Tortuga Kustomz Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 I never though on doing something like that ma, wow amazing detail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McLaren Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Small but important changes, super clean modeling proving you are also a body man and not just a pretty face and superb machinist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 15 hours ago, Straightliner59 said: That's some beautiful bodywork, Francis. Looking much better! Thanks Daniel, I can give myself without restraint and without guilt with the modifications (or improvements...), this old body was sleeping in a box and would probably never have been used. I think I can only take it to a better level... 😁 Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 15 hours ago, Tortuga Kustomz said: I never though on doing something like that ma, wow amazing detail Thanks Marcos, I have to admit that making and modifying are my favorite aspects of this hobby. Francis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 6 hours ago, Ian McLaren said: Small but important changes, super clean modeling proving you are also a body man and not just a pretty face and superb machinist. Thanks Ian, the body modifications are less spectacular (if I may say so) but sometimes, all these little things are well appreciated by the more specialized connoisseurs. As far as my face is concerned, all tastes are in nature as we say around here but the years are slowly starting to take effect. I hope that my hands, my eyes and my brain will take their time before giving me the signal to put my tools away! Francis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 11 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: Thanks Daniel, I can give myself without restraint and without guilt with the modifications (or improvements...), this old body was sleeping in a box and would probably never have been used. I think I can only take it to a better level... 😁 Francis I never bought a kit that wasn't meant to be built (or even raided for parts!), if the mood struck. That's what they're for, right?!🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 15, 2023 Author Share Posted January 15, 2023 On 1/13/2023 at 3:30 AM, Straightliner59 said: I never bought a kit that wasn't meant to be built (or even raided for parts!), if the mood struck. That's what they're for, right?!🙂 You are absolutely right my friend! What happens most of the time for many enthusiasts is that they accumulate a lot of kit thinking they will have time to put it all together over the years. I am one of them and I realize today that at the speed I am working I will have to start making choices one day and give up what was an unrealistic ambition! Doing less but doing better is my motivation, the pleasure of making or materializing my vision outweighs the desire to have a copy of everything that is or has been offered over the years. 😊 Is this what we call the beginning of wisdom... 🤔 Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McLaren Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I too have calculated the odds of me being able to build everything I have and they are actually pretty good if I live to 127 years of age and that's assuming I buy nothing else (and that's not going to happen). So I have resigned myself to building one at a time ( with one or two that can be worked on if there is a holdup or a effect that I don't want to risk on the primary model) I build each one trying to be a little better than the last and having at least one technique or procedure I haven't done before. This way my next model will always be my best model (at least in my head) and that is the motivation I'm using. If I do make it to 127 there will still be the next best model waiting for me to buy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie libby Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 very nice Francis . this is going to be my favorite of all your awesome projects. check out my bead roller on my latest project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Hello everyone, Now that much of the rear body detailing has been done or is well underway, it's time to move on to making the front grille. I've been thinking about building this car for a while, but resin grille offers for the 72 are rare and their details unsatisfactory to my taste. I have a good plan and some ideas to build it, my first intention was to modify the grille of the 71 to convert it into that of the 72 but after much reflection, I decided to build it from scratch because they are too different. The grille of the 71 will only serve as a guide for the position and size of the headlights and the proportion of the turn signals. Speaking of turn signals, this is the first part I tackled and here is what I made, I hope you'll like it but I have to say I'm pretty happy with the result. It will be a lot of work but I hope to have something more substantial to show you in the next few days. One thing is for sure, it will be a bit more difficult to make than the simplistic grille of my D100 pickup but as much distinctive so please be patient as I have a lot of expectations, towards myself and I will proceed with a lot of precautions. Comments are welcome. See you soon, Francis A good picture I found on the internet. I started with a round styrene rod. With a little more refinement... I drilled a small hole for two reasons, stay tuned... After a little sanding and filing. I machined the lenses from clear acrylic like for the back-up lights. I wanted to do the cross lines with aluminum but it's very, very small so I decided to paint them with a Molotow pen. The central elements are made of aluminum. Both sides are made. A little test, I think it should do the trick. I will probably have more adjustments to make when they are inserted into the grille. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McLaren Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 That looks great, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Francis, I always love the details you do, my friend. These look excellent! As you know--like you, I enjoy the tny parts! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortuga Kustomz Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Fantastic job Francis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter 1 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Hi Francis. Good to see you back at it! You nailed the deck lid and tail light section. The molding for the deck lid to rest on appears to be spot on! The deck lid appears to be pretty thin in some areas, are you concerned about it warping during the painting process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 It's fun to see how you approach each piece of the puzzle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 21, 2023 Author Share Posted January 21, 2023 On 1/19/2023 at 2:34 PM, Butter 1 said: Hi Francis. Good to see you back at it! You nailed the deck lid and tail light section. The molding for the deck lid to rest on appears to be spot on! The deck lid appears to be pretty thin in some areas, are you concerned about it warping during the painting process? Hi Ron, thanks for your comments and kind words my friend ! The trunk lid appears to be rather thin in the photo but the Duster's plastic is less opaque than Evergreen styrene. I'm not worried about warping, a good coat of primer should provide good protection and even though it looks thin in some places, the plastic is still about 0.020 inches thick at its thinnest. Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gautreau Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 Off to another great start Francis. Mind blowing attention to detail as always! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 25, 2023 Author Share Posted January 25, 2023 On 1/22/2023 at 12:32 PM, gautreau said: Off to another great start Francis. Mind blowing attention to detail as always! Thanks Jeremy, I still have a lot of detail to do, so check back from time to time! Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 25, 2023 Author Share Posted January 25, 2023 Hello everyone, I've made some progress on the front grille of the Demon, so I'll show you the second slice of this piece. As I mentioned in my last post, modifying the original '71 kit grille to be converted to a '72 seemed like too much work so I decided to start from scratch. I only used the original front grille as a guide for the headlight position and overall proportions. I really wanted it to be open so I put into action the idea that had been on my mind for a long time. You'll obviously notice it doesn't look like it should but I still have a lot of sanding and filing to do but the base is there. The smaller holes next to the headlight openings are for the turn signal I made last week, I'm going to turn the plastic rod behind the rectangular shape to fit them into those holes. I'm pretty happy with this base and I'm going to follow my starting plan and I should be able to finish it in the next few days. I progress slowly because it's rather fragile and I don't want to start over, I do as the teachers say: measure twice and cut once ! Comments are welcome. See you soon, Francis I stacked all the thin strips of styrene and used my thinnest saw to make the openings. To get a difference in depth, I put a strip of 0.015'' between the wooden board and the styrene strips. I had drawn pencil lines for the spacings and inserted the vertical stripes after each cut so that there was no shifting. It's one of the most difficult part to make and I was forced to work slowly. The thicker bands (the outer two horizontally and the two in the center) are now 0.015" stand out more than the thinner ones that form the gridded background of the grille. The base of the grille outline at its very beginning. Holes for the headlights and turn signals done. I did used a ball nose end mill to create the inside contour. I switched to a standard end mill to remove the rest of the excess material. You can also see that I made grooves the same thickness as the thicker styrene strips in the grille. I started the opening to insert the grill I made previously. Opening complete, I will then need to slowly sand down the opening until the grille fits snugly without forcing it. Grill finally inserted and glued in place using liquid cement. I also inserted styrene strips in the small grooves that I had made previously, they make the continuity of the large strips of the grille. Still work to do but I follow my plan until the end. To be continued... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 Stunning. Love seeing the step by step process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 That is excellent work, Francis! That's a great way to create a grille. Superb, my friend! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 25, 2023 Author Share Posted January 25, 2023 13 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said: Stunning. Love seeing the step by step process. Thanks Bob, I didn't take pictures of every step of the process, that would have given me at least 50 pictures so far but I'll show the basics. More to come soon! Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 25, 2023 Author Share Posted January 25, 2023 9 hours ago, Straightliner59 said: That is excellent work, Francis! That's a great way to create a grille. Superb, my friend! Thanks Daniel, For now, the grille doesn't look like the Demon's, but the next steps will turn it into something more representative. I've been thinking about it for a while (even when I was working on my pickup) and now it's time to make it happen, I really like doing this kind of piece. I almost chose to make the '72 Demon before I lost my idea, I am not disciplined enough to make plans on paper, I often work spontaneously. Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absmiami Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 great stuff ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 14 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: Thanks Daniel, For now, the grille doesn't look like the Demon's, but the next steps will turn it into something more representative. I've been thinking about it for a while (even when I was working on my pickup) and now it's time to make it happen, I really like doing this kind of piece. I almost chose to make the '72 Demon before I lost my idea, I am not disciplined enough to make plans on paper, I often work spontaneously. Francis 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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