# Orange Clunker Car



## whiskeyrat

"That Ol' orange clunker car..." is what Boss Hogg used to call it. I don't know if there's a more revered or popular TV car out there aside from the '60's Batmobile. I actually used to own a Charger, it was a proper R/T, Forest green with a green vinyl top, rust under the rear window, 383 under the hood and two blown out mufflers that set car alarms off in parking lots when I rumbled by... I should never have sold it!

This 1/16 kit from MPC is an original, not a re-pop, and it is a mess. A friend of mine gave me this a few years back but I never really looked too thoroughly at the sprues until now. I'm sure you all (ya'll?) know the inaccuracies and differences in this kit from the real McCoy, so rather than list them all in one post I'll deal with them as they crop up. I expect a lot of them! The size of the kit will lend itself to a good amount of detail, but I am still not too sure that I want to go for a completely screen-accurate build; at the very least I want to correct the body flaws as best as I can, then maybe worry about the interior and engine compartment later on down the line. And yes, the Hillbilly jokes will be plentiful throughout this thread. Feel free to join in!










The Goal, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof:










I found PLENTY of good, large reference photos online, that was the easy part. I started out just going over the body and looking for warpage and sinkholes and what-not. I found lots of it, so I ended up massaging down the entire car, especially the areas along the panel lines which were raised from the molding.


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## whiskeyrat

First and most glaringly obvious flaw: the front wheel wells. They are not supposed to be full arches as molded, they should level off at about the centerline of the body, so I began making paper templates to use as cutting guides for sheet plastic. I used .060" sheet styrene to cut and form the new wheel arches from.










I traced the outline of the wheel well arch onto some paper, then glued the paper down onto my .060" sheet and cut out the patterns. For the right side I simply reversed the paper pattern.










With the new wheel arches cut I glued them in place. Liberal amounts of Aves Apoxie Sculpt will blend them to the body.


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## irishtrek

Best reference material out there Dukes dvd sets!!! For one very simple reason, there are tons of images on the web tht are fan built cars made up to look like the General and they got lots 'f inaccurasies.
The biggest draw backs with this kit are,
no exhaust system other than the headers,
no back seat,
and no gas cap on the rear fender.
And that's just for starters.
also keep in mind the chassis was originaly from the Petty charger kit.


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## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Best reference material out there Dukes DVD sets!!! For one very simple reason, there are tons of images on the web that are fan built cars made up to look like the General and they got lots of inaccuracies.
> The biggest draw backs with this kit are,
> no exhaust system other than the headers,
> no back seat,
> and no gas cap on the rear fender.
> And that's just for starters.
> also keep in mind the chassis was originally from the Petty charger kit.


Yup, well aware of all of the above, thanks!


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## whiskeyrat

I think I've decided to make this one sort of a grubby car. The way I see it, she's been runnin' from the law through the back country for many years, and would definitely be showing some dings and a little rust here and there. Heck I might even put a dent in one of the quarter panels, ya never know...

Wheel arches moved along. After the Aves cures properly the arches will be trimmed to their final shape.










While the Aves was setting up I began eyeballing the terrible scallops on the doors, they are too square and sort of off kilter, so after noodling for quite a while I came up with what I hope is a good solution for correcting them.

Terrible molded detail on the doors:











I trimmed and shaved the area down to get it ready for new sheet styrene cutouts that will form the new scallops.










"T" shaped styrene for the basic shape


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## DCH10664

While there's no doubt that the General looks great all spit shined and polished. I still like your "Grubby Car" idea. I can certainly imagine that the General has it's share of scratches and dings from tree branches etc. 

And I don't imagine the interior would be in the best of shape either. Probably a rip or two in the seats. Seeing how the boys are always sliding through the windows. And the carpet is likely to be a bit dirty and shabby looking as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing just how far you go, and how creative you will be with your Grubby Car idea.


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> While there's no doubt that the General looks great all spit shined and polished. I still like your "Grubby Car" idea. I can certainly imagine that the General has it's share of scratches and dings from tree branches etc.
> 
> And I don't imagine the interior would be in the best of shape either. Probably a rip or two in the seats. Seeing how the boys are always sliding through the windows. And the carpet is likely to be a bit dirty and shabby looking as well.
> 
> I'm looking forward to seeing just how far you go, and how creative you will be with your Grubby Car idea.


Exactly what I was thinking DCH10664! Even though a shiny clean and perfect Charger is a joy to behold, this one might not be so pretty. After countless sheriff chases through mud and dirt and Georgia swamplands (haulin' moonshine!) and crashing through chicken coops at 80 MPH (wing, anyone?) she would be quite grimy, and maybe even have some oxidized paint and rusty chrome. I'm starting to like this idea more and more! Plus, building a dirty banged up car is much easier than building a clean and perfect one... or is it?

Here I have the new scallops framed up on the doors, and started applying the Tamiya putty to fill and smooth, no easy task considering the compound curves at this part of the door.



















