Monday 6/16
Posted by Dr Diecast at 6/16/2008 7:02 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
So pictured below are a couple shots of what I basically spent Friday working on. This woodie will be great looking when done but getting there might take all the innovation I can muster since im not a woodworker.
First though..... a couple other tidbits. Over the last couple months I have been working on the interior roll bar setup for the Dan Gurney AAR Cuda's im doing. As I have said before.... making roll bars while simple on the outside can be a lot more complex when taking into consideration the diecast cars construction and interior configuration. Such is the case here..... as I construct and glue the bar together I always have to go back and test fit on the body and chassis on the car to make sure everything will come together correctly. Well I spent part of Thursday doing this and while generically it all seemed find the end result is I have to make more modifications which will include more hollow rod which I am now about out of, LOL. Figures huh ? I will post pictures soon....but I want it more complete since its a pretty elaborate roll bar setup.
One quick comment about the blog..... that being I got a comment over the weekend from someone who's Email address is hidden asking me to clean up my language since he and his son read about my model building. While I appreciate them viewing my blog it was really never intended to be something that informational in regard to helping others modifying diecast cars but more of venting place and update spot for my customers to review there project. So I did suggested they go to a model car website that will be more PG rated. If I have to start censoring my content then I better be getting paid for writing it and since thats not the case I will continue to write the way I do. Which.... by the way ..... is normally very PG rated. I do normally state right at the beginning if I am going to be swearing..... just so you can look away. Guess he missed that part.
OK....... back to the woodie..... Carl...... you paying attention, LOL.
I have touched on this project before as to my customer wanting a diecast version of his car one with real wood. I originally thought I could replace all the wood with real wood....... then upon trying to do so found I was having numerous problems with trying to cut and fit everything to the right shape. I had a couple emails from other customers with some woodworking tips and as I have said before sometimes I just walk past something and something clicks then its time to work on that project and thats what happened Friday.
So..... I had cut and trimmed a couple panels for the sides previously then was working on the framing. Friday I decided to cut and trim all the outer flat panels and this is a lot more involved than just tracing the plastic ones onto the wood. Their are little mounting pegs on the backside of the plastic framing that fits through the mounting points on the metal body but first have to go through the plastic/now wood sides. All the little holes and notches have to be cut and trimmed perfect or them (wood panels) will not fit correctly. Once this was done and all were sample fit it was on to the interior panels.
These interior panels are of course plastic too but will become wood.... the problem is they are more boxed out to reflex door jams and such. They follow certain contours and bends in the interior though still creatable ? Hmmm... that a word ?? I don't think so, spell check is telling me no but hell ...... it is now.... its my word and im claiming it, LOL.
Well....... first up was a front door..... see the only doors that open on this are the fronts but that being said they are constructed a lot different then any diecast door I have ever dealt with. First off..... I decide I will make the framing from wood.... its not as complex as the framing on the sides..... this seemed rather simple..... and in a sense it was but the door hinge (permanently mounted on the car) is so tight that after I had the mock up done the first time I tried to open it the wood framing broke into pieces.... poof !!!! there went 90 minutes or so, LOL.
So.... I then decided to use the stock plastic framing and make the interior panel. This is what is pictured here. See unless you are here so see in person how these cars are constructed or I do turn into an instructional blog you kinda wont understand this. The mounting piece for the vent window, vent window crank , window crank and interior and exterior door handles are all mounted on one piece thats chrome plated and glue swatched to the inside of the plastic frame.
The plastic interior door panel has cut outs in it for the interior handles and knobs to fit though. So my first thought was to cut trim and fit the wood piece the same way........ sadly the handles and knobs fit through the interior panel at a certain angle which takes some flexing of the plastic interior panel........ the wood doesn't flex the same (broke) and..... the cutouts for those items looked kinda crappy (gapping holes). Whats this mean........ well it means I decided to make the interior wood panel then cut and trim the knobs and handles off the main mounting piece and glue them directly to the new interior wood panel. This also included cutting the arm rest off of the plastic panel and remounting it also.
While this seemed like progress the truth is there is a lot more to the story. See the plastic interior panel is boxed out (not sure if thats the right term) around the outter edge and while the new wood panel looked ok it needed some filler on the backside so it would lay at the same height all around the interior of the door. This left an open gap on around the whole outer edge which is molded on the plastic pieces. I then had to cut, trim and fit the proper pieces onto the interior panel to, as I say, box it out. The door hinge area cannot be boxed since I have had to changing the mounting point for the door but should not be noticeable when finished.
Lastly......yes... im not done.... the door framing. I sat and looked at it over and over again and have come up with what I think will be the best way of dealing with it. I am going to take the factory plastic trim and actually shave off about a 1/6th of an inch from it and then cover it with wood. This way I keep the majority of the plastics strength yet it will allow me to cover it in wood so I can stain it to match the customers real vehicle.
