Mike Sullivan Fiat AA/Fuel Altered Dragster by CDW - Finished - Kit Bash Custom Build - 1:25 Scale

[CDW]

This will be a kit bash custom build of Mike Sullivan's Fiat AA/Fuel Altered dragster. The major portion of the component pieces for this build will come from the old Revell Gene Snow Vega Funny Car, a Competition Resins Fiat body, and Slixx Decals to match Mike Sullivan's machine. A photo of the donated pieces for the build:

 

A YouTube video of the machine in action

 

Some photos of the actual car that I will try to duplicate (as close as I consider "reasonable") in this model. 

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by CDW

[bruce d]

Oh boy.

[realworkingsailor]

You’re gonna need a bigger garage….

 

Andy

[CDW]

1 hour ago, realworkingsailor said:

You’re gonna need a bigger garage….

 

Andy

More garages

[CDW]

There is so much cleanup to do on the parting lines of these tubular chassis. Maybe 80% is taken care of now. Will get the rest after glue joints set up.

I need to look and see where adjustments and alterations need to take place to make this a reasonable reproduction of the real thing. Wheel base is a little long I know. Roll cage may need to be shortened as well as adjustments for the wheelie bars.

[CDW]

The pieces I’ve cut off the rear of the chassis were part of the body mounts for the funny car, and won’t be needed for this model. In fact, they interfere. 
With the body sitting on top of the chassis, it gives an idea of the location where a portion of the front of the chassis needs to be removed so the front axle is slightly ahead of the front of the body. I’ll attach both front and rear axles and the wheels to make a definitive location for the cut.

[CDW]

[Canute]

That'll be some serious kit-bashing, Craig. looking forward to following along.

[CDW]

Once upon a time there was an American aftermarket company that produced and sold model car tires. This is a set of fatties I had stashed away for a special occasion. 

[CDW]

By the way, the name of that aftermarket company was American Satco.

[CDW]

Check out this big boy that came in the mail from Hannants today.😀

[realworkingsailor]

43 minutes ago, CDW said:

Check out this big boy that came in the mail from Hannants today.😀

 

Nice! Glad to see it arrived. Can’t wait to see you get after it, or will you be waiting on any aftermarket goodies that might show up? 
 

Andy

[CDW]

1 minute ago, realworkingsailor said:

 

Nice! Glad to see it arrived. Can’t wait to see you get after it, or will you be waiting on any aftermarket goodies that might show up? 
 

Andy

I'll likely tackle it right out of the box. Let's look at all the parts, first, then decide. It arrived in a much larger box than I expected. Have not opened it yet but will tonight.

[Old Collingwood]

Is it  Airfix   re  tooling  jobby?   if it is  then I imagine  it will   build  really well.

 

OC.

[CDW]

2 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Is it  Airfix   re  tooling  jobby?   if it is  then I imagine  it will   build  really well.

 

OC.

Airfix brand new tool. I don’t believe there has been another 48th scale Gannet aside from Classic Aiframes and the Dynavector one from decades ago.

[CDW]

I stumbled upon a new "chrome plated" finishing method for our models. It involves items your wife may already have at home for nail care. I ordered all the items you see here from Amazon for around $35. You'll need a UV light, Finishing gel, and a chrome pigment powder. You'll apply a coat of the finishing gel on the item to be chrome plated, then apply the UV light for 60 seconds. Last, you'll use foam tipped makeup applicator to apply a small amount of the chrome pigment to the part. Use a soft paint brush to lightly dust off any excess pigment and "shazaam!", you've got the brightest, shiniest chrome you've ever seen. Darned near perfect. Very very easy to do. We'll just have to see how well it holds up over time but seeing as how it's for nails, it's likely to be very durable. This small amout of product will do a LOT of small chrome model parts. I have doubts about doing large parts but will test that at some time in the future. For the chrome parts for this model, it's perfect so far.  

[CDW]

I think this could have looked even better if I had used a black UV base gel first instead of clear. Even still, it looks great this way.

[Canute]

Great looking slicks, Craig. 👍

 

yep, the base/prier coat underneath sure does affect the gloss/shininess.

[CDW]

Next, I want to try the pigment powders over enamel paint, like say for instance, AK gloss black. The stuff you use as a base coat for their chrome paint. The UV gel is thick and will obliterate fine detail under it. Maybe there is a reducer for UV gel? I’ll have to check into that as well.

Edited December 7, 2023 by CDW

[DocRob]

7 minutes ago, CDW said:

Next, I want to try the pigment powders over enamel paint, like say for instance, AK gloss black. The stuff you use as a base coat for their chrome paint. The UV gel is thick and will obliterate fine detail under it. Maybe there is a reducer for UV gel? I’ll have to check into that as well.

