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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 8:51 pm Post subject: Dale Earnhardt 1992 Lumina from The Winston |
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This might not be the most exciting or interesting picture I've posted, but it's a nice step forward after taking a fairly lengthy break and narrowly avoiding disaster. After doing the Davey Allison and Kyle Petty cars from the '92 Winston, I had a thought: why not build Dale Earnhardt's car to complete the trio of cars involved in that epic finish?
I started prepping the body to make it accurate to that particular car. I also finally got a new desk and set up a permanent modeling spot instead of working from the kitchen table. Unfortunately when getting everything set up in my new work space, the car somehow got damaged, and it bent the nose of the car so far down it actually broke clean off the rest of the car!! After applying LOTS of sprue goo and doing some heavy duty sanding, it's good as new!
Otherwise aside from filling in seams, I removed the right side skirt, added material to reshape the bodywork coming off the rear bumper to the wheel, filled in the left side of the nose, scratch-made a new rear spoiler, drilled out a hole for the fuel overflow, and thinned out the material on the passenger side window area. I still need to reshape the bottom of the valence a little, but it's almost ready for primer.
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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I look forward to seing more of this one. You sir have proven to be a master when it comes to building impeccable black cars! _________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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Mack
Joined: 28 Jan 2018 Posts: 732 Location: deep south
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Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like you're off to an outstanding start. Body work looks great. _________________ life is hard, it's harder when you're stupid. John Wayne
Last edited by Mack on Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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Remember how I broke the nose off the car and fixed it up and was all happy that it was good as new? Well, I dropped the car again while sanding it and broke the nose again... However, I repaired it again and it's good as new again.
Here it is after priming:
After I painted the interior and the chassis with MCW Poppy Red and Tamiya TS-13 clear. Pictures don't do this paint justice, it's incredibly bright orange-red, beautiful stuff. I still need to paint the rollbar padding/window net/etc. so I'm excited to see how it looks once it has some other colors to contrast against.
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BW
Joined: 01 Feb 2018 Posts: 218 Location: Lick Creek, Alabama
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome work Dan! I suspect we've all had that time when we break something. again, and again. I know I have. Just have to take a deep breath and fix it. Looking forward to the next installment.
-Bobby |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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I managed to break the nose for a 3rd time. Don't ask... But it's fixed yet again! I've painted the body TS-30 Silver Leaf for the silver stripe, plus TS-13 clear over it to protect it when I mask it off to paint the black. I also experimented with masking off the inside of the body not only with tape, but also with some Mr. Masking Sol Neo. I left the liquid mask on in this picture so you can see how I applied it only around edges since I'm using tape too to help protect the inside as best as possible.
I've gotten a ton of work done on the interior detailing. I took a seat from an another kit and modified it to add a left side support and a headrest, then added some scratch built seat belts and carpet in the floorboard area. I also made some ignition boxes and wiring, plus a new mirror, and a couple different rollbars. I still need to add a couple small details to it like air hoses.
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 8:29 am Post subject: |
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Man, that nose has been fixed fixed fixed real nice!
If I ever break my nose can I call you instead of the doctor?
Kidding aside, this model is looking most promising.
What do you use for seat belts & hardware? _________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 8:57 am Post subject: |
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I don't think it's safe to fix a broken human nose with plastic sprue melted in Taimya cement.
The seat belts are made from strips of masking tape cut to size and painted flat black. The hardware pieces are made from thin evergreen plastic sheet cut to shape and painted silver. It doesn't look as nice as photo-etched, but much cheaper and still looks pretty convincing. I may try some actual photo-etched pieces for my next build to see if I think it's worth it. |
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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Man...that interior looks Great!!!! _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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MarkJ
Joined: 29 Jan 2018 Posts: 1310
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:45 am Post subject: |
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Dan, this is coming along perfectly. Such a clean beautiful build. |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:53 am Post subject: |
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'92 Earnhardt update. Good and bad news...
Good news: The black paint went on beautifully, and it's mirror-smooth pretty much everywhere. The hood in particular is the best paint I've ever done.
