MPC Howmet II Can Am Racer Rev. 2.0

[ea0863]

Hello All, anybody who sees my stuff knows I like weird engines and I like to make oddball cars. So when I first heard of the Howmet turbine engine race cars, I was intrigued. Recently, AMT/Ertl rereleased the MPC Howmet II and I grabbed one up. So this WIP is about my build, with a little editorialization about the kit itself shown here:

Inspecting the kit, I noticed the body was finely detailed, with good shut lines and rows of rivets. What wasn't so great (and seems to be common with this body based on photos on the web) is that the rear clamshell does not align well with the front section of the body - mostly owing to warping, and a bit to dimensional inaccuracy. Being that the engine was to be the centerpiece of my build, I looked to the Howmet I kit for inspiration. 

On the Howmet I, the engine cover has a clear window section giving at least a partial view of the turbine. With this in mind, I made the decision to modify my clamshell with a clear window, and glue the two halves of the body together in alignment. And, I thought, wouldn't it be great if this window was louvered to vent heat (kind of like the Ferrari F40)? But where to find such a "window"? After a bit of looking, I happened on a pair of cheap safety glasses at Hobby Lobby...

Edited May 14, 2023 by ea0863

[ea0863]

The temples on the safety glasses were asymmetrical, but then again - so was the exhaust opening for the turbine, so I decided to run with the asymmetrical theme.

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The turbine engine went together no muss, no fuss. A little research showed it was a TS325-1 gas turbine that had been built for Continental Aviation (and leased to Howmet), thus I looked for photos of this engine in the Howmet cars and elsewhere for details.

 

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The chassis was quite beautifully rendered in the kit, and very detailed in the areas of front subframe, rear subframe, and suspension. The instructions left a little to be desired, thus I relied on other builds documented online - not the least of which was our own @aurfalien who built a gorgeous version of the Howmet II. A big shout-out to him for his photos, because without them, I would have had a lot more trouble figuring out how the front and rear subframes went together!

The subframe and chassis got Testors one coat lacquer in bronze. I used only mist coats, and skipped the final wet coat so as to leave the grainy effect of powder coating. I relocated the battery (here shown in black) from the front clip to the rear. Instructions showed it in the front, but there it interfered with the location of the front sway bar.

I noted that the tie rod ends were connected with one bar, and this bar was too short. It caused the front tires to toe-in way too much, thus I cut and elongated it.

What a dainty - but beautiful - substructure!

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The interior got a little extra love with miscellaneous tidbits from other kits on the dash.

Edited May 14, 2023 by ea0863

[ea0863]

With each of my new builds, I have been trying to learn some new technique. In this case, I wanted to wear down the tire treads and used a jig described online at 

 

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Next up, I tried another technique new-to-me by adding rivets to the body and scribed front bonnet. I used a Trumpeter/Revell rivet making tool with some success.

This tool of course makes embossed "rivets" that are concave on the surface. Thus it uses visual trickery to make the surface look like rivets. I would have loved to use the techniques employed by @Pg265 in building his Dan Gurney Weslake racer, but I do not have the skills, eyesight, or patience for such stunning work!!! So, for me, this tool was good enough.  

Edited May 14, 2023 by ea0863

[ea0863]

Finally, I decided my Can Am racer needed a windshield like the Chapparals of that era.

 

To that end, I sprung for a dental vacuum forming machine from Amazon. 

I made a mold from wood and made my own windshield.

I gotta say, what a ton of fun!

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The MPC kit also had a number of parts from their Howmet I kit of yore, including a second set of exhaust tips, additional dash, spare tire, front bonnet, rear grill, etc. From these spares, I repurposed a set of rear lights to use as sideview mirrors. I then placed Howmet I rear lights on my build. Finally, I added a pair of flip-top gas caps to my quarterpanels. Thus was borne my Howmet rev 2.0 - a combination of the Howmet I and II, with a little outside influence thrown in. I will be posting the finished product on the Models page forthwith...

Edited May 14, 2023 by ea0863

[ea0863]

Just a little update; I picked the model up today to show it to my wife, and the "Howmet II" decals literally crumbled in my hands. Apparently, the decals were new-old-stock, so for those looking to build this kit - - - extra caution. I will personally be using this as a learning moment to use Micro Sol and Micro Set in the future...

[atomicholiday]

Sorry to hear about the decals,  but other than that,  what an amazing build.   Love the idea with the safety glasses.   I'll never look at them the same way again. 

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20 hours ago, atomicholiday said:

Sorry to hear about the decals,  but other than that,  what an amazing build.   Love the idea with the safety glasses.   I'll never look at them the same way again. 

Thanks Jeremy. Luckily the decals will be easy to replicate. As for the safety glasses, I picked up a couple extra as I can see me using the louver section in the future for other builds.