Chaparral 2J

[slingshot]

Here is where I am now. The top and bottom as well as the bulkheads in front and in back of the cockpit are glued in place. The bulkhead behind the cockpit has two boxes to represent the air intakes, if I was doing it over, I would probably make them bigger. Painted black, I am hoping it will give the illusion of depth. The front bulkhead will need to be cut down a little but I am going to wait until the front end is all glued together to know exactly where to cut it. The back of the car is just set in place so I could mark where the fans needed to be trimmed from the top of the car, I know the fans are right but I want to double check the exhaust and taillights. Once everything checks out, I will cut the parts out that are marked and I will put a backing plate on and build the fans.

I don't mind curbside as it's only going to sit on a shelf and it makes the build pretty simple and quick, I'm enjoying this build more than any other I have in a long time. So far I have about $.60 invested in it.

[hot ford coupe]

I'm looking forward to see how this turns out. I have some insulation to play with but I haven't started experimenting with it yet. Keep the pics coming.

[slingshot]

The foam board/installation is pretty easy to learn to work with, I did pick up a dust buster and sanding the insulation creates a lot of dust. When you get to your 1/6 Cadillac (I believe that's what you were building?) That might be a way to do the body, build it out of foam board/insulation and then cover it with a few layers of fiberglass, the foam can be melted out after the fiberglass has fully cured leaving you with a body shell.

I'll post some more pictures when I get farther, I now have to draw up the structure for the front end before I get to the interior. I already broke the right fender at the wheel opening once, don't want to do that again.

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks Sling, that's a great way to do the body shape. I've got enough insulation to do about 2 or 3 bodies. I'll still have to see how it's done with fiberglass. It would be a lot easier to do than melting styrene over the insulation.

[slingshot]

Here are a couple of videos I put up on the site on using fiberglass. Hope these help.

http://www.scalemotorcars.com/forum/...ead.php?t=1549

http://www.scalemotorcars.com/forum/...ead.php?t=1551

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks Sling. That's just what the doctor ordered.

[slingshot]

Made a little more progress. The box is for the center of the front of the car for the radiator outlet. I glued the bottom sheeting in place in the back so I can start building up the fenders, the areas for the wheels will be cut out later.

[Don Garrett]

Strut your stuff Brad........looks like a tutorial to me.

[hot ford coupe]

That's a good idea. If you can show us how you work the foam, that would be a tremendous help to a lot of us, me included.

[slingshot]

Thanks for the comments! I'm still learning as I go and yesterday I think accidentally came across a easy way to get the paper off each side, just have to test it a little more. I'm still learning as I go but I will document what I am doing and try and describe it as best as I can. Still trying to figure my camera out, the white foam is hard to get details to show up with, I have also found taking the pictures on the pink foam doesn't help!

After blowing up and examining some pictures, I found out the drawings for the center section of the front behind the radiator is wrong so I’m in the process of modifying that. I had to remove the front cross brace and I have the sides modified.

Here's a link to the company that makes the foam board I am using.

http://www.readiboard.com/

[slingshot]

I found out the drawings for the nose of my Chaparral were wrong, so I blew up some pictures and redrew the nose. I then cut the nose off of the car from the front of the cockpit forward. I have a number of the parts cut out for the nose and I am starting to put it together. I have the radiator outlet glued on to the blank for the bottom of the nose and here's a picture while I was checking to see how it fit. Still have more work to do on the radiator outlet as well as making a radiator.

On top of the Chaparral is a 1/87 Ferrari 312 that I am carving out of Sculpey to make a master for a slot car body. Thanks to Deuces-Wild, I have gotten back into slot cars and I'm just starting to put together a small layout combining a slot car track and a HO narrow gauge railroad. A little difference in size!

[miked.]

Slingshot, I am using the same foam board you mention earlier and it very easy to work with. I am building an 1/8 scale mid-fifties sprint car with help from Madd Fabricator. I used an orbital sander to get the basic shape then finished up with 80 grit sandpaper. The Chaparral is looking good can't wait to see it finished.

[slingshot]

Slingshot, I am using the same foam board you mention earlier and it very easy to work with. I am building an 1/8 scale mid-fifties sprint car with help from Madd Fabricator. I used an orbital sander to get the basic shape then finished up with 80 grit sandpaper. The Chaparral is looking good can't wait to see it finished.

This foam board is a lot of fun to work with and at only one dollar a sheet at the Dollar Store, pretty economical as well. I find it is even easier to work with if you remove the paper backing from both sides, soaking them between some towels for a few hours or overnight can make the removal easier. What are you covering yours with?

[miked.]

I am using fiberglass resin . It is pretty cheap, you pick it up Wal-mart or any auto parts store. I also bought a light weight mesh from local hobby shop.