Dyno Don Scale Build

The chassis underwent extensive modifications. Initially I was headed in a direction with the rear suspension that just wasn't looking right but have since made some changes. First off the front subframe area was shortened by 5/16 of an inch which looked ok but I had to acquire another Mustang kit in order to cut the rear frame rails from it to use in bringing both frame rails further inside to allow those rear slicks to further UNDER the car like the reference shot.

Before:



and after repositioning the rear frame rails inboard:



Pictured below are the original tire/ wheel combo I was going with but didn't end up using them. Regardless, the results would've turned out the same with the tires hanging waaaaaaaaaaaaay too far outside of the wheel openings.
You get the picture. We go from this:



This is more like it. Gotta get the ride height correct for the rear as well as in the front but that shouldn't be much of a problem. More correct wheels and tires coming for all the way around. Stay tuned.....

 

That is much, much better than that rolling axle set-up the kit came with. Are you going to fab up some subframe connectors? lol.....I wish my 1:1 had some.

 

Thanks Stuart. You know…..I've gotten so used to having subframe connectors already there on most of the Pro Street stuff that I've built that I didn't even notice that on this one. I've got another Maverick that I'll be building so I'm definitely gonna remember that for the second one. Complete oversight.

 

I haggled over the tires for a couple of days and after conversing with Ted Bowe from Ted's Modeling Marketplace back and forth through emails, going through photo shots and doing ALOT of measuring and head scratching I've come up with a new set of slicks that I'm going to use for this thing. Additionally I was concerned with how the front ride height was going to be but once I test fitted everything into place...…….it pretty much fell into place. I might go just a tad lower in the front but I'm pretty happy that I don't have to do much here as this has been quite the gaggle in the way of mods on this car. This is the way this car is going to look now and it seems like it's a lot closer to the reference photos that I have of this car. Now I've just gotta score a Goodyear decal sheet to put the scripts onto the tires.

Reference Shot:



Updated parts and stance. I've still gotta tuck the rear tires just a tad more inboard but that shouldn't take too much.





To me this is a FAR cry from the way I had it:

 

Looks Awesome! I've got the Comet kit and several others, but have built one in years. Have been collecting for retirement I guess. Looking forward to your progress.

 

Thanks mvw. I appreciate the feedback. I've got a lot of kits hoarded. All in all I'd say I've got around 120 kits in the stash. My wife is always on me about how many I have and I tell her that I look at it like I've got my own little hobby store. I can build pretty much whatever I want and the good thing is.....it's always in stock.

 

If you were playing with tinker toys in the early 70's we must be pretty close in age, I'm a month from 51.

 

Now that is just too close. I'm three months from 52. We'll both be 51 at the same time for a couple of months it looks like.

 

Well you guys aren’t much older. I’m 47 and I probably have about 100+ kits in my stash. It takes up a good portion of one of our storage closets down stairs. Mostly Ford kits and Semis.

 

Excellent. However, I’m thinking the front wheel is still too large in diameter and that more of the tire should be hidden under the fender, ( move the axle upward)?

 

LOL! You learn well young grasshoppa.
I've got a mix of WWII aircraft and autos. I'm a big fan of Luftwaffe aircraft and just about any sports car. I've got a couple of semi kits myself.

 

Thanks for the input Mav. I felt pretty much the same way. Still in the mock up stages and I've got a plethora of different sized wheels and tires I'll be "auditioning" for the front runners.

 

I managed to get the wheels coated in Molotow Chrome and the tires all decaled and completed. For those out there who do not know what Molotow is, it's a very fine particle high gloss silver that produces a chrome shine. Molotow can be purchased here ( https://www.amazon.com/Molotow-ONE4ALL-Acrylic-Refill-699-080/dp/B01MR2KER3 ). The refills for the Molotow pens can be dispensed and shot straight through an airbrush with no thinning. It's alcohol based so airbrush clean up can be done by shooting Windex through the airbrush and MAKE SURE you follow up with water through your airbrush after shooting the Windex through it. You just have to go with light coats first and then on to the wet coat to get it to shine like chrome. Stuff has revolutionized car modeling. It's downfall is that it doesn't take to handling well at all and requires around a 48 hour cure time. After it cures I coat the Molotow coating with Spaztix Ultimate Chrome Clear and that cure out for another 48 hours. THEN it can be handled.
The tire sidewalls were shined up prior to the GOODYEAR decal application by putting the tire on a 14mm socket and attaching it to a drill and spinning the sidewall up on a soft cloth. I simulate the worn tire tread area by spinning the road surface part of the tire on 600 grit sandpaper to give it that worn look. After the sidewalls had been smoothed out they were now ready for the decals (which I got from http://slixx.com/ ). When applying the decals I always use some decal softener (Microsol) to make sure the decals hug down nice and tight to the surface so that when I apply the flat coat over them there's no silvering along the edges. When applying the Microsol the decal will wrinkle and look terrible. You will think that you've destroyed the decal but DON'T WORRY!! It will straighten back out and be ok. Just let it dry thoroughly. Next, I shot a coat of Model Master Flat Acrylic thinned with 70% Isopropyl alcohol to give the sidewalls a really flat appearance and it makes the decal look like part of the tire rather than a decal on a tire. After that I ground up some black pastel into a powder and dry brushed the black powder onto the sidewalls which dirties up the lettering and gives the tire an added effect on the sides of the tire.

I didn't use the front wheels with the Molotow on them in the following pictures because this stuff has a minimum cure out of 48 hours, so the ones in the pictures below are kit chrome. The rears, however, are coated with Molotow and I could handle them somewhat because of the dish in the wheels but here's where we're at right now with the wheels/ tires. Rear tires will be moved inboard just a smidgen and the front tire size has been decided on and are in the pics as well. ​

 

That, my friend is absolutely amazing!!!!!

 

Thanks HR!

You know….it just hit me. All of this and not one picture of the chassis. I'm going to have to fix that. I'll have the chassis photos posted up no l8tr than tomorrow morning fellas.

Another thing that this Jo-Han kit is totally lacking in is the proper engine bay. I turned to the 67 Mustang kit for this since it's a fairly close match. ….well....close enough for the girls we go with.

A little Dremel action followed by a little fine cutting and sanding action later and we have this:



On the right is an OOB engine bay in my other Maverick. After some mods and some trimming I've got the initial fit obtained. It's workable and looks like it should do the trick after some more fancy footwork.