Barely 'cuda 2 In Progress

[Darin Bastedo]

Just like it's older brother Barely 'Cuda II is a parts box special. The fact that this is a full detail build instead of curbside makes it even more so. Because the body dimensions are so radically different it is impossible to use the 'Cuda chassis. For this build I'm lengthening the Chassis from the Revell Stingray III and I'm using the interior and some body parts from it too. as far as the body goes, it is a combination of Monogram '71 'Cuda, Revell new tool '70 'Cuda, Revell Stingray III, Fujimi Ferrari 550 Coupe, and Revell 575 Superamerica, along with some various scratch built sections. Here are the pics of the roughed in bodywork. these should give you an idea of the look I'm going for.

My goal is to make a more modern looking, lower, leaner, car that looks like it is going 300mph standing still. The Hood scoop from the Ferrari Superamerica is being used in a modified form to look the part of the AAR Hood scoop in a sleeker form. The side vents of the Ferrari help break up the slab sides of the "cuda body and also serve to give it some surface exitement.

As soon as I can I'll post more progress pics.

Edited November 6, 2007 by Darin Bastedo

[Ken]

Darin, I just wanna say that I don't think that Revell did a bad job with the shape of the AAR, yours looks just right Alright, calm down, don't anybody get their knickers in a twist, it is just a joke. Great start, on what can only be described as awesome... even WICKED AWESOME!!!!! I will definitely be checking in on your progress. I will also start planning my own twisted mopar!!!

[crispy]

Darin, your work these last few years have really gotten me to take notice.

Although I may not say much I have to admit I read all of your posts. Why? I actually am able to learn something. This build is just another example of learning.

You truly have an out of the box foresight I can only wish to have. Who would have thought you could blend that many cars into one? Absolutely cool stuff you are doing. I'm really envious.

I have to admit I have a phobia of cutting up plastic I paid for. You may ask yourself why. I am scared I may screw it up, wasted time and money. However, looking at builds like this offers more than meets the eye towards modeling. For that, Thanks.

I look forward to this build.

What are you going to use for power? I happen to have a left over 612 Scaglietti engine..... Yours if you want it. But I better check and see if I built it first. LOL

Any idea on color yet? What about wheels? LOL, I know it'll look stunning.

Chris

[Trans Am Erik]

WOW!!!!! ou've got an awesome start, great bodywork. It'll be one BAD MOPAR!

[Darin Bastedo]

Darin, your work these last few years have really gotten me to take notice.

Although I may not say much I have to admit I read all of your posts. Why? I actually am able to learn something. This build is just another example of learning.

You truly have an out of the box foresight I can only wish to have. Who would have thought you could blend that many cars into one? Absolutely cool stuff you are doing. I'm really envious.

I have to admit I have a phobia of cutting up plastic I paid for. You may ask yourself why. I am scared I may screw it up, wasted time and money. However, looking at builds like this offers more than meets the eye towards modeling. For that, Thanks.

I look forward to this build.

What are you going to use for power? I happen to have a left over 612 Scaglietti engine..... Yours if you want it. But I better check and see if I built it first. LOL

Any idea on color yet? What about wheels? LOL, I know it'll look stunning.

Chris

Thanks Chris.

A lot of what I do Has to do with visualizing the build before I do it. Imagine if you will, creating an instruction sheet in your head, and the parts from other kits are the parts your writing the instructions for. I see a car body as a box. if you look past all the intricate shapes that make up that box you will see it as having five sides the bottom being open. Now imaging you need to cut that box so you can put something inside of it. you would simply take out material until it is the right shape. In this case I decided what I wanted to use for a chassis based on the engine driveline and interior requirements. with this build I wanted a rear transaxle, and a speedster style cockpit. The Revell Stingray III fit the bill for what I wanted, plus it is very easy to adjust the wheelbase on it.

With Barely 'Cuda III being a full detail build I had to make sure the hard points lined up. (for those not familiar with the Auto Design terms hard point are parts of the car that are unchangable because of engineering nessesity. Frame width, Cowl hieght, Track width etc.) Lucky for me all mesurements lined up exept cowl hieght. The 'Cuda being a taller car than the Stingray III. I measured the difference in hieght between the two, and did a pie-cut section to bring it down.

Hey Chris, do you recognize the side vents? They're from the Ferrari you sold to me on Ebay. (don't worry I used the rest of it on something else I didn't kill a fujimi ferrari just for the side vents.

Thanks for the engine offer but I'm going with a Fuel Injected hemi with a front mounted 6-71 Blower mounted to the front of the engine similar to what the Mooneyes dragster has. The stretched wheel base and the severe engine setback in the Stingray chassis allow such a radical powertrain to fit. the color I haven't decided on yet, but I have it narrowed down to one of three colors. The Finished model will look very similar to the illustration I did at the bottom of my posts. It will even include the scissors style doors. For rolling stock, I will definately be using the tires from the Revell Dodge Sidewinder because I like the cool Flamed tread. For wheels I might use the sidewinder wheels or I may design a set of wheels just for this build.

One other reason it appears that I was able to just throw together these parts is this design has been in the development stages for over a year. It started with the drawing, progressed to a mock-up body (pictured below) and several scale drawings of the major componants to ensure they will all fit.

Here is my test body, to make sure it will look right.

as you can see this project actually started during the building of Barely 'Cuda I

When I was almost done with Barely Cuda I Johnson's Rod Shop built this, greatly influencing Barely 'Cuda II

[Guest roadkill2525]

Are you going to do the ghost billboard?

[Jantrix]

Hmm. Darin you are a wizard of styrene. In my collection of junk builds and kits I have a Pontiac Banshee, 69 GTO and late 90's WS6 Firebird. I may have to try my hand at this kind of stuff. Barely GTO? I'll let you know what I come up with, thanks for the inspiration.

[Darin Bastedo]

Are you going to do the ghost billboard?

Probably not. I like my graphics a little bolder than that.

[crispy]

Darin, thanks for the insight. I appreciate that.

Although I am mainly a box stock style builder I definitely appreciate the time work and effort some of you guys put into art like this. For that I am envious.

I'm probably short changing myself, I usually do, but I take baby steps. In order for me to do work like that I have to have been able to have done one thing to one kit and another to another kit. So on and such. Then when I get the chutzpah to actually do something of this magnitude I have the skills acquired and can do it.

Again, I look forward to more updates just like you have shown. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess many others look and learn too, but just don't say anything.

Great execution so far.

Chris

[Darin Bastedo]

Hmm. Darin you are a wizard of styrene. In my collection of junk builds and kits I have a Pontiac Banshee, 69 GTO and late 90's WS6 Firebird. I may have to try my hand at this kind of stuff. Barely GTO? I'll let you know what I come up with, thanks for the inspiration.

That's not a bad idea. I started out prcticing on bodies from kits I took other parts out of. When practicing it really doesn't matter what body you start with just pick a modification you want to perform. Try swapping hood scoops, chopping tops, Sectioning, pie cuts, roof swaps etc. A good place to pick up cheap practice bodies are the parts boxes at just about any swap meet. At one recent show there was a vendor with several boxes of parts, that included bodies marked "free".

Many people comment that they wish they possesed my skills. But it isn't skill so much as it is confidence. I've ruined just as many bodies as I have customised. Even on this build I practiced on some leftover bodies before I commited two new kits to the build. It's odd, that most of us will agree we have the skill to cut a piece of plastic. we also have the skill to glue two pieces of plastic back together, yet we get nervous when it comes to doing both actions.

The last tip I have for would be customizers is; Never throw anything away. the hood scoop and side vents in this build come from the scrap bucket I keep next to my bench. When you cut up a body yo never know when the leftovers would come in handy.

[crispy]

Darin, the scraps you have left over, do you mark them or separate them so you know what it was or came from? I think that would be the hardest part. Knowing what it came from, but if it looks the part then use it.

Chris

[Darin Bastedo]

Darin, the scraps you have left over, do you mark them or separate them so you know what it was or came from? I think that would be the hardest part. Knowing what it came from, but if it looks the part then use it.

Chris

My system of organization is "none". I pick a piece that looks like the part I want to use and go from there.

[Robert81]

Many people comment that they wish they possesed my skills. But it isn't skill so much as it is confidence.

I have to agree with you there. I tried to do a two-seat 67 Chevelle roadster many years ago, and screwed up royally. I've been scared to try anything on that scope, since. It's not that I couldn't do it, again (with more planing), but I just don't want to try for fear of failure.

Nice build, it looks way better than anything auto-makers are making, now. Except the New Challanger. Maybe in about twenty years I can afford one.

Edited October 30, 2007 by Robert81

[Darin Bastedo]

Barely 'Cuda II has gotten a deadline. Now being built as part of the Spotlight Hobbies 'Cuda Build-off I have until March 31 to get it done. Right now progress seems to be circular as I cut it up and glue it back together, and then cut it up again. In order to do the opening panels in such a highly modified body I had to First create the body shape, and then make the new cuts to open the hood and the doors. The doors will be hinged upward in the style made popular by Lamborghini. The hood will tilt foward raising the fenders with it giving access to all parts of the supercharged Hemi engine. Unlike Barely 'Cuda I, this car will have almost no creature comforts. If it doesn't make it faster, it won't be on the car. On the chassis and interior you will see a lot of bare aluminum, carbon fibre, and kevlar.

Here it is cut apart. I'm currently in the progress of building up the portions of the body and chassis tha my cuts have exposed;

[Brent]

If it doesn't make it faster, it won't be on the car.

Words to live by :-)

Fantastic work so far. I just about fell off my chair seeing it all cut up in the recent update. All that work to be chopped up. Bigger and better things planed I see. COOOOL

[Darin Bastedo]

Barely 'Cuda II is coming along slowly but surely. Choosing to do this a s a full detail build has added to the complexity, and the sheer number of scatch built assemblies. some parts had to be scratch built because they didn't exist anywhere else, where others were scratch built to replace existing parts so they they don't look out of place with the rest of the build. Basicly I'm building an exotic modern sports car in the shape of a 'Cuda, but the basis for it's power plant is a 4O year old 426 Hemi V8.

The powerplant is a supercharged 426 Hemi, with a front mounted supercharger. To accomplish this the car had to be completely reconfigured, moving the cockpit back while at the same time moving the front wheels foward. The combination of these two modifications allowed the engine to sit 14 scale inches further back from the front axle than in a stock 'Cuda.

________________________________________________________________________

Starting with the engine from the Revell 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T, I had to scratch build a plenum style intake for the engine that the blower will be plumbed into. None of the stock hemi Valve covers looked right in the engine compartment so in the attemt to get this old Hemi looking more exotic I scratch built some valve covers that will have carbon fiber covers on them covering the saprk plugs that will be fired using seperate coils similar to the set-up on the new 6.1 litre Hemi engines.

This is a much more expensive model than Barely 'Cuda I the majority of the strcture of this car incuding the body, chassis, interior and engine compartment will be a combination of Kevlar and carbon fibre, requireing the purchase of 8 sheets of Scale Motorsports decals. here is the progress on building up the monocoque chassis. the opening hood and dooors required the building of door james and engine compartment. This is the the door jam.

The hood is an AAR style hood created from the hood from the Revell Ferrari 575 Superamerica, modified in the rear to mimic the 4 slots in the rear of the AAR scoop.

More updates to follow soon.