I drew a line (a Mason-Dixon line! nyuk nyuk nyuk) through the middle of the body from bumper to bumper to help me get the wheel arches to the same height as the rears. I simply ground away the excess plastic with my Dremel and followed the line, making my curves incrementally so as not to remove too much material at once. The arches now match the rears. Progress!


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## DCH10664

The more I got to thinking about this build. The more things that came to mind. Of course we all know that a car of this size and weight making jumps pretty much destroys the car in real life. But in keeping with the idea that this car could survive all the punishment dished out upon it.....

The body and interior would not be the only thing showing wear and tear. The whole under carriage would also show it. For example, your oil pan and exhaust system would be less than perfect. With it's share of dents and scrapes from bottoming out upon landing.
And if it's an automatic transmission, the fluid pan would also be dented and scraped. The front tires may also show some wear to the inside or outside. Because the rough country roads and jumps are great for screwing up your front end alignment. And all the spin outs take their toll on the rear tire tread.

I've seen a lot of guys build the perfect General. But never seen anyone do what you have planned. This is going to be interesting ! :thumbsup:


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> The more I got to thinking about this build. The more things that came to mind. Of course we all know that a car of this size and weight making jumps pretty much destroys the car in real life. But in keeping with the idea that this car could survive all the punishment dished out upon it.....
> 
> The body and interior would not be the only thing showing wear and tear. The whole under carriage would also show it. For example, your oil pan and exhaust system would be less than perfect. With it's share of dents and scrapes from bottoming out upon landing.
> And if it's an automatic transmission, the fluid pan would also be dented and scraped. The front tires may also show some wear to the inside or outside. Because the rough country roads and jumps are great for screwing up your front end alignment. And all the spin outs take their toll on the rear tire tread.
> 
> I've seen a lot of guys build the perfect General. But never seen anyone do what you have planned. This is going to be interesting ! 👍


Right on all counts DCH! Initially I had thought of just doing a straightforward clean build, but like you, I got to thinking about what would truly be more realistic, and of course a banged up rust bucket with bald rears and oxidized paint is the logical answer. I still want to make the body corrections because to me the flaws are just ludicrous, and will detract from the overall look. I hope I can do this justice, I may have bitten off more than I can chew... but I'm gonna try anyway. Wish me luck!

The rear end of this clunker is also pretty poorly molded. I agonized for a bit over the idea of trying to correct it, or leaving it alone and pretending I didn't see it, but you can see below which way I finally went. There's just too much detail that I can't believe was omitted on a kit this size. Sheesh!



















I cleaned up the cut, then laminated in some strip styrene to rebuild the panel and trunk thickness. 



















While the Tamiya putty was setting up on the rear edges I attacked the front end, another poorly molded part. For the lower section I drilled out the solid turn signals and enlarged the openings. they'll get scratched housings for the turn signals later.


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## whiskeyrat

Front end work continued. I got the lower section glued in and began modifying the grill/front bumper part. the two parts were molded into one piece, which was utterly lame in my opinion, so I grumbled a little and then started cutting them apart (not easy!). The front grill detail on the real thing is much more complex than the kit part, and again, I want the body at least to look accurate, even if underneath it is not. There's only so may mods I'm willing to make to this kit (or have time for) so I sorta have to pick my battles.

Lower front end modded and glued in. I had to bolster the joints with some styrene rod from the inside for fear of the thin plastic cracking during handling later.










After cutting the grill away from the bumper, I cut out the backing plastic and glued in sheet styrene to deepen the grill. I then laid in some Aves around the corners to make the fillet, and then cut out the centers of the sheet styrene to make room for the headlamp covers/grill assembly.



















The rear end shaping up. Finished puttying and sanding the trunk lid edge and panel corners. I mis-drilled the holes for the back-up lamps and had to fill them with some old battleship gun barrels I had in my spare parts bin; I'll re-drill them later. I also cut away the license plate from the bumper, filled in the gap, and will be scratching up a frame and plate later.


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## whiskeyrat

Here I've added the missing panel lines that run along the insides of the rear pillars and join up with the trunk panel lines. 










The beginnings of the missing fuel filler cap and fitting. The raised ring is from an aircraft landing gear tire (I forget what scale) hollowed out and shaved down to the proper thickness. The body plastic was dished using a rounded stone in my drill at low speeds so as not to melt the plastic. It's a very intricate piece in reality, but at this scale I'll just be happy to produce something that looks reasonably close. Better than nothing at all! How on earth would the Duke boys get anywhere if they couldn't fill The General with moonshine, er I mean gas?


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## whiskeyrat

More front end work for the grill corrections. I happened to have the '71 Street Charger kit from some time back, but I never really liked the body style of that one, so I stashed it for spare parts for this car when I eventually got around to building it. I'm glad I did because the grill inserts from that kit are much better looking than the ones supplied with The General.

The poorly molded kit parts...










And the '71 Street Charger grill parts inserted. While still inaccurate they are a vast improvement...



















More progress on rebuilding the rear tail lamp housing. Lots of work. I'll do the same sort of thing to the tail lamp that I did with the front grill, by using Aves to fill and shape the recessed part of the housing, and then cut out the holes for the tail lamps.


