Custom Mike Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 (edited) After starting this one on another forum, restarting it here, and finishing it on a third forum, it's finally done, and a it only took nearly two full years. I'm not 100% satisfied with the results (Who ever is?), but I'm done fighting with it. This model started life as Revell's Uptown Charger kit (2006), and changed drastically from there. I started by removing the original roof, and adding one from AMT's 1971 Charger, along with the door shapes from the '71. A new back window opening was made, along with a piece of clear styrene to go into the new opening. Then I stretched the back end out a bit, changed the side window openings to look more like a '73-'74 Charger, and added a grille opening from AMT's 1969 Charger, with a grille from Revell's '69 Charger. An AMT S-10 Xtreme kit gave up it's chin spoiler, and I made the entire center tail light from a piece of my 1997 Grand Prix's busted tail light. This was to give the back end the "look" of the 1966-67 Chargers. A spoiler was made from acrylic filler, and the wheel openings were shrunk down. Then a Revell Viper kit sacrificed it's engine, a pair of Shelby Series One kits gave up their cone air filters, and custom tubing was bent for the intakes from solder. After the 7th attempt at painting it Kustom Kolors Purple Passion, I gave up and painted it House Of Kolors Shimrins Tangerine, with a flat black hood and nose. Pegasus Hobbies supplied the rims and disc brakes, new interior panels had to be made for the new two-door configuration, and the chassis plate was stretched out front and rear to fit the new body. New mounting bosses were made to attach the chassis to the body, and photo-etched Charger and R/T scripts, along with the CHARGER lettering on the tail light was added from the Model Car Garage 1967 Charger photo-etched set. To top it all off, I took the side mirror from the '67 photo-etched set, placed it on the quarter panel in front of the spoiler, and called it a gas cap! Enjoy the pictures, and the complete WIP (All 378 pictures - sheesh!) and more completed pics are on my Fotki page! Concept Charger WIP pictures Concept Charger completed pics Edited March 3, 2010 by Mike S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diymirage Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 that looks pretty amazing i should look at the WIP shots because i would never beleive what is all in there just by looking at it great jerb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyn Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Hey Mike, long time no see. This car was awesome when you first built it and it looks even better now. That rear end treatment is to die for. Everyone should check out the WIP on this one. Mike went through one heck of a journey to get to this finished product. And it's true; you'd never know what all went into this thing just by looking at it. Mike did such a fantastic job on the design that it looks all factory. One of my all-time favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mustang3.8 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 The car looks great. Did you ever get the Charger grill done for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hey Mike, long time no see. This car was awesome when you first built it and it looks even better now. That rear end treatment is to die for. Everyone should check out the WIP on this one. Mike went through one heck of a journey to get to this finished product. And it's true; you'd never know what all went into this thing just by looking at it. Mike did such a fantastic job on the design that it looks all factory. One of my all-time favorites. Wow, coming from you Alyn, that means a lot. You're one of the most gifted scratch-builders I've ever seen, so consider me completely flattered! Kevin, it got completed, and now it's buried in the mess left in the wake of this one. I'll dig around for it and let you know when I stumble across it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Now THAT is a "smack ya up by the head" custom build! Stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Very cool. That's the way it should have been. Too bad bad for Chrysler Corp. & consumers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I saw this when I first joined here 2 years ago and I was wondering what happened to it. The only thing I would have done is made the part over the grille the same color as the car, but other than that it is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 I saw this when I first joined here 2 years ago and I was wondering what happened to it. The only thing I would have done is made the part over the grille the same color as the car, but other than that it is good. Clay, I ran out of the House of Kolors Tangerine, and wasn't going to drop another $60 for a quart of it just for the hood and that panel. Both had minor problems in the paint, and rather than buy more (And spend more money on this beast), I went for the easy way out. This one has a lot of little flaws in it, and I just finally got to the point where I was either going to destroy it, or just make it look good enough for pictures and call it finished. This one is nowhere near good enough for a contest, but it got the idea out of my head, and it takes a good picture, so I'm satisfied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffone20 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I'm liking this one a lot!! Very nice job and I didn't look at all of the WIP photos yet, but I sure saw that you put a lot of work into this bad boy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScrappyJ Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Very cool build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 "This one is nowhere near good enough for a contest, but it got the idea out of my head, and it takes a good picture, so I'm satisfied." Mike, Don't underestimate yourself. Many a contest win happens to a model the builder thought didn't have a chance! We all know our own mistakes, but not so for judges, they have to find it on their own. Besides, the "WOW!" factor on that is over the top! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lombardo Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Mike, really nice. I remember seeing the under construction photos of this and thinking it would be "killer" when done, and it does not disappoint. The scale is much more in keeping with the '68 '69 Charger....I mean it is slimmer and lower than the current generation which I think stinks. It is a shame, in my opinion, Chrysler with the different design teams from the different ownership groups has really lost their way. As Ford and GM have evolved their designs to reflect modern design without losing the past, Chrysler has failed to accomplish that. I think your design much better captures the flavor of what the Charger was and should be. I see much more exciting design ideas for Chrysler products coming from independent designers then the factory. Yours captures the feel of the era. I see '68, '69 '70 and '71 styling ques in this....very impressive build. The only point that I would question on this design, and it truly is a minor point, is where are the rear view mirrors? See minor question. Very nice job.....I like this very much. Kudos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyBad Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 It looks Fantastic. Great Looking concept paint looks Great. Body work looks really good. I'm sure no easy feat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 Mike, really nice. I remember seeing the under construction photos of this and thinking it would be "killer" when done, and it does not disappoint. The scale is much more in keeping with the '68 '69 Charger....I mean it is slimmer and lower than the current generation which I think stinks. It is a shame, in my opinion, Chrysler with the different design teams from the different ownership groups has really lost their way. As Ford and GM have evolved their designs to reflect modern design without losing the past, Chrysler has failed to accomplish that. I think your design much better captures the flavor of what the Charger was and should be. I see much more exciting design ideas for Chrysler products coming from independent designers then the factory. Yours captures the feel of the era. I see '68, '69 '70 and '71 styling ques in this....very impressive build. The only point that I would question on this design, and it truly is a minor point, is where are the rear view mirrors? See minor question. Very nice job.....I like this very much. Kudos! Peter, I completely forgot about them, and noticed it well after I had finished it. This thing was so long and drawn out that I completely overlooked the side mirrors, let's say it's got tiny side-view cameras in the A-pillars! The other major flaw, and I always seem to have one on my customs, is the "droop" from the cowl forward. I did a similar thing with my Camaro, it's got a stubby nose. I guess I really need to have an objective viewer look at my next one prior to paint being laid down, just to catch things like that. I get so wrapped up in the process that I lose sight of things like that. Oh, and I also forgot the "VIPR PWR" license plate..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlaw035 Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 awesome concept i think the big 3 auto makers should check here be4 they redo a classic...luv the color....n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 Mike, a what if concept type custom has got to be ten times harder than just modifying/ blurring the lines as in normal customs as you have much narrower confines to work within. That being said you have achieved what many feel Chrysler Corp didnt. the beautiful classic lines the charger Should have had. Dont as some else said underestimate what you have achieved here, anyone who see's something like this on the tables will know what its taken ,even if not how and probably wont even see the flaws that are so obvious to you (I think all builders myself especially tend to get to critical of thier own work,seeing a tiny flaw to be bigger than the whole car).That being said I dont see any and would be proud to show this off if it was mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted March 6, 2010 Author Share Posted March 6, 2010 Mike, a what if concept type custom has got to be ten times harder than just modifying/ blurring the lines as in normal customs as you have much narrower confines to work within. That being said you have achieved what many feel Chrysler Corp didnt. the beautiful classic lines the charger Should have had. Dont as some else said underestimate what you have achieved here, anyone who see's something like this on the tables will know what its taken ,even if not how and probably wont even see the flaws that are so obvious to you (I think all builders myself especially tend to get to critical of thier own work,seeing a tiny flaw to be bigger than the whole car).That being said I dont see any and would be proud to show this off if it was mine. Brett, I am hypercritical of my own stuff, but that being said, I know this one's not up to contest standards. It had some fissures in the paint (After 7 paint jobs, I just said heck with 'em!), the door panel lines are not uniform enough, etc, etc. But, each one of these I do teaches me what not to do the next time around, so it's all good. I am proud of it, but not as much as if it had come out better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Rogers Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 now theres a car the dodge boys should have made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 now theres a car the dodge boys should have made That's why I made it, I love Mopars, had a 1:1 '72 Charger, and cannot stand the new Charger. It's about the ugliest excuse for a car you could make, and throwing the Charger name on a 4-door was just too much for me. So I set out to make one I'd buy, and be proud to drive. Now if I could just get someone to make a real one for me...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemithunder Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Ridiculess amount of work there.. I think it would have been faster and easier to just buy an '06 a 71 and a torch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Winter Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Ridiculess amount of work there.. I think it would have been faster and easier to just buy an '06 a 71 and a torch! I remember watching that Concept Charger while I worked on my Motorhome. not sure if you remember me or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 I remember watching that Concept Charger while I worked on my Motorhome. not sure if you remember me or not. If you were the one posting all the "updated" General Lee pics, then yeah, I remember you. Seems like this one had a ton of followers, I guess that's what happens when it drags on for 2 YEARS!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Winter Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 If you were the one posting all the "updated" General Lee pics, then yeah, I remember you. Seems like this one had a ton of followers, I guess that's what happens when it drags on for 2 YEARS!!!!! No not that guy he came right after me, I built a '99 single cab DOT truck, a scratchbuilt motorhome, '72 gto, and uh, I can't remember what else, oh wait this '58 Chevy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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