WIP '06 Monte Carlo SS Superspeedway

[indy1977tx]

Okay so I am new to WIPs and I hoping that this will make me stick with finishing a model more than I do now. In the foreground is the kit for this project. Revell's 2006 NASCAR Chevrolet Monte Carlo and this one just happened to be the Jimmie Johnson version. I won't be using the kit decals so we'll have to see about that later. Right now it is body modification time...

Like so many Hollywood starlets, this is getting a severe nose job!!



Here I have left a small gap in the tape - this is where I will saw. I chose this spot because it kept the lower half in tact which I can reuse on another project.



Here's the car in Post-Op with my weapon of choice. Not a perfect cut but a good one none the less.



Being a resistrictor plate car meant I wanted to take some of the fender flaring away that is more for downforce cars. However, once I started filing away on the plastic, the front end was flexing a lot so I decided to brace the front end. Here I measure a cross angle...



Transfer the measurement to scrap spruce and cut it out with my tree nippers.


Here are the first two pieces in position. I'll add a few more but it helps reduce the flex as does the hood being taped down. If I avoid the front end snapping then all of this work will be justified in my mind. More supports will be added shortly.



In trying to sand down the fenders I stumbled upon some warp in the door. Look at the shadow under the taped up nail file - the shadow is definitely not even underneath this straight file. Not sure what to do about this yet...


I picked up some stuff to "fix" the fuel filler. Revell did a pretty poor job of representing this piece so I'll be trying a pretty simple fix for this. We will see how that goes this weekend!!

Jordan

[white97ex]

why did you remove the whole nose? I would assume it'd be easier to modify the kit nose to get that pushed out flat superspeedway look. A lot of guys have had great luck heating and literally pushing out the nose. I would be inclined to keep it in tact and modify so that it was stronger in the end. Either way you are off to a great start, can't wait to see more!

[indy1977tx]

Good question and I actually have a couple of reasons that make sense in my mind at least.

1.) I have seen noses modified using a lighter. However, not using a lighter means no fire which means no scaring my wife and no getting the evil eye Ultimately, I doubted my ability to get a nice smooth surface on the nose using heat and this would ruin the valence.

2.) I can cut off the nose above where it kicks out and just put some sheet styrene and get a nice flat nose with just a little puddy/filler at the join

3.) I have some 2000-2002 NASCAR Monte Carlos which come from Revell with a flat nose but except for about three races in 2000 the Monte Carlo ran with a kickout on the nose. I hope to use the nose piece from this kit on the 2002 Monte Carlo in my closet as a use way to do the kickout on that kit. And it's free!!!

The trade off is that using sheet plastic instead of sheet metal (which I do have) will be weaker but hopefully (knock on wood) that won't become an issue. I will have to get a new valence but that should not be a big deal at all... I hope I will be trying to get the warp out of the driver's side door by working on it with the help of some hot water.

Jordan

[white97ex]

try using steam from boiling water. It will do the trick. Just be careful not to warp any more of the body. We all have our own methods. Sounds like you've got a plan. I would stay away from the sheet metal. The bonds with styrene glue will be stronger in the long run than those made by superglue/epoxy with the sheet metal....what part of texas are you from?

[indy1977tx]

Thanks guys - so I got a little time to work on the fuel filler tonight - it wasn't perfect but not bad for a n00b!

Here is my work bench as I get ready



Here is the fuel filler and the smallest straw I could find in the last two weeks - a 7/32" diameter straw from a Japanese Steakhouse and I got another straw the same size from an Asian bistro. Apparently, the Asians don't believe in super-sizing straws!! Anyway, you can see I cut the straw at a 45 degree angle so I can angle the straw towards the back of the car



Though it took two tries, here is the straw superglued into onto the body and quickly shot with accelerator to avoid the superglue from running into the molded in fuel filler. The inset shows a good view of the molded in filler - I plan on keeping the molded in filler on my finished model - hence the stink about keeping the superglue from running into it's crevices!



I used 5 minute epoxy and baking soda for body filler. Pretty ugly right now but I have hope for it with some more work.



Being a little impatient I went ahead and started cutting off some excess material to get an idea of close I was - compared to some Motorsport.com photos I think that I did okay. Turns out an idea man can actually do something!!



I touched up a few gaps in my "body filler" and I am going to let this sit overnight before I start sanding down this area flush with the body. The tape is around this area to preserve detail when I start sanding - I am trying to be careful!

Jordan

[Enzoenvy1]

Off to a great start there. THis is going to be a tough one now that you cut the entire nose off. But I guess that makes it more fun to learn about. Good idea on the straw there.