Straightliner59 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 That looks friggin' awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill-e-boy Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Looking great. The hemi engine takes up a lot of engine bay space for sure. The 32's had a roof insert and you are depicting a coupe with a filled roof. Will you be adding those weld lines in too and maybe a slightly different steel colour as well? The elephant in the room so to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 22 hours ago, Straightliner59 said: That looks friggin' awesome! Thank you! 8 hours ago, bill-e-boy said: The 32's had a roof insert and you are depicting a coupe with a filled roof. Will you be adding those weld lines in too and maybe a slightly different steel colour as well? The elephant in the room so to say. Hmm, good question…guess I SHOULD…I’ll have to think on that. You’re right, that should be visible too…good point! Just a little progress today…some old-school-looking hand-painted door numbers! Spent some time looking at fonts until I found what I had in my head, then cut some masks: I went with Vallejo Ivory for the color…I figured they might have been white One Shot at some point, and like all enamels they’ve faded and yellowed somewhat: I wanted some visible brush-marks and then some cracking and aging so I brushed a little Decoart Crackle medium over top…this stuff is a thick gloopy clear that splits apart as it dries to create faux-aging to whatever you apply it to. The thicker you apply it, the bigger the cracks, so I had to make sure it wasn’t too thick to get the effect I wanted: Then, all you do is wait! It dries over 24 hours, but within 30 minutes you can see it start to break apart and ruin itself - it’s a cool effect, especially when done sparingly: Just a small update - everything else I achieved today was prepping a whole yard-sale of parts for paint, and no one cares to see me sanding and priming I’m sure…more soon tho, soon as I’ve done more! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Great work Jim, it looks like bare metal to me…and nice tip on the crackle medium.👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 12 hours ago, NOBLNG said: Great work Jim, it looks like bare metal to me…and nice tip on the crackle medium.👍 Thanks Greg! A little more progress today…I spent a couple of hours scratchbuilding some headers, and then didn’t like them as much as the parts-box (AMT?) ones I found originally. I liked the sweeping arc on these, although they sat a little too low so I sliced them up and removed a few scale inches to get the look I wanted: Next thing that I wasn’t super looking forward to was chopping the windshield frame - I should’ve done it before I painted the body, but I really wanted to get the body painted 🤪. Got it snuggled in there nice, just a little loose with no paint so it should snap right in after some primer and color: Just need to clean up the edges once the glue has set overnight and I can paint and chrome it. Reshaped the kit glass to fit, so that’s a chore I wasn’t looking forward to handled… Also shot a BUNCH of parts today - basically everything but the interior tub and the engine. The frame will be black and everything attaching to it will be either black or some kind of metal tone - the Createx black base is a really good undercoat for Vallejo metal colors in particular so it made sense to just shoot everything with that now. Here’s a couple of pieces shot with Vallejo aluminum - the black undercoat gives a nice reflectivity: And that’s about it for this weekend - ran out of time, but I’m really excited to shoot a bunch of metal-looking stuff this coming week and then start figuring out the engine. Thanks for looking, more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Happy Monday y’all! Super cold here, which made for a long tiring day (sub zero temperatures most of this week, on top of a bunch of snow we got over the weekend…) but got a little done at the bench tonight… First up, started working thru painting some metal parts. As I sorted through the parts I realized I wanted more of them to be chrome than I’d originally realized…gotta lay some clear on a load of little bits and get them smooth for some nice shine… Rear axle is aluminum tho, and will be masked and painted with some different shades this week to add to the realism, the old T leaf spring will be steel, as will the rear brake drums, another aluminum shade for the Moon gas pedal and some other colors for a couple of other pieces…it’s fun mixing and matching different metalizer products for different looks: Something I heard from an artist whose work I follow recently was “you’re probably not using reference material as much as you should be”. He was speaking to ‘regular’ artists, people who draw and paint, but I’ve been thinking on that a lot recently and making sure to collect a lot of reference pics even when I think I know how a part should look…here’s some I gathered as reference for future detailing on that quick