And now for something completely different.

For me, anyway. This is just about the least willimo model you'll see, and guess what? I'm building it. Here comes an Escalade. Mad, mad Escalade. I decided to post because, well, there's a recent flurry of them here and I'm a sucker for a party. And I need to keep motivated on it, I want to have it done for November (yeah right). Lots of plans for it, but I won't bore you with it all. Just show the progress so far.

This build is going to be a how-to almost, and very detailed in coverage. There will be a lot of scratchbuilding and modification, and I want people to follow along as I discover new techniques and make mistakes and whatnot. Be less afraid, it's only plastic! And it's Revell, so it's only $15 plastic! Even better!

The speaker enclosure begins.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade01.jpg
The first peice, the board behind the seats. The seats are in place at the moment to help be sure the angle is right, I want it to match the angle of the seatbacks to help tie it together. Note the reinforcment and the angled cuts to hold the board at the right angle, and note I am only gluing it to the base of the interior. I plan to paint the interior in three parts to facilitate masking. Yes, masking.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade03.jpg
Doing the top edge of the speakerboxxx. Notice the sides in place, they fill the corner that will be visible through the rear doors, but do not extend all the way back. You will see why soon. Note the reinforcement here; not much, just enough to hold it all together. Just places for glue to stick (melt, rather, I use plastic cement, not superglue for this sort of construction, this is important as sanding the box and the butty will be tough on the structure.) Not pictured: more framing. It's more of the same, though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade02.jpg
I want some BIG speakers. No one makes 18" speakers that I know of. Plus, I want them to look COOL! So, hey Mr. S2000, lend me your wheels. They will make fancy chrome speaker grills, don't you think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade04.jpg
See how pretty they will be?

"Whew!" that's enough work for one afternoon. Plenty more to do back here, see you next time!

That's a pretty good idea! No more rims though....

i would also like rim-speakers =P

Looks great so far. Although you just knew willimo was gonna incorporate some type of honda in it!

that is awesome.

maybe you should go with the ross gibson 502. that would look sweet under the hood of that escalade!

awesome speaker grilles now u have given me an idea

Exclusive Honda speaker grills. Nice! What wheels are you going to use on this Truck.

Nice to try something different every now and then?

Looking great so far willimo, I love how you take such great precision in all aspects of your builds :)

Cool! I look forward to your progress. I'm sure you have more tricks up your sleeve.
Any suspension/ wheel Ideas?

Here's a tip: Test fit the rear hatch before painting. It doesn't seem to sit flush with the body, which has been a common problem with this kit. Hopefully this helps.

-Russ

Heh. It's nice to see some tangible Bling, given all the chatting we've done today. ;)

anxious for more progress!!!

NiCE I.C.E.! keep the progress pics coming. This loks like an interesting build.

JeFF

I like the how-to on the speaker enclosures...well thought out!
Bling has to be more than big speakers these days, right?
Where are the flat panel displays, amps, cigar humidor, champagne cooler?(I'm so out of touch with today's blingness :iceslolan )
Thanks for putting in the effort on a detailed build-up Will!

Willim:sunglasse C:sunglasse:sunglasselness!!

Killer!!!!!, cant wait to see more on this!!

BLING BATTLE! lol Awsome work so far!:)

Keep this thing going. Nice idea with the speakers!!

Cadillac grills, Cadillac mills, check out the oil my Cadillac spills...

Another day, another concentration headache. I am afeared I may become a bit tired of such heavy duty coverage of this build. Should I stick with this detail on the build up? Is this useful for anyone? If not I'll just post day-to-day pics.