If you mean the black base from the Extreme Metallic range, you'd better skip it. The stuff is horrible, never really dries. It is sticky even after weeks. I used Tamiya LP gloss black as a base for chrome and polished aluminum and this is working much better. Thinned with leveling thinner to a 1/3rd paint 2/3rd thinner ratio, you get a high shine surface, perfect for chrome. 
I experimented a bit with chrome for my Renault RE-20 build and found if you spray on Alclad chrome with very light coats, building up until the metallic blackness of the base is barely gone, you have a perfect shine. Xtreme Metal chrome from AK was slightly less shiny, but is more durable, if it comes to masking afterwards.

 

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

3 hours ago, DocRob said:

If you mean the black base from the Extreme Metallic range, you'd better skip it. The stuff is horrible, never really dries. It is sticky even after weeks. I used Tamiya LP gloss black as a base for chrome and polished aluminum and this is working much better. Thinned with leveling thinner to a 1/3rd paint 2/3rd thinner ratio, you get a high shine surface, perfect for chrome. 
I experimented a bit with chrome for my Renault RE-20 build and found if you spray on Alclad chrome with very light coats, building up until the metallic blackness of the base is barely gone, you have a perfect shine. Xtreme Metal chrome from AK was slightly less shiny, but is more durable, if it comes to masking afterwards.

 

Cheers Rob

Thanks for the info, Rob.

Did you try curing the primer in a dehydrator?

[DocRob]

5 hours ago, CDW said:

Thanks for the info, Rob.

Did you try curing the primer in a dehydrator?

No Craig, luckily it was only a test part. I never used the stuff again. I discussed the probs with some fellow modelers over on LSM and others had similar issues. Tamiya LP gloss black is a perfect solution, dries fast and has a durable surface, why bother with the sticky AK stuff.

 

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

29 minutes ago, DocRob said:

No Craig, luckily it was only a test part. I never used the stuff again. I discussed the probs with some fellow modelers over on LSM and others had similar issues. Tamiya LP gloss black is a perfect solution, dries fast and has a durable surface, why bother with the sticky AK stuff.

 

Cheers Rob

Plastic spoons are our friends. They make a great test bed for paint trials. I have a couple of bottles of the black AK primer but have never opened them up and tested them. Frankly, I didn't realize they are enamel until after I bought them. Being enamel, they have limited utility right off the bat. Poor drying/curing problems are a nail in the coffin. But these metallic powders need a little tackiness to work. Even the Uschi powders didn't work well for me over lacquer.

[CDW]

Look how much had to come off the front of that funny car chassis to match up with the AA/Fuel Altered dragster wheelbase! 😄

With a machine with this much horsepower (around 1500 HP), running down the quarter mile in six seconds, that short wheelbase would be certain to cause a lot of pucker power. A wild ride is putting it mildly.

 

[CDW]

A main feature of the model will be the engine. As such, I bought a 3D printed resin blown hemi for it.

[yvesvidal]

4 hours ago, CDW said:

A main feature of the model will be the engine. As such, I bought a 3D printed resin blown hemi for it.

It is just amazing all the stuff we can find nowadays. That engine is superb and I am sure you will do it justice, when the time to paint comes around.

 

Yves

[CDW]

7 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

It is just amazing all the stuff we can find nowadays. That engine is superb and I am sure you will do it justice, when the time to paint comes around.

 

Yves

Thanks Yves. This engine comes from Texas 3D Customs. They produce some real nice 3D resin prints in a large variety of scales. Mostly car and truck modeling items. I have a couple of their Ferrari engines as well for the 250 GTO and the 250 Testarossa.

 

Texas 3D Customs – Texas3DCustoms (tx3dcustoms.com)

[CDW]

Real life issues have prevented modeling time lately. My nephew suddenly and unexpectedly lost his 19-year-old grandson. His memorial service was recently held at a large family/friends gathering nearby. When she was a child, I used to take his mother (my great-niece) with us on outings with my young children. She is about the same age as my oldest son. So sad to see her lose her son that way.

 

Earlier this week, what little time I had to spend on my model was trimming and fitting the body over the engine, trying to find the sweet spot to build my motor mounts and body mounts. I think I am real close now to sealing the deal on engine and body location.

[bruce d]

I couldn't bring myself to hit the 'like' button on this post, so sorry to hear of your loss. 

 

Bruce 

[CDW]

3 hours ago, bruce d said:

I couldn't bring myself to hit the 'like' button on this post, so sorry to hear of your loss. 

 

Bruce 

Thanks for your concern, Bruce. For many years now, at least since the 90's, I have often said to my friends that this drug culture that is upon us in such a heinous way is the most significant spiritual problem of our lifetime. It's only growing worse it seems as massive numbers of our youth fall victim to it all over the country.