Post by 1961redlegs on Jun 19, 2014 21:08:08 GMT -5
I don't normally do WIPs, but Ed from American Racing Miniatures asked if I would do one after I bought a set of Haldibrand wheels to build the Filter Queen Special Rodger Ward piloted in the 1956 500. Since I was asked, I figured why not!?
I've wanted to do this car since I bought Michael's decal set for this car back in 2011, but I never had the correct wheels-until now. With the new wheels I am going to start working with this kit in between slow periods on the 1959 Rodger Ward Watson I'm also building.
I'm using the Monogram Kurtis-Kraft kit that was molded after the Filter Queen Special, while this kit is around 60 years old in design it was great for its time and still a super kit now. With some attention to detail and with aftermarket kits this kit can go from a darn good shelf build to a very accurate representation of a Kurtis roadster.
To assist I have Bob Clidinst's drawings and photos to guide me. For any builds photo documentation is essential. As John Craft on the Randy Ayers' forum says, photos don't forget details. With that I'm able to get the proper count of internal louvers and other details to make this car accurate.
Before I was asked to do a WIP I replaced the panels where the front suspension is housed with the aftermarket set provided by AlwaysIndy. I filled in with putty the internal louvers that weren't on the Ward car. Removing the kit panels and replacing them with the aftermarket pieces was an extremely easy process.
I filled in some depressions in the plastic next and then I fixed the height of the rear axle housing. Out of the box the car rides a little high in the rear, which gives the car a major front rake, meaning the nose is much lower than the rear end. This is ideal for Richard Petty's 1966 Daytona 500-winning Plymouth, but isn't for Rodger Ward's 1956 car. To fix this I scored the plastic housing with a sharp X-acto knife until it came free of the body and moved it up to the notches in the housing. The space is too tight for anything else in my toolbox so I went with the scoring route, it is the easiest for me. This will give it the correct ride height. Where the holes are I filled in with strip styrene and putty.
This is my second time doing this and it was much easier than the first time to adjust the ride height.
This will be a more deliberate and methodical build as I am building the Watson, when that's finished I'll move quicker. But this is to bide time while paint dries and decals set.
My biggest concern and question is about the hood. There are internal louvers on the hood, what would you recommend for a good replica for the louvers?
Thank you for any help and kind words, I hope this helps someone who will build a Kurtis:
I've wanted to do this car since I bought Michael's decal set for this car back in 2011, but I never had the correct wheels-until now. With the new wheels I am going to start working with this kit in between slow periods on the 1959 Rodger Ward Watson I'm also building.
I'm using the Monogram Kurtis-Kraft kit that was molded after the Filter Queen Special, while this kit is around 60 years old in design it was great for its time and still a super kit now. With some attention to detail and with aftermarket kits this kit can go from a darn good shelf build to a very accurate representation of a Kurtis roadster.
To assist I have Bob Clidinst's drawings and photos to guide me. For any builds photo documentation is essential. As John Craft on the Randy Ayers' forum says, photos don't forget details. With that I'm able to get the proper count of internal louvers and other details to make this car accurate.
Before I was asked to do a WIP I replaced the panels where the front suspension is housed with the aftermarket set provided by AlwaysIndy. I filled in with putty the internal louvers that weren't on the Ward car. Removing the kit panels and replacing them with the aftermarket pieces was an extremely easy process.
I filled in some depressions in the plastic next and then I fixed the height of the rear axle housing. Out of the box the car rides a little high in the rear, which gives the car a major front rake, meaning the nose is much lower than the rear end. This is ideal for Richard Petty's 1966 Daytona 500-winning Plymouth, but isn't for Rodger Ward's 1956 car. To fix this I scored the plastic housing with a sharp X-acto knife until it came free of the body and moved it up to the notches in the housing. The space is too tight for anything else in my toolbox so I went with the scoring route, it is the easiest for me. This will give it the correct ride height. Where the holes are I filled in with strip styrene and putty.
This is my second time doing this and it was much easier than the first time to adjust the ride height.
This will be a more deliberate and methodical build as I am building the Watson, when that's finished I'll move quicker. But this is to bide time while paint dries and decals set.
My biggest concern and question is about the hood. There are internal louvers on the hood, what would you recommend for a good replica for the louvers?
Thank you for any help and kind words, I hope this helps someone who will build a Kurtis:
. That might be a little big, but don't buy any. Shoot me a PM with your address, and I will send you some. I'm looking forward to your build.