More boxing in:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade06.jpg
Here I am building the surfaces that will hold the amps. I have the little triangular (trapezoidal, if you want to get technical on me) bulkheads (supports) to hold the sides up. I have the far side done, and am doing the near side in this shot. Notice how they are bent; I couldn't run the part straight back because they would interfere with the speaker grills. This is why test fitting is important! I probably test fit every part 5-6 times before I am satisfied and glue it, but on construction like this test fitting includes a lot of trimming and bending to make parts fit. Notice how I cut a channel in the back (hidden) side of the plastic to help the bend. Don't get glue on this spot, or it will burn right through the plastic, especially since it's stressed by bending.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade08.jpg
Both sides and the top in place: more of the same. Even with all that test fitting, there is a gap between the center console thing and the back of the main enclosure. D'oh! I can't allow that, no no no no! But it gives me a good opportunity for a fancy detail....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade11.jpg
....which comes in the form of a funny little shapethat not only fills the gap but extends up to the top edge of the box. This provides for a little visual interest, and seperates the two halves. It also makes it so I don't have to find something to fill a conspicuously blanks space. Hooray!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade10.jpg
A word on my toothpick (note: this toothpick never sees my teeth!). I use a toothpick for putty application. I hate putty. With a passion. I would kill putty if it were alive. But its not. So I try to use as little as I possibly can. I make everything of plastic and only then smooth contours with putty. I apply the putty with one end of the toothpick - the lumpy end - and smooth it to a close shape. Then with the smoother end, I make a smooth curve in the corner (this is called a fillet). I try to use as little as I can so that I can sand as little as possible. I hate sanding about as much as I hate putty! I hate a lot. But I love models!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade11.jpg
Whoops, there are some holes in the floor I must cover. Here is my paper template. I make a lot of templates. I use 3 to 4 times as much paper as I do plastic when scratchbuilding.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade12.jpg
Sorry, Sonymobile, it's all a lie! I'm not as precise as you may think. This is the left side template laid down on the right side. See how poorly they fit? (willimo cries). Oh well. Time to do another templet...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade13.jpg
I want a head unit in the back, 'cause I like the look and hey, you might want to mess with the levels while you're back here... So I decided to steal the head unit from a dash from my parts box.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade14.jpg
Cool! It fits almost perfectly. This will be far less work than I expected. I framed up some plastic above and on the sides of the head unit (which I forgot to picture). It's just more templating, cuting, and glueing so I'll spare you. Sorry it's outta focus.

Don't worry folks, this thing is going all out. Got more speakers back here, then on into the interior proper. And just for fun, here are the rims I've decided on. (I am purposefully keeping mum about most of the mods, I want to see how they work out before I commit to them here on AF....)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade15.jpg

:D Thanks so much for that WIP, it's a real pleasure to read!

:thumbsup: for the build and the report work: both are impressive!

Willimo:"I hate sanding about as much as I hate putty! I hate a lot. But I love models!" ... I feel I could put that sentence in my sig! :lol: Can I? :icon16:

i love those wheels, what r they?

looks sweet homie! nice detail on the boxes.....love all the detailed angles!

awesome

Sweet man, how can you possibly hate putty?

Yeah that is going to be awesome!! Keep us posted on the progress!!!!!!

What kind/scale rims are those? They fit perfectly!!!

Nice start, that is going to be Pimped up :)

Everything looks kick A$$ so far.

The scratch building play by play is awesome and informative. Thanks!

I'm glad to discover there is a use for all those backwards right hand drive dashes after all. :)

Those wheels are very fitting too, nice choice.

Keep it up and you'll soon to become the "King of Bling"

Sweet man, how can you possibly hate putty?

Well if you use that cheapo Testors tube crap :D I've been using good ol' fashion BONDO for a while now! :)

That is some crazy scratch building going on! Wheels look great. Good luck with the rest.

Oh, and if it's a Bling Battle you want, bring it on!!
I got another Escalade laying around, somewhere.

if you were questioning whether or not it is worth while for you to post in detail, dont! i love it, i cant wait for the next update. i know this will be like no one elses!

I have but one suggestion. Drill out the rim centers where the lug nuts and honda emblem is. That way, it doesn't look like a rim as much as it does a grille. Then you can see more of the speaker also.

I plan to drill the centers of the speaker grills. The rims are from a Dub City diecast, I forgot which ones they are though. They scale out to 27". Bling!

More boxing in:

I started to try to make the enclosures for the second pair of speakers out of styrene tube, but they didn't fit how I liked and they were round, and didn't really fit into the angular thing that was going on. The original plan was for a whole curvey enclosure, but my plan changed, so I had to change even this next bit of assembly. Simple boxing in again, but there are some tricks I would like to share from this stage as well.

