JTalmage Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 As if I didnt have enough going for me at the moment. my itch turned into something a little more nagging. I've been wanting to build a Rockford Files replica for a few years now and after watching the full series I felt I needed to get started. I started this Revell '78 Firebird Trans Am 3n1 many years ago. I painted the interior red for some reason, and finished the chassis/engine. Well... sorta. And thats as far as it went. I lost interest when the nose, hood, and body didnt line up well, and back in the box it went. Fast forward to friday night.. I was already working on a 10 or 15 year old rebuilder project that got boxed for lack of interest (notice a trend?) and as I started digging thru my parts boxes looking for some things for a member on here, I kept running across random Pontiac Rally II wheels. And parts for my '49 mercury which I'll post later. (the 10-15yr old rebuilder). Well, instead of waiting on Scale equipment to get their pontiac rally II wheels in, I decided to see if they would fit the Firebird. Turns out the old AMT wheels fit the Revell tires pretty well. Just need to throw some whitewall decals on them. So my next challenge was to "De-trans-am" the Firebird... starting w/ the hood. I took the drag version hood and cut out a chunk of it forward of the hole and spent some time getting it filled in just right.
JTalmage Posted February 9, 2015 Author Posted February 9, 2015 More pictures of the "de-trans-am'ing" Shaving that rear spoiler off gets pretty close to busting thru the styrene... in fact. I threw a line of testors glue on the backside to help it... came back and saw sink marks on the trunk lid from it. Whoops. more areas to fill... So then I decided I needed to jump in head first and start cutting the flares off... I used some zap a gap and glued the t tops in... and then also used some spot putty to fill the gaps. I've never used bondo on a model before. And this stuff doesnt impress me. I need to find an alternative. Rebuilt the front wheel arch the best I could using the remainder of the flare and pieces of old rear spoiler. worked pretty well. Still need to do some shaping but its pretty darn close. I think so far it's turning out pretty good. I need to invest in a new type of filler to really make this thing smooth.
topher5150 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 I'm going to totally hijack this thread, but in the first pic what kind of audio equipment is the car sitting on?
JTalmage Posted February 9, 2015 Author Posted February 9, 2015 I'm going to totally hijack this thread, but in the first pic what kind of audio equipment is the car sitting on? An old Sears Silvertone amp... this thing Very strong start and looking really good.. Thanks! I cant seem to focus on one project now that I have a desk...
espo Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Jesse, I'm enjoying your build. For body filler you might try Tamiya Putty. I've had good luck with it and it doesn't seem to shrink later on.
JTalmage Posted February 9, 2015 Author Posted February 9, 2015 Cool thanks. I'll see if hobbytown usa has any when I go to get some brass rod/tubing to use for axles..
62rebel Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 try to smooth those lumps down instead of leaving them proud like that. too much solvent gasses out over too long a time as it cures, and it will shrink regardless. looking forward to more progress!
Ron Hamilton Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I have something similar going on as I write this, except with a Camaro. I am taking a Z28 kit, and turning it into a base Camaro. I am using super glue mixed with baking soda as the filler. For the fine pits, I have some Tamiya brush on putty that seems to work pretty good when used sparingly.
JTalmage Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 How quickly does the super glue and baking soda dry?? I switched to a flexible finishing glaze, but it is old, and seems to be a little rubbery. Although the roof turned out awesome last night. Posting pictures soon...
JTalmage Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 So here's some more pictures from last night. Pretty much spent 3 hours sanding on it. Here's the trunk after filling the sink marks on the edge. As you can also see there the roof was turning out better. I worked on the wheel arch a little and added a small strip of styrene to the very bottom to make it line up w/ the front bumper better. Still have to cut off the other 3 flares. I'm dreading it thinking I had beginners luck on the first one. Too bad I dont have a spare body to cut off pieces from. Also didnt like how the hood looked in person. Had some low spots still visible in the filler primer so I spent about another 30mins sanding it to what I think is pretty darn close. Hopefully start on the other flares tonight. I'll be impressed with myself if I can get those accomplished by end of week.
mustang1989 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Looks great so far with the body work! I'm in!
JTalmage Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 I think it would be awesome if I could actually make this thing look good when it is finished. Would be cool to see it resin casted afterwards if it turns out.
Lunajammer Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Glazing putty has its place as a surfacer but you'll be happier using this two-part putty. Though you have to mix it, it won't shrink and the surface doesn't start "skinning" over while you're working. It'll be a friend to you.
JTalmage Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 I seen that at the store when I picked up my single part spot putty. Should have gotten that instead of trying to be lazy. Does it sand easier and apply thinner?
GeeBee Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Another TV series I loved, they were repeated over here not that long ago, always did like the car he drove, can't believe there isn't a kit of this one, the conversion you're doing is 1st class, can't wait to see more progress on this one ....
Lunajammer Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Does it sand easier and apply thinner? It sands and shapes nicely, feathers decently and is more durable. I use the one part putty more like a heavy primer after I've used the two part for body work. Sometimes I'll slightly thin the one part putty with lacquer thinner and brush it onto difficult areas where I don't want heavy buildup and lots of sanding. Cleans up with lacquer thinner.
JTalmage Posted February 11, 2015 Author Posted February 11, 2015 Got home late last night and only spent about a half hour on it. Got brave and decided to just go ahead and chop the fender flare off. With a little fitting and visual inspection I trimmed the fender and the flare that I cut off, and added a few bends in the plastic flare to make it flow w/ the fender better. Turning out ok I think! I am looking at buying a body to cut the backs of the front fenders off and use them for the front of the back quarter panels... instead of hacking and reusing parts. We'll see how that pans out.
DumpyDan Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 I like the detailed pictures of what your doing, I have filled in a hood like this, did not turn out like yours. Mine was from a earlier Firebird. Keep the photo's coming, I like where your going.
JTalmage Posted February 11, 2015 Author Posted February 11, 2015 Thanks! I'm really surprised how well the hood filling has gone so far. I've done it in the past with terrible results too....
JTalmage Posted February 18, 2015 Author Posted February 18, 2015 Got a bunch of pictures for an update... the rough bodywork is done finally. here's some pics from along the way. Didnt like the contours of the fenderwells, so I added some scrap styrene and then sanded Added a scrap wedge to the front of the fender to help with lining up the front bumper As you can see the bumper fits a LOT better than it did out of the box! Also added a wedge of scrap to the front left edge of the hood, now the hood looks good too. Overall, with the new filler the T-top delete looks even smoother
JTalmage Posted February 18, 2015 Author Posted February 18, 2015 So then I started on the rear fenders... I added a super thin square of sheet styrene behind the panel attached w/ CA glue for strength. Seemed to work great! Just have to do some body filler to both sides and it should look good. Also did some more filler work to the hood and I'm really satisfied w/ it now. Looking pretty close! I think I just need to add the rub strips on the door, along w/ rocker molding, and wheel opening trim, and upper door trim along with side trim around the windows. Not exactly sure how I'll be able to get that to look good... but I'll try....
Twokidsnosleep Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Looking good I have the theme song in my head every time I look at this thread na na na na na nanananananaaa
w451973 Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Looking good. May I ask why you did'nt start out with a MPC T/A instead ?
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