I managed a couple of hours tonight on the engine detailing, really happy with the result. The first time I've used an after market pre-wired dizzy, and I must say it won't be the last!







The dual carbs got a brushed coat of Vallejo Metal Colour Gold (77.725) and some Tamiya Black PLW in the ports.



Cheers, D

EDIT - Once again, a few touch-ups to do looking at the last image, the gold breathers lost paint from handling, and the belts and pulleys look a bit sloppy!

FURTHER EDIT (and complaint to Revell) - Ejector pin marks on the OUTSIDE of the headers!! Why Revell, WHY????

D,
Oh WOW!! The distributor/wiring looks fantastic, as does your wire looms.

Joel

Great looking engine, D. Well done.

Jim

Looking great D., those prepared dists are great aren't they?

I found EPM on the top of the manifolds on the Revell Mustang too, and of course it was after I metalized and distressed them.

Looking neat, D.! You were right about the colour scheme of the engine. Simple and efficient! Excellent!

Gabriel

Time to revisit the wheels and tires that I started earlier in the build. While I usually never leave raw plastic visible in a build, the wheels are a perfect gloss Black, and I'd be lucky to prime, paint, and get that good and consistent finish, so that's what I did. Ok, call me lazy, but this time it worked out just fine.

As I posted earlier, the tire tread was sanded down the best I could get it to remove the centerline seam, but the mold halves weren't aligned correctly, so there's still that small uneven lip. I mounted the tires on to the wheels, then hand glossed them with Pledge. If I ever remember to order Mig Ammo acrylic gloss and Matt clear, then the Pledge goes back into storage. Although the Pledge does self level quite well, and it's very glossy over the rubber tires.

Tamiya doesn't supply any Goodyear Eagle decals with this kit, so I used the last of a set of four from my many Indy Cal sheets. Using my regular decal 3 step method of Micro Sol, Micro Set, and then Solvaset, the decals laid down pretty well. Once dry I had to come up with a way to mask the wheels as I don't have any Clear Acrylic Matt that I could have brush on. My go to is still Testors Dullcoat. So out came my El Cheap-O Flex circle cutter, and after several, and I mean several attempts to cut the perfect circle, I never got close enough. Now what? Well to the rescue came my buddy Adrian. He just didn't know it.

Adrian is great on finding non modeling items to work for a certain application or parts really turned on that light bulb above my head. I had some Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes on my bench for some reason, and they sure looked like one would fit. Dimes work perfectly. So I glued them with a few drops of White glue and let them dry over night. So a special thanks goes out to Adrian for his help.

Next day I air brushed on the Testors Dullcoat thinned 2:3 with Tamiya Yellow Cap as I'm trying to use it up for small jobs. For every 12 drops I added 1 drop of Mr. Retarder Mild. No kidding, that's it's real official name. I also added 1 drop of Tamiya Rubber as to tone down the super bright white logos.





Once dry I'll mount them on the chassis. Should be fun as this time I get to use screws which is an all time 1st for me.

Joel

Nice masking technique! The Goodyear lettering looks painted on and has just that right tone. Nice job!

Joel. Those wheels and tires look really good, can't tell that the tires even have decals on them.

David & Robert,
Thanks guys for the thumbs up. Best 40 cents I ever spent, and I actually got my money back. Can't beat that.

Joel

Lovely work on the wheels Joel, they look spot on! Neat tip on the coins as well, storing that one away.

Cheers, D

Running update on builds

8 weeks in, 28 pages with almost 14,000 views and 700 posts
21 enlisted (plus 1, Jesper sign in please mate!)
13 builds in progress
5 completed builds

Szmann (Gabriel) - NASCAR - Chev Monte Carlo (Tony Stewart) - 1/25 AMT/ERTL kit - COMPLETED
Stickframe (Nick) - ENDURANCE - McLaren F1 GTR Longtail - 1/24 Aoshima kit - COMPLETED
Szmann (Gabriel) - NASCAR - Pontiac Grand Prix (Kyle Petty) - 1/24 Revell/Monogram kit - COMPLETED
rv1963 (Robert) - STRAIGHTLINE - '37 Chevy Gasser - 1/25 AMT kit- COMPLETED
jimb (Jim) - STRAIGHTLINE - '57 Ford Sedan Gasser - COMPLETED