I need to cut a circle to slip the speaker into. This is how I do it:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade16.jpg
I use my (new for this project) calipers to measure the speaker. These are hoppin' hydros speakers, if you have a set notice that there is a lip, be sure to measure the diameter of the mating surface, not the lip. I then I bust out my dividers - like a compass (the circle drawing variety) with two points. I would suggest in getting a nice set of calipers from a drafting store, since I use them not only for this (I actually use my crappy pair for this) but to duplicate dimensions over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. That's what they're for after all right?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade17.jpg
I calculate the radius of the speakers (divide the diameter in half; quick tip: since this is in fractions of an inch, this is an easy calculation. To divide a fraction in half, multiply the denominator by two. This is a handy trick since I want to go from fraction to fraction, I can't use my scale (ruler) to measure in decimals of inches). With my caliper set to the radius, I poke one point into the plastic and spin the caliper as if I were drawing a circle with a compass. The other point scores the plastic in a perfect circle. Mad fun!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade19.jpg
Here's your precisions, Sonymobile. I took this picture just for you. This is the layout of the box end that I am going to cut out. I had to measure it to keep it the same from side to side, box to box, cheek to cheek... oops. I'm not dancing. Don't tell Debbie.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade20.jpg
Here is the initial install of the box face. The hole is where the speaker goes ("Really? Tell me more willimo!!"). The little triangular (sort of) supports were actually attached to the box face first, then it was all glued down into the back of the truck. It's much easier to lay it out evenly that way, I don't have to worrying about trying to measure and get everything to line up, especially since it's not all perfectly laid out in the first place. I can put them in so they look closest to correct.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/willimo/Escalade22.jpg
This is the whole system installed. I still have some putty and sanding work to do still, and then of course to paint it after the whole interior is done. The boxes furthest to the back still pose a problem, as I have to figure out some way to integrate them into the side panels without glueing it together. I have some ideas, but we'll see what works. I'm also wondering about my speaker grills, I am on the fence about what to do. Should I just paint a black circle under it? or should I make some sort of facsimile of a speaker under it or what? Time will tell. And perhaps... well, we'll see.

I hope this gives you guys some ideas, and helps anyone who's worried about scratchbuilding. I hope to see some more trucks and cars come out of the wood work for a Bling Battle, I know before long I'll be in Blingstadium, waiting. For you.

holy wow! :eek2: :worshippy

Looks great!! With regard to your speakers, what if you just cut holes in the boxes the shape of your big-a$$ grills, painted the inside of the boxes black and covered the holes with mesh. I think this would save you having to fabricate cones but would give the illusion of them being there.

Just an idea from a newb. :dunno:

Holy shitaki! What are those rims like 28's?!?! Damn out done yourself again big pimpin! :) (thats your name now) :)

you need some capacitors!! maybe a couple on top of the amp rack? just a thought

:cwm27:

Keep it up Will, the step-by-step helps me out!
The whole setup looks professionally installed, and I really like the molded in stereo/controls console!
Is there a Blingmobile contest going on, fo'real?

Is there a Blingmobile contest going on, fo'real?
Why not? There's nothing wrong with a little unofficial bling fest. Plus, Willmo is already on Interstate 10 headed toward the Bling stadium. I say we meet him there.

BTW, your speakerbox build up is on point. Can't wait for more progress.

Man this kit seems like fun! Those rims are just crazy! Loving the system! Your work is always awesome :sunglasse :cwm27: :biggrin: :iceslolan :smokin:

Looks good willimo! no.. it looks fantasic ;) i like your idea about the rims.. might use that in some car some day ;) keep your good work up!

I think you like styrene a little too much.

Nice job man!

Nice ice will !

I think I can hear that stereo from my house right now.....

nice work so far!!! any ideas for interior/exterior color combo's?

damn, very very nice

what kind of color scheme do you plan for it?

that looks fantastic so far. very impressive :D

:screwy: Your a mad man... Your precision sickens me.


lol j/k. This is freaking AMAZING! Beautiful work Willimo, I just...I dunno..speachless is the word that comes to mind... Keep it up!

holy nice scale ice setup batman!

very very very smart!

so um... where are the updates?? you got eager people watching this thread!!! :D

Inquiring minds want to know :)

so um... where are the updates?? you got eager people watching this thread!!! :D

Inquiring minds want to know :)

i agree, ive been looking for this thread to pop up and sniper got me excited lol

:1: