Green Elephant funny car by jct - FINISHED - 1/24

[jct]

This will be another log of an old kit that was started a long time ago (aprox 18yr) and has been in storage since then...like my Mustang Funny this was intended to be another car then what it is now, but decal issues have forced a change...so I decided to do Jim Green's 1973 championship Green Elephant Vega...this kit will under go the same chassis treatment to lower the stance as I did to the K&C Mustang funny (https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/19936-keeling-and-clayton-mustang-funny-car-which-used-to-be-lew-arringtons-brutus-funny-car-in-124-by-jct/)

 

But first off the Vega had experienced exposure to heat damage while in storage, the damage to the body can be seen here

 

I was able to fix the bulk of the damage with a little heat followed by a cold plunge

In these shots you can see the damage to the chassis...

I'll save what I can but most will be scratch build will polystyrene rod and brass tube 

 

In the mean time the body has been painted out while I was working on the Mustang...

here's a shot of the engine and decals

 

 

Well that's all for now

[mtaylor]

Definitely some damage to the chassis.  Maybe tell folks it ran out of race track when the chute didn't open and now needs a rework. 

[vossiewulf]

2 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Definitely some damage to the chassis.  Maybe tell folks it ran out of race track when the chute didn't open and now needs a rework. 

You have to explain the roof/body damage. So the story needs to include the sentence "[a]t that point I was inverted at 180 miles per hour."

[jct]

4 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Definitely some damage to the chassis.  Maybe tell folks it ran out of race track when the chute didn't open and now needs a rework. 

 

2 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

You have to explain the roof/body damage. So the story needs to include the sentence "[a]t that point I was inverted at 180 miles per hour."

Okay...so it goes something like this,

At an unnamed, albeit world famous drag strip, our intrepid shoe mounts his trusty, unsponsored, but beautifully painted(dark blue with a touch of pearl ice, just in case you was wondering) 1973 Vega funny car.

  At the green our daring drag star hurls his stead to a new world record only to have a freak tornado appear and suddenly appear and "[a]t that point he was inverted at 180 miles per hour."  causing sever damage to the roof and body of  his trusty, unsponsored, but beautifully painted 1973 Vega funny car.

   With ever the nerves of steel our hero remains unfazed by this predicament and waits until aforementioned tornado rights his trusty, unsponsored, but beautifully painted 1973 Vega funny car, to the rubber side...at which time he pulls the chute release...and is aghast when the chute doesn't open...sending his trusty, unsponsored, but beautifully painted 1973 Vega funny car, for a trip through the weeds,  Thus causing unmentionable damage to chassis of the trusty, unsponsored, but beautifully painted 1973 Vega funny car.

The End

[Canute]

We had a fatality at the Englishtown, NJ drag strip with a car going off the end and into the weeds some years back. Upshot was the safety zone there was too small. Since they couldn't acquire any more land to get in compliance, they shortened the track to 1,000 feet between the timer lights.

[CDW]

15 minutes ago, Canute said:

We had a fatality at the Englishtown, NJ drag strip with a car going off the end and into the weeds some years back. Upshot was the safety zone there was too small. Since they couldn't acquire any more land to get in compliance, they shortened the track to 1,000 feet between the timer lights.

Between the sixties and seventies, safety zone grew a lot due to faster dragsters. Many drag strips had to take safety measures to remain open. 1/8 mile was an option I never liked much.

[popeye the sailor]

wow.....quite a story......and quite a bit of damage too     are you sure you just didn't stack something on top of it    considering what you did on the Mustang......you won't have a tough time with the chassis {you already did wonders with the body}.   jee........I hope I didn't send you down a dark path   check either Plastruct or Evergreen......they carry other stuff beside 'rod' that may make it easier  

[jct]

2 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

wow.....quite a story......and quite a bit of damage too     are you sure you just didn't stack something on top of it    considering what you did on the Mustang......you won't have a tough time with the chassis {you already did wonders with the body}.   jee........I hope I didn't send you down a dark path   check either Plastruct or Evergreen......they carry other stuff beside 'rod' that may make it easier  

Na was way down the path anyway...all you did was kick a memory...it's a nice change of pace

[jct]

3 hours ago, Canute said:

We had a fatality at the Englishtown, NJ drag strip with a car going off the end and into the weeds some years back. Upshot was the safety zone there was too small. Since they couldn't acquire any more land to get in compliance, they shortened the track to 1,000 feet between the timer lights.

 

2 hours ago, CDW said:

Between the sixties and seventies, safety zone grew a lot due to faster dragsters. Many drag strips had to take safety measures to remain open. 1/8 mile was an option I never liked much.

