Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbertha
Your sketch is cool. In the first photo you can see how close you have managed to get to that sketch. You've obviously put a lot of time and effort in to it. I look forwaerd to seeing it finished. Do you aim to paint the red pinstriping?
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In short, yes. I didn't know Jairus designed the Wagon Rod. Makes sense now.
And I was giving him tips for build materials... No wonder he hasn't gotten back to me , that boy knows his stuff.
Now, in long hand, here's the breakdown on the mods:
My goal was to have to use as little body filler as possible so I used the glue and styrene along with tight
tolerances as much as possible to accomplish the following:
1.) I chopped roof (appx. 3 scale inches.) and was able to spread the A and C pillars
in which used off-set cuts on each for strength. The rear window was cut out and
kept the stock size and "welded" back in with cuts made to the roof for fit.
I added 1/16" evergreen sheet styrene cut to the shape of the roof to fill the
for/aft gap in the roof and doors; sanding the roof to shape and carefully
carved the door reliefs and drip moldin with #11 blade and hobby files.
2.) After finding the straightest, most even area on the doors, I sectioned out
appx. 4 scale inches from he body. It is relative to the height of the relief lines on the lower fenders.
I cut the same amount of material out of the cowl at an angle using the straightest part of the
hood as my guide. This was to insure proper fit as well as give me a guide for how much material
I'd be sectioning out of the hood.
3.) The hood was sectioned/pie cut and sheet styrene added as needed to line things back up. You can just see
the material I added between the top section and bottom used to reform and
smooth the sides out.
4.) The fenders, front and rear, were simply cut and shaped, sheet styrene is
used to replicate the reliefs.
5.) I used the front roll pan that comes in the street version of the glue kit but I filed and reshaped it
for a smoother fit and finish. I used the lowermost grille bar to, in part, fill the gap left by the narrowed
grille. Each bar was separated to narrow the spacing between each. It helps make the truck look even lower, I think.
6.) The bed is pretty much stock dimensions with the 'wells' cut out for tire
clearance and brake cooling (Ha Ha!).
Ian wanted the rear frame and suspension exposed as is common on severely lowered mini trucks so I
used styrene sheet to mimic steel for the bed decks. The angled square tubes are stabilizers as there would
be some serious rockin' and rollin' trying to rip the side rails free, otherwise. When racing, the gate would be lowered for
better streamlining so I made it functional. I made roll pans for the rear and on the sides, in back, to hide the frame and gas tank.
7.) The frame was lengthened under the cab and mounting points adjusted to fit the cab. (Three times. Grrrr!)
I altered the front cross bar, bringing it forward for proper wheel alignment
with the wheel openings.
The same is true of the engine and it's mounting points which I fabricated anew along with a longer
drive shaft using styrene tube. I also moved the radiator unit forward.
8.) The interior was channeled over the frame and I fabricated a smooth firewall and transmission tunnel.
With the exception of sheet styrene to fill the gaps, the rest of the interior tub remains stock.
9.) The moon discs were cut from the bottom center of aluminum soda cans and will be spun eventually.
They cover a set of crappy old centerline rims that came with an old MPC Toyota Supra kit.
The slicks are from The Lindberg Dodge 330 "Color Me Gone" kit I converted into a 4 door. (Police car with pictures to come.)
The front tires are from AMT's Snap Fast Plus 'Cuda.
10.) The engine follows Ian's direction and will have a nicely detailed GMC blower with dual quads
topped by short, throaty stacks I'll cut from 3/16" aluminum tubing.
1/8th inch tubes are bent
into a set of lake pipes which dump off from the street legal exhaust system which Jairus so beautifully executed.
11.) The headlights are straight from the Wagon Rod and fit perfectly into the Chevy's stock openings tho I've frenched them a bit. (The easiest step of them all.)