WIP: Chrysler Atlantic Custom Concept

Cool!  I'm watching.

Should be interesting.

Glad to see a WIP from you. WIP's are fun.

Thing is, my seem pointless to you but there is always someone reading who is learning something, even though you'll likely never hear about it. For example, I've never cut out a car door and hinged it so I'm learning.

Looking good, neat concept car.

Cool. I will be watching.

Hi,

I enjoy WIPs as well and I'm looking forward to seeing more of this build.  I have learned alot from watching others builds as they progress and having seen how others approach different issues has helped give me more confidence to try some stuff on my own.

PF

Here goes with the first update - and this one is mainly about working on the body. To be honest, it was pretty good to start with, so its been moostly about getting the front end to fit properly.

If you recall from the end of the previous post, this is more or less where it started - pretty big gaps. 

First things first - I put down an initial coat of primer to see exactly where and how big the gaps are. Really important to do this it often uncovers gaps and issues with the body that are impossible to see otherwise. 

This is the primer I use:

I start with mixing Tamiya putty with a tiny bit of levelling thinner to make it spready more easily. 

The tools I use are these scalers, picked up this nice set of 3x2 different ones in a hobby store. 

Spread the putty around nice and thick, but make sure its well patted down so you don't end up with bubbles and gaps. 

Then its time to sand...

I use a combination of boards and sand paper. One little tip especially when you are sanding around hard to get to areas, is to cut a chunk out of a board like this:

Starting to look better... you can see how the much work the putty has done to fill these huge gaps. 

Don't worry about the sanding through the primer, more of that will be going on anyway. Still early days. 

Looking better, but lots of sanding marks, and still some gaps that you can only see when the next coat of primer is down. 

So... more putty and more sanding now also with higher grit paper as we are getting past the broad strokes and the finish needs to be super smooth. 

Getting there... 

Even after this second round of sanding, still some gaps that I was not happy with. Honestly my experience is that you can't spend too much time on this stage. So more putty and more sanding...

And voila... the final body looks great!

Still a few minor blemishes, but that will come out when I sand the primed body before I paint it. 

Wow that seems like a lot of work.  Results look great!

BuildingCars4Fun

Here goes with the first update - and this one is mainly about working on the body. To be honest, it was pretty good to start with, so its been moostly about getting the front end to fit properly.

If you recall from the end of the previous post, this is more or less where it started - pretty big gaps. 

First things first - I put down an initial coat of primer to see exactly where and how big the gaps are. Really important to do this it often uncovers gaps and issues with the body that are impossible to see otherwise. 

This is the primer I use:

I start with mixing Tamiya putty with a tiny bit of levelling thinner to make it spready more easily. 

The tools I use are these scalers, picked up this nice set of 3x2 different ones in a hobby store. 

Spread the putty around nice and thick, but make sure its well patted down so you don't end up with bubbles and gaps. 

Then its time to sand...

I use a combination of boards and sand paper. One little tip especially when you are sanding around hard to get to areas, is to cut a chunk out of a board like this:

Starting to look better... you can see how the much work the putty has done to fill these huge gaps. 

Don't worry about the sanding through the primer, more of that will be going on anyway. Still early days. 

Looking better, but lots of sanding marks, and still some gaps that you can only see when the next coat of primer is down. 

So... more putty and more sanding now also with higher grit paper as we are getting past the broad strokes and the finish needs to be super smooth. 

Getting there... 

Even after this second round of sanding, still some gaps that I was not happy with. Honestly my experience is that you can't spend too much time on this stage. So more putty and more sanding...

And voila... the final body looks great!

Still a few minor blemishes, but that will come out when I sand the primed body before I paint it. 

 

 

WOW! Now that's a good job on fill seams! Can't wait to see how it comes out!

Thanks for the lesson on filling seems. Filling is something that I still struggle with.  You are confirming one thing for me, and that is... it can take multiple applications of the filler. That has been my experience and I thought I was doing something wrong. I wish there was an easier way. It can be a lot work.

 Nice work.

Today's update is about the undercarriage. I always love putting lots of work in on the undercarriage, even though you can't see it. 

This was the starting point on this one:

Pretty bland, but there is detail there to work with. First things first, remove the trademark notice using the small sanding wedge I made earlier. 