Aussiereg (Damian) - STRAIGHTLINE - '55 Chev Pro Sportsman (Charles Carpenter) - 1/25 Revell kit - Engine detailing, body decalling
Joel_W (Joel) - FORMULA 1 - Lotus 99T Honda (Ayrton Senna 1987) - 1/20 Tamiya kit - Major assembly stage
Joel_W (Joel) - INDY - enlisted - Lola T-8800 Newman Haas (Mario Andretti 1988) - 1/25 AMT kit
Dixon66 (David) - ENDURANCE GROUP 5 - Zakspeed Capri - 1/24 Tamiya kit - Decals on order, body in primer, underside and interior complete
Dixon66 (David) - TOURING GROUP 2 - 2006 Mustang GT- 1/25 Revell kit - Interior modifications, drivetrain assembly. Primer started
tinbanger (Richard) - GRAND PRIX - 1914 Mercedes Racer - 1/16 Lindberg kit - Engine and chassis started, major panel works under way, custom milled wheels/tyres and sheetmetal panels started
md72 (Mark) - INDY - enlisted - Target Reynard (Jimmy Vasser) - 1/25 Revell kit
Szmann (Gabriel) - FORMULA 1 - Tyrrell P34 (Monaco 1977 #4) - 1/20 Tamiya kit kit - Engine complete, chassis plate and outer shell paint/decals
Hwa-Rang (Jesper) - NASCAR - (TBA)
PasiAhopelto (Pasi) - NASCAR - enlisted - Olds 442 (Donnie Allison) - 1/25 Salvinos JR kit
forest1000 (David) - FORMULA 1 - enlisted - Williams Renault (Jaques Villeneuve) - 1/24 Revell/Monogram kit
Cosimodo (Michael) - ENDURANCE - 1971 Porsche 917/20 - 1/12 MFH kit - Step 1 of 26 (Engine Assembly) completed. Tube frame started
bluebell914 (Patrick) - ENDURANCE - enlisted - Ferrari P4 or 512S
2002hummer (Darrell) - GRAND PRIX - Lotus Super Seven (Tamiya) - Engine assembled and painted
TacFireGuru (Mike) - NASCAR - enlisted - Chev Monte Carlo (Home Depot)
Lakota (Don) - ENDURANCE - Corvette C7.R - 1/25 Revell kit - Engine assembled, floor pan/chassis under way
RedwingNev (Neil) - GRAND PRIX - enlisted - Lotus 79 (1978 Mario Andretti?) - 1/20 Tamiya kit
heavyjagdpanzer (Bill) - STRAIGHTLINE - Blue Max Funny Car - 1/25 Revell kit - Rolling chassis completed, body work commenced
bmwh548 (Radu) - RALLY - '99 WRC Subaru Impreza - 1/24 Tamiya kit - Wheels and tyres
pnance26 (Patrick) - FORMULA 1 - Ferrari 312T - 1/12 Tamiya kit - Rolling chassis/engine/drivetrain complete, body painting and decals under way
bomber14 (Joe) - STOCK CAR - '60 Ford Starliner - AMT/ERTL kit - Rolling chassis/interior done, body paint under way

If anybody has changed or firmed up their proposed builds, or spotted anything wrong in the list, please let me know.

Cheers, D

Yeah, back up the truck on painting! LOL! we are still not there!

OOPS! Changed from painted to painting !

Cheers, D

D,
Glad that you like how the tires/wheels came out. The drop of Tamiya Rubber really makes a huge difference, even more so in person then on a computer monitor as very few of us has a calibrated monitor for graphics, so we all see things a little differently.

