Scale Model Challenge Cars

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

Try Stoyan Lockar on LinkedIn. He was the only team member mentioned in the GRM and Super Chevy articles. NCM put this up for auction, the winner gave it back to Team Cheaparral, who was going to use it for STEM activities with high school students in the Cincinatti area.

Put the wheels on just to see how it sits. I wish it was lower but I don't feel like messing with it too much. I already took some material out of the rear suspension to get it closer to the chassis and fiddled with the front uprights a bit. And I need to leave some clearance in the front for the huge drag slicks.

Next I'm going to work on making it look more Challenge-y.

RustBeltSherpa said:

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

Try Stoyan Lockar on LinkedIn. He was the only team member mentioned in the GRM and Super Chevy articles. NCM put this up for auction, the winner gave it back to Team Cheaparral, who was going to use it for STEM activities with high school students in the Cincinatti area.

I've seen that name a few times. I'm not in LinkedIn.

Sent Stoyan a message on LinkedIn. Guess I'm on it now!

Friend at work said to find a STL file online of the M1A1 tank exhaust fan housing and he could print it out. Anyone help me out here?

I lied, I had to fix the broken wheel stud before doing any visual upgrades. I drilled it out, and because I'm too lazy to look for a big enough drill bit, I used a round file to open up the hole some more.

Then I sanded down the end of some plastic rod material I have in large quantities, for a *perfect* taper fit into the hole. And by perfect I mean pretty good I guess. And then because that plastic rod wasn't as big as the original, I cut some plastic tube to stick over it. And opened up the inside of that with a round file. And sanded down the outside of it. Basically a lot of sanding and filing to make up for not having the right size drill bit and plastic rod.

It fits almost perfectly in the wheel. And by almost perfectly, I mean pretty good.

Dab some glue all over it, and stick it in the hub. Ta-da!

I am pushing to finish early because I have others I want to work on. This is good! I think the engine room is complete now, I added the coolant bottle, the washer bottle, and the coil + wire. Too crowded for any more.  Rear wheel wells radiused a little for drag slicks. Stock diameter autocross rears look tiny now. Bottom of chassis complete as well, pics later.

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

I just figured out what you are building.  I approve!

FWIW, the 2 turbos on that car were mismatched.  1 bank had one size, the other bank had another size.  If you want to be accurate, use 2 different sized turbos. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

I just figured out what you are building.  I approve!

FWIW, the 2 turbos on that car were mismatched.  1 bank had one size, the other bank had another size.  If you want to be accurate, use 2 different sized turbos. 

Just got some photos from Stoyan. Hoping he has a file for the exhaust fan housing to make into a print file.

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

That's great to hear that he's responding. What is his reaction when you tell him what you're building?

In reply to RustBeltSherpa :

He was pleased. Said one of the team members had done it as well. Getting me a pdf file of the exhaust fan housing so I can have it 3D printed. (Hopefully).

Just about finished the rear spoiler. I could have sworn that was in a Vette kit somewhere, but no. Had to use putty.

I once bought some vacuform plastic interiors for slot cars that came with a lot of extra plastic around the edges so they would fit a variety of applications. I installed one in a pretty small car, so I had lots of plastic left over. I think that counts as free plastic. And it's perfect for making a large spoiler to attach to the back of the factory spoiler.

Then I painted it, and the dang paint crinkled. So I have to sand it and try again.

I have so much free plastic that I can also use it to make a splitter.

"Lexan" windshield and windshield banner installed. Just need some logos on there.

In reply to slowbird :

Latest photo doesn't show for me. All others do.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Thanks, it should be fixed now. I forget sometimes that when I copy them from Google Photos, I have to paste them into Paint or something and then into the forum or else it just hotlinks to Google Photos, which doesn't always show up.

So, how do I claim my prize from the model build competition from August? Haven't received an email or communication from GRM. Was I supposed to contact someone?

The Probe is almost done but I'm waiting for my own lazy self to overcome said laziness and get a file from the other computer onto this computer so I can add it to my custom decal sheet and print out the custom decals for this car. And reattach all the stuff that connects to the engine that came off when I separated the chassis and engine.

In the meantime, I was thinking of a doing another one. A last chance/parking lot build, so to speak. I needed something cheap, with character, potential, and lots of crustiness. After almost pulling the trigger on a 4x4 convertible Ford Fairlane junkyard project, and briefly considering both a Corvette/Jeep abomination and a Chevy Cavalier pickup truck conversion, I moved on to something slightly more realistic yet equally gross from the same seller. I present to you: The world's dustiest Mercury Capri II, minus one roof.

At least this one is less likely than the others to have huge ugly plastic sprues holding the chassis together, and the wheels on it are actually not terrible. I'll have to wash it thoroughly (and maybe wear a hazmat suit) but I think I can make this thing cool.

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

So, how do I claim my prize from the model build competition from August? Haven't received an email or communication from GRM. Was I supposed to contact someone?

I was wondering that myself. Eventually I forgot about it, but I would like to grab some stuff from the GRM store, so it would be nice to have.

slowbird said:

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

So, how do I claim my prize from the model build competition from August? Haven't received an email or communication from GRM. Was I supposed to contact someone?

I was wondering that myself. Eventually I forgot about it, but I would like to grab some stuff from the GRM store, so it would be nice to have.

I sent an email to JG with the winners, I'll ping him again.

Still working on my IMSA Probe Radwood entry.

I got the interior dialed in with belts for the racing seat, a fire extinguisher, and a simple 5-point rollbar setup.

Dash turned out alright if a bit plain. Just a period correct steering wheel and detailing on the gauges.

Engine is together and slightly weathered. Again, I'm going for a clean build to mimic the real top flight Challenge cars. Notice the yellow Konis.

Chassis pan is done. Notice the rod end suspension bars and bigger sway bar.

Then I went and dripped a drop of glue on the rear window. 

Volvo progress. The chassis is done. Headers from the NASCAR Ford engine cleared the chassis, I only had to make exhaust pipes from solder and use a pair of parts box "cherry bombs", also upgraded front brakes from the parts box and shortened the front struts. I left the rear ride height stock to help with clearance for the drag tires. Modified one of the trailer hitches from the Revell Kurtis kit that provides the rest of the trailer. The original kit detail on the suspension and under body is very good. On the other hand the kit Volvo engine is horrible! Every one of these kits should get a swap. I guess I should remove the "Italeri made in Italy" too.

You guys are killing it.

Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:

slowbird said:

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

So, how do I claim my prize from the model build competition from August? Haven't received an email or communication from GRM. Was I supposed to contact someone?

I was wondering that myself. Eventually I forgot about it, but I would like to grab some stuff from the GRM store, so it would be nice to have.

I sent an email to JG with the winners, I'll ping him again.

You guys need to email JG direct. J G at name of the magazine dot com

Progress?

I'm trying to time this to match up with the real challenge, so: decal application is underway! Here's a sneak preview:

I think I made the numbers too big. Oh well, good enough.

And in true "last chance, parking lot build" fashion: the Capri arrived today. It's not really a model kit, more like a promo. The interior is pretty decent, aside from the green paint. That went straight into paint stripping. The huge chunky axles are interesting; I'll have to shorten the front one to tuck the wheels in. Not sure what all I'm going to do with it really. Probably a roll bar and number decals. I do like the wheels.