1/12th Scale 69 Camaro Top Sportsman Suspension and chassis jig.

[TerryH]

On 1/24/2023 at 11:14 PM, Ian McLaren said:

Yes those look great but, they don't appear to be polished, but the black is cool. Also I have not seen the wheel Jeff did modeled to this point ( I may be wrong on that).  I finally got a good photo of the wheels, the center is the axle end, there is no centering ring just like the full size wheels. Also these wheels have separate individual RB Motion bead lock bolts ( not installed yet on both front and rear faces..

Those are amazing. Incredible detail. 

[Ian McLaren]

The tunnel is now ready for C/F decals and has been split so it now will fit into the completed cage thus easing construction issues

 

 

[Straightliner59]

This is looking great, Ian! What are you going to use for the weld beads on the floorboards? Have you decided, yet?

[Ian McLaren]

7 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

This is looking great, Ian! What are you going to use for the weld beads on the floorboards? Have you decided, yet?

Daniel, I have tried and discarded many options, among them wood glue out of a syringe, glue on the tip of a needle, several materials pounded flat and cut into strips.  But the two I keep coming back to are Archer surface decals ( available in welds of many styles , tig , mig and something that looks like I did it LOL, rivets, embossed lettering and a myriad of other surface details)  Originally for railroad, aircraft and armor modelers I have found several of them useful (see photo). The other method I have tried was to scribe the weld line and then rough it up with a very small (but fairly coarse) carbide bit in my mini die grinder.  Even though it gives a depressed detail rather than a raised one, once painted over with very thin paint the effect is actually quite good. The Archer decals, although a pain to install on fabricated headers give a fantastic result.

[Straightliner59]

42 minutes ago, Ian McLaren said:

Daniel, I have tried and discarded many options, among them wood glue out of a syringe, glue on the tip of a needle, several materials pounded flat and cut into strips.  But the two I keep coming back to are Archer surface decals ( available in welds of many styles , tig , mig and something that looks like I did it LOL, rivets, embossed lettering and a myriad of other surface details)  Originally for railroad, aircraft and armor modelers I have found several of them useful (see photo). The other method I have tried was to scribe the weld line and then rough it up with a very small (but fairly coarse) carbide bit in my mini die grinder.  Even though it gives a depressed detail rather than a raised one, once painted over with very thin paint the effect is actually quite good. The Archer decals, although a pain to install on fabricated headers give a fantastic result.

I've been considering some of their other stuff. I bought their rivets for a Peterbilt 352 day cab conversion. The letters sound intriguing, too. I may have a look and see what I can find. Thank you, my friend! Oh, "and something that looks like I did it LOL" gave me a good laugh!

[Ian McLaren]

Even with hobbies, if you spend too much time in one area it can become a chore to move ahead. So this is kind of the modeling equivalent of a staycation. Even with lots left to do on the chassis and power train I've decided to do some of the body work for a change of pace. Beside some  of the plans for the body will have an impact on areas of the chassis. Hinges, inner door panels and rear valance to wheelie bar clearances are some examples of items that can cause issues. Also a consideration is the amount of details required as panels are opened up.  So here is the start of the next phase of this project.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Ian McLaren

[Ian McLaren]

Deck lid cut out and mounting flange added, fuel system parts have arrived from Nick Bradshaw and they are awesome. Rae body mount points are starting to be added (lower edge of rear body in photos)

[Tortuga Kustomz]

love it man, can't wait to see paint on those bottles, they should look amazing

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Beautiful 3D printed parts Ian, the finish seem to be nice and smooth so you won't have too much sanding to do.  I heard that this stuff is hard as a rock?

[Ian McLaren]

4 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Beautiful 3D printed parts Ian, the finish seem to be nice and smooth so you won't have too much sanding to do.  I heard that this stuff is hard as a rock?

Yes it is and quite brittle, I've used Nicks parts before and it takes very sharp, high quality drill bit and a gentle touch to drill it, but it does sand surprisingly easy.

 

[ybsluos]

Your project is fantastic Ian!

[Ian McLaren]

More changes to the body shell, new front lower valance.  Had to add color to check the surface contours.  The original lower valance is still intact as I'm deciding if I want to go down this route. As it sits the body is as low and it can go because of tire to fender clearance issues and it still gives me the required 3 inchs of ground clearance at the lower edge of the valance.  Also pretty sure the car is going to remain Orange but that might change yet

[absmiami]

Just a quick note on Archer Transfers - Woody worked on this stuff for years - I’ve always used his rivet sheets - but he has finally called it quits and closed the sales door on his website a couple of months ago - which is a shame - so we’ll be scouring the internet for strays now …. Oh well …

[Ian McLaren]

Darn, that is very unfortunate. His products were great, especially for railroad and armor modelers. I've used his details on several racing themed models, they were a unique solution to adding surface details to any model, especially his weld beads.  I'm not aware of anyone else making a similar product.  The hobby has lost a valuable resource. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Ian McLaren

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Badass ian

[Straightliner59]

This thing looks so cool! Fantastic work, Ian!

[Randy D]

Hey Ian,

  Your project is looking just awesome.  Good to see some paint on it.

I keep admiring your chassis work!!!

 

Randy

[Ian McLaren]

All weekend taken up with the new restaurant opening, not much time for modeling, but the front valance is aligned and attached and the process of molding it in is started, Also started is the rear spoiler. As I am depicting an earlier Top Sportsman entry I am not using the current picnic table style rear wing assembly and instead opting for an oversized stock type unit, trying to keep the earlier look intact.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Ian McLaren

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Nice 

[Ian McLaren]

Progress on the interior, the floor panels have been redone and a 16 volt battery has been fabricated and the hold down bar and retaining rods are ready to be installed

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Love the battery section man

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Great work Ian, I love your project my friend !

[Ian McLaren]

On 2/12/2023 at 5:56 PM, Randy D said:

Hey Ian,

  Your project is looking just awesome.  Good to see some paint on it.

I keep admiring your chassis work!!!

 

Randy

Thank you Randy, yes the paint really helped solidify the design and made me comfortable enough to continue down this  path.  I have since the photos pulled the sides of the new valance in some to narrow the profile ( less road race style) and now is a little sleeker.

[Ian McLaren]

On 2/18/2023 at 11:37 PM, Tortuga Kustomz said:

Love the battery section man

Thanks Marcos I'll post some better photos of that area shortly once I have finished the cables and post clamps.

[Ian McLaren]

On 2/19/2023 at 9:16 AM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Great work Ian, I love your project my friend !

Thank you so much Francis and I have to say I'm really enjoying watching your new project progress as well as picking up a few Ideas and tips from it as well.