Bad news: I have to redo the silver stripe work. (That's why I haven't even bothered to remove the liquid mask from the inside of the car body) You can see the rough spots it left around the edges of my pieces of tape.
I had a fly decide to land in my wet paint when doing the roof, so I had to wait for it to dry, sand it smooth, re-prime, re-paint, etc. and do all of that while we had extremely raining weather which caused delays, which all meant my masking tape had to stay on for a long time. Maybe that's what caused the problems, even though I cleared the silver and let it cure for several days before putting the tape on. (I also had one small run in the silver area, but other than that the tape at least gave me sharp edges!) You can see on the nose where I tried to sand out the rough spots it left in the silver, but it didn't help and will have to be re-painted. |
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Tom M. Board Moderator
Joined: 01 Feb 2018 Posts: 606
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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I've had non-Tamiya masking tape do that to Tamiya paint. I suspect they use an alcohol-based adhesive and the alcohol attacks the lacquer paint. |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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This was actually Tamiya brand tape that did that. Really surprised me! |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:05 am Post subject: |
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I've been pretty busy lately, but I have been getting some work done on this when I can. Just a quick cell phone picture for now!
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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That really looks good! _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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Henryjint
Joined: 28 Jan 2018 Posts: 1976 Location: NY State's Hudson Valley
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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What a mirror finish!!! _________________ Forum member since 10/25/2010 |
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bangor boy
Joined: 29 Jan 2018 Posts: 451
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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Your painting technique is superb. Can you share any details about it with us?
Airbrush? Rattle can?
Brands of paint? Thinning proportions? Masking details?
Playlist - winelist!? - while you work?
Inquiring minds want to know. |
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:18 am Post subject: |
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Wow, is there anything harder to do than black?
You sir are the master of black!
_________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:09 am Post subject: |
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Sorry for the lack of updates. I have had to take a break for my mental well-being.... Despite test-fitting on a regular basis being fine up until now, the body wouldn't fit on the chassis!!! While fiddling with that, the nose broke off again!!! So now I have glued the nose back on and am sanding away the inside of the body and parts of the chassis to try and make it fit better, it's getting there but needs some more work, then I'll have to repaint the inside of it again AND repaint the outside where I repaired the nose.
bangor boy wrote: | Your painting technique is superb. Can you share any details about it with us? |
Sure!
bangor boy wrote: | Airbrush? Rattle can? |
Both. The black paint on this is straight from the can, the red is airbrushed.
bangor boy wrote: | Brands of paint? |
The black is Tamiya, and the poppy red is MCW. The clear coat is also Tamiya. I like to use lacquers since they dry fast and smooth and polish up very well.
bangor boy wrote: | Thinning proportions? |
The MCW paint is already properly thinned for airbrushing right out of the bottle. The Tamiya paint I use right out of the can usually, but sometimes I'll decant it and airbrush it, and it's already thinned perfectly for that too.
bangor boy wrote: | Masking details? |
I use three different kinds of masking tape depending on the situation: Tamiya's regular tape and curve tape are wonderful, and for big areas/places with long straight lines I actually use Frogtape delicate surface painter's tape from the hardware store. One thing that helps sometimes is to spray a little clear coat around the edges of the tape shortly before painting. If there are any spots prone to bleeding, some of the clear coat can get in there and block it.
bangor boy wrote: | Playlist - winelist!? - while you work? |
I'm a huge fan of Steely Dan, and dry red wine (old vine zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and shiraz are my go-to wines)
My technique for actually painting... I lay down a couple of mist coats about 10 minutes apart, then a wet coat. I try to put down the wet coat right up to the point where it's on the verge of running. After that's dried at least 24 hours, I sand it smooth with high grit sandpaper, wet sand with light pressure and just keep going up the grits. It's probably overkill at this part of the process, but I like to use Tamiya polishing compound to get it even more smooth here. Wash it really well with dish soap and water and dry. Then it's time for another round of painting, with the same exact process as before. Depending on how the paint is looking, I might even do a third coat. On the final coat, I use all three grits of Tamiya polishing compound to really buff it out smooth. After that, it's time for clear coat, same exact technique as the paint. |
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bangor boy
Joined: 29 Jan 2018 Posts: 451
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, Dan. Most generous of you to share all this info. A big help to us strivers.