change, for example: https://public.fotki.com/NewYorkSpeedShop/11-cars/reference-material/quick-change-axles/ Next up, I had in my head that those headlamps would have pinstriping and be painted, even if nothing much else above the frame is, so I went through my stash of decals just for a change of pace this evening. I was trying to find a couple of small decals with an arc to them to somewhat mirror the curve of those headers I was messing with yesterday, for some visual symmetry when the car’s viewed from above. Went through a bunch before finding a couple on the Revell kit decal sheet that did exactly that - doh! Should’ve started there 🙄 Theyre still wet and snuggling down with the decal solution right now, but they laid down ok… And finally, I made a start on the inner rear fenders tonight. I’m sure you all know what the flat Revell kit pieces look like, but I wanted to add some detail to make them look more like a real set: Nothing for it but to get the files out and start carving away material… Excuse the roughness, they’re not finished yet, but I didn’t achieve much this evening and they were an extra thing to show for my time at the bench 🤪 Thanks for looking, more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I believe that’s what they call levelling up Jim! Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanH Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 This is very cool, looking forward to seeing the next updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gman Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, CabDriver said: Happy Monday y’all! Super cold here, which made for a long tiring day (sub zero temperatures most of this week, on top of a bunch of snow we got over the weekend…) but got a little done at the bench tonight… First up, started working thru painting some metal parts. As I sorted through the parts I realized I wanted more of them to be chrome than I’d originally realized…gotta lay some clear on a load of little bits and get them smooth for some nice shine… Rear axle is aluminum tho, and will be masked and painted with some different shades this week to add to the realism, the old T leaf spring will be steel, as will the rear brake drums, another aluminum shade for the Moon gas pedal and some other colors for a couple of other pieces…it’s fun mixing and matching different metalizer products for different looks: Something I heard from an artist whose work I follow recently was “you’re probably not using reference material as much as you should be”. He was speaking to ‘regular’ artists, people who draw and paint, but I’ve been thinking on that a lot recently and making sure to collect a lot of reference pics even when I think I know how a part should look…here’s some I gathered as reference for future detailing on that quick change, for example: https://public.fotki.com/NewYorkSpeedShop/11-cars/reference-material/quick-change-axles/ Next up, I had in my head that those headlamps would have pinstriping and be painted, even if nothing much else above the frame is, so I went through my stash of decals just for a change of pace this evening. I was trying to find a couple of small decals with an arc to them to somewhat mirror the curve of those headers I was messing with yesterday, for some visual symmetry when the car’s viewed from above. Went through a bunch before finding a couple on the Revell kit decal sheet that did exactly that - doh! Should’ve started there 🙄 Theyre still wet and snuggling down with the decal solution right now, but they laid down ok… And finally, I made a start on the inner rear fenders tonight. I’m sure you all know what the flat Revell kit pieces look like, but I wanted to add some detail to make them look more like a real set: Nothing for it but to get the files out and start carving away material… Excuse the roughness, they’re not finished yet, but I didn’t achieve much this evening and they were an extra thing to show for my time at the bench 🤪 Thanks for looking, more soon, soon as I’ve done more! If there is a '32 expert that can correct me, I'm all ears. The '32 5 window and and roadster had wheel wells like in your attached image. I believe 3 windows and sedans actually had flat wheel wells (more like what is represented in Revell's kits). I started mastering a pair years ago for the roadster with the intention of casting multiples in resin, but the work was sidelined by work of the paid variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 23 hours ago, Bullybeef said: I believe that’s what they call levelling up Jim! Well done. Thank you sir! 23 hours ago, IanH said: This is very cool, looking forward to seeing the next updates. And thank you too! 20 hours ago, gman said: If there is a '32 expert that can correct me, I'm all ears. The '32 5 window and and roadster had wheel wells like in your attached image. I believe 3 windows and sedans actually had flat wheel wells (more like what is represented in Revell's kits). I started mastering a pair years ago for the roadster with the intention of casting