Trumpeter 1/12 Scale GT40
Pages :
[1]
2
Eric Cole
07-25-2012, 04:19 PM
Sorry for the long first post but….
Here’s a new project I’ve started recently. It’s the Trumpeter GT40 kit that I plan to build into Alan Mann Racing’s 1966 GT40 X/GT2 as it ran in Lemans in 1966. The car was silver with black stripes and wore a number “7”. After a practice crash the nose of the car was repaired and repainted in flat black prior to the race. I intend to do the version with the flat black nose.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/tumblr_kz8gf4lNFh1qb4pobo1_1280.jpg
The kit itself is lacking detail in a lot of areas, however, there are still over 300 plastic parts to the kit as well as some PE and some turned metal pieces, wiring/hoses, etc. I won’t go into all the issues and inaccuracies with the kit now. I’ll point some of them out along the way and show what I did, or will try do, to correct them.
An overall assessment of the kit before we start is that there are a lot of parts, many of the parts a bulky and flat, lacking molded in detail and about 200 of the parts are chrome plated which is inaccurate. The tires are terrible but there is nice PE and machined parts, the glass parts are nice, thin and very clear. The body proportions are very good to my eye and the body panels fit together well based on initial test fitting.
My intention with this build is to create a good representation of the car as it would have ran in the 1966 Lemans taking into account that there are very few pictures of this car from that time period. Most of the pictures available for this car are as it is today, which is restored. From what I’ve read this car is one of the more faithfully restored GT40’s there is. Even though I will use the KA Models Super Detail Set and the Icon Automotive replacement tires I don’t intend to correct everything wrong with this kit (that would be a lot of work). My only real goal is to achieve a decent looking 1/12th scale GT40 that, at least at a glance, resembles the real GT40 X/GT2.
So, let’s get started…..
Initially, when I started this kit I was all over the place with the build. I had no focus, didn’t know what to work on or fix first. So, this WIP is going to seem a little scattered but should start to follow a more organized process as I get further into it.
Here’s a couple shots of the body:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3100.jpg
Here you can see that the panels fit pretty well. These parts are just sitting in place for now with no tape or anything holding them together. You can also see there’s some putty on the body for filling in sink marks. The bulkhead and chassis components have a ton of ejector pin marks that had to be filled and smoothed.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3101.jpg
These two containers contain all the parts that were originally chromed. I stripped all the chrome parts in the kit with “Purple Power” which removed the chrome and the clear carrier on the parts. Anything that’s supposed to be chrome/polished will get a coat of Alclad later:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3107.jpg
One of the first areas I wanted to tackle was the seats. The seats in this kit are a really weak point. They’re very unrealistic looking and just painting them wasn’t going to help. The KA Super Detail Set comes with a pair of resin seats to replace the kit plastic seats. The overall shape of the KA seats are very nice but the molded in detail of wrinkles and creases seemed overly exaggerated to me. Here’s a pic of the seats. Kit seat in the middle and KA resin seats to the left and right:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3104.jpg
Between the two sets of seats I chose to use the KA set. I wasn’t happy with them either but I could work with them and make them acceptable. First step was to drill all the holes a little deeper where the grommets go. After drilling the holes I knew I would not be happy using the stick-on metal grommets that came with the KA set because I didn’t think they would look right just stuck on the surface of the seat. Not to mention they were proportioned incorrectly. They looked more like chrome washers and less like metal rings. I also didn’t like all the wrinkles and creases in the KA seats. After drilling the holes deeper, then I used a Dremel and medium sized ball shaped cutter and removed a lot of the seat detail. A quick sanding with a coarse grit sand paper to smooth the seats a little left me with the amount of detail I wanted. Next, I counter sunk all the drilled holes so my new grommets could actually sit into each hole slightly. Here’s pretty much what the seat looked like after modification and before primer:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3113.jpg
Next issue with the seats were the metal rings/grommets and how to make them look more realistic. I tried several options from cutting thin slices of plastic tubing and painting it silver but it didn’t look enough like metal. I also tried cutting thin rings of aluminum tubing but 114 rings per seat was just going to be too much work. So, I ended up making the rings out of thin solder wire. It’s soft and easy to work with and it’s metal so it looks right. Here’s the materials I used:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3115.jpg
I started by wrapping the solder around the appropriate size metal rod sort of like making a spring:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3117.jpg
Then using a exacto I cut the spring length wise along the rod turning the spring into individual rings. As you can see the rings are somewhat odd shaped at this point just due to the winding and cutting process. Since the rings are made of soft solder they’re easy to flatten and then squeeze them together to close the gap:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3118.jpg
Here’s a few of the finished metal rings. Not perfect but better than any other alternative I could come up with. I have no idea how many of these I made. There are 228 used for the seats plus all the ones that went flying across the room and lost in the carpet from squeezing them together with tweezers:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3116.jpg
The rings were then attached to the painted seats using flat clear acrylic paint as the adhesive. Since the seats were flat black using the flat clear to attach the rings made it less of an issue if I got a little too much clear on the seat. Here are the completed seats after drilling, smoothing, priming, painting and adding the rings. Overall I’m happy with the result, just needs the seatbelts now:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3120.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3119.jpg
With the seats completed I moved on to the next area that bothered me a lot with Trumpeter’s kit and that’s the tires. The tires in this kit are horrible. The sidewalls are too flat, the edge between shoulder and tread is too sharp and the tread itself doesn’t represent any kind of real tire I’ve ever seen much less the tires on the GT40’s. I purchased Icon Automotive replacement GT40 tires for this kit and I have to say they’re awesome. The Icon set also comes with a spare tire and a resin cast wheel to make it possible to add the correct spare tire to the model during the build process. Here’s the kit tire (right) and an Icon tire (left) for comparison:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3131.jpg
The wheels in the kit are nice representations of the real Halibrand GT40 wheel but they come pre-painted in the kit for some reason. Although not bad the pre-painted gold color was too dark and bonze’ish looking for the car I want to build:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3123.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3124.jpg
I re-sprayed the wheels with a custom mix of gold and silver to lighten the color. Then I added a wash of smoke to the spokes to darken them a little and bring out some of the detail. After the wash had dried I sprayed everything in flat clear. Once the flat clear was dry I added the silver lip around the outer edge of the wheel using Rub-n-Buff silver leaf paste with a cotton swab. Glued the wheels into the tires and added the air valve. Wheel weights were attached using silver tape then I hand painted the tire lettering and the blue stripe around the tires. Once the lettering and stripe were dry I dirtied them up a little using powder from black chalk applied to the tires with a soft brush:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3128.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3129.jpg
With the tires completed I moved on to the rear drive axles. Many of the kit parts are very bulky and toy like, lacking realistic detail and overly simplified. The kit axels are a good example of this. Thankfully, the KA set has white metal replacement parts for this area of the kit. As you can see in the image below, the Trumpeter plastic axle parts in the middle, the five separate KA white metal parts that make up one side of a completed axel, and then the completed white metal axel with working “u”-joints shown at the bottom. Just waiting on some paint/wash:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3121.jpg
That’s about it for now. As I mentioned in the beginning of this thread I’ve jumped around all over the place so far going from one thing to another. From here going forward, hopefully, the thread will be more organized and follow some sort of normal process.
Thanks for looking….
Here’s a new project I’ve started recently. It’s the Trumpeter GT40 kit that I plan to build into Alan Mann Racing’s 1966 GT40 X/GT2 as it ran in Lemans in 1966. The car was silver with black stripes and wore a number “7”. After a practice crash the nose of the car was repaired and repainted in flat black prior to the race. I intend to do the version with the flat black nose.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/tumblr_kz8gf4lNFh1qb4pobo1_1280.jpg
The kit itself is lacking detail in a lot of areas, however, there are still over 300 plastic parts to the kit as well as some PE and some turned metal pieces, wiring/hoses, etc. I won’t go into all the issues and inaccuracies with the kit now. I’ll point some of them out along the way and show what I did, or will try do, to correct them.
