Ace-Garageguy Posted November 8, 2013 Posted November 8, 2013 (edited) Although the chassis and guts of this model are far from being complete, a major objective of doing this build was to back-date the Revell kit of the car (presented by Revell in its 1960 record-setting appearance) to the 1959, non-supercharged version, and to present it as it looked in bare metal, fresh from the body-builder's shop...before paint...when it was first shown to the press at the Beverly Hilton. The car should have a Goodyear decal on the nose in addition to the Mobil logo, and should also have full spun-alloy wheel covers. There are other flaws and inaccuracies, but I was under a deadline to get it ready for the Southern NNL nats, this weekend (one of the show themes is "Bonneville"). I personally think this is one of the most beautiful racing cars of all time, and to me, the bare-metal finish brings out the voluptuous but subtle curves of the George Hill-designed body. The finish isn't supposed to be perfect, rather it shows sanding and file scratches and surface textures from being worked on. You have to remember this body, on the real car, was hand-formed from flat sheets of aluminum by a master metalworker. I've spent most of my life around things getting built, and I really enjoy seeing the in-progress versions...sometimes more than I like finished perfection. After this version of the car, running Hilborn fuel injection, was successfully run at Bonneville at 362.31 mph (finished in light blue), it was entirely re-bodied for slightly better aerodynamics, and to accommodate the GMC superchargers. Finished in a darker, metallic blue, in 1960 it was driven to 406.6 mph by Thompson, making him the fastest man on earth in a wheel-driven vehicle. Thompson was unable to make the return run to clinch the official record due to a mechanical problem, but his accomplishment stands as a testament to the vision and talent of one of the true pioneering geniuses of hot-rodding. Edited November 9, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy
Harry P. Posted November 8, 2013 Posted November 8, 2013 So... how did you get that finish? It's obviously not foiled. Metalizer?
TooOld Posted November 8, 2013 Posted November 8, 2013 The last photo shows the finish very well , great job Bill ! She's a beauty ! I'm guessing it's a Rub-N-Buff finish over the sanded body .
Joker Posted November 8, 2013 Posted November 8, 2013 I've spent most of my life around things getting built, and I really enjoy seeing the in-progress versions...sometimes more than I like finished perfection. I agree with you 100%. Painters get all the credit but it's the body men that make them look good. Good luck at the NNL show.
Alyn Posted November 8, 2013 Posted November 8, 2013 I personally think this is one of the most beautiful racing cars of all time ... Now that is cool. Great finish (unfinished finish) !
bbowser Posted November 9, 2013 Posted November 9, 2013 Great model! The work you put into this really paid off with a one-of-a-kind replica. Outstanding.
TFchronos Posted November 9, 2013 Posted November 9, 2013 Amazing and beautiful creation, good luck at the show.
Roger U Posted November 9, 2013 Posted November 9, 2013 Really a great job building this car, and a beautiful and realistic looking finish on it.
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 9, 2013 Author Posted November 9, 2013 Thanks for all the compliments...they really mean a lot. I'm off to the show.
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 10, 2013 Author Posted November 10, 2013 So... how did you get that finish? It's obviously not foiled. Metalizer? Yes, it's a combination of Testors and other buffing metallic finishes. It's still experimental and not entirely predictable or consistent, and it fingerprints (tarnishes, actually...just like silver) badly if handled without gloves. I'm not entirely satisfied with the results overall...yet. I'm looking for a water-based clear sealer to solve the tarnishing problem; all the solvent-based sealers (including hair-spray, artist's charcoal fixative and Testors own product) make the surface look like muddy silver paint, and I'm still working on application techniques to provide consistent results. It's interesting what I overheard about it at the show...some folks, who have apparently been around alloy bodies being built (or at least have seen photos in mags or on the net) got it entirely...while others thought it was a pathetic brush-paint mess.
Mike 1017 Posted November 10, 2013 Posted November 10, 2013 (edited) This body work is amazing.It looks like it's ready for a wind tunnel test. Do you know if Mickey did do a wind tunnel test? Edited November 10, 2013 by Mike 1017
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 10, 2013 Author Posted November 10, 2013 Beautiful Work Bill! Looks Great... Thank you, very much. ...It looks like it's ready for a wind tunnel test. Do you know if Mickey did do a wind tunnel test? To the best of my knowledge, the car was not wind-tunnel tested, and CFD (computational fluid dynamics for computer simulation) didn't really exist in those days, but the car WAS tuft-tested...roughly 2" or 3" wool tufts are affixed all over the bodywork, and a chase-car runs alongside the test-car, at speed, with cameras rolling. The results are later analyzed visually to determine areas of turbulence or flow separation. This is an old technique carried over from aircraft development. It's STILL used for development work.
cobramike Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 beautiful build, and that finish....? OMG!
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