I share your tastes in wine and music, so, hopefully I'm doing something right. Would recommend the amazing reds coming out of Spain's Bierzo/Mencia region. And if you like Steely Dan, you'll probably enjoy Monkey House. Just finished recording a new album. Their last one, Friday, was high-ranked on the the jazz charts. |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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bangor boy wrote: | Thanks, Dan. Most generous of you to share all this info. A big help to us strivers. | Absolutely, just ask any time you've got questions!
bangor boy wrote: | I share your tastes in wine and music, so, hopefully I'm doing something right. Would recommend the amazing reds coming out of Spain's Bierzo/Mencia region. And if you like Steely Dan, you'll probably enjoy Monkey House. Just finished recording a new album. Their last one, Friday, was high-ranked on the the jazz charts. | Love Monkey House, I've even got a copy of Friday on vinyl! I met Don Breithaupt a few years ago when his other band Brass Transit did a show in Louisville, very friendly guy, he chatted with me in the lobby after the show for about an hour. |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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After running into those problems with the nose breaking off and the body not fitting on the chassis properly, I took a long break, but finally resumed working on this off-and-on over the last couple months as time and weather have permitted.
I wanted to snap a few quick pictures just to give you all an update since I did a test fit showing the body actually fits on the chassis now! Ignore the fingerprints/dust/etc., and note that I've completely repainted the body, but I still have a lot of work to do on it before I can even think about decals (cleaning up window edges, adding the large metal piece that surrounds two grill openings on the nose, clear coat and polishing, etc.). But here at least you can see some of the things I have done, like just the body repair in general, I've scratch built some cooling hoses and the really unique mounting they had on the left side quarter window on this car. Wheels are also complete.
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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That's looking good for sure. That paint looks 5 miles deep! Great paint. _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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Looks good. Really good! _________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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james220
Joined: 29 Jan 2018 Posts: 162 Location: Roanoke VA
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:47 am Post subject: |
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one of the nicest black paint jobs I've ever seen. not any easy task but yours is great. |
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tireman33
Joined: 04 Dec 2020 Posts: 22 Location: Dover, DE USA
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 8:02 am Post subject: |
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WOW!!!!
Super smooth build
pun intended |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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After sanding and polishing the clear coat on my Earnhardt build, I was surprised at how shiny it was. Truly a mirror finish! (Okay, maybe more like a funhouse mirror, but still!) Tamiya TS-14 gloss black with TS-13 clear, sanded with 4000 up to 12000 grit pads, then buffed out with the course, fine, and finish Tamiya polishing compounds.
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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Dang Dan...now that is very shinny! Can we say mirror. I thought it had great reflection on the blinds...but your selfie is off the Hook. _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2022 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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What a great test to check the quality of our paint job.
So I picked up a dark body I painted to check if I can see myself in it.
I can't see myself. Pretty happy about that... _________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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Shunter
Joined: 27 Jan 2018 Posts: 460
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2022 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Great looking build so far, excellent finish from the polishing |
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bangor boy
Joined: 29 Jan 2018 Posts: 451
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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That shine! It can't be legal.
Thanks for the details.
Hey, Monkey House, new release any day. Touring this summer. |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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bangor boy wrote: | That shine! It can't be legal.
Thanks for the details.