An overall assessment of the kit before we start is that there are a lot of parts, many of the parts a bulky and flat, lacking molded in detail and about 200 of the parts are chrome plated which is inaccurate. The tires are terrible but there is nice PE and machined parts, the glass parts are nice, thin and very clear. The body proportions are very good to my eye and the body panels fit together well based on initial test fitting.
My intention with this build is to create a good representation of the car as it would have ran in the 1966 Lemans taking into account that there are very few pictures of this car from that time period. Most of the pictures available for this car are as it is today, which is restored. From what I’ve read this car is one of the more faithfully restored GT40’s there is. Even though I will use the KA Models Super Detail Set and the Icon Automotive replacement tires I don’t intend to correct everything wrong with this kit (that would be a lot of work). My only real goal is to achieve a decent looking 1/12th scale GT40 that, at least at a glance, resembles the real GT40 X/GT2.
So, let’s get started…..
Initially, when I started this kit I was all over the place with the build. I had no focus, didn’t know what to work on or fix first. So, this WIP is going to seem a little scattered but should start to follow a more organized process as I get further into it.
Here’s a couple shots of the body:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3100.jpg
Here you can see that the panels fit pretty well. These parts are just sitting in place for now with no tape or anything holding them together. You can also see there’s some putty on the body for filling in sink marks. The bulkhead and chassis components have a ton of ejector pin marks that had to be filled and smoothed.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3101.jpg
These two containers contain all the parts that were originally chromed. I stripped all the chrome parts in the kit with “Purple Power” which removed the chrome and the clear carrier on the parts. Anything that’s supposed to be chrome/polished will get a coat of Alclad later:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3107.jpg
One of the first areas I wanted to tackle was the seats. The seats in this kit are a really weak point. They’re very unrealistic looking and just painting them wasn’t going to help. The KA Super Detail Set comes with a pair of resin seats to replace the kit plastic seats. The overall shape of the KA seats are very nice but the molded in detail of wrinkles and creases seemed overly exaggerated to me. Here’s a pic of the seats. Kit seat in the middle and KA resin seats to the left and right:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3104.jpg
Between the two sets of seats I chose to use the KA set. I wasn’t happy with them either but I could work with them and make them acceptable. First step was to drill all the holes a little deeper where the grommets go. After drilling the holes I knew I would not be happy using the stick-on metal grommets that came with the KA set because I didn’t think they would look right just stuck on the surface of the seat. Not to mention they were proportioned incorrectly. They looked more like chrome washers and less like metal rings. I also didn’t like all the wrinkles and creases in the KA seats. After drilling the holes deeper, then I used a Dremel and medium sized ball shaped cutter and removed a lot of the seat detail. A quick sanding with a coarse grit sand paper to smooth the seats a little left me with the amount of detail I wanted. Next, I counter sunk all the drilled holes so my new grommets could actually sit into each hole slightly. Here’s pretty much what the seat looked like after modification and before primer:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3113.jpg
Next issue with the seats were the metal rings/grommets and how to make them look more realistic. I tried several options from cutting thin slices of plastic tubing and painting it silver but it didn’t look enough like metal. I also tried cutting thin rings of aluminum tubing but 114 rings per seat was just going to be too much work. So, I ended up making the rings out of thin solder wire. It’s soft and easy to work with and it’s metal so it looks right. Here’s the materials I used:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3115.jpg
I started by wrapping the solder around the appropriate size metal rod sort of like making a spring:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3117.jpg
Then using a exacto I cut the spring length wise along the rod turning the spring into individual rings. As you can see the rings are somewhat odd shaped at this point just due to the winding and cutting process. Since the rings are made of soft solder they’re easy to flatten and then squeeze them together to close the gap:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3118.jpg
Here’s a few of the finished metal rings. Not perfect but better than any other alternative I could come up with. I have no idea how many of these I made. There are 228 used for the seats plus all the ones that went flying across the room and lost in the carpet from squeezing them together with tweezers:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3116.jpg
The rings were then attached to the painted seats using flat clear acrylic paint as the adhesive. Since the seats were flat black using the flat clear to attach the rings made it less of an issue if I got a little too much clear on the seat. Here are the completed seats after drilling, smoothing, priming, painting and adding the rings. Overall I’m happy with the result, just needs the seatbelts now:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3120.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3119.jpg
With the seats completed I moved on to the next area that bothered me a lot with Trumpeter’s kit and that’s the tires. The tires in this kit are horrible. The sidewalls are too flat, the edge between shoulder and tread is too sharp and the tread itself doesn’t represent any kind of real tire I’ve ever seen much less the tires on the GT40’s. I purchased Icon Automotive replacement GT40 tires for this kit and I have to say they’re awesome. The Icon set also comes with a spare tire and a resin cast wheel to make it possible to add the correct spare tire to the model during the build process. Here’s the kit tire (right) and an Icon tire (left) for comparison:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3131.jpg
The wheels in the kit are nice representations of the real Halibrand GT40 wheel but they come pre-painted in the kit for some reason. Although not bad the pre-painted gold color was too dark and bonze’ish looking for the car I want to build:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3123.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3124.jpg
I re-sprayed the wheels with a custom mix of gold and silver to lighten the color. Then I added a wash of smoke to the spokes to darken them a little and bring out some of the detail. After the wash had dried I sprayed everything in flat clear. Once the flat clear was dry I added the silver lip around the outer edge of the wheel using Rub-n-Buff silver leaf paste with a cotton swab. Glued the wheels into the tires and added the air valve. Wheel weights were attached using silver tape then I hand painted the tire lettering and the blue stripe around the tires. Once the lettering and stripe were dry I dirtied them up a little using powder from black chalk applied to the tires with a soft brush:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3128.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3129.jpg
With the tires completed I moved on to the rear drive axles. Many of the kit parts are very bulky and toy like, lacking realistic detail and overly simplified. The kit axels are a good example of this. Thankfully, the KA set has white metal replacement parts for this area of the kit. As you can see in the image below, the Trumpeter plastic axle parts in the middle, the five separate KA white metal parts that make up one side of a completed axel, and then the completed white metal axel with working “u”-joints shown at the bottom. Just waiting on some paint/wash:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3121.jpg
That’s about it for now. As I mentioned in the beginning of this thread I’ve jumped around all over the place so far going from one thing to another. From here going forward, hopefully, the thread will be more organized and follow some sort of normal process.
Thanks for looking….
da_ashman
07-25-2012, 07:36 PM
WOW! Great build so far, & those seats look AMAZING!
These manufactors need to take notice of Tamiya when producing a 1:12 scale kit.
We dont want a cheap upsize & halfassed attempt, we want a Tamiya 1:12 Enzo quality kit. I remeber Scale Motorsports anoucement about doing a super detail kit for this GT40, so many people were excited about it but then they had to can the idea due to the kit being so lacklustre.
Good on KA models to do a detail up kit.
Cant wait to see what you do next!
These manufactors need to take notice of Tamiya when producing a 1:12 scale kit.
We dont want a cheap upsize & halfassed attempt, we want a Tamiya 1:12 Enzo quality kit. I remeber Scale Motorsports anoucement about doing a super detail kit for this GT40, so many people were excited about it but then they had to can the idea due to the kit being so lacklustre.
Good on KA models to do a detail up kit.
Cant wait to see what you do next!
Hemi Killer
07-25-2012, 10:05 PM
I have been waiting for something like this to determine whether or not I will buy this kit
lovegt40
07-26-2012, 01:50 AM
Also I choosed not to keep it.In 12th scale details are a must, and trumpeter kit has too many messy point to fix.first of all wheels.
Too nicer ones u chhosed. keep on posting. I love this car.
Too nicer ones u chhosed. keep on posting. I love this car.
John18d
07-26-2012, 03:27 AM
Awesome work on the seats - I was waiting for a builder with the attention to detail and your skills to attempt one of these kits - i have one in my stash so I will follow your build with interest. - great start - John
ianc911
07-26-2012, 01:33 PM
Really like what you've done so far and your attention to detail! The wheels really look fantastic and the seats look great. My only suggestion would be to try to add a little wear to the seats. In my eye, they now have the correct saggy, wrinkly texture from use, but the black paint looks too perfect, like the leather is still brand new.
Can you describe your process for countersinking the holes in the seat?
