Big Kahuna - 1/16 F/C - New Body Arrived - 1/12

[Nitrozilla]

Glenn, Thanx. It might be too much but I like the gold with the blue and some silver mixed in.

Allen, stop giving me ideas. My plates are full enough.

Just finished beefing up the magneto. Made an aluminum shaft. Pics of that tomorrow.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Nitrozilla

[Nitrozilla]

Today on The Big Kahuna Roundup Show, we'll be looking at the magneto and the steering column.

For the mag, I thought the attachment point was weak and decided instead of gluing the shaft to the timing cover as suggested, that I would add an aluminum shaft that goes into the block. I did a little drill damage to the blower relief spring on the manifold, but it's worth it. Pics of it installed tomorrow.

The pic of the seat is just because. Basic start.

The problem with the fire extinguisher is, if you glue the halves together after they've been painted, there will be a visible seam. So I assembled it, painted it, and now require the steering column to be cut to install it. So I did. Then, again using aluminum tubing, made a new piece to mount the bottle on.

The mag project sidetracked me from wiring it today.

More to come.

[MADDOG]

Today on The Big Kahuna Roundup Show, we'll be looking at the magneto and the steering column.

For the mag, I thought the attachment point was weak and decided instead of gluing the shaft to the timing cover as suggested, that I would add an aluminum shaft that goes into the block. I did a little drill damage to the blower relief spring on the manifold, but it's worth it. Pics of it installed tomorrow.

Your are so right about the weak point. I broke off my distributor on the last plug wire.

I love all the little fixes you have made for the weak spots on the kit. The colors look outstanding!!

[am73grand]

I'm loving this man, Fantastic work

[Nitrozilla]

Thanx for the comments. Engine is nearing completion. Wiring is a toughie. Even got the firing order right, I think, I hope.

I've experienced the problem with the wire not wanting to go into the boot. Fixed it by going with 20 gauge for the boots and 26 gauge for the wire.

Used the same boot trimming technique I've done in the past. Drill a hole the diameter of the boot tubing in a thin piece of plastic. Place it over the tube, slice away the excess and correct any boo-boo's. Some end up taller because I don't have 3 hands.

Oil lines were pretty straight forward easy peasy.

Frame stuff after this step is done.

[Mooneyzs]

Joe... That is looking good. Keep up the great work.

[shift13]

and i thought 1/25 wiring was difficult before this kit lol this kit has lots of quarks but im still enjoying it. im hoping it will be my slump buster. yours is coming along quite nicely. keep it up!

[Nitrozilla]

Chris and Allen, thank you. I always look forward to your comments and your progress as well.

The engine is almost a done deal. Plug wires in place, working on fuel lines.

And then there was the belt. What a disappointment that after all these years, the best we can do is a rubber band? Seriously? Thankfully, I was in the casino business and was well connected to the slot technicians that service the machines. They would give me worn out belts from bill acceptors.

I had to make a mod to the upper blower pulley starter hook up thingie to deal with the additional thickness. Nothing a little touch up won't fix. On reflection, (as I was looking at this post), I should have shaved off the ribs on the belt at the upper pulley. That would have eliminated the need for the fix. Duh !

Enjoy the pix.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Nitrozilla

[shift13]

The wiring and rubber band I find are poor excuses for wiring tbh. Sure its nice to have a kit with full detail set but its almost to difficult to work with. I find myself cutting off tabs and ca gluing pins on to hold. Ill show some progress sunday night. I just finished painting everything this week. The hardest part part is to deviate and use aftermarket or scratch parts

[Nitrozilla]

Allen my friend, I gave up any attempt at box stock. My philosophy is now that I will stay as close to box stock as possible while still remaining true to the concept.For instance, I knew in advance there was a possibility of the drive shaft hitting the bottom of the seat as a result of raising the rear axle mounts. Sure enough I had to modify the drive shaft to clear the seat.

Furthermore, one detail I've noticed on numerous pictures is a shiny heat shield above the headers. I thought I would use a piece of chrome duct tape to replicate the shield. That's an out of the box detail, but there should have been a decal for it since it is a body detail. The instruction sheet shows a Manley logo there.

