Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster

[Straightliner59]

1 minute ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Sir!

Museum quality work, bravo!

I'm curious: what exactly is the lettering on the cowl? Is-this a fantasy racing team? If such, I suspect some of the members are very well known...

Your panel paintwork and "goldleaf" lettering is very convincing! 

Thanks for sharing!

CT 

Thanks so kindly, Claude! The names on the cowl: Fahrni (Don, who was my best friend and mentor, and certainly a well-known builder!), Brown (Mark. A good friend whose modeling philosophies were very similar to my own.) and Himmel (Conrad, my Dad, of Conrad's Engine Service fame). It's a fictional business I made up, as a tribute to him, and is present on all my race cars, since he died. All three influenced my building, and I wanted to pay tribute, in their absence from this world. I appreciate you taking the time to comment, sir!

[TarheelRick]

The vocabulary used to describe this build has me stumped. It is a phenomenal amount of detailed, painstaking work all rolled into a masterpiece of - shall I call it Jewelry. This piece of modeling is a pricelessly beautiful gem. Thank you for your outstanding work and for sharing the finish with us.

[Straightliner59]

9 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

The vocabulary used to describe this build has me stumped. It is a phenomenal amount of detailed, painstaking work all rolled into a masterpiece of - shall I call it Jewelry. This piece of modeling is a pricelessly beautiful gem. Thank you for your outstanding work and for sharing the finish with us.

Thank you, Rick! For any of us, it's most important that we are satisfied with the work we've accomplished. I am very pleased with this effort! The response of others has been overwhelming! I am truly honored that my peers appreciate it, too. That has made this project a bit more special, to me. Thanks for that, as well! 

[W-409]

This turned out fantastic. First of all, my hat is off for even attempting to build one of these "modern day, front engined Top Fuel Dragsters", because despite sharing the same basic idea as the old Slingshots these are very different than anything that has been offered in model kit form ever. So with that said, congrats on building one, especially when the end result is this high quality. The attention to details is incredible and I think you nailed the overall look perfectly. I can almost smell the nitro from here.

Can't wait to see your next project.

[Straightliner59]

2 hours ago, W-409 said:

This turned out fantastic. First of all, my hat is off for even attempting to build one of these "modern day, front engined Top Fuel Dragsters", because despite sharing the same basic idea as the old Slingshots these are very different than anything that has been offered in model kit form ever. So with that said, congrats on building one, especially when the end result is this high quality. The attention to details is incredible and I think you nailed the overall look perfectly. I can almost smell the nitro from here.

Can't wait to see your next project.

Thank you, Niko! I knew from day one that, if I wanted one, I was going to have to build it, myself!? Interestingly, if I was going to attempt building a NTF car from a kit, I would start with one of Revell's "modern" top fuelers. I was messing around with one, because somebody asked if it could be done!? I appreciate your kind words, and for taking the time to share them! 

[FoMoCo66]

Stop posting picks of real cars ?. Great build I feel like I could hop in it and make a 5 second pass.

[Straightliner59]

On 2/8/2024 at 7:51 PM, FoMoCo66 said:

Stop posting picks of real cars ?. Great build I feel like I could hop in it and make a 5 second pass.

Dang it! Busted! ? Thanks, Ace. I am in the process of finding a starter that's small enough!

[ChrisR]

Awesome, especially the detailing on the engine!

[FoMoCo66]

7 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

I am in the process of finding a starter that's small enough!

Hope you find one.

[ybsluos]

Dan,

what can I say that hasn’t already been said? Absolutely unbelievable workmanship and kudos to you for being patient until your skills were good enough to do all the steps on this build.
It’s a great tribute to your dad and your friends as well. I talked to Don Fahrni  on the phone a couple times in the early 2000s and he was a great guy and amazing builder.

-Mark

[Straightliner59]

On 2/10/2024 at 4:12 AM, ChrisR said:

Awesome, especially the detailing on the engine!

Thanks, Chris! 

 

5 hours ago, ybsluos said:

Dan,

what can I say that hasn’t already been said? Absolutely unbelievable workmanship and kudos to you for being patient until your skills were good enough to do all the steps on this build.
It’s a great tribute to your dad and your friends as well. I talked to Don Fahrni  on the phone a couple times in the early 2000s and he was a great guy and amazing builder.

-Mark

I appreciate that, Mark. I always knew I would get back to this, one day. I wasn't sure when.

Yes, that's exactly the kind of guy Don was--if you really were interested in how to do something, he had time for you. He truly built some incredible stuff!

[tim boyd]

Dan....my profound kudos on your project..  I have long thought that the modern-day nostalgia front engine rail dragsters would make a great subject for a model project, but yours is the first one i recall seeing executed to this level of precision and realism.  And your quality of workmanship is superb!  Finally, how did you do the panel inserts on the body?  You have every reason to be immensely proud of your accomplishment here!  TIM 

[FoMoCo66]

1 hour ago, tim boyd said:

Dan....my profound kudos on your project..  I have long thought that the modern-day nostalgia front engine rail dragsters would make a great subject for a model project, but yours is the first one i recall seeing executed to this level of precision and realism.  And your quality of workmanship is superb!  Finally, how did you do the panel inserts on the body?  You have every reason to be immensely proud of your accomplishment here!  TIM 

Just saying Tim's 100% right.

[Straightliner59]

On 2/18/2024 at 6:11 AM, tim boyd said:

Dan....my profound kudos on your project..  I have long thought that the modern-day nostalgia front engine rail dragsters would make a great subject for a model project, but yours is the first one i recall seeing executed to this level of precision and realism.  And your quality of workmanship is superb!  Finally, how did you do the panel inserts on the body?  You have every reason to be immensely proud of your accomplishment here!  TIM 

Thanks, Tim. They really are cool-looking dragsters! I sincerely appreciate your kind words, regarding my project. 

By "inserts" are you referring to where the panels overlap? If so, it took me a while to figure out how to accomplish that, satisfactorily. I ended up doing it like this:

I cut brass strip to my desired "profile", smoothed it, and superglued it to the jaws of a sheet metal hand brake. I then aligned and taped the sheet into position, and laid the tool on my biggest anvil and gave it a rap with the ballpeen hammer. It worked out very well!

 

[Straightliner59]

@tim boyd I think I misunderstood what you asked me about the inserts. The confusion was on my end, not in any way your fault. Once I had primed the panels, I shot them with a mixture of Humbrol Brass and Humbrol Gold from their standard line, cut with lacquer thinner. I overshot that with Tamiya clear orange lacquer. I then masked off the panel areas with Parafilm M, and sprayed them with cheap Walmart Color Place gloss black, straight from the can. Once I'd removed the masks, I dabbed the orange panels with Black Sign Painter's One-Shot, thinned a little with mineral spirits, applied with a torn off bit of natural sponge. Finally, I applied the red borders with One-Shot. 

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

@tim boyd I think I misunderstood what you asked me about the inserts. The confusion was on my end, not in any way your fault. Once I had primed the panels, I shot them with a mixture of Humbrol Brass and Humbrol Gold from their standard line, cut with lacquer thinner. I overshot that with Tamiya clear orange lacquer. I then masked off the panel areas with Parafilm M, and sprayed them with cheap Walmart Color Place gloss black, straight from the can. Once I'd removed the masks, I dabbed the orange panels with Black Sign Painter's One-Shot, thinned a little with mineral spirits, applied with a torn off bit of natural sponge. Finally, I applied the red borders with One-Shot. 

Thanks Daniel...this is the info I was looking for.  But I also found your explanation of how you did the body panel joins to be very instructive and clever.  Thanks for taking the time to explain that and the paint approach! 

Cheers...TIM 

[Straightliner59]

4 minutes ago, tim boyd said:

Thanks Daniel...this is the info I was looking for.  But I also found your explanation of how you did the body panel joins to be very instructive and clever.  Thanks for taking the time to explain that and the paint approach! 

Cheers...TIM 

Always happy to share! We aren't guarding any State Secrets, or anything!?

[alan barton]

Living proof that human beings can do anything!  What a beautiful model, superlatives are inadequate!  Congratulations on your accomplishments.

Cheers

Alan

[Straightliner59]

5 hours ago, alan barton said:

Living proof that human beings can do anything!  What a beautiful model, superlatives are inadequate!  Congratulations on your accomplishments.

Cheers

Alan

I appreciate that, Alan! Thanks, very much!

[Codi]

Hi Daniel,

I was looking for the WIP earlier and what do I find, she's under glass.  Great job and kudos to you! 

cheers,tim

[Ace-Garageguy]

Absolutely gorgeous, and certainly worth the wait.

You'll never have reason to doubt your skills in the future.   

[Straightliner59]

18 hours ago, Codi said:

Hi Daniel,

I was looking for the WIP earlier and what do I find, she's under glass.  Great job and kudos to you! 

cheers,tim

Thank you, Tim! I appreciate that. It's really satisfying, to (finally) have it done! ?

18 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Absolutely gorgeous, and certainly worth the wait.

You'll never have reason to doubt your skills in the future.   

Thanks, Bill! I'm not completely sure it'll solve that problem--but, it's a boost to the confidence, for sure! ? Thanks for looking!

[bogger44]

Absolutely beautiful build, Daniel!  That is a jaw-dropper!

[Straightliner59]

7 hours ago, bogger44 said:

Absolutely beautiful build, Daniel!  That is a jaw-dropper!

Thank you, Tony! It was an enjoyable project! I'm very happy with the way it turned out! 

[Mike Williams]

Hi Daniel!  Be proud, a magnificent car. Congrats on completing an older type beauty, long within your grasp. just lacking inner strength.  You have it back!  I'm happy for you!  Mike..