What made you choose this particular car over the '66 or '67 Le Mans winners?
Looking forward to more updates!
ianc
Can you describe your process for countersinking the holes in the seat?
What made you choose this particular car over the '66 or '67 Le Mans winners?
Looking forward to more updates!
ianc
John18d
07-26-2012, 03:02 PM
I have been waiting for something like this to determine whether or not I will buy this kit
Hemi Killer - the kit is a little "toy" like out of the box, but it has some real potential for someone with a little skill. If you can get one for around $150 usd shipped to you then I would say get it - you won't be sorry. I got mine off eBay for $142 to my door. Finding one shouldn't be difficult - John
Hemi Killer - the kit is a little "toy" like out of the box, but it has some real potential for someone with a little skill. If you can get one for around $150 usd shipped to you then I would say get it - you won't be sorry. I got mine off eBay for $142 to my door. Finding one shouldn't be difficult - John
Eric Cole
07-27-2012, 08:00 AM
Really like what you've done so far and your attention to detail! The wheels really look fantastic and the seats look great. My only suggestion would be to try to add a little wear to the seats. In my eye, they now have the correct saggy, wrinkly texture from use, but the black paint looks too perfect, like the leather is still brand new.
Can you describe your process for countersinking the holes in the seat?
What made you choose this particular car over the '66 or '67 Le Mans winners?
Looking forward to more updates!
ianc
Thanks everyone..
ianc, I agree with you on the seats and they'll get a little more attention and dry-brushing once I start putting things together as I get closer to final assembly. I like to do some of the weathering closer to the end of the project.
The counter sink was done using a small ball shaped cutter that you would use in a Dremel. I just placed the bit in a pin vise for more control and counter-sunk them by hand. You can see the round cutter in the pin vise in one of the pictures.
Why did I choose this car? Well, mostly because it's not one you see built very often. Between Fujimi's GT40 kits and the various decals for the Trumpeter kit this one is not so common. Aside from the fact that I think the silver/black is a really cool car and color scheme I also wanted to build something a little more unique.
More updates coming soon... it's a slow process working with this kit!!
Can you describe your process for countersinking the holes in the seat?
What made you choose this particular car over the '66 or '67 Le Mans winners?
Looking forward to more updates!
ianc
Thanks everyone..
ianc, I agree with you on the seats and they'll get a little more attention and dry-brushing once I start putting things together as I get closer to final assembly. I like to do some of the weathering closer to the end of the project.
The counter sink was done using a small ball shaped cutter that you would use in a Dremel. I just placed the bit in a pin vise for more control and counter-sunk them by hand. You can see the round cutter in the pin vise in one of the pictures.
Why did I choose this car? Well, mostly because it's not one you see built very often. Between Fujimi's GT40 kits and the various decals for the Trumpeter kit this one is not so common. Aside from the fact that I think the silver/black is a really cool car and color scheme I also wanted to build something a little more unique.
More updates coming soon... it's a slow process working with this kit!!
MerlinPro
07-27-2012, 09:12 AM
Eric-don't know how good your reference is for your chosen car. But there are significant differences from 1:1 cars and Trump's presentation of Stauffer's restoration of 1046.
Visible differences like the fuel pumps, cockpit and dash details are notable.
Also don't know how faithful you choose to be to your #7 so Trump's kit almost forces you to take 'license' on accuracy.
Big hints on two major shortcomings: if you want the nose to tilt open accurately, (with the front hatch ajar as 1:1) you have to scratch that mechanism. I fastened my fenders permanently and left the hatch removable.
The other is the front ride height is all wrong for a race car-lower it significantly.
I forgot a third; trail-fit all panels frequently as even paint build on edges changes everything-allow for that. Doors and hatch especially. The rear clip, when closed, sits off the chassis sides. I relieved the plastic at the top center contact and added .010" shim to the bottom forward edges of the clip. The rear pivot pins are very delicate so go easy.
I'll think of more issues as you progress-hopefully before they catch you out.:)
Visible differences like the fuel pumps, cockpit and dash details are notable.
Also don't know how faithful you choose to be to your #7 so Trump's kit almost forces you to take 'license' on accuracy.
Big hints on two major shortcomings: if you want the nose to tilt open accurately, (with the front hatch ajar as 1:1) you have to scratch that mechanism. I fastened my fenders permanently and left the hatch removable.
The other is the front ride height is all wrong for a race car-lower it significantly.
I forgot a third; trail-fit all panels frequently as even paint build on edges changes everything-allow for that. Doors and hatch especially. The rear clip, when closed, sits off the chassis sides. I relieved the plastic at the top center contact and added .010" shim to the bottom forward edges of the clip. The rear pivot pins are very delicate so go easy.
I'll think of more issues as you progress-hopefully before they catch you out.:)
p9o1r1sche
07-27-2012, 11:55 AM
Hi Eric,
I was wondering when you would get around to doing this one. I have a question about the Icon tires - How do they look diameter-wise? It looks like they're a big improvement over the kit tires.
The seats are looking great.
I was wondering when you would get around to doing this one. I have a question about the Icon tires - How do they look diameter-wise? It looks like they're a big improvement over the kit tires.
The seats are looking great.
MidMazar
07-27-2012, 06:58 PM
Did shaq sit in both of those seats? :lol: Great start and looking forawrd to more progress. The rings are a great touch.
HIPPIE2
07-28-2012, 01:06 AM
Looks like a bad kit, but a great start on making it a masterpiece,
I've frequently have had the chance to look at the red 427 car at the Henry Ford museum, Their car is still in original condition and although it might be just from siting for a while it looks like quite crude, welds arn't that nice, everything is plastered in grime and oil, and nothing is clean at all, Just thought this might help a bit, like in your seats althought they are great in the car I have seen they are more of a really really dark grey, and look very beat up and used.
Hope this helps you in some way, and good luck.
I've frequently have had the chance to look at the red 427 car at the Henry Ford museum, Their car is still in original condition and although it might be just from siting for a while it looks like quite crude, welds arn't that nice, everything is plastered in grime and oil, and nothing is clean at all, Just thought this might help a bit, like in your seats althought they are great in the car I have seen they are more of a really really dark grey, and look very beat up and used.
Hope this helps you in some way, and good luck.
lovegt40
07-28-2012, 01:52 AM
Hippie, some pics of that car will be really appreciate:)
In michigan u have the best american replica company of GT40s (RCR supercars)
In michigan u have the best american replica company of GT40s (RCR supercars)
John18d
07-28-2012, 05:03 AM
Eric - what did you polish the white metal axle half shafts with? - John
Eric Cole
07-28-2012, 08:14 AM
Eric - what did you polish the white metal axle half shafts with? - John
John - I just used a fine grit sanding stick. There were some rough areas on my parts that needed to be smoothed. Once I started smoothing I just used the same method to polish.
Merlin - Thanks for the tips... Im undecided on how much I want to correct. I'm somewhat familiar with GT40's and have been collecting books and photos for years. I've seen several real GT's at various Concourse but I still learn something new every time I study the car. Anyway, as I build this kit I'll decide as I go what to fix and whats not worth the effort depending on how visible it is. I'm in the process of modifying the dash now. I do intend to modify the front end to tilt forward correctly. Not sure how yet but I'll figure it out when I get to that point.
John - I just used a fine grit sanding stick. There were some rough areas on my parts that needed to be smoothed. Once I started smoothing I just used the same method to polish.
Merlin - Thanks for the tips... Im undecided on how much I want to correct. I'm somewhat familiar with GT40's and have been collecting books and photos for years. I've seen several real GT's at various Concourse but I still learn something new every time I study the car. Anyway, as I build this kit I'll decide as I go what to fix and whats not worth the effort depending on how visible it is. I'm in the process of modifying the dash now. I do intend to modify the front end to tilt forward correctly. Not sure how yet but I'll figure it out when I get to that point.
Eric Cole
07-28-2012, 08:20 AM
Hi Eric,
I was wondering when you would get around to doing this one. I have a question about the Icon tires - How do they look diameter-wise? It looks like they're a big improvement over the kit tires.
The seats are looking great.
