Chopping a derelict Ford…

[RoughboyModelworks]

Well after having a totally non-productive day in the shop yesterday and an almost totally non-productive day again today (Spent three hours trying to repair a non-functioning airbrush with no success. This obviously is not the weekend for painting.) I decided it was time to tear something apart.  

I've had this diecast 1923 Ford Sedan for sometime which I think will make a decent derelict vehicle rusting and fading away in the weeds in a small product diorama I'm working on. I blasted the paint off and cut the cowl from the body. Then I machined the mating surfaces flat between the cowl and body. I cut off various screw posts from inside the cowl and body and began thinning the wall thickness inside the cowl with dental burrs. Will continue with that tedious process tomorrow. Also need to remove the oversize cowl hinges (to be replaced with wire) and the oversize louvres, then cut and fold one side of the cowl so that it's laying open. Not sure how I'll recreate the louvres but will probably settle for small lengths of styrene strip. Need to reduce the bulk of the lines and trim on the body as well, it's grossly oversize.



I want to have an engine inside the engine compartment. I've had this PSC 1:48 flathead kit for years which although it may not be absolutely accurate for the vehicle, it's certainly close enough and will do the job. I have some wheels and other frame parts for the car that can be bashed from some old kits, which unfortunately are probably at the back of our storage unit. Other than that, it should be a fun little project...



Paul

[Craig_H]

Paul,    Look's like you got a good start on this project     Craig

[marc_reusser]

Cool start...can't wait to see how you go about thinning the walls, adding the wood bracing, cutting out the doors so they can be in an open/slightly ajar position, and removing and refining the cast-on detail!

M

[RoughboyModelworks]

Yeah, thinning the walls is a treat. No worries about the wood though, it all rotted away and the doors are rusted shut... 

Paul

[Craig_H]

Paul,  Heres some pictures i have that might help with the build as far as details and colors

[Craig_H]

a few more

[RoughboyModelworks]

Those are great Craig... thanks. Just the sort of thing I have in mind.

Did get a little work done on the cowl this morning (shop time cut short by a fire somewhere in the region and the smoke was blowing up the valley into the shop... cough, cough).



I removed the cast on hinges on the top and left side along with the louvres on the left side and thinned down the top, removing approx. 3/32 worth of metal from the inside using a mini air-powered die grinder and some dental burrs. I used the ball burr below for "hogging" out the bulk of the material then finished with the spiral file to smooth out the contour.





Pictures below show the now thinned top panel. With care it's possible to thin the wall thickness without going through the metal using a sharp cutter and a light touch. Sorry about the focus, got a little too close on these two shots.





Next step will be to remove the cast-on hinge and louvres from the right panel, then thin both the right and left panels.

Paul

[finescalerr]

Are you a master machinist or something? How did you learn these techniques? They are completely out of the range of my experience and, as you know, I've had a lifetime of exposure to modeling. Your knowledge and skill continue to impress me. -- Russ

[Chuck Doan]

Aughh...die cast flashback! Enjoy, I swore never again after my Fordson.

[Ray Dunakin]

Wouldn't it have been easier to just make a new hood from scratch?

[RoughboyModelworks]

Are you a master machinist or something? How did you learn these techniques? Russ

Hardly Russ but thanks for the compliment, much appreciated especially coming from such a discerning eye as yours.

Ray: Yes possibly, but this is really a fairly simple process given the right tools and the right touch. If this were a stand-alone or foreground model that required greater accuracy I would have formed a new cowl from brass sheet, punched louvres and all that good stuff. But, since it's simply a background model to add another layer of character to a diorama and not take away from the primary model on the diorama, this process is more than adequate.

Paul

[Damn Cranky]

I can't wait to see where this is headed.

[Ken Hamilton]

....there's nothing like tearing up an old car.
This is great fun to watch.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.

[JohnP]

Hey that's not really Fujichrome Provia 100F or Ektachrome 64T Pro 4x5 sheet film now is it?
They are nice detail photos (regardless of a little out of focus). Did you take them outdoors?

And of course the model will be interesting especially if it gets rusty per the photos.

John

[RoughboyModelworks]

No sorry John. I got rid of my 4x5 speed graphic years ago, and my 8 x 10 Deardorf  (still kicking myself over that one, oh well) but I've always been fond of the sheet film border look so it was added digitally. It's a look I'm using throughout my web site, so pics of mine that are to be used there will eventually all have it.

Yes, the shots were taken outdoors, right in front of the shop on a very simple portable seamless backdrop I banged together out of some scrap plywood. Generally I use a tripod, but this time I didn't (oops, sorry Russ). Even so, the fuzziness is a depth of field/distance to the subject issue.

Paul