Tony Nancy 22 Jr Roadster by CDW - FINISHED - Revell - 1:25 Scale

[CDW]

Here we go with the Roadster portion of the Revell double kit. Changed my mind and decided to go ahead and build it now rather than wait.

One of the reasons I hesitated on this particular build is because of past experience and memories of having built this model before. The roadster body shell is a real pain in the rear to prepare, being that it is assembled in no less than 8 pieces, and those pieces are by no stretch of the imagination a good fit. Anyway, I'll try to give it a good shot and see what I can do to make it presentable. No guarantees. I don't intend to spend a too much time on it but there will be reinforcement, filling and sanding to do before primer and more sanding. Let's give it a go for old time's sake.

You'll notice I have the floor pan taped in place...this is to keep the body pieces in the correct alignment while the glue dries on the upper parts of the body. Same thing with the rear portion of the body, just taped in partial alignment while the glues dries in the front. All these glue joints will require some strips of styrene on the inside of the body shell for reinforcement. There's not enough surface area to keep the glue joints together through the rigors of filling and sanding without it. The lower body pan must stay removable in order to install the finished body on the chassis at the final stages of the construction process.

Edited October 28, 2023 by CDW

[Egilman]

Aye Brother, I remember this one from my youth, lots of filling and shaping before it's over... I built mine with the body panels off showing an interior so I was able to get away with less filling and sanding since I didn't have to make them fit... I know, taking the easy way out of it....

 

Good luck, a perfect case study in making a silk purse out of a sow's ear....

 

If anyone can do it you can....

[CDW]

10 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Aye Brother, I remember this one from my youth, lots of filling and shaping before it's over... I built mine with the body panels off showing an interior so I was able to get away with less filling and sanding since I didn't have to make them fit... I know, taking the easy way out of it....

 

Good luck, a perfect case study in making a silk purse out of a sow's ear....

 

If anyone can do it you can....

The crazy part about doing this, I have a near-perfect body shell that's all molded in resin in a single piece. But if I used that here, it just would be a cop-out. Can't relive the original experience taking the easy way out.

Later on, I'll do something more modern with the resin body shell.

[CDW]

 

I used thin super glue to temporarily glue the floorboard to the body shell; to add rigidity to the sanding process that will follow. Styrene strip stock was added to reinforce the joints in the body panels and clamped down to achieve a tight bond. The joints were given a sanding to level out the plastic panels. I'm satisfied the current alignment will give a presentable finish. Not perfect, but presentable. After sanding, gave the joints a Mr Disolved Putty treatment. I've grown to like this putty for the quick drying and easy sanding qualities it gives.

After sanding the putty, if I am satisfied, will apply primer and look for any minor imperfections that may need more work.

 

[AJohnson]

Thanks for the tip on Mr. Putty, I used to be an ‘Eagle’ putty fan until they changed their formula a few years back, when it became, for me at least, a pain to get it to adhere to plastic and rock hard to sand and have not found one as good since. 

[CDW]

41 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Thanks for the tip on Mr. Putty, I used to be an ‘Eagle’ putty fan until they changed their formula a few years back, when it became, for me at least, a pain to get it to adhere to plastic and rock hard to sand and have not found one as good since. 

Another good one to try is Tamiya 2-part polyester putty. I had to order it from Japan to get it, couldn't find a hobby supplier in the USA that had it. Found it on Amazon international. Mr Disolved Putty is great for seams and small sink marks but larger areas that need putty may be better served by the polyester putty.

[CDW]

Sanded, then wet sanded before primer was applied. I think it's ready for paint now, so will move on to the engine, drive train and chassis.

[Canute]

Your shell is looking pretty good, Craig. And thanks for the tip about the Mr. Dissolved Putty.

[CDW]

Tamiya pure red lacquer

[CDW]

She who must be obeyed detoured my model building for garage cleaning and organizing duties the past two days. As such, progress has been slower than I hoped for. None the less, I still think I'll have this baby wrapped up before the weekend is done. We'll see. Here's where it stands at the moment. Most of those parts and pieces on the right need chrome paint. A few other small parts other colors but most of the painting is done now.

[Landlubber Mike]

Great job Craig!  Coming along nicely!

 

I have increasingly gotten to like Mr. Putty.  I also like the Tamiya two-part sculpting epoxy.  It works well and doesn't shrink like other putties.  For big gaps, I try to fill with plastic card as much as possible.  I'll also use CA as a small spot filler - it works really well and sands nicely.

[CDW]

A little more progress today in between matters of greater importance. Still working on that garage. Installed the ducts and air conditioning unit today. Soon will have my climate-controlled garage/shop up and running. 

[Egilman]

That is some beautiful bodywork my friend!!!!

[CDW]

4 hours ago, Egilman said:

That is some beautiful bodywork my friend!!!!

Thanks EG!

[CDW]

These dragsters need the "wire wheel treatment" for those front motorcycle wheels. I was in too big a hurry to do it this time around. The front wheels are not glued on so I can do it later if I decide to do so. Who knows, maybe I'll find a vendor who is doing them for sale. I found a vendor for my next 1:12 scale Grand Prix cars that need wire wheels. A fellow from France, around $100 per set of four. Well worth it in my opinion.