Hi Ken, the tire diameter is good. I dont have actual measurements but they look good under the car. They give the illusion that theyre smaller but I think thats due to the roundness of the sidewall compared to the poorly shaped kit tires.
I was wondering when you would get around to doing this one. I have a question about the Icon tires - How do they look diameter-wise? It looks like they're a big improvement over the kit tires.
The seats are looking great.
Hi Ken, the tire diameter is good. I dont have actual measurements but they look good under the car. They give the illusion that theyre smaller but I think thats due to the roundness of the sidewall compared to the poorly shaped kit tires.
MerlinPro
07-28-2012, 08:37 AM
In michigan u have the best american replica company of GT40s (RCR supercars)
Although this is a very good-looking replica, the 'best' replica is the ERA from New Britain, CT Paolo.
Only difference from original is that they're primarily left-hand drive.
Although this is a very good-looking replica, the 'best' replica is the ERA from New Britain, CT Paolo.
Only difference from original is that they're primarily left-hand drive.
John18d
07-28-2012, 08:49 AM
Thanks Eric - didn't realize the "white metal" would shine up like that. I've sanded white metal parts in the past for other models but never have I seen such a good result. The half shafts really look the part. - John
Eric Cole
07-28-2012, 09:13 PM
Thanks Eric - didn't realize the "white metal" would shine up like that. I've sanded white metal parts in the past for other models but never have I seen such a good result. The half shafts really look the part. - John
Thanks John, they won't stay polished like this though. The only reason I polished them was to smooth out the mold lines and other imperfections. They'll get a good dirty wash of thin black and metallic grey before they go on the car.
Thanks John, they won't stay polished like this though. The only reason I polished them was to smooth out the mold lines and other imperfections. They'll get a good dirty wash of thin black and metallic grey before they go on the car.
Eric Cole
08-08-2012, 03:53 PM
Progress Continues…. (Still nothing much finished).
Progress is moving slow and I’m not sure I’m much more organized now than I was when I started this build. Recently I’ve been cleaning (filing, filling and sanding parts) modifying some parts and getting them ready for primer and paint.
The more I get into this kit the more I realize how much effort it would take to correct everything that’s wrong and make it right for the specific car I want to build. So, I think it’s safe to say I’m going to build a car that has the “likeness” of car #7 GT40 XGT-2.
So, here’s some work on the dash. I started off by removing all the molded in detail for the gauge bezels and all the switches and knobs. Then I applied the PE gauges from the KA set. These PE gauges didn’t do much for me though, so I covered them with plastic to add more dimension to the gauges. I also modified the top of the dash pad. The kit part has poorly molded in defroster vent detail. The KA set comes with a nice PE piece to replace it with. So, I removed the kit molded in vent with the back of a knife blade and PE saw. The PE part was smaller than the kit part so I then had to build up some plastic around the edges of the opening for the PE part to attach to. Also, the molded in round vents on the left and right face of the dash were replaced with PE vents from the KA set.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3111-1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3146.jpg
After a little more research I realized the car I’m building didn’t have the upper dash vent at all. I was aware that the restored car didn’t have it but “assumed” the original did. I was able to find a couple pictures of the car from Lemans 1966 and it didn’t appear to have it then either. So, off came the PE piece and I filled in the hole with plastic sheet, shaped it, puttied and sanded it back smooth again… (Lesson learned – Do more thorough research before you start cutting plastic!)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3154.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3157.jpg
Here’s the dash as it is now. Sprayed flat black with the bottom supports painted blue to match the chassis color of the real car. Added gauge decals with homemade gauge bezels (made from solder, just like I did the seats), not perfect but good enough for me. The KA set had PE bezels but they’re so thin it didn’t add any dimension to the dash and I wanted something with depth to it. Then I filled the bezels with clear acrylic paint. Also, notice the fuse box on the left side of the dash. This is part of the KA PE set. Painted black then sanded to reveal some details. The car I’m building has a clear plastic protector covering the fuse box so I added the same to mine. Also added buttons and switches from the KA set which still need some paint detail added.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3203.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3204.jpg
Moving on to the engine. Not much done yet but the basic block/trans is assembled. You can see in this picture that the engine came pre-painted in gold and gray. The parts that are natural plastic were chrome plated in the kit originally but the chrome was stripped. This was assembled and then primed gray.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3109.jpg
After priming the engine gray I sprayed the entire piece with a black base coat. I like using a black base coat to replicate metal surfaces for large scale cars and then dry brushing various metallic paints over the black. To me this adds more depth to the part by letting some of the black show through. Also in this picture you can see where I scribed in the separation line for the intake and heads from the block.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3189.jpg
Starting the process of dry brushing the transaxle. I’ve masked off the block from the transaxle and mixed my custom metallic color that hopefully represents the way the transaxle should look.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3194.jpg
And here’s the engine/trans unit with gray applied.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3196.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3197.jpg
Next I continued the process for the Intake, heads and oil pan. Not super clean but not too dirty and oily looking either. Now it’ll get a light wash before and after all the other details go on.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3198.jpg
Nuts and bolts that will be added to the engine and other parts of the car as I go through the build process. These are molded in plastic from the Tichy Train Group. They’re available in several sizes and types and the price is right if you don’t mind working with plastic and having to paint them.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3187.jpg
Here’s what they look like after paint.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3192.jpg
And here they are attached to the engine in place of the molded in representations of nuts and bolts. Also, I’ve added a wash and final dry brush to the engine and began the linkage assembly using the kit parts.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3209.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3210.jpg
Next is the rear suspension. Here are the kit pieces. Very simplified snap together parts that look un-realistic and unacceptable.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3133-1.jpg
I debated on whether or not to replace all these parts with metal rods bent to shape but have decided (I may still change my mind) to stick with the plastic pieces but to modify them to be more realistic. As you can see, I cut off the end pieces “C” clips and replace them with closed rod ends that I made from plastic tubing and the head of a pin. I then drilled a hole in the end of the rod to insert the pin and attach the rod end to the rod. I also removed the tabs from the ends of the stabilizer and “A” arms so the rod ends can slide on and the tabs can be reattached using pins with holes drilled in the ends of the stabilizer and “A” arms. I’m a lot happier with this compared to stock but I still think the parts are too bulky.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3134.jpg
The luggage boxes for the rear of the car that come with the KA set (left) are a huge improvement over the kit parts (right). No pictures of the assembly process but the boxes were very easy to build and look great to me.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3135.jpg
A little closer view of the luggage box comparison.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3136.jpg
Another easy change that I think is a major upgrade is the KA set white metal gas cap. The kit part on the left and the KA part on the right. After research, the KA part is not perfect either but it’s better than the plastic part that Trumpeter provides.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3167.jpg
The battery for this car as provided in the kit is the “Optima” style battery on the left. I made a new battery, on the right, out of sheet styrene and plastic rod. Although it may not be the exact style of battery ran in the car in 1966 it’s a lot closer to the correct style and will be mostly hidden under the dash and out of view (thanks to MerlinPro) for that tip on the battery not being highly visible. That makes me a lot less concerned about it being perfect (or not so perfect).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3144.jpg
Another good upgrade from the KA set is the steering wheel parts. The picture below shows the steering wheel with the kit center spokes and hub, which of course was molded in chrome.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3150.jpg
Here’s the kit steering wheel with the KA PE spokes and the turned metal center hub. To the right of the steering wheel are the bolts to finish off the hub.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3151.jpg
More room for improvement is the kit carburetor pan with distributor cover. The one below is the kit part which was chrome plated. I stripped the chrome but the part is still just too bulky and thick looking. I would not be happy with this so I made a new one.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3155.jpg
Here’s the new one I made. I used the old one as a template and cut a new base plate from sheet plastic and shaped it to the correct shape. Then using a second, very thin piece of sheet plastic I made the sides. I used one piece of plastic for the side and attached it starting at the front with cement and worked my way around the base and back to the beginning. Trimmed the piece to the correct length and allowed it to dry thoroughly. Once dry, I used the distributor cover from the original part, removed with a PE saw and reattached that to the pan I made. You can see the finished part below in gray primer. It’ll get painted with Alclad later. By the way, have I mentioned that this model kit does not have a distributor at all? I’ll have to make one of those also.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3158.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3159.jpg
Moving to the front nose of the car. The cars have fuel fillers on both sides but one would be capped off in a given race depending on which side would be accessible when the car would pit. Here you can see the opening on the right and the capped one on the left. The problem with this is that the capped one should be a piece of sheet metal riveted over the opening. In the kit the cover is molded with a panel line more like an opening flap, not a cover over a hole.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3161.jpg
I outlined the panel line so I could make a template. I laid tape over the part and traced the shape onto the tape. Removed the tape and applied it to a thin sheet of styrene and cut out a new cover slightly larger than the molded in part.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3162.jpg
Attached the cover over the molded in part with liquid cement and drilled new rivet holes accordingly. You can also see on the right side of the nose where I’ve started the base plate for the windshield/bug deflector.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3166.jpg
Next I moved on to the hinges for the opening hatch. The hinges were molded as two piece hinges and the kit was designed for the hatch to be removed, meaning when you remove the hatch, half the hinge would go with it. I wanted working hinges so I started by removing part of the molded hinge and drilled a hole into the end of the hinge base. Then I bent a piece of stiff wire into a small loop leaving one end long enough to be glued into the hinge base as you can see in the next two pictures. Also, notice the bug deflector has been added. (Note: on the real car the bug deflector sits closer to the windshield, so I made a mistake but I’ll live with it).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3169.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3171.jpg
Next, I removed part of the front half of the hinge and drilled a small hole through the side. This allowed me to run a wire through the hinge and through the loop I made from wire attaching the two parts together into a working hinge. I ran thin guitar string through the hinges just to verify they are operational and opened without interference. Once I have paint on everything I’ll place the proper length wire through the individual hinges.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3176.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3179.jpg
Last part of this update… Here’s a quick mock-up of the car in primer with the wheels under it. I’m really happy with the overall shape of this model kit.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3180.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3182.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3186.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3183.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3180.jpg
Thanks for looking and following along…
Progress is moving slow and I’m not sure I’m much more organized now than I was when I started this build. Recently I’ve been cleaning (filing, filling and sanding parts) modifying some parts and getting them ready for primer and paint.
