Dodge Viper SRT10

Okay, I'm cheating a little for starting this kit before finishing the 612... I hope you all will forgive me. :iceslolan

So I decided to build this kit because I have been feeling a little uninspired by the austere nature of the Scaglietti. I needed something hotblooded to keep me going, and a Viper is just what the doctor ordered.
On another level the new Vipers hold a special meaning to me. I had the privilege to drive one of these beasts during a performance driving course held by Skip Barber Racing School. The experience was something you can't easily forget for sure, and I have not forgotten how it felt to have 500hp pouring onto the concrete below me.

Here I am in Sebring, FL (I'm the one driving):
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/604/scan00039cq.png

Those cars were red, but I plan to paint mine black. While we are talking plans, I also want to strip the chrome from the stock wheels and paint them in MM Magnesium metallizer. Interior will be black, maybe with some color trim.

So far I have begun detailing the engine. I added fuel rails made from paperclip and fuel injector wires from fine steel wire painted black:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609intake-engine-med.JPG

Then I added spark plug wires:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609engine_wires.JPG

I covered the scripts on the valve covers with BMF, then painted them gloss red. When it dried I scraped off the paint to reveal the scripts. I detailed the pulleys with testors chrome silver. The whole engine is washed in thinned down Smoke. Finally I made an oil dipstick from fine wire and painted the sparkplug wires dark gray:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4846/engine16mm.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8477/engine23ww.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4420/engine30vt.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5564/engine48sd.jpg

Last thing is I primed the body in Testors Lacquer Gray Primer:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2831/prime26rl.jpg


Oh, another thing I feel like mentioning. Here at Kansas State, the Architecture building has two features I plan to use extensively to my advantage. One is the spraybooth:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9425/spraybooth6af.jpg
Say hello to my buddy Nick!
This is one huge spraybooth, and I use it for all lacquer painting now.

The other thing is called the Heliodon:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6827/heliodon1wr.jpg
This is a giant photgraphy room designed to replicate any lighting condition you could possibly imagine. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but this is where I will be taking many on my completed photos, hopefully.


That's it for now! Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Photography room? right... looks more like a UFO observatory LOL

Great progress so far. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see the final product.

You lucky dog...all we have in the ENGR department at my school has is a rapid prototype machine capable of making model parts...and a CNC machine

I built a replica of the wheels on my 1:1 car on the CNC machine at my school.. this post actually gave me the idea to do that in 1:24 or 25 scale so i can make a scale replica of my car.... I don't know if they would be too happy if I used our spray booth for model car painting.

the other interesting thing we have at my school is a 3D printer. I can basically "print" any plastic part i could ever imagine. It works by "growing" the part... imagine printer ink having thickness, and layering it to grow a 3D part. It even prints out a water soluble medium so that you can make a part with a spinning axle or something like that in the medium, run the final product in water, and dissolve out the medium, leaving you with a free spinning part. Hopefully I'll be able to find something interesting to use that for....

Great engine job. I'm going to have to watch this build. Nice to have that spray booth at ur disposal. And I can't wait to see some sick shots of the completed project from inside the spaceship thingy!

wow nice work on the engine, mustve been some experience driving a SRT-10, i thought i knew fast when i got to drive a new malibu with the 3.5l v6 in it :D

nice progress and I thought that photo room was an atomic bomb!

Nice kit, nice car as well.. Stunning detail with the engine.

Would love to try this kit myself, but can't find it for sale in the UK.. Such is life..!!

I built a replica of the wheels on my 1:1 car on the CNC machine at my school.. this post actually gave me the idea to do that in 1:24 or 25 scale so i can make a scale replica of my car.... I don't know if they would be too happy if I used our spray booth for model car painting.

the other interesting thing we have at my school is a 3D printer. I can basically "print" any plastic part i could ever imagine. It works by "growing" the part... imagine printer ink having thickness, and layering it to grow a 3D part. It even prints out a water soluble medium so that you can make a part with a spinning axle or something like that in the medium, run the final product in water, and dissolve out the medium, leaving you with a free spinning part. Hopefully I'll be able to find something interesting to use that for....

Stereolytography: it' fun becouse is not a milling CNC so it can work undersquare without shape turning, anyway normally don't match a fine texture like a good milling: a lot of time to handfinish is required.

I also had a professional CNC proto machine in my office since 2 years ago then I trade for 2 parametric design cad. Was really unuseful to me: too waste of time, I made prototype (my designs not models:iceslolan) by outsource. I simply hadn't time for modelling for long time too. Now I took my spares time and havent CNC machine:banghead:

Hey all!

I've been getting more work done these last few weeks, since Studio has been winding down.

