Tips On Motors

[Fiction ix]

Hey guys im gonna be starting my second model sometime today. I have seen so many nice photo's of model cars on here and the motors just look so nice (as well as the whole cars). I was wondering if anyone has some tips and tricks on heliping the motor look good. What kinda things can i do or add to make it look sweet under the hood. The car im starting today is a 55' Chevy. Thanks for any help

[diymirage]

there are two main things that i would suggest

the first is paint

this will take a lot of time trial and error

but the more you practice the better you get

take a moment to consider what type of motor you want in this build

is it a brand spanking new mill?

is it a mill build with the sole purpose of putting out large horsepower numbers

is it a engine in a workhorse that is in the triple digits and leaking round the seals ?

once you have this figured out start looking at pictures of engines that are in the same category as what you are building and try to get a feel for the shades colours used

in a brand new car the heads will look different then in a race car or a workhorse

a race engine will be clean, very clean

a workhorse might have some grime or rust on it

try to replicate that with paint and washes

and if you want to go really crazy, slap on some BMF to replicate polished alluminum on plenums or intake tubes

the second thing is wiring

even adding just a distributor and plugwires will look so much more realistic

i generally build mine own out of styrene and beading wire but that is mainly because i am cheap

you can get prewired aluminum for about 10 bucks (i think) at most LHSs or even on ebay

those are the two things i would start with

[JamesW]

Distributors on Ebay. Save this seller. I bought some from him a while back. They're nice.

http://cgi.ebay.com/9-Prewired-Distributors-for-1-bid_W0QQitemZ380193473950QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item58854c059e

http://cgi.ebay.com/9-prewired-distributors-for-one-bid_W0QQitemZ380193216450QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item58854817c2

[crazyjim]

Why spend all that money on pre-wired distributors? Get some ignition wire, wire looms (I order from Scale Dreams) and some 1/8" and 3/32" aluminum tubing. Polish the tubing. Cut the 1/8 tubing about 1/4" and a piece of 3/32 tubing about 3/8". Super gue the 3/32 into the 1/8 about 1/8". While that's drying you can cut 8 pieces of ignition wire about 2" long. Put a little super glue into tubing and stick the wires in. Bingo bango done!

[Fiction ix]

Thankyou guys so much for the very helpful info. I will be trying to learn as i go and hopefully get something sweet looking soon!

[MikeMc]

Detail painting and washes. Before plumbing and wiring you need color

Look how AJ made this flattie pop!

this is painted with metalizers

this one is washed and wired..

Look at many different builds here and save some of your favorites...then you have an idea to start with!!

[charlie8575]

Building your own wired distributors is a bit of an art, and one I'll admit I've never accomplished. With that, I don't mind using pre-wired distributors. You might be smart to try one of those first just to get the feel for how the wires will behave.

I do agree with getting some scale wiring looms, but you can add those later if you don't want to go crazy with money.

As far as building your own distributor goes if you want to give it a shot, Radio Shack has approximately the same diameter wire in 100-foot coils for much less money than "spark plug wire," per unit cost. In other words, foot for foot, the bulk wire is one hell of a lot less money over the long run. You can get distributor kits which are the shaft and cap for 4/6/8 cylinder engines in resin, although I can't think how much they're going for right now.

Charlie Larkin

[Fiction ix]

yea it seems hard to make on your own. im gonna do some brianstorming

[randx0]

for a neat looking model engine the first thing you need to do is find a good color photo of the engine ,actually several,and paint it to match the photo try to notice if the intake manifold is painted or aluminum what about the valve covers or the oilpan .sometimes the carbs will be two colors an accurately painted engine will look good all on it's own without adding the wires. being this is your second model focus on the basics of building an engine like sanding/fillin the seam that results from gluing the two halves together making sure everything is lined up properly and not on upside down.bottom line research your particular part and copy it if you see an easy detail you think you can tackle go for it but start at the begining with accurate colors and proper placement then go to the extra details .these are just my opinions, do what works for you and what interests you however try not to do too much one one model it can get frustrating very quickly so just try 1 or 2 new techniques .

[disabled modeler]

Hi Kyle! the best advise i have ever been given is to treat each part as if it were a model itself on any part of your models....it really helps them look great! keep up the good work,as time gos by and you get some experience you will be amazed at how good there looking.....happy modeling.

[Modlbldr]

Remember too that instead of ordering photoetched aluminum things such as wire looms, you can use soda pop can aluminum. It cuts pretty easy with an old X-Acto knife blade and drills easy too. Get a set of small drill bits (I think they generally come in size 61-80)from somewhere like Micro-Mark. Cut a small T shape out of the aluminum, drill the holes in the top, or horizontal, part of the T. Bend the T, using the vertical part as the tab to glue to the motor.

Later-

[limoman39]

Remember too that instead of ordering photoetched aluminum things such as wire looms, you can use soda pop can aluminum. It cuts pretty easy with an old X-Acto knife blade and drills easy too. Get a set of small drill bits (I think they generally come in size 61-80)from somewhere like Micro-Mark. Cut a small T shape out of the aluminum, drill the holes in the top, or horizontal, part of the T. Bend the T, using the vertical part as the tab to glue to the motor.

Later-

This is a great tip, the possibilities are endless for items you could make.

Thanks for the post Modlbldr...

Rick

[Blake Rogers]

Building your own wired distributors is a bit of an art, and one I'll admit I've never accomplished. With that, I don't mind using pre-wired distributors. You might be smart to try one of those first just to get the feel for how the wires will behave.

I do agree with getting some scale wiring looms, but you can add those later if you don't want to go crazy with money.

As far as building your own distributor goes if you want to give it a shot, Radio Shack has approximately the same diameter wire in 100-foot coils for much less money than "spark plug wire," per unit cost. In other words, foot for foot, the bulk wire is one hell of a lot less money over the long run. You can get distributor kits which are the shaft and cap for 4/6/8 cylinder engines in resin, although I can't think how much they're going for right now.

Charlie Larkin

we have the source up here it use to be Radio Shack what is the wire called and looks like ?

[GOTH KUSTOMS]

Heres a picture of the wire from radio shack, comes in red,blue, and white, packs and can be painted, but dont handle it to much after paint

[Casey]

being this is your second model focus on the basics of building an engine like sanding/filling the seam that results from gluing the two halves together making sure everything is lined up properly and not on upside down.

You can build a decent looking engine just by using the kit engine as is, but you need to put in some work to make it look more realistic.

As suggested, always get as perfect a match between the engine block and/or transmission halves as possible when gluing them together. I always remove the locating pins on the one half, then sand both mating surfaces flat to ensure lots of contact area. Once it's all dry, sand so both sides are even and the joint disappears. You'll need to get into the crevices with some sandpaper or a Flexi-File, but it makes a huge difference when that seam is gone from sight.

Try rounding out the starter motor if it's cas integrally with the engine block, as on Monongram's 1/24 muscle car kits. It'll never look as nice as a separate piece, but it can be made to look less blob-like.

Round or bevel the inside edges of the fan belt slightly- this visually thins the belt.

Thin the bottom edge/lip/flange of the valve covers. Place the vlave covers on a sheet on sandpaper on a flat surface, apply light, even pressure, and remove some material until the flanges are of a more realistic scale thickness.

If you attach the cylinder heads to the block and find the heads are a bit too far apart, remove a bit of material from the bottom edge of the intake manifold and check to see if the gaps are now closed. If the heads are too close together, remove some material from each side of the intake manifold until you get a good fit.

Test fit the mounting points for the kit-supplied radiator hoses early on- these are a known "not-so-exact" fitting piece on older kits, so you can fine tune both ends as necessary for a better fit before you're ready to glue them in place.

De-chrome that alternator! Unless it's a show rod, odds are good the alternator is supposed to be cat aluminum, not chromed.

Test fit the exhaust manifolds, and if there is precious little suface area for gluing the exhaust manifolds to the cylinder heads, apply one coat of paint to the engine assembly, then scrape away the paint from the exhaust manifold mounting surface and glue on the exhaust manifolds. This will ensure a tight bond between the two, and you'll probably be bumping the exhaust maifolds when the engine is installed, when the ehaust stsyem is assembled, and so on. A solid, secure bond between the exhaust manifolds and cylinder heads saves a lot of trouble during later assembly.

If you're building a kit like the Monogram/Revell '70 Challenger T/A with its huge air cleaner assembly, don't sweat the carburetor nor distributor detail, as you can't see either one once the air cleaner is installed.

As suggested above, research where the spark plugs are located in the engine you're replicating. HEMIs and SOHCs are easy and obvious, others may not be.

[dwc43]

If you want real looking dist caps with wiring use this guy instead of making your own or using the all metal ones that don't simulate the stock caps or contours of the dist shaft. He even makes an HEI cap dist.

http://www.lpstech.com/distributors.htm

When doing Mopar big block engines, get the dist in the correct place at the right angle. Seen way too many in the wrong place or to straight up or even on the wrong side. And dual plug Hemi engines don't use two dist. They use one dist with a drive base added to the shaft with a second cap added to the drive unit. Seen that done up wrong on a lot of them.

If you want realistic colors, you can by engine paint at any parts store or order it from www.summitracing.com You can get the correct colors from the manf. or after marker paint as well.

Edited January 14, 2010 by dwc43

[Blake Rogers]

Heres a picture of the wire from radio shack, comes in red,blue, and white, packs and can be painted, but dont handle it to much after paint

thanks man