The more I get into this kit the more I realize how much effort it would take to correct everything that’s wrong and make it right for the specific car I want to build. So, I think it’s safe to say I’m going to build a car that has the “likeness” of car #7 GT40 XGT-2.
So, here’s some work on the dash. I started off by removing all the molded in detail for the gauge bezels and all the switches and knobs. Then I applied the PE gauges from the KA set. These PE gauges didn’t do much for me though, so I covered them with plastic to add more dimension to the gauges. I also modified the top of the dash pad. The kit part has poorly molded in defroster vent detail. The KA set comes with a nice PE piece to replace it with. So, I removed the kit molded in vent with the back of a knife blade and PE saw. The PE part was smaller than the kit part so I then had to build up some plastic around the edges of the opening for the PE part to attach to. Also, the molded in round vents on the left and right face of the dash were replaced with PE vents from the KA set.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3111-1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3146.jpg
After a little more research I realized the car I’m building didn’t have the upper dash vent at all. I was aware that the restored car didn’t have it but “assumed” the original did. I was able to find a couple pictures of the car from Lemans 1966 and it didn’t appear to have it then either. So, off came the PE piece and I filled in the hole with plastic sheet, shaped it, puttied and sanded it back smooth again… (Lesson learned – Do more thorough research before you start cutting plastic!)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3154.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3157.jpg
Here’s the dash as it is now. Sprayed flat black with the bottom supports painted blue to match the chassis color of the real car. Added gauge decals with homemade gauge bezels (made from solder, just like I did the seats), not perfect but good enough for me. The KA set had PE bezels but they’re so thin it didn’t add any dimension to the dash and I wanted something with depth to it. Then I filled the bezels with clear acrylic paint. Also, notice the fuse box on the left side of the dash. This is part of the KA PE set. Painted black then sanded to reveal some details. The car I’m building has a clear plastic protector covering the fuse box so I added the same to mine. Also added buttons and switches from the KA set which still need some paint detail added.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3203.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3204.jpg
Moving on to the engine. Not much done yet but the basic block/trans is assembled. You can see in this picture that the engine came pre-painted in gold and gray. The parts that are natural plastic were chrome plated in the kit originally but the chrome was stripped. This was assembled and then primed gray.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3109.jpg
After priming the engine gray I sprayed the entire piece with a black base coat. I like using a black base coat to replicate metal surfaces for large scale cars and then dry brushing various metallic paints over the black. To me this adds more depth to the part by letting some of the black show through. Also in this picture you can see where I scribed in the separation line for the intake and heads from the block.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3189.jpg
Starting the process of dry brushing the transaxle. I’ve masked off the block from the transaxle and mixed my custom metallic color that hopefully represents the way the transaxle should look.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3194.jpg
And here’s the engine/trans unit with gray applied.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3196.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3197.jpg
Next I continued the process for the Intake, heads and oil pan. Not super clean but not too dirty and oily looking either. Now it’ll get a light wash before and after all the other details go on.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3198.jpg
Nuts and bolts that will be added to the engine and other parts of the car as I go through the build process. These are molded in plastic from the Tichy Train Group. They’re available in several sizes and types and the price is right if you don’t mind working with plastic and having to paint them.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3187.jpg
Here’s what they look like after paint.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3192.jpg
And here they are attached to the engine in place of the molded in representations of nuts and bolts. Also, I’ve added a wash and final dry brush to the engine and began the linkage assembly using the kit parts.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3209.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3210.jpg
Next is the rear suspension. Here are the kit pieces. Very simplified snap together parts that look un-realistic and unacceptable.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3133-1.jpg
I debated on whether or not to replace all these parts with metal rods bent to shape but have decided (I may still change my mind) to stick with the plastic pieces but to modify them to be more realistic. As you can see, I cut off the end pieces “C” clips and replace them with closed rod ends that I made from plastic tubing and the head of a pin. I then drilled a hole in the end of the rod to insert the pin and attach the rod end to the rod. I also removed the tabs from the ends of the stabilizer and “A” arms so the rod ends can slide on and the tabs can be reattached using pins with holes drilled in the ends of the stabilizer and “A” arms. I’m a lot happier with this compared to stock but I still think the parts are too bulky.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3134.jpg
The luggage boxes for the rear of the car that come with the KA set (left) are a huge improvement over the kit parts (right). No pictures of the assembly process but the boxes were very easy to build and look great to me.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3135.jpg
A little closer view of the luggage box comparison.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3136.jpg
Another easy change that I think is a major upgrade is the KA set white metal gas cap. The kit part on the left and the KA part on the right. After research, the KA part is not perfect either but it’s better than the plastic part that Trumpeter provides.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3167.jpg
The battery for this car as provided in the kit is the “Optima” style battery on the left. I made a new battery, on the right, out of sheet styrene and plastic rod. Although it may not be the exact style of battery ran in the car in 1966 it’s a lot closer to the correct style and will be mostly hidden under the dash and out of view (thanks to MerlinPro) for that tip on the battery not being highly visible. That makes me a lot less concerned about it being perfect (or not so perfect).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3144.jpg
Another good upgrade from the KA set is the steering wheel parts. The picture below shows the steering wheel with the kit center spokes and hub, which of course was molded in chrome.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3150.jpg
Here’s the kit steering wheel with the KA PE spokes and the turned metal center hub. To the right of the steering wheel are the bolts to finish off the hub.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3151.jpg
More room for improvement is the kit carburetor pan with distributor cover. The one below is the kit part which was chrome plated. I stripped the chrome but the part is still just too bulky and thick looking. I would not be happy with this so I made a new one.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3155.jpg
Here’s the new one I made. I used the old one as a template and cut a new base plate from sheet plastic and shaped it to the correct shape. Then using a second, very thin piece of sheet plastic I made the sides. I used one piece of plastic for the side and attached it starting at the front with cement and worked my way around the base and back to the beginning. Trimmed the piece to the correct length and allowed it to dry thoroughly. Once dry, I used the distributor cover from the original part, removed with a PE saw and reattached that to the pan I made. You can see the finished part below in gray primer. It’ll get painted with Alclad later. By the way, have I mentioned that this model kit does not have a distributor at all? I’ll have to make one of those also.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3158.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3159.jpg
Moving to the front nose of the car. The cars have fuel fillers on both sides but one would be capped off in a given race depending on which side would be accessible when the car would pit. Here you can see the opening on the right and the capped one on the left. The problem with this is that the capped one should be a piece of sheet metal riveted over the opening. In the kit the cover is molded with a panel line more like an opening flap, not a cover over a hole.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3161.jpg
I outlined the panel line so I could make a template. I laid tape over the part and traced the shape onto the tape. Removed the tape and applied it to a thin sheet of styrene and cut out a new cover slightly larger than the molded in part.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3162.jpg
Attached the cover over the molded in part with liquid cement and drilled new rivet holes accordingly. You can also see on the right side of the nose where I’ve started the base plate for the windshield/bug deflector.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3166.jpg
Next I moved on to the hinges for the opening hatch. The hinges were molded as two piece hinges and the kit was designed for the hatch to be removed, meaning when you remove the hatch, half the hinge would go with it. I wanted working hinges so I started by removing part of the molded hinge and drilled a hole into the end of the hinge base. Then I bent a piece of stiff wire into a small loop leaving one end long enough to be glued into the hinge base as you can see in the next two pictures. Also, notice the bug deflector has been added. (Note: on the real car the bug deflector sits closer to the windshield, so I made a mistake but I’ll live with it).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3169.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3171.jpg
Next, I removed part of the front half of the hinge and drilled a small hole through the side. This allowed me to run a wire through the hinge and through the loop I made from wire attaching the two parts together into a working hinge. I ran thin guitar string through the hinges just to verify they are operational and opened without interference. Once I have paint on everything I’ll place the proper length wire through the individual hinges.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3176.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3179.jpg
Last part of this update… Here’s a quick mock-up of the car in primer with the wheels under it. I’m really happy with the overall shape of this model kit.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3180.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3182.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3186.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3183.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3180.jpg
Thanks for looking and following along…
MerlinPro
08-08-2012, 04:37 PM
Meticulous work, beautifully done. Brilliant job on the hatch hinges.