Off the soap box and on to the pictures.

[Nitrozilla]

Then 2 or 3 more.......

[Nitrozilla]

With the exception of the headers, the frame is done. Still had to modify one more piece, as I had to cut and file on the rear panel of the tin work just behind the roll cage.

Other than that, just needs touch up in gold, silver and blue.

I'll start on the body shortly, possibly even today. Dying to finish this one. It's been a challenge.

[am73grand]

This is looking great!!!

[bobthehobbyguy]

Looks great. Nice job.

[DynoMight]

Excellent! Looks great!

[brett]

I'll betcha this is as close to box stock as you could build Joe Goss !! looking good buddy very JJ Lieberman esque colors though, not that thats a bad thing. Cant wait to see what you color wise to the body

[Nitrozilla]

Thanx Folks. You make me grin.

Brett, LOL, I had to go look at the JJ car and dangnation if you ain't right. Very similar. For the body, I'm sticking with gold. I think the blue and white decals will set it off nicely. At least that's the plan, man.

This is a body fit test. I'm very happy with the rear end height but not so cray cray about the front.

[Nitrozilla]

Basic paint is done and decaling has begun. I guess we can't finish this build on a positive note.

These decals require a lot of love. Each individual piece so far has had a "Sticky Spot". That's a place where the whole decal has lifted from the carrier except for one spot and if you are overly aggressive at insisting upon it's release you run the risk of tearing it. They will also need lots of Xacto slices and decal solvent / set.

The underside of the body was shot first in flat black. I masked off the windows and underbody, then shot the gold. It will get it's shine when I clear coat it.

For decaling, I'm leaving off any that go on the front and rear bumpers. They will be painted after a couple of coats of clear and plenty of time to dry before masking.

Also you'll notice the cut out? That's for the magneto, as it was causing my front end height problem. I should have cut the new shaft a little shorter.

[MADDOG]

Man Joe...those decals are poppin! Looks real cool on top of that gold.

[Nitrozilla]

Thanx Mike. I like it too.

Now, I am in the process of trying to save it. During clear coat, the decal areas developed a "cratering" effect. Orange peel on steroids, if you like. I've been hoping it's an outgassing reaction from lacquer being used on what are probably enamel decals.

The question is, do I keep shooting it in hopes that these pits will eventually fill up? Do I switch to an enamel or acrylic clear to stop the reaction?

I really don't want to strip it, but if I can't fix it, I'll have to. I'm not worried about the decals because I bought 2 kits when they hit the shelves.

Any advice would be good.

[W-409]

I had similar problem with my '64 Belvedere Stock Car a while back. I wetsanded the body lightly and shot another clear coat on. After polishing, those little pits are almost invisible, though the worst ones still exist a little. I'm not sure if this would work in your case, as I don't know if the clear coat is a bit different (Thinner, for example).

Anyway, sorry to hear about that problem. It was looking so good with that color and those decals on! But I believe you'll turn it out fantastic.

[NJJeff]

I feel your pain! I had similar problems on the War Eagle Firebird I just finished. When I cleared it with Tamiya clear, the decals crazed. I ended up very carefully wetsanding it and clearing it with Testors clear. It's far from perfect, but I had so much time in it already I didn't want to strip it. In the end it came out fairly well.

Good luck, I hope you can save it!

[nitro norman]

I don't know what kind of clear you used , but I have had great success clearing over kit decals with Testors One Coat Laquer. I had bad results with it over Slixx decals. I'm working one the Revell 1/25 Hawaiian, and the one coat worked great on top of those decals. The only Duplicolor I use is their primer. I know a lot of modelers use Duplicolor with great success, but I just haven't taken the time to learn how to use it. Hope you get it straightened out. The rest of the model looks great.

[bobthehobbyguy]

I suggest spraying some of the clear into a jar and flow it into the craters. Let it sit for a couple of days and the lightly sand the whole body and then shoot another coat of clear and see how that works.

[Hawk312]

Oh man. Sorry to see that. I have never seen a reaction like that. Those craters are so deep, it almost looks as though it might have re-flowed your underlying base and maybe even primer coats? That is strange.