Harry P. Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 This time I'll be building a very unique Buick, the 1911 "Buggyabout." The kit is pretty nicely detailed, with full engine and chassis detail. This is the 1/16 scale kit I'm working with, molded in dark green, ivory, clear and brass plated: The reason that it's a unique Buick is that it is a very small, very basic, and very stripped-down car, quite unlike the luxury image Buick was pushing back then. No windshield, no doors, no top, the bare-bones basic Buggyabout was "powered" (and I use the word "powered" very loosely! ) by a tiny 127 c.i. horizontally-oppsed two-cylinder engine! The engine was good for 14 HP (hence the "Model 14" designation). The hood had bulges on the sides to accommodate the cylinders. The rear wheels were chain driven. The Model 14 was introduced late in 1910, and it was priced to compete directly with the Model T. The 1911 model (named the Model 14B) was basically unchanged except for the gas tank, which was moved from under the seat to behind the seat on the rear deck. (Note that the kit is mislabeled... it has no visible gas tank, and therefore actually represents the 1910 Model 14 with the gas tank mounted under the seat and not the 1911 Model 14B with the external gas tank on the rear deck). Here's a real one... The Buick Model 14/14B never really caught on, and didn't exactly fit Buick's intended image of "premium motorcars." After a little more than 3,000 had been built, the Model 14 was killed off in 1911. It remains one of the smallest Buicks ever built, and the only Buick ever to be powered by a two-cylinder engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Those Aurora kits are great and really come alive with some TLC which I am sure you can supply. Happy building! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 The first Beetle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 As usual, I'm not following the instruction sheet building sequence. I like to skip around and build a model my way, for some reason. So I started out with the front axle. No real reason, I just decided that's where I'm going to start! I want posable steering, so the first order of business is to remove the molded-in front spindles from the axle. The way they are molded in place, there's really no way to cut them away and save them for reuse, so I just cut them away and used a grinding bit in my Dremel to finish the job. Once I had the spindles out of the way, I drilled a vertical hole in the axle to accommodate a length of brass rod that will serve as the pivot for the new scratchbuilt replacement spindles, which I made of styrene rod and tubing. Here's the axle with the new spindles installed. The brass rods will be filed flush: As you can see in the above photo, the kit's tie rod can't be used as is in a posable steering setup, so I cut it apart and drilled small holes in the spindle arms: Then I glued the spindle arms onto the scratchbuilt spindles, and rebuilt the tie rod with new ends that allow for posable steering: Presto! Posable steering! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 What color you doing ? It really looks nice in the white. Hint, hint. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Neat project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 What color you doing ? It really looks nice in the white. Hint, hint. : ) Same as the box art... dark green chassis/fenders, ivory body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingIndian Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I like your style Harry. Thanks for the background to the Buick. Do you super glue the brass pivot to the plastic axle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Do you super glue the brass pivot to the plastic axle? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Here comes another classy build from Harry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 For a moment I thought it was the car from this weeks Auto ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Unlike the painted wheels on the car in the photo above, I wanted to go with varnished wooden wheels, like on this Model 14: To get that look, I first brush painted the wheels with acrylic craft paint "Ochre," then when dry, I just dipped each wheel into the can of "Golden Mahogany" wood stain. No brushing, no muss, no fuss... just literally dipped the wheel into the stain, took it out, dabbed off the excess with a paper towel, and let it dry. It gave me what I think looks like a pretty realistic wooden wheel, and the gloss level of the dried stain looks right to me. No further work needed! All I had to do was paint the wheel centers to match the chassis, and done! The kit tires are a nice soft vinyl, in white, which look cool on the wooden rims: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 NICE project Harry, Am I seeing the price tag right $1.78 from Kmart? That's a real antique!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 NICE project Harry, Am I seeing the price tag right $1.78 from Kmart? That's a real antique!! I just grabbed that photo off the internet, that's not really my kit box (although it looks exactly like it). Actually I paid $20 for the kit on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I asked this on another thread but it's probably more appropriate here...Who's the new Harry avatar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I dare say, I'm not sure I care much for the new Harry's styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I dare say, I'm not sure I care much for the new Harry's styles. Got it. I was thinking in the wrong direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Prince Harry ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 I dare say, I'm not sure I care much for the new Harry's styles. Very clever... Got it. I was thinking in the wrong direction. You guys are hilarious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Lots to show you guys on the Buick. The chassis and engine are about 95% finished. First... I scratchbuilt some ignition wires... terminal ends are aluminum tube that I crimped flat and drilled a hole to attach to the plug. The other end has a 90 degree brass elbow that will be glued into the magneto. The spark plugs themselves will be brass rod, with the insulator painted white. Here are the ignition wires: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Here's the chassis at this point. I included the can of paint to remind you how small these "big scale" 1/16 brass-era models really are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 A few engine shots. What you're looking at may look odd, but remember... the engine is a horizontally opposed two-cylinder. It looks nothing like your typical brass-era four banger. The engine sits low and far back in the engine bay. Without added details, the underhood area looks very bare, so I went a little crazy detailing this one. I found some great engine shots online, and used them as reference to detail the carp out of it... Scratchbuilt items include the magneto and ignition wires, and all sorts of miscellaneous "stuff" that I copied from my reference photos. The engine has four radiator hoses... each cylinder has its own upper and lower hose. I replaced the kit hoses and scratchbuilt my own. The connector ends are aluminum rod, the hose part is real rubber hose (ok, rubber tubing found in the jewelry aisle of Hobby Lobby), and the hose clamps are strips cut from aluminum duct tape. And the underside. I painted the basic engine assembly a metallic steel color and then sprayed it with Testors Transparent Black Window Tint to give the engine some added depth and detail... All of the green parts are Rustoleum Hunter Green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goon Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Very cool. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennyg Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Nice. Love watching your work. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 detail the carp out of it... Great I hate fishy detailing. But seriously folks, looking great Harry. You always impress with these wonderful autos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.