Just watch those shut lines where the rear clip meets the chassis; you may need to shim there. The ride height looks not as bad as mine originally was, did you lower it yet?
And don't forget the black stencil lines in the O's D, A and R of 'GoodYear'.:)
Just watch those shut lines where the rear clip meets the chassis; you may need to shim there. The ride height looks not as bad as mine originally was, did you lower it yet?
And don't forget the black stencil lines in the O's D, A and R of 'GoodYear'.:)
John18d
08-08-2012, 05:16 PM
Stunning work on the dash with the gauges and the switches and all Eric. Very impressive work indeed. Like what you have done with the hinges - John
ianc911
08-08-2012, 05:48 PM
Beautiful careful workmanship. I particularly like the solder for the gauge bezels, and the modification of the suspension arms using the straight pins and short lengths of tube. How the devil did you accurately cut those lengths of tube? A miter box? If so, I think I need a new miter box. Then how did you attach the tubing itself to the end cap with the mounting pin through it? Super glue?
Great update, looks like it is really progressing nicely,
ianc
Great update, looks like it is really progressing nicely,
ianc
Greg23
08-08-2012, 06:49 PM
Parts look great. Don't you (and other Ford GT modellers) wish they had never come up with those seats? I will look and see if I have any pics that might be useful.
Eric Cole
08-11-2012, 06:55 AM
Thanks guys.
Merlin, thanks for the reminder on the tire lettering. I've since made the change and they do look better.
ianc, that's how I did it. Cut the tube, drilled a hole through it and a hole in the rod end, inserted the pin and attached with super glue. I don't have a miter box though. Just free hand cut with a razor saw. Since these pictures I've decide too make it all over from scratch. Updates on that later...
Merlin, thanks for the reminder on the tire lettering. I've since made the change and they do look better.
ianc, that's how I did it. Cut the tube, drilled a hole through it and a hole in the rod end, inserted the pin and attached with super glue. I don't have a miter box though. Just free hand cut with a razor saw. Since these pictures I've decide too make it all over from scratch. Updates on that later...
Greg23
08-11-2012, 09:36 AM
I only have one picture of your car. It is a side shot from slightly above of the driver just opening the door to get in at the start. Probably not of much use. I will try to scan and post it later today or tomorrow, if I get a chance.
sebasoakley
08-11-2012, 07:29 PM
Simply beatifull!!!!
Greg23
08-12-2012, 05:28 PM
Haven't done this in a while. Let's see how it goes.
I can get you bigger if you want. Didn't recall what the posting size limit is.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/bassnightwithOttO/FordGTsized.jpg
I can get you bigger if you want. Didn't recall what the posting size limit is.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/bassnightwithOttO/FordGTsized.jpg
MerlinPro
08-12-2012, 06:31 PM
^^^Graham Hill going to work...
Notice his personal Firestone sponsorship on suit and G'Years on Mann's cars. Andretti had a similar dilemma.
Notice his personal Firestone sponsorship on suit and G'Years on Mann's cars. Andretti had a similar dilemma.
Greg23
08-12-2012, 07:01 PM
@MerlinPro - Where on L.I.? I grew up in Westbury & Stony Brook (before the Univ. was built).
MerlinPro
08-12-2012, 07:34 PM
@MerlinPro - Where on L.I.? I grew up in Westbury & Stony Brook (before the Univ. was built).
Six miles from Riverhead. :screwy:
Six miles from Riverhead. :screwy:
Eric Cole
08-12-2012, 08:17 PM
Greg, thanks for the picture. I would love to have a larger size image just for my collection of GT40 images.
I spent the day today making a bunch of new suspension parts from aluminum rod and tubing. Update pics in a few days.
I spent the day today making a bunch of new suspension parts from aluminum rod and tubing. Update pics in a few days.
cinqster
08-13-2012, 02:50 AM
Haven't done this in a while. Let's see how it goes.
I can get you bigger if you want. Didn't recall what the posting size limit is.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/bassnightwithOttO/FordGTsized.jpg
Nice photo Greg! Worthy of note, is the fact the car was probably prepped and painted in a hurry. Compare this photo to the first one Eric supplied and it's evident that the edge of the black on the nose cone is lower on the right than left! Rivet counters rock!:biggrin:
I can get you bigger if you want. Didn't recall what the posting size limit is.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/bassnightwithOttO/FordGTsized.jpg
Nice photo Greg! Worthy of note, is the fact the car was probably prepped and painted in a hurry. Compare this photo to the first one Eric supplied and it's evident that the edge of the black on the nose cone is lower on the right than left! Rivet counters rock!:biggrin:
Greg23
08-13-2012, 09:00 AM
Greg, thanks for the picture. I would love to have a larger size image just for my collection of GT40 images.
E-mail sent.
E-mail sent.
Eric Cole
08-13-2012, 10:50 AM
E-mail sent.
Got it. Thanks again.
Got it. Thanks again.
nugundam93
08-13-2012, 01:28 PM
wow. all the attention to detail is just amazing.