[yvesvidal]

1 hour ago, CDW said:

I found a vendor for my next 1:12 scale Grand Prix cars that need wire wheels. A fellow from France, around $100 per set of four. Well worth it in my opinion.

Is that the Bentley or a Fiat?

 

Yves

[CDW]

33 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

Is that the Bentley or a Fiat?

 

Yves

He has a set for the Airfix Bentley and a set for the Italeri Alfa Romeo. You get 5 wheels for the Alfa and four for the Bentley.

1/12 set of 5 hand laced rims for wheels / tyres Italeri Alfa Romeo 8C2300 | eBay

1/12 SET OF 4 wire rims for Bentley Airfix / Heller / MPC. TYRES NOT INCLUDED | eBay

[bruce d]

Found it. I've been looking for this one-page article in MODEL CAR SCIENCE from 1963 on building the Tony Nancy roadster from available parts, guess Revell didn't confide in them about upcoming releases!

Anyway, it's got a pretty good picture of the real thing.

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by bruce d

[CDW]

1 hour ago, bruce d said:

Found it. I've been looking for this one-page article in MODEL CAR SCIENCE from 1963 on building the Tony Nancy roadster from available parts, guess Revell didn't confide in them about upcoming releases!

Anyway, it's got a pretty good picture of the real thing.

 

Great find! Thanks Bruce.  

Revell had those "parts packs" back then. I've got a few of them still. Frames, engines, wheels, bodies, wheels and tires, etc.

Another old Revell kit I'll try to build soon is the old Orange Crate. I've got several copies of it in my stash. As a youngster, it was a very difficult kit to build without butchering it because so many of the parts were fragile to take off the sprues. My tools were very limited in those days.

[king derelict]

9 hours ago, CDW said:

These dragsters need the "wire wheel treatment" for those front motorcycle wheels. I was in too big a hurry to do it this time around. The front wheels are not glued on so I can do it later if I decide to do so. Who knows, maybe I'll find a vendor who is doing them for sale. I found a vendor for my next 1:12 scale Grand Prix cars that need wire wheels. A fellow from France, around $100 per set of four. Well worth it in my opinion.

Those wheels look very nice. I think I would be tempted as long as there was limited risk of wrecking them putting the tyre on

Alan

[CDW]

Getting very close to finish now but must take a short break to get some other things done. Unless the creek suddenly rises, should finish her up this weekend.

[CDW]

She's done.

Take note, the firewall as it comes from the kit does not come close to fitting. The outline is okay, but the cutout for the engine, transmission, drag link are totally off. The whole firewall needs to be built from scratch. I didn't learn of it until the near end of this project. The drag link doesn't measure out correctly either. As it stands, you can't see this error because it goes under the body, but if the body was off the chassis, it would be plain as day.  For that matter, most people will never notice the firewall is missing but it does bug me. 

Anywho, this is all I intend to do with these two models. They were a fun build and a departure from the complicated kits I've been building lately.

Thanks to all of you for following along, your comments and your likes. Mucho gracias.

 

PS: after looking at my photos, I realized I left off the parachute. I'll add it on later.

[Jack12477]

Nice looking models ! 

[Egilman]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

Take note, the firewall as it comes from the kit does not come close to fitting.

It's why I did it body off, the drag link was an easy fix... It can't be built with the kit firewall.... Besides, the engine is the real star of the show here... And you made the bodywork a piece of art as well... Great job...

 

The presentation is gorgeous.... Well done...

 

Two of the early progenitors of the Rail dragster and Funny car.... (the dragsters became the rails and the roadsters became the funny cars) the link between the slingshot dragsters of the '40's early '50's to the cars of the late '60's -70's....

Edited October 28, 2023 by Egilman

[Canute]

Another well done build. And a stroll down memory lane. Thank you for showing them, Craig. 👍😁

[Old Collingwood]

Very  nicely   done  Craig.

 

OC.

[mtaylor]

Wonderful builds, both of them.  Brought back memories of hanging out at the drag strip far too long ago.  I'm reminded of those "roadster" rails with different bodies on them.... the Fiat and some of the early Fords.  Good times that are long gone.

[CDW]

My hometown drag racing hero growing up was "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. Here in this video, he talks about his life in drag racing. In the early part of the video, he talks about driving down Florida Avenue and his first race at the intersection of Buffalo Avenue. That intersection was only blocks away from my home. He was truly a neighborhood hero long before he gained national fame. If you have time to watch it, watch this video as I believe you will enjoy it.

 

 

[Egilman]

He pretty much ran everything with wheels down the quarter mile in his day, from before the slingshot dragster era... Many of the innovations we see in drag racing today originated in his mind... Including the rear engined dragster... He won just about every drag racing title there is to have, and raced against everyone who was anyone.. (and beat them all at least once, usually multiple times)

 

Garlits is a name in racing as great as Yunick, Shelby, Andretti, Foyt, Petty, way too many to list....

 

One of the greatest...

[Landlubber Mike]

They came out great Craig, nice job!