I started painting the body, the color is Duplicolor Nighthawk Black Pearl. It's a neat color to look at in person; it has a subtle blue pearl in the black. Once I get some clear on it, you should be able to see it.
This is the body with about five coats of paint, no clear yet:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/500/76609paint1-med.JPG

I've also been working to get the interior done:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609dash-med.JPG

Another thing I've done is the exhaust. The real car has a metal-foil heatshield over the headers, which I tried to replicate with BMF:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609heatshields-med.JPG

I painted the pipes in MM Metallizer Stainless Steel, and heatstained them with Burnt Metal. Then I washed them with Tamiya Smoke:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609underbody-med.JPG


I might finish this one before Christmas break, but I doubt it. I have four finals next week, so who knows what will happen?

Anyways, Comments and Criticism welcome!

The motor and the interior look great! The body looks like it's coming along well, also. You lucky stiff - the only cars I build that I've driven are Hondas :( This is gonna be a sweet build, I'm looking forward to seeing it move right a long.

looking real good

Color Nighthawk Black Pearl looks very well
Great choice

Color Nighthawk Black Pearl looks very well
Great choice

It doesn't just look good, it SOUNDS great too IMO !! ;) In fact, it almost sounds like a Marvel superhero character LOL

Great job on the build. Did you use foil for heat shielding in the headers?

The heat-washes on the exhaust look verry realistic!

The heat-washes on the exhaust look verry realistic!
everything looks great, especially the engine but i was most impressed with the frame. very nicely done. superb colour also and i cant wait to see the clear on it, great choice. looking forward to more.

Looks sweet!

WoW!!! Lookin really f'in good man!! Keep up the great progress!

Nice! Only the valve covers seem to be a bit too glossy.

What the....! I thought this thread was long dead!

NO IT IS NOT!!! :)

Breathing the fresh winds of summer has reminded me of this poor, forgotten Viper. I regret having neglected it for so long, but with the toil of college, and a summer internship in Sweden, it is only now that I finally get back to work!

So, what work have I done? Not much really. I did manage to get a clearcoat on the body and rub it out nice. I have got to give a shout out to Novus polishing products. They are fantastic! It's tough to tell from the photos, but rubbing the paint with Novus #2 is like finding out you hadn't even put clearcoat on until now. It's that good.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1213.JPG

And one more sun-shiney pic of the engine, cuz it's so purty:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1217.JPG

Now I know what most of you are thinking: "why doesn't he get on with it already, and finish the darn thing!?" I'm happy to tell you that is the current plan. I got the wheels painted, the lights (mostly) done, and only a few little bits left to do. I promise a finished product in a few days. :)

See y'all soon!
-Sam

Hey I just did the exact same model, have fun!

Very nice progress. That Honda paint actually looks like it's not too far off from the new Viper Slate Crystal Pearl finish which is sort of a blue tinted dark charcoal.

Leon, I just had a look at your Slate Crystal Pearl. I had no idea Dodge offered this color on Vipers! Talk about good luck... :)

I love it when a plan comes together.

M'kay guys, I got the body mounted on the chassis, there's no going back now...
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1219.JPG
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1220.JPG

I airbrushed MM Aluminum Plate metalizer on the brakes, buffed the discs, then ran a thin wash of gloss red into the Viper logos. Once dry, I went in with straight gloss red and brush-painted the rest of the calipers. Viola!
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1228.JPG

I also stripped the heavy chrome off the wheels and airbrushed them in MM Magnesium metalizer. Then I ran Tamiya Smoke into the bolt heads to make them "pop".
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1229.JPG



One last pic for y'all. It's a teaser of my next project. Not many of you will recognize it, I'm afraid. :)
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1231.JPG

Gettin' done, see ya soon!

nice details!

Phew, this is feeling like a marathon, and I'm totally out of shape...

Getting more done, though!

I realized that if I glued the wheel/brake assembly to it's rightful mounting pins, it was gonna ride like a tractor in the front. So, I sliced the pins off the hubs, and laminated some thin styrene plates over them. This will give the wheels something big and flat (and clean) to glue to.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1232.JPG

I had to use a thick, slow-setting glue, so that I could get the wheels in place, two at a time, and position them correctly before the glue cured. Back ones in first:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1234.JPG

So now the front wheels are on too, and curing in place. Meanwhile I put the lights on front and back. I used chrome foil under the taillights, and a silver sharpie marker for the backup lights:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/76609DSCN1233.JPG

I used more-or-less the same technique to darken the edges of the headlight lenses, only I used a black sharpie (what a novel idea!)

So now it's sitting with wheels attached, waiting for mirrors, decals, panel-lines, and the all-important final rub on the body, just to get all my dirty fingerprints off! :iceslolan

Finished --> Click Me! (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=4225980#post4225980)

sweeeeeeeet! :D