Engine detail

[Rat Fink]

I'm sure some of you guys already do this but just thought I'd share. I wanted more detail and realisim to the engine so instead of just gluing it together and painting the whole thing I painted the individual parts seprately. Then I put a little black paint along the mating surfaces and let a little glue squeeze out to replicate gasket material. One question here...the headers and the trans are the same color...how do I weather or drybrush (etc)to make the colors look different and a bit more real? Also how the heck do you guys drill the tiny little holes in the dist cap for the wires?

[diymirage]

pre wired distributors FTW

they will run you about 5 dollars a piece and as soon as the wifey get a job im getting me some

untill then i keep using 1/8 styrene tubing with the inner hole drilled out a little further to accomodate the 9 wires needed

(thats right, i dont use the kits dizzy)

as for your questions on paint

the best thing to do is try try try

but first...decide what you are building and then find a picture online of an engine that looks like what you are building

then take your cues from that

i like using different coats of dry brushed colours

[astroracer]

Get a few bottles of Testors metalizer paints. Jet Exhaust, Titanium, Steel, Platinum, etc., Thay can be thinned and added as a wash or mixed on a palette to make your own colors.

Mark

[Kris Morgan]

The heck with drilling out the cap. Get a sweet prewired one here MAD As far as getting a different look on the trans and, headers, maybe try a wash on one and, not the other. One thing I like to do is keep blacks and, "metal" colors from several sources on hand. Easy way to get slight color differences.

[whale392]

You can drill out your distributor cap by starting with a #76 drill bit in a pin vise (handheld, finger-twisted mini drill) and then work up to the drill size just above the thickness of the wire you will be using. While everyone is saying 'Oh just go buy a pre-wired distributor', that is NOT the spirit of model building....any monkey with a paycheck can build a model that way. Skill is learned, not bought (off my soapbox now). Learning how to effectively use the bits/pin vise will open up a whole new world of detailing/scratchbuilding that can't be bought.

[charlzrocks]

Oh My Gawd! You can see those little holes to be able to drill them?? I envy your razor sharp eyesight! If you can find the means, I would buy them as it's not critical HOW you detail the engine, but WHY you are doing it in the first place! (this monkey with a paycheck is off his soapbox, but it won't be too far away to get back on it)

I like the looks of the engine you pictured with the glue/gasket adhesive oozing out. It looks pretty cool to me.

I would take the advice of the others and try different shades of metalizer paint for a truer engine look if that is what you are seeking. Good Luck!

Edited February 25, 2010 by charlzrocks

[whale392]

Well Charles, it is a matter of personal opinion and everyone is entitled to theirs. I will state (and for the record)

that several of my builds have pre-wired distributors, BUT my dad wanted me to learn detailing with skill instead of money (he is/was poorer, and all of his projects; real or otherwise, were built by him,...as little pocketbook as possible). It was from these excersises in frugality that I learned attention to detail (both in planning and execution) and patience, not to mention hand-eye coordination and proper tool care.

As to the question of aging/paint detailing....exhaust gets rusty pretty quickly, so you could pre-paint the manifolds either steel or cast iron, then drybrush/weather them with various shades of browns/oranges to simulate rust.

,

......not only did I drill and wire it, but I BUILT the distributor for this one......and it is 1/25th scale and I DO NOT own a magnifying glass (that is the basis for my soapbox).

Edited February 25, 2010 by whale392

[Jon Cole]

Yeah... I'm just a monkey with a checkbook too! Coo-coo-ka-choo.

I used to bug my eyes out of my head, drilling out nine holes in what was often a diameter of plastic rod that is thinner than a piece of sprue (and nine little 'nubs' sticking up) but after doing that routine many times, I did what any rational thinking man would do.... "There has to be a better way".

And there is. Buy pre-wired distributors.

I suggest trying to drill your own first. Be sure to use a magnifying lamp.

When you had enough of that scene, come on over to the Dark Side. We have cookies.

[whale392]

While the dark side may have cookies, making your own and using skill has KUDOS! Besides, with cookies, you'll have to end up fighting a blue shag rug with a bad attitude some day for the last one. To each his own, and in the spirit of the original post, I suggested drilling your own distributors. As to the 'any monkey' comment........well? How many people (a lot here) hate the real pocketbook hot-rodder or the 'rat rod' with $50,000.00 in parts? See my point?

I have nothing against pre-made parts, and sometimes they are the only way to go to get something in scale.

[wgflatliner]

some other things i like to do for realism:

we all know that if a car is driven, the engine is going to get dirty from the dirt on the roads, slush from snow, etc.. i have been entertained the idea of going with a light dirt colored substance like.. well.. dirt and water.. and getting a toothbrush to flick the stuff in spots pretty lightly. not so light that you can't see the dirt, but also not so heavy that all you see is dirt. it would typically be dirtier on the bottom as that side sees most of the road on the real deal.

if you don't wanna go that route, i have used tamiya weathering kits (kit D has oil in it) and dry brushed some of the oil stuff in spots that oil would normally accumulate on a real engine.

Also spraying a light coat of dull coat from Testors will also give a little bit of realism.

my suggestion would be to go to the local hobby place and ask to look at all the car model detailing accessories. Just by doing that alone you will find tons of stuff to give you an idea on what you can detail. Stuff you can make yourself if you're a "true model builder" or stuff you can buy for the ease of installation, despite what the "true modelers" might or might not say, that is if they indeed say what it is they intend to say. know what i'm saying?

with model building, the only limit is your imagination, and sometimes your wallet.

[plasticfrog]

Hi Eric your idea is cool like it alot.Here is how I build my own diturbers just like Whale392 said use the skills you have

[charlzrocks]

Yeah... I'm just a monkey with a checkbook too! Coo-coo-ka-choo.

I used to bug my eyes out of my head, drilling out nine holes in what was often a diameter of plastic rod that is thinner than a piece of sprue (and nine little 'nubs' sticking up) but after doing that routine many times, I did what any rational thinking man would do.... "There has to be a better way".

And there is. Buy pre-wired distributors.

I suggest trying to drill your own first. Be sure to use a magnifying lamp.

When you had enough of that scene, come on over to the Dark Side. We have cookies.

"Luke, I am your father"

If ya got the mad skills to wire your own and wanna, who am I to tell ya to buy em prewired? I don't wire my engines at all so there! Ptthhhhpt! Nya, nya!

oh......and the Dark Side also has cheese and crackers!

[lowriderphil]

I've always used the pre drilled caps from replicas and minatures of maryland. the come in a few different colors and you get I believe three in a pack for $4-$5

[DanielG]

Do you mean to tell me that there are pre-wired distributors out there? You mean that I don't have to drill them out? No matter, I'm too cheap to buy them!

Edited March 7, 2010 by DanielG