Next up is one of the most tedious but rewarding parts of the hobby: masking. I hate masking, but I love removing the tape more, so its super worth it. 

Really need to be careful to get into all the little edges. 

I also find that if you need to mask a perfectly round space, using a small ball of blue tak is much easier than trying to cut a round shape. You can see I did this here, I also use this often for dials when I want chrome dials, or AC vents. 

And the final finished masked undercarriage! This was probably 3 hours work, chopping little bits of tape ans sticking them on. 

Next up is to paint the metal frame. For this I use the following products:

Start with a VERY high gloss undercoat. Doesnt matter if its a bit thick, the main thing is that it shines like crazy. Otherwise you struggle to get a nice metallic finish I find. 

Nice and glossy. 

Next up, mist on the metallic paint. Its so easy to spray too much - to get a really nice metallic finish, you want the shiny black primer to do its work. So litearlly just wave the airbrush over the frame. 

And next is one of the most rewarding parts of model building... removing masking tape. And the final metal frame looks super cool. 

You can really see how the metal shines. 

A few more details to add later with the Chrome Molotov pen, and some weathering, but its a great start and already adds a huge amount to the model. 

As always - interested in your thoughts and your own tips and tricks. Thanks for watching!

Next update - the interior.

With a jet black exterior, I wanted to go with a two tone brown, started with painting the light brown and then more masking of the areas that I wanted to keep that colour. 

The spray on the darker brown

and voila... 

Next up some carpet, using flocking. Start with white glue, spread around the areas where you want the flocking

Lots of flocking is better than too little, and you can easily reuse it

Pat it down firmly, also with your finger which has more surface area

Makes a big difference, especially on a car where you will be able to see inside due to the opening doors. 

Next up - dials, using some after market decals (the kit does not come with any)

Then some panel line accents on some of the details in the interior. 

Next up, adding some after market pedals:

Looking good... 

And final step before assembly is some weathering to make it all look a lot less toy-like. I find the mud colour is good for weathering leather actually. 

You can't really tell in the photo but the seat on the left is weathered. Not too much - this is not an old car, but the seats need to look a little worn in. 

Top part is weathered. 

And the final thing!

Mock up of the opening door (looks like it will fit nicely!)

And finally in the car itself.... can't wait to see this thing finished, its going to look insane. 

Final installment of the WIP, and most of the focus has been on the body and doors. 

This is the colour I have decided on - Splaspaints Blu Nethuns which is a stunning colour and should work well with the tan interior. 

(I have a lot of Splashpaints!)

Trick with this stuff is lots of light layers... First coat

After 3 coats...

This is probably around 5 or 6 coats

Getting there...

Closer...

and done. I then used the panel tool to dig out the panel lines back to the primer.... leaves nice white stripes which will show up as cool details. 

Windscreen on and clearcoat done:

Coming along nicely. 

Next up the doors. 

Hinges using piano wire and small tubes need to look like this:

Start with pending the wire over a small piece of tube

Essential tool is one of these thingies (don't know their name sorry!)

Then create bends like this:

One on each side... really important that the final hinge site flat on the table

Clue the hinge into the door - no problem if this is a bit ugly, the interior panel will sit on top of this. 

Put on the interior panel - for this i use bluetak. Its useful because you really need a lot of trial and error to get the fit right and the panel in the right position so that it fits with the inside of the car, and the doors still open etc. 

once its perfect, fill in the gaps with putty - again I used a few layers before I was happy with it.

Then I painted the inside of the doors:

Finally, to attach I use some old sprues to make sure its stuck on nice and tight. The last thing you need is this thing coming off or being too loose. 

I also added some seatbelts to the interior. 

Worth it since the doors will open and it adds SO much to the look of the car. 

Finally, the rear view mirrors didn't have any mirrors... nothing that some BMF can't take care of:

And the final product - I'll be posting more pics on a new thread with the completed build because this one is so long. Hope you found all that useful!

So much to learn, thank you for taking the time.

How did you glue the clear parts to the body? Did the blue paint react at all to the glue? 

actually i use X-22 clear coat to glue clear parts. Its not glue,but its sticky enough and doesnt eat into the paint.