As for the Dimes, well, I'm hoping that the Feds don't pay me a visit for violating some Treasury Dept. rule

Joel

damian the engine looks great but should the plug wires go between the headers? wouldn't the heat burn through the casing causing an arc and missfire?

joel nice work on the tires. i knew about the dime trick too but rarely use it as i usually clear and decal the tires before i put in the wheels. i like the idea of tinting the matt to tone down the lettering. again, i also like testors dullcoat but i am lazy and do not decant it so no tinting. what i have done in the past is brush on a layer of the detailer brown to cut the brightness.

well i finally got an acceptable color down. i decanted and sprayed the yellow through my paasche H airbrush w/#5 needle, cone. after i let it dry real good i plan on a light wet sanding followed by a clear coat, maybe future by foam brush. i decided i am not going to take the chance to clear over the decals since this is an out of production sheet and i do not want to risk ruining it with a reaction to the clear.
the can the body is resting on is the color i used for the body.





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tires are lettered. just need a shot of dull coat.


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Joe,
The Yellow paint job is simply stella. Brilliant Yellow with a deep smooth as silk finish. You really nailed it.

As for not clear coating the decals, I'm in the complete opposite camp. I always clear coat my decals, then polish and wax. My go to gloss clear these days is by Mr. Color, but I still use Testors Clear coat, and Dull coat. Never had an issue with either on of them in 50 years.

BTW, they come in jars and I thin them 2 parts media to 3 parts #400 leveler thinner or Tamiya Yellow cap with a few drops of retarder.

Your tires are looking real good, the Dull coat will make them look that much better.

Joel

Joe, that yellow sure is bright! It looks great.

As to my 1957 Ford Gasser, I'm calling it done! It really was a pleasurable kit to build, and the biggest pain was the decals on the body; but that might have had to do with my paint or surface prep. Anyway, it's done & on the shelf.





I'll try to get some better pics tomorrow when the sun comes back out.

Jim

Jim,
You did that Ford Gasser PROUD

While the decals may have been an issue getting them to behave, the proof is in the finish, and the decaling looks superb from what I can see in your pictures.

Joel

Joe, the yellow looks so bright and the tires look great so far too.

Jim, I'm not really a fan of drag racing but yours and Damian's both could make me a fan. Excellent work!

Thanks, guys. I'm pretty pleased with the results, and I finished early, too. The Group Build doesn't end until October!

David, I'm not a fan of drag racing either, and this is my first & only gasser. I much prefer IndyCar, no models of those though that are affordable.

Jim

James. Your gasser came out great, the paint and decals look really good, i agree it'a very nice kit.

Thanks, Robert.

Jim

Jim, really nice build there mate, it looks great! I'm glad you enjoyed it and overcame the issues with the decals well. Congrats on getting your build finished and well ahead of time, and many thanks for sharing your build progress here. I love that everybody is detailing their builds, warts and all, so that we can all be enlightened when we are thinking about picking up or starting a kit.

Joe, you definitely got that paint sorted out, the finish on the Starliner is seriously glowing now! Great job on the wheels as well.


I agree, and I had to take a bit of artistic licence here. The spark plugs are actually almost between the exhaust ports on these big blocks, and the wiring does come up from beneath as you cans see in the photo below.

The kit engine block had the spark plug detail slightly above the headers, and no detail at all below, so I took part of both options and ran with that!

Cheers, D

The routing for the spark plug ignitions wires for big block American V8 engines 1st consideration is just where the distributor or distibutors are located followed closely by just where the spark plugs are in the heads. The easiest and shortest path is generally taken. For Racing engines space is the final frontier, and ease of getting to the plugs and wires during a race is super important.

Over the top they're attached to the valve covers or under the headers if they're is enough distance between the exhaust manifolds and the block. Over is the preferred routing. But the actual plug location in many instances requires that the wires do in fact go in-between the individual exhaust manifold tubs.

The Roush V8 427 engine below clearly shows that the above wiring is top routed, but that each ignition wire then is feed between the exhaust header tubes.



Joel

Thanks, D. Now that this one's done, it's on to the next. Not totally sure what that's going to be yet, though. I'm leaning toward the AMT 1966 Ford Mustang.

Jim