Eric Cole
08-21-2012, 12:04 PM
I feel like I've been doing a lot of work over the last couple of weeks but have very little to show for it. Anyway.... here's a small update:
The rear suspension - I had mentioned previously that I had made some modifications but still wasn't happy so I decided to redo the rear suspension completely from brass and aluminum rod and tubing. I also remade all the linkages front and back in the same manor. (The kit parts on the left, my new parts on the right. You can see the components that goes into the linkages).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3215.jpg
Next, I moved on to the headers. This is something I've kind of been dreading because I assumed they would be difficult to fit. I started off with the plan to use the KA white metal parts but that quickly went out the window. The parts didn't fit well and the weight of the parts made it very difficult to work with. So, I used the kit plast parts for the headers but used the KA header collectors and the KA turned metal exhaust pipes. I test fitted the plastic headers to make sure everything would fit. I numbered them as I went to make it easier later in final assembley.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3218.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3220.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3222.jpg
Still not a great fit but close enough to work with...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3224.jpg
After making sure the headers fit they would be painted and detailed. While the paint dried I worked on the front of the engine pulleys and belt. You can see the comparison of the kit plastic part and the KA white metal parts. The parts were painted and attached and then a belt was made from black tape cut into a thin strip.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3230.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3231.jpg
....And here are some pics with exhaust painted, detailed with welding seams, weathered lightly and installed along with some of the suspension. I still have a few exhaust brackets and hold down springs to attach.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3232.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3234.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3237.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3238.jpg
Last, I finally got the blue applied to the chassis/tub, etc... this is Krylon Navy Blue Semi-Gloss, decanted and sprayed through my airbrush. I noticed a couple areas after these pics were taken that I had missed but I've gone back and touched those up with blue spray.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3227.jpg
The rear suspension - I had mentioned previously that I had made some modifications but still wasn't happy so I decided to redo the rear suspension completely from brass and aluminum rod and tubing. I also remade all the linkages front and back in the same manor. (The kit parts on the left, my new parts on the right. You can see the components that goes into the linkages).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3215.jpg
Next, I moved on to the headers. This is something I've kind of been dreading because I assumed they would be difficult to fit. I started off with the plan to use the KA white metal parts but that quickly went out the window. The parts didn't fit well and the weight of the parts made it very difficult to work with. So, I used the kit plast parts for the headers but used the KA header collectors and the KA turned metal exhaust pipes. I test fitted the plastic headers to make sure everything would fit. I numbered them as I went to make it easier later in final assembley.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3218.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3220.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3222.jpg
Still not a great fit but close enough to work with...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3224.jpg
After making sure the headers fit they would be painted and detailed. While the paint dried I worked on the front of the engine pulleys and belt. You can see the comparison of the kit plastic part and the KA white metal parts. The parts were painted and attached and then a belt was made from black tape cut into a thin strip.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3230.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3231.jpg
....And here are some pics with exhaust painted, detailed with welding seams, weathered lightly and installed along with some of the suspension. I still have a few exhaust brackets and hold down springs to attach.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3232.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3234.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3237.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3238.jpg
Last, I finally got the blue applied to the chassis/tub, etc... this is Krylon Navy Blue Semi-Gloss, decanted and sprayed through my airbrush. I noticed a couple areas after these pics were taken that I had missed but I've gone back and touched those up with blue spray.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3227.jpg
John18d
08-24-2012, 05:58 PM
WOW Eric - I am learning a lot about this kit and what is possible with your thread. Please keep this one coming with lots of pictures - Where did you get your KA Models "super deluxe detail kit" from - Thanks again - John
Eric Cole
08-25-2012, 09:47 AM
WOW Eric - I am learning a lot about this kit and what is possible with your thread. Please keep this one coming with lots of pictures - Where did you get your KA Models "super deluxe detail kit" from - Thanks again - John
Thanks John, I purchased my detail set from Strada Sports.
Thanks John, I purchased my detail set from Strada Sports.
Eric Cole
08-26-2012, 05:15 PM
Another quick update....
A little more work done on the engine. Exhaust hold down springs were added as well as the KA Set PE connector brackets that would hold the headers and header collectors together. (although it's not a great picture and a little hard to see).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3254.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3258.jpg
Here was the first real problem I ran into with the KA Detail Set. The rear half shafts are too long.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3240.jpg
So I measured the difference between the kit parts and the KA parts. Next I cut strips of tape to the width of material I needed to remove.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3242.jpg
Thankfully white metal parts are fairly easy to cut with a razor saw. I removed the extra meterial.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3243.jpg
And finally, drilled holes in the cut ends for a pin and then epoxied the parts back together at the correct length.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3245.jpg
Back to the interior- I have it mocked up here to get an idea of what it's going to look like. I've painted the switches/dials and lights on the dash and added a transistor box to the lower left of the dash. Installed the battery I made to replace the Optima battery that came with the kit. Scratched a fire-extinguiser and then added various wires and hoses to resemble the pictures I'm able to find of the real car. Last, I added a light weathering to the seats and fire-wall, etc. using various shades of pastel chalk dust applied with a soft paint brush.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3248.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3247.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3249.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3252.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3251.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3250.jpg
I think it's safe to say I've given up on building an accurate replica of #7 and have decided to build it to suit myself using a little artistic license.
A little more work done on the engine. Exhaust hold down springs were added as well as the KA Set PE connector brackets that would hold the headers and header collectors together. (although it's not a great picture and a little hard to see).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3254.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3258.jpg
Here was the first real problem I ran into with the KA Detail Set. The rear half shafts are too long.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3240.jpg
So I measured the difference between the kit parts and the KA parts. Next I cut strips of tape to the width of material I needed to remove.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3242.jpg
Thankfully white metal parts are fairly easy to cut with a razor saw. I removed the extra meterial.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3243.jpg
And finally, drilled holes in the cut ends for a pin and then epoxied the parts back together at the correct length.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3245.jpg
Back to the interior- I have it mocked up here to get an idea of what it's going to look like. I've painted the switches/dials and lights on the dash and added a transistor box to the lower left of the dash. Installed the battery I made to replace the Optima battery that came with the kit. Scratched a fire-extinguiser and then added various wires and hoses to resemble the pictures I'm able to find of the real car. Last, I added a light weathering to the seats and fire-wall, etc. using various shades of pastel chalk dust applied with a soft paint brush.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3248.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3247.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3249.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3252.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3251.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3250.jpg
I think it's safe to say I've given up on building an accurate replica of #7 and have decided to build it to suit myself using a little artistic license.
r33nz
08-26-2012, 05:40 PM
That interior is looking good, love the look of the seats
MerlinPro
08-26-2012, 07:40 PM
Be careful now mounting the fuel pumps between the bulkhead and firewall-they don't want to work at the angle of the bulkhead...
I made a .005" plate with 90 degree angled bottom and mounted pumps to that, between the two structures. Bad engineering by Trump and very fussy to get right.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv151/Aframe/P8180004Medium.jpg
I actually made the bracket to mount them on the firewall, not bulkhead as seen on restoration of 1046. But the rear clip wouldn't close because the ducting hit the pumps.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv151/Aframe/14Medium.jpg
Pick your poison...:screwy:
I made a .005" plate with 90 degree angled bottom and mounted pumps to that, between the two structures. Bad engineering by Trump and very fussy to get right.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv151/Aframe/P8180004Medium.jpg
I actually made the bracket to mount them on the firewall, not bulkhead as seen on restoration of 1046. But the rear clip wouldn't close because the ducting hit the pumps.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv151/Aframe/14Medium.jpg
Pick your poison...:screwy:
Sonomaturn2
08-26-2012, 07:43 PM
Eric, absolutely fantastic! What a great solution to the seats. The depth and profile of the rings are perfect. I was able to start on mine again finally. Thanks for sharing your progress- I know it will help me greatly.
Eric Cole
08-26-2012, 08:44 PM
Thanks guys.
Merlin, I'm going to try to mount them outside, similar to 1046, but I'm not sure how yet or if I'll have any better luck than you did. Thanks to you at least I know what to look out for... Maybe I can modify the ducting in some way???
Merlin, I'm going to try to mount them outside, similar to 1046, but I'm not sure how yet or if I'll have any better luck than you did. Thanks to you at least I know what to look out for... Maybe I can modify the ducting in some way???
MerlinPro
08-26-2012, 09:08 PM
Thanks guys.
Merlin, I'm going to try to mount them outside, similar to 1046, but I'm not sure how yet or if I'll have any better luck than you did. Thanks to you at least I know what to look out for... Maybe I can modify the ducting in some way???
Yes-just mark where it hits and DREMEL???:uhoh:
I got it to work with my angled bracket but a GIANT PIA to plumb the lines...
Merlin, I'm going to try to mount them outside, similar to 1046, but I'm not sure how yet or if I'll have any better luck than you did. Thanks to you at least I know what to look out for... Maybe I can modify the ducting in some way???
Yes-just mark where it hits and DREMEL???:uhoh:
I got it to work with my angled bracket but a GIANT PIA to plumb the lines...