Ok...... Im out !
First though..... a couple other tidbits. Over the last couple months I have been working on the interior roll bar setup for the Dan Gurney AAR Cuda's im doing. As I have said before.... making roll bars while simple on the outside can be a lot more complex when taking into consideration the diecast cars construction and interior configuration. Such is the case here..... as I construct and glue the bar together I always have to go back and test fit on the body and chassis on the car to make sure everything will come together correctly. Well I spent part of Thursday doing this and while generically it all seemed find the end result is I have to make more modifications which will include more hollow rod which I am now about out of, LOL. Figures huh ? I will post pictures soon....but I want it more complete since its a pretty elaborate roll bar setup.
One quick comment about the blog..... that being I got a comment over the weekend from someone who's Email address is hidden asking me to clean up my language since he and his son read about my model building. While I appreciate them viewing my blog it was really never intended to be something that informational in regard to helping others modifying diecast cars but more of venting place and update spot for my customers to review there project. So I did suggested they go to a model car website that will be more PG rated. If I have to start censoring my content then I better be getting paid for writing it and since thats not the case I will continue to write the way I do. Which.... by the way ..... is normally very PG rated. I do normally state right at the beginning if I am going to be swearing..... just so you can look away. Guess he missed that part.
OK....... back to the woodie..... Carl...... you paying attention, LOL.
I have touched on this project before as to my customer wanting a diecast version of his car one with real wood. I originally thought I could replace all the wood with real wood....... then upon trying to do so found I was having numerous problems with trying to cut and fit everything to the right shape. I had a couple emails from other customers with some woodworking tips and as I have said before sometimes I just walk past something and something clicks then its time to work on that project and thats what happened Friday.
So..... I had cut and trimmed a couple panels for the sides previously then was working on the framing. Friday I decided to cut and trim all the outer flat panels and this is a lot more involved than just tracing the plastic ones onto the wood. Their are little mounting pegs on the backside of the plastic framing that fits through the mounting points on the metal body but first have to go through the plastic/now wood sides. All the little holes and notches have to be cut and trimmed perfect or them (wood panels) will not fit correctly. Once this was done and all were sample fit it was on to the interior panels.
These interior panels are of course plastic too but will become wood.... the problem is they are more boxed out to reflex door jams and such. They follow certain contours and bends in the interior though still creatable ? Hmmm... that a word ?? I don't think so, spell check is telling me no but hell ...... it is now.... its my word and im claiming it, LOL.
Well....... first up was a front door..... see the only doors that open on this are the fronts but that being said they are constructed a lot different then any diecast door I have ever dealt with. First off..... I decide I will make the framing from wood.... its not as complex as the framing on the sides..... this seemed rather simple..... and in a sense it was but the door hinge (permanently mounted on the car) is so tight that after I had the mock up done the first time I tried to open it the wood framing broke into pieces.... poof !!!! there went 90 minutes or so, LOL.
So.... I then decided to use the stock plastic framing and make the interior panel. This is what is pictured here. See unless you are here so see in person how these cars are constructed or I do turn into an instructional blog you kinda wont understand this. The mounting piece for the vent window, vent window crank , window crank and interior and exterior door handles are all mounted on one piece thats chrome plated and glue swatched to the inside of the plastic frame.
The plastic interior door panel has cut outs in it for the interior handles and knobs to fit though. So my first thought was to cut trim and fit the wood piece the same way........ sadly the handles and knobs fit through the interior panel at a certain angle which takes some flexing of the plastic interior panel........ the wood doesn't flex the same (broke) and..... the cutouts for those items looked kinda crappy (gapping holes). Whats this mean........ well it means I decided to make the interior wood panel then cut and trim the knobs and handles off the main mounting piece and glue them directly to the new interior wood panel. This also included cutting the arm rest off of the plastic panel and remounting it also.
While this seemed like progress the truth is there is a lot more to the story. See the plastic interior panel is boxed out (not sure if thats the right term) around the outter edge and while the new wood panel looked ok it needed some filler on the backside so it would lay at the same height all around the interior of the door. This left an open gap on around the whole outer edge which is molded on the plastic pieces. I then had to cut, trim and fit the proper pieces onto the interior panel to, as I say, box it out. The door hinge area cannot be boxed since I have had to changing the mounting point for the door but should not be noticeable when finished.
Lastly......yes... im not done.... the door framing. I sat and looked at it over and over again and have come up with what I think will be the best way of dealing with it. I am going to take the factory plastic trim and actually shave off about a 1/6th of an inch from it and then cover it with wood. This way I keep the majority of the plastics strength yet it will allow me to cover it in wood so I can stain it to match the customers real vehicle.
Ok...... Im out !
John...real progress at last!!!! I really like the approach you're taking to get this to look as much like the original as possible....shaving down the plastic framing sounds like a geat idea tio get it all wood..I'm excited...thanx!!!!!>>>>CARL
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