multiples in resin, but the work was sidelined by work of the paid variety. And thank YOU! Interesting point on the rear wheel wells…I suspect you might be right…but in my research I also found this photo, apparently of the wheel well of a 3-window car: So…now I don't know what to think 🤪. Luckily, that Hemi out front isn’t factory-correct either, so I have a LITTLE leeway, but the fact my ‘improvements’ might be making it LESS accurate are going to bug me…more research required tomorrow - thanks for the heads up on that!! Tonight I did some research to try and figure out if those parts-box seats were based on something real… I didn’t come up with much useful info, or find much that looked like them…but also it’s hard to tell Google to search model car parts from just a picture…I’m really trying to figure out what they SHOULD look like so I can paint and detail them somewhat accurately - I’m leaning towards them being a representation of some kind of fibreglass racecar seat, but more research required there too… A little progress I DID make tonight…shot a quick spritz of primer on the dash, having drilled out the various switches and knobs so I can replace them with separate parts. The molded-in details were actually crisp and nice, but I prefer being able to paint parts separately and not have to try detail painting little stuff like that: Found a parts-box steering wheel that seems like it might be pretending to be a 40 Ford wheel, which matches the dash nicely, so started cleaning that up and added a turn signal stalk roughly where the column shift would’ve been on an ACTUAL 40: A product I like for making little clear parts as seen at the end of that turn signal lever is this product from Michael’s - it dries crystal clear and is also great for gauge faces, small lenses for lights, and probably a hundred other things too: Just a small update tonight because it’s cold here and my brain works slow when I’m cold - more soon, thanks for looking! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Love the clear for the signal stalk, yet another little bit I’ve to add to the bench! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 1 hour ago, CabDriver said: The molded-in details were actually crisp and nice, but I prefer being able to paint parts separately and not have to try detail painting little stuff like that: Plus, it just looks better, this way!😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gman Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 I do believe you're right...there is a detail in the 3 window wheel well stamping just above the frame rail (usually hidden behind the rear wheel) that I hadn't noticed before. On 5 windows and roadsters, the wheel well is more visible when built as a hi-boy, and the Revell flat wheel well in the kit doesn't quite look right. Now that my curiosity has been piqued, I need to see what the same part looks like on a real steel tudor sedan also. I hear what you are saying about the non-OEM hemi. The next time I work on one of Revell's 3 window deuces I will try to incorporate that to get that detail right. We all know it's plastic, but the period I usually shoot for with a build is before fiberglass replica bodies existed, and it is satisfying to give the model a "real steel" look by sneaking in extra detail that isn't in the box. Your build is certainly looking the part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelKrypton Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 On 1/15/2024 at 10:59 PM, CabDriver said: Something I heard from an artist whose work I follow recently was “you’re probably not using reference material as much as you should be”. That is typically true. However, it is easy to get caught up in the endless search for reference material sometimes referred to as "analysis paralysis" when you end up down a bunny hole spending more time researching than building. Like everything else in life there is a fine line between too much and too little. Still, I find the search for good references a pleasant chore even if I sometimes find it frustrating not finding what I want. Good work on the wheel well inners. Out of curiosity I did a quick search, found much, and am now more confused than when I started. Good original reference photos are not always easy to find. Nearly all of the photos I found showing 32 Ford inner wheel wells where of replacement parts, restorations, rebuilds, (etc) and not of an original. Do your research, pick a point, and aim for it. It is a hot rod after all and every builder builds their own way and unless your are trying to reproduce a specific car then there is leeway to make it your way as you like. I like to aim for period correct ( i.e. a 50's or early 60's build ) and it looks like you are spot on. cheers, Graham ( in cold 0 F Eastern Ontario Canada ). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 23 hours ago, Bullybeef said: Love the clear for the signal stalk, yet another little bit I’ve to add to the bench! Thanks Bil! I tweaked it a little this evening - not quite done with that particular project yet… 22 hours ago, Straightliner59 said: Plus, it just looks better, this way!