err….  create are amazing. I don’t know how you do it, but I sure love seeing the results. Pretty sure I asked during your last build, but will you keep a rough parts count? It would be BIG number… 

Cheers, Steve

[Straightliner59]

Very nice work, and a great idea for doing the rad-wall! You're a wizard with the styrene, my friend! Congratulations.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

13 hours ago, Steve H said:

Francis my friend! Hope you are well. Just getting caught up on your latest posts. Awesome to see you back. Absolutely stunning craftsmanship as always, the details you add … err….  create are amazing. I don’t know how you do it, but I sure love seeing the results. Pretty sure I asked during your last build, but will you keep a rough parts count? It would be BIG number… 

Cheers, Steve

Thank you for your visit your kind comments Steve!

I don't have a part count at this time and many will need to be done in the coming weeks, months and year.   I've made a lot for the D100 and I don't plan on having less for the Demon, I'm wondering where it will end up because I have lots of ideas and I feel like I have to make them happen, at least try!

It's just time that I lack, every time I start a new piece it's time to put away my tools and go back to work! ?

Come see me from time to time, Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

9 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Very nice work, and a great idea for doing the rad-wall! You're a wizard with the styrene, my friend! Congratulations.

Thanks Daniel, I may be a wizard with styrene but I wish I was as comfortable with brass, you can't be good at everything and you have to pick your battles! ?

Francis