Unfortunately we only seem to learn these thing when we lose someone

[jct]

OK...I'm officially in decal hell , I decided to jump over to the Vega since I'm waiting on the new Mustang decals...

these are acting like there is no adhesive on them at all...tried the white glue trick but no joy...they just curl and curl...I've reached out to Slixx again and am waiting to hear back...I'm taking the rest of the weekend off and not going near a model!!!  Think I'll bing watch some Netflix 

[popeye the sailor]

don't forget the popcorn     sorry to see that  

[jct]

1 minute ago, popeye the sailor said:

don't forget the popcorn     sorry to see that  

You can say that again...thought I was past the decal probs, I never had this much trouble with them, especially Slixx...I used their stuff pretty much exclusively when I was doing Winston Cup stuff with no issues whatever, the issues with these new decals just ridiculous 

[CDW]

I have never seen decals behave that way, JCT. It must have been a bad batch of decal paper they printed those decals on. I don't know any other explanation for it.

I recently learned the company I used to buy my blank decal paper from went out of business. I have a good size quantity on hand, but after this will have to look for another vendor. The company I used (now out of business) was known as Bel Decal, in Florida.

If you ever by chance look for blank decal paper to print your own decals, be advised there is specific paper for ink jet, laser, and various other uses including ceramics. It's not "one size fits all". 

[jct]

Thanks CD...I'm hoping they make good on these like they did with the K&C decals...have not heard yet, if so I'll e-copy them and go that route if they go belly up...I've made simple ones with inkjet but never complex ones and now I've upgraded to a laser it is another factor to consider.

In the interim I've been searching the net for an aftermarket decal adhesive...the only product I've been able to locate is a Tamiya decal adhesive, but I could not find a stateside supplier or find any comprehensive reviews of the product.   At this point I'm hoping Slixx will come through again...otherwise this may end up being a generic green funny

[jct]

so I lied...I did some work on the chassis this afternoon...

When I had the Mustang chassis stripped down I thought far enough ahead to get photocopies of it from the side, top, and bottom

from these I was able to size the replacement sections for the damaged chassis...there is a sheet of clear glass over the photocopy

The replacement parts are going to be made from styrene rod and aluminum tubing as it's what I have on hand...

I made sleeves from tuning that will slide over the new chassis tubes and the existing ones 

once all the pieces were sized assembly started...I just laid the components on the glass and tacked them with liquid cement, once they had set a bit the joints were strengthened with ca

that's where she sits for now...still have to install all the bracing in the chassis rails and scratch out a front axle assembly...I'll get some pics tomorrow without the black background. Thanks for the  likes and comments

THX again

J

 

 

Edited February 10, 2019 by jct

[popeye the sailor]

looks good J........good thinking to make those copies  

[jct]

Thx Denis...wish I'd a thought to copy the decals...

[jct]

More good new to share, Slixx is going to send replacements for the Vega build...spoke to Becky this morning,...she did share with me that these two sheets are their most problematic sets...just my luck, but great customer support these are stand up folks.  and to the rumor that they are closing...its false, they have just reduce the business to decals and resin bodies, no more paints or kits

[jct]

Another installment...work continued on the chassis...first I went through and drilled and pinned all the structural joints

and then and added the tube bracing and scratched the front axle support

still have to add a few clips and tabs bit it's almost there.   

I'll be jumping back to the Mustang as the new decals arrived today

Thx for the likes

J

[jct]

More chassis work...

got the tabs for the torsion bars and steering attached and new spindles mounted in the front axle.  I was able to salvage the drop axle itself...ready for paint

Edited February 12, 2019 by jct

[popeye the sailor]

did you check to see if the tires will match the wheel wells?   the front suspension looks a bit long

[jct]

I did...it will be close

[popeye the sailor]

[jct]

[jct]

More chassis work, I decided to test fit the chassis...glad I did, though the axles aligned with the wheel wells the body mounting points were way off...

I'm assuming there was damage there as well as to the front clip, so off they came...new ones are scratched and will be mounted and pinned once the glue sets

Thanks for all the likes 

[popeye the sailor]

don't feel bad.......I didn't think of that variable either   

[jct]

Ya no biggie...I should have thought to check, with all the damage to the front end it's only logical the the rear would be twisted as well...

been jumping back and forth today between the Mustang decals and the Vega chassis...also fired the airbrush up earlier and shot the tins, the original elephant's were an anodized green aluminum...

to simulate that I mixed some kelly green, gold and silver, all Testors gloss enamels, results are below

I don't think they're to bad, if anything a little light...may hit them with a coat of gloss to deepen the finish a little

[CDW]

Really nice save/reconstruction of that chassis. Great looking green color on the sheet metal as well. What color/paint is that? Almost looks like a clear green over aluminum.

[jct]

Hi CD...its a home brew...mixed some kelly green, gold and silver, all Testors gloss enamels...the replacement decals from Slixx arrived in today's mail so I'll be starting round two of that battle soon

Edited February 14, 2019 by jct
added text

[lmagna]

Hi J

Did you make a CarFax report on all that frame damage?  

 

Great progress!