😁 Absolutely! And it’s fun because we get to mess with a perfectly good part that would’ve been fine just as it is 🤪 20 hours ago, gman said: I do believe you're right...there is a detail in the 3 window wheel well stamping just above the frame rail (usually hidden behind the rear wheel) that I hadn't noticed before. I think that 3 window version may even be a THIRD variation 😂. 15 hours ago, ColonelKrypton said: Nearly all of the photos I found showing 32 Ford inner wheel wells where of replacement parts, restorations, rebuilds, (etc) and not of an original Exactly what I found too - a lot can happen to a car in 90 years…tough to guarantee accuracy…luckily I have some wiggle room - thanks for the feedback Graham! A little more work tonight - I’m in that annoying prime/paint/clear cycle that means you’re doing a lot, but nothing finished…started laying some clear on the frame though… A frame is about a minus ten out of ten on my scale of fun things to polish, but I want a shiny frame so I’m giving it some careful attention… Next major component that needs paint is the engine, so prepped all of those bits this evening and got them in primer ready for inspection and tweaks tomorrow: Havent totally decided on engine color…I need to research what colors these early Hemis came in to see if anything jumps out at me, or if not it’ll be black or bare metal…probably black or the two… I’d like to run a magneto on this, just for some vintage cool - printed a too-modern MSD magneto this evening: Which I’m going to tweak to be one of these, I think: And…that’s another evening at the bench! Thanks for the nice feedback so far, everyone - appreciate you taking a look! More soon… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopherMcGinnis Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 What about making it a Chrysler Industrial engine? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 (edited) 4 hours ago, TopherMcGinnis said: What about making it a Chrysler Industrial engine? That’s really interesting - what were those used for? I settled on a different color, but I wanna store that idea away for another build - cool idea, thank you!! Tonight’s project was shooting some color on the engine - spent some time looking at reference pics today and decided that if I was doing this for real I’d want to use this cherry block that I found online, for sale: Nice clear original motor, ready to drop in! They painted these early blocks silver from the factory, and so I’m pretending I picked this thing up, added some minor upgrades (really side-grades, the valve covers, the magneto) and dropped it in that frame that I’m still clearcoating. Challenge on this part is making sure the silver block looks like it’s silver PAINT, as opposed to metal-looking paint that isn’t the right shade for the metal that the block is made of. Went for a Tamiya shade that looked about correct to me: And I’ll gloss coat it lightly to give it more of a ‘paint’ look than a bare metal look. The (aftermarket? covers should look like this, roughly: So they got shot, along with the valley cover and some other little bits, Tamiya flat black and then Vallejo chrome (a bad chrome, good aluminum): And I like the Holley carbs that have this silvery-gold tone to them, whatever the alloy is that they’re made of: So I started the painting work on those with a mix of Vallejo Chrome and Vallejo gold: Didnt quite nail that yet, and they’ll need some detail painting, but plenty of time until I need to glue them on… Incidentally, back on those inner wheel wells - spotted this survivor 3-window on Instagram today…the plot thickens… Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!! Edited January 19 by CabDriver 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopherMcGinnis Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 The industrial engines were used for pumps and warning sirens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robberbaron Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 13 hours ago, TopherMcGinnis said: The industrial engines were used for pumps and warning sirens. https://www.moparaction.com/2019/10/19/tommy-can-you-hear-me/ Crazy stuff... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 13 hours ago, TopherMcGinnis said: The industrial engines were used for pumps and warning sirens. Interesting! That’s a fun rabbithole to go exploring down, thank you!! A little more progress this evening…started out with painting the tires, or making a start anyway. First step is Vallejo black, over-reduced slightly so it flows out and has a little satin sheen to it: Followed by Vallejo Tire Black (actually a dark gray) misted around the edges and mostly on the treads: I have a couple more steps to complete on these tomorrow, but I like this two-step Vallejo system (which actually has a third step if you want to dirty them up some) for easy realistic rubber parts: More on those tomorrow… Seeing as I was painting the tires, first stage of paint on the wheels too…didn’t want a bright chrome, didn’t want a dull steel so I went in-between: More detailing on those tomorrow once the paint has sat in the dehydrator overnight… And next project this evening was getting the dash in color. Well, bare metal…used Vallejo steel and then Mr Color drybrushed and stippled over top in a similar fashion to how I did the body: Was going for a ‘was painted but we DA’d it, kinda look - a little rough but fairly clean and a little character…excited to work on this some more over the weekend too! Happy Friday everyone, thanks for looking - hope you’re all warm (12” of snow here today…) More soon, soon as I’ve done more! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Did you happen to see Bernard Kron's thread on a '32 Ford he did, in bare metal? You might find some interesting ideas, there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 21 hours ago, Straightliner59 said: Did you happen to see Bernard Kron's thread on a '32 Ford he did, in bare metal? You might find some interesting ideas, there. I’m not sure that I had seen that build, but I’m a fan of Bernard’s work! He builds some great looking hot rods! Thanks for the link!! A little more progress today… Polished out the frame, as much as I dare anyway (hate burning through those corners, but I got it close as I could without mishap…) and got the aluminum floor that I made previously in place. The crossmember is just dropped in there right now, just so I could see how it looked… Still working through the suspension and everything that bolts to the chassis, but I’m nearly done with painting - today’s project was shooting some chrome… Revell gives you three decals for the ‘40 Ford dash in their 5 window kit, and my preference was the standard gauges on the left, number 17: Eighteen was my backup, but both of them fractured into nothingness once they released from the sheet as I tried applying them, so I had to go with the white gauges: They’re still snuggling down with some decal set in this pic - we’ll see if I wake up to a disaster tomorrow or not…. Nice thing with this particular kit part - there’s a ‘glass’ for them on the clear parts tree - looking forward to installing that… Next up, finishing up the tires with a gray wash of cheap acrylic…just wanted the Firestone lettering to stand out a little and make them look a LITTLE used: Worked ok I think: And I couldn’t resist a mockup of the frame, body and wheels & tires just to get a sneak peek at how some of these parts look, all together: Still plenty to do, but I’m pretty happy with how it looks so far…more soon, soon as I’ve done more!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanH Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 That mock up looks fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill-e-boy Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 On 1/15/2024 at 5:01 PM, CabDriver said: Next thing that I wasn’t super looking forward to was chopping the windshield frame The frame is easiest to chop by cutting out the bottom rail with a knife and cutting the side rails to fit the opening. This is easier than taking a section out like you do to the top. Then glue it back together. You can save the chrome part by doing this way and just cover the corner with foil if needed. Not sure if you see it in the attached pix as it mostly shows the windsceen ready to be installed. It does show the original chrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 18 hours ago, IanH said: That mock up looks fantastic! Thanks Ian! 8 hours ago, bill-e-boy said: The frame is easiest to chop by cutting out the bottom rail with a knife and cutting the side rails to fit the opening. This is easier than taking a section out like you do to the top. Then glue it back together. You can save the chrome part by doing this way and just cover the corner with foil if needed. Not sure if you see it in the attached pix as it mostly shows the windsceen ready to be installed. It does show the original chrome And thank you too Bill! That’s ROUGHLY what I did with mine, except I made it three pieces so I could keep the top and bottom fitting nicely, then just filled in the sides. Looks like your way worked great though! Had a busy Sunday today, but got a coupla three of hours in at the bench… Started fitting the axles and underneath-stuff to the frame: The rear end too some finessing to get everything aligned perfectly - lots of little pieces that have to coexist and align right, but got there in the end. By contrast, the front end practically fell in…still needs the steering linkages and brakes but it’s close… Painted the interior tub and sides and did a quick mock-up: Not that you’ll be able to see too much in there when it’s done anyway… And finally, a quick motivational mock-up or two… Still plenty to do, but it’s starting to look like a thing! Thanks for looking, and all the nice comments so far! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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