John18d
08-26-2012, 09:33 PM
Eric - your interior looks the part - very racy and not too busy. The seats look like someone really sat it them - excellent work. This thread of yours gets better and better with each posting - John
Greg23
08-27-2012, 12:02 PM
I love the interior/dash.
ianc911
08-27-2012, 03:41 PM
Fantastic work as usual!
ianc
ianc
p9o1r1sche
10-12-2012, 11:21 PM
Any updates, Eric?
Eric Cole
10-13-2012, 08:36 AM
Any updates, Eric?
Hi Ken, I've gotten the body painted in silver and polished, painted on the black stripes and minimal wiring on the engine. Unfotunately, I've had very little free time for building over the last month or so and no time for photos or updates. I've been travelling to Dallas a lot for work and Deanna and I will be transferring there at the end of October.
Hi Ken, I've gotten the body painted in silver and polished, painted on the black stripes and minimal wiring on the engine. Unfotunately, I've had very little free time for building over the last month or so and no time for photos or updates. I've been travelling to Dallas a lot for work and Deanna and I will be transferring there at the end of October.
Eric Cole
10-17-2012, 03:16 PM
Finally... an update. I've been struggling with this build now because of work travel and an upcoming relocation to Dallas, TX. The off and on work on the kit has sort of caused me to lose interest and I can tell that some of my work is getting sloppy.
Anyway, here goes;
Some additional work on the engine. I added some oil lines, spark plug wires, scratch made oil filter and the half shafts that came with the KA Super Detail set. The oil line material is the white weaved tubing that came with the kit. Of course when you cut it the ends fray so I had to apply a drop of superglue on the end to prevent it. After the glue dried I ran thin solder wire through the tubing to allow it to hold shape and lastly painted the tubing with flat black paint. The A/N fitting are the plastic pieces that came with the kit, painted with Tamiya clear red and clear blue.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3260.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3261.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3264.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3265.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3266.jpg
I've also added some silver paint to the body as well as the black stripes. (sorry for the pic quality, pics just taken in normal light on my work bench).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3269.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3270.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3271.jpg
Worked on front suspension. Pretty much stock other than shortening the springs a little to lower the front ride height and adding some brass hardware to hold it all together a little better and (hopefully) make it a little more realistic.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3267.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3268.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3277.jpg
Also installed the engine and built up the rear suspension.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3274.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3276.jpg
Wheels, tires and PE luggage boxes installed from the KA set.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3279.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3283.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3282.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3281.jpg
And with interior installed.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3284.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3285.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3287.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3288.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3289.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3290.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3291.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3293.jpg
Anyway, here goes;
Some additional work on the engine. I added some oil lines, spark plug wires, scratch made oil filter and the half shafts that came with the KA Super Detail set. The oil line material is the white weaved tubing that came with the kit. Of course when you cut it the ends fray so I had to apply a drop of superglue on the end to prevent it. After the glue dried I ran thin solder wire through the tubing to allow it to hold shape and lastly painted the tubing with flat black paint. The A/N fitting are the plastic pieces that came with the kit, painted with Tamiya clear red and clear blue.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3260.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3261.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3264.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3265.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3266.jpg
I've also added some silver paint to the body as well as the black stripes. (sorry for the pic quality, pics just taken in normal light on my work bench).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3269.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3270.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3271.jpg
Worked on front suspension. Pretty much stock other than shortening the springs a little to lower the front ride height and adding some brass hardware to hold it all together a little better and (hopefully) make it a little more realistic.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3267.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3268.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3277.jpg
Also installed the engine and built up the rear suspension.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3274.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3276.jpg
Wheels, tires and PE luggage boxes installed from the KA set.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3279.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3283.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3282.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3281.jpg
And with interior installed.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3284.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3285.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3287.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3288.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3289.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3290.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3291.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3293.jpg
John18d
10-17-2012, 04:08 PM
Super installment Eric - lots of stuff coming together in this one - the engine compartment looks the biz - I will be interested when you start putting together the dash/steering interior compartment.
were the cars colored "blue" on the underside/inside of the body? Just asking
The Icon wheels look the part
Cheers
John
were the cars colored "blue" on the underside/inside of the body? Just asking
The Icon wheels look the part
Cheers
John
cinqster
10-17-2012, 04:19 PM
There's nothing sloppy there Eric...engine and box look beautiful!:smokin:
puffyrs
10-17-2012, 04:36 PM
Coming together well, very nice.
Eric Cole
10-17-2012, 07:10 PM
Super installment Eric - lots of stuff coming together in this one - the engine compartment looks the biz - I will be interested when you start putting together the dash/steering interior compartment.
were the cars colored "blue" on the underside/inside of the body? Just asking
The Icon wheels look the part
Cheers
John
Thanks guys...
John, I can't say for sure 100% how the various cars were but in my research (internet, books and pics of real cars I've seen in person) they seemed to either be blue or black. Which ever color the chassis was, normally blue or black is also the color used in the interior. On this specific car since the chassis was blue so was the interior including the indside of the roof, doors (other than the black door panel) and dash supports. The underside of the nose and rear hatch/engine cover seems to be either black or a really dark gray on all the pictuers I could find of most of the cars.
I'm not sure if this answered your question or not but I hope it helps.
were the cars colored "blue" on the underside/inside of the body? Just asking
The Icon wheels look the part
Cheers
John
Thanks guys...
John, I can't say for sure 100% how the various cars were but in my research (internet, books and pics of real cars I've seen in person) they seemed to either be blue or black. Which ever color the chassis was, normally blue or black is also the color used in the interior. On this specific car since the chassis was blue so was the interior including the indside of the roof, doors (other than the black door panel) and dash supports. The underside of the nose and rear hatch/engine cover seems to be either black or a really dark gray on all the pictuers I could find of most of the cars.
I'm not sure if this answered your question or not but I hope it helps.
Maranello1977
10-17-2012, 08:24 PM
I just love your work, the interior is scary, but that engine is superb. I follow you.
John18d
10-17-2012, 10:02 PM
Thanks Eric - for the research info regarding the interior colors of the body-work. I never knew that. I was going to order a set of the "Icon" wheel/tires for the GT40, but after talking with Mac at Mac's Modeling - he said there's a possibility that Icon is going to make a set of resin wheels and a set of rubber type "black" tires for the GT40. I'm going to have Mac talk with Derrick to see if that's still on. I do not have your skills so I know I could not replicate the wheels-tires like you did. Anyhow great response to my original question -
John
John
Eric Cole
10-19-2012, 10:53 AM
Thanks guys...
Another quick update.
I've added the PE panels and brake cooling ducts to the front of the chassis. Installed the dash, steering wheel, radiator, oil tank and a couple oil lines. Also added the brake cooling hose which didn't work out very well and you'll see that I removed it at a later time. I'll make my own with wire and BMF, or something...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3294.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3296.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3300.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3302.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3303.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3306.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3312.jpg
Then added the doors, I'll add some wheahter stripping later.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3320.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3319.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3318.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3317.jpg
And lastly, attached the upper part of the body/chassis to the lower part of the chassi/tub. It's starting to look like a car now.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3335.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3337.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3333.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3325.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3324.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3340.jpg
Another quick update.
I've added the PE panels and brake cooling ducts to the front of the chassis. Installed the dash, steering wheel, radiator, oil tank and a couple oil lines. Also added the brake cooling hose which didn't work out very well and you'll see that I removed it at a later time. I'll make my own with wire and BMF, or something...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3294.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3296.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3300.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3302.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3303.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3306.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3312.jpg
Then added the doors, I'll add some wheahter stripping later.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3320.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3319.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3318.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3317.jpg
And lastly, attached the upper part of the body/chassis to the lower part of the chassi/tub. It's starting to look like a car now.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3335.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3337.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3333.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3325.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3324.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Trumpeter%2012th%20Scale%20GT40%20WIP/100_3340.jpg
ianc911
10-19-2012, 02:06 PM
Deliciously stunning!
ianc
ianc
John18d
10-19-2012, 04:00 PM
Sweeeeeeet
John
John
Automotive Network, Inc., Copyright ©2026