Hey, Monkey House, new release any day. Touring this summer. | Thanks! They've been teasing info's coming about the new album for a couple of weeks now. The wait is just cruel! |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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Decals are almost done! (Just waiting to apply the AC logos on the C pillars until I get the windows on in case they overlap, and need to put the logos above the jack posts) Also, I finally was able to get the grill and duct work on the nose completed, which was something I was dreading doing but turned out even better than I expected! The main top grill is made of three pieces -- I stripped the chrome off the kit piece and painted it black, covered it with a photoetched grill piece, and then covered that with black mesh ribbon. The rest of the cooling setup is photoetched stuff. The bare metal plate that wraps around from the center to the left side of the nose was done by airbrushing Alclad Chrome -- since I did not want it to be a truly bright chrome finish, I just applied one extra coat compared to what I would normally do for chrome (Alclad is funny and looks less bright and metallic if you apply it too heavily)
(Sorry for the reflections of trees in the photos, I didn't have a chance to set up my lights and shoot indoors so I just did this outside real quick)
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MarkJ
Joined: 29 Jan 2018 Posts: 1310
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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That mirror finish is insane. The best I've ever seen. Even better than the real car. |
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tireman33
Joined: 04 Dec 2020 Posts: 22 Location: Dover, DE USA
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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WOW!!!
That is jaw dropping... |
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 12:27 am Post subject: |
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Man, that looks good. Top-notch paint job for sure. _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:39 am Post subject: |
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Absolutely beautiful work Dan.
I'd love to learn more about materials and methods for the photo etch grilles, they look fabulous! _________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Thanks all!
Pierre Rivard wrote: | Absolutely beautiful work Dan.
I'd love to learn more about materials and methods for the photo etch grilles, they look fabulous! |
Here's what I used:
I got the ribbon from a Michael's craft store, it was just in their ribbon section.
The photo-etched stuff is this: https://www.detailmaster.com/products/dm-2465-lumina-stock-car-grilles
For the top center grille, I took the kit grille piece, stripped the chrome, and painted it flat black. Then I held it in place on the kit while I super glued the piece from the photo etch kit with the vertical bars -- this made sure I got it positioned right on the kit grille piece without actually gluing the part onto the model yet. Finally, I took a piece of the ribbon and taped it down to the inside of the body to help hold it in place temporarily. Then I pulled it fairly tight across the grille opening and placed some glue around the edges where the grille piece would attach. Then I pushed the grille piece into place and put a heavy amount of gel super glue around the sides of it to help hold the ribbon in place, and then I held it all there for a moment until everything has set enough that I felt comfortable taking my hand off it. Once the glue fully dried I removed any excess tape.
For the center bottom grille, I used the thinnest Evergreen plastic sheet I had and made a backing piece and painted it flat black, and sanded down the back side of it to make it even thinner. I glued the grille material photoetch piece onto that, and then used Tamiya panel line accent to wash some black onto the grille and darken it slightly. I finished it off by gluing on the outer edge piece from the photoetch kit, then glued the entire thing onto the model.
For the small grilles that are much darker in the center, I did the same basic process as the last one, but instead of using the panel line accent to lightly color the grille mesh, I actually just spray painted it flat black. Then I glued on the outer edge and glued it onto the model. |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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Nearly finished -- just need to glue on the windows and finish the exhaust pipes I've scratch built. I took advantage of the unobstructed view without the glass installed to take pictures of the interior. (Good grief you wouldn't believe the amount of editing I had to do on these pictures! The bright lighting needed to light the inside of the car meant that every single little bump and imperfection that's invisible to the naked eye all reflected back bright white spots, and every little speck of dust looked massive. Editing those out just makes it look more like how it looks in person!)
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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Man...what a GREAT looking interior and whole car. Good job for sure. _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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Pierre Rivard
Joined: 25 Feb 2021 Posts: 378 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2022 7:15 am Post subject: |
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Dan, beautiful work on the interior. It is a great match for that perfect body.
Great idea to tale pics of interior before installing the glass.
Almost at the finish line.
_________________ "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it" - Yogi Berra |
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Dan Belcher
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 Posts: 194
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Gary Davis
Joined: 02 Feb 2018 Posts: 242 Location: Tacoma,Washington
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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Man...that really looks GREAT! GREAT job Dan..... _________________ Short Track racing....Ya gotta love it.
I've been a member since 2006 |
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