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## DCH10664

This was a very popular kit back in the day. And I know I built one, along with many of my friends. Can't believe all the inaccuracies that I never picked up on. But you are righting the wrongs quite nicely.

This is going to be an excellent tribute to an old "War Horse".


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> This was a very popular kit back in the day. And I know I built one, along with many of my friends. Can't believe all the inaccuracies that I never picked up on. But you are righting the wrongs quite nicely.
> 
> This is going to be an excellent tribute to an old "War Horse".


Thanks DCH! I hope I can do this old "War Horse" justice! I remember seeing this kit on the shelves many years ago myself, but for some reason I never picked one up, even though I really liked the car. I knew there would be some inaccuracies on the body, but not *THIS* bad...

A slow week for progress, but I managed to get along pretty far with the tail lamp housing. I deepened it a little more by adding another strip of .020" styrene along the top and sides, then traced in the shape of the tail lamps using the old kit part I sawed out. 










I then carefully cut out the holes by first drilling and then opening up with my Dremel, and carefully finishing so it was a snug fit. Hopefully this will look considerably sharper and more detailed than the original kit part. 










The housing will get Aves to shape the concave contour around the tail lamps, in much the same way the front grill did.


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## scottnkat

I've been watching this from the beginning, but wanted to say you're definitely doing this car justice. This might be a good thread to save so I have a tutorial to follow along with when I build this kit. Nice job.


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## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> I've been watching this from the beginning, but wanted to say you're definitely doing this car justice. This might be a good thread to save so I have a tutorial to follow along with when I build this kit. Nice job.


Thanks for the vote of confidence scottnkatt! I'll try to include as much detail as possible on the modifications I'm doing. Humble thanks!

A few quick last pics before calling it a weekend. I squared up the hood and quarter panel seams with some strip styrene and sanded the edges of the hood down, splitting the difference between the sides to get a nice flush fit. The quarter panels are slightly thicker and the hood is slightly thinner, but now I have a snug fit with good lines. I'll clean up the front edges later after a little puttying.



















Giant gaps in the panel lines will really detract from the scale of the car, so I am making sure to get them as close as I can.


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## DCH10664

WoW !! You have definitely done your homework, when it comes to the details of this car. Can't wait to see more ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> WoW !! You have definitely done your homework, when it comes to the details of this car. Can't wait to see more ! 👍 👍 👍


I'm movin' as fast as I can DCH! Glad you're enjoying the thread!

The results of about an hour and a half of sculpting and shaping the tail lamp housing. I re-wetted the Aves periodically to lengthen the working time as much as I could, because it was kind of difficult to get the exact curvature I needed. I pressed the end of a small piece of styrene rod in the center for the keyhole. I pressed the tail lamps in to create the proper indentations, and after the Aves is fully cured I'll begin sanding and smoothing it down, hopefully not snapping it in two during the process!


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## whiskeyrat

Shucks Uncle Jesse, buildin' them thar models is hard! I had a full afternoon working on the tail lamp housing but I think I got it at just the right curvature. Even though the Aves cures quite solidly, I was still able to finesse the contours with some 400 grit, VERY CAREFULLY! I checked the fit often with the tail lamps, making sure I didn't remove too much material. Still needs a little more smoothing with finer grit, but the end result will pass, I think...



















And one more for good measure. I now have the raised edge along the top and sides of the housing that wasn't on the kit part, and the whole thing is set back just a touch deeper. I think I'm past the worst part of the body corrections now...I hope!










For comparison, here's the rear end before I started...


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## whiskeyrat

Further along with the rear-end rebuild today. I cut the small curves into the bottoms of the outside edges of the housing to allow the bumper to fit properly, then I attached some more .020" sheet to the back of the tail lamp housing to create the backing plate behind the bumper. I'll make a couple of standoffs that will attach to the bumper and hold it in the correct position, floating centered between the top and bottom of the notch.



















It really looks a heck of a lot more like a Charger than it did before. It was a _*lot*_ of work but I'm *VERY* happy with the results.


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## DCH10664

WoW again !!! The before and after shots really show just how bad they missed the mark on this model. And just how skilled you are at fixing their screw ups !! :thumbsup:


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> WoW again !!! The before and after shots really show just how bad they missed the mark on this model. And just how skilled you are at fixing their screw ups !! 👍


Humble thanks again, DCH! The size of this model makes it a bit easier to make these corrections, if it were 1/25 I wouldn't even dream of it. Also, because of the size of this kit I think it's a crime _*NOT *_to correct the mistakes, because they are just that much bigger. 

A kit this big really does deserve more detail than its creators endowed it with, so following that line of thinking I decided that window frames were too important a detail to leave out. I pulled up my pants and began cutting some more .020" styrene sheet to create the rear frame...










After I got the full piece fitted perfectly in the window, I carefully penciled in a line around the edge 1.9mm in (or thereabouts) from the edge of the frame, and *carefully* cut, sanded and filed away until I had the frame width even all the way around.










I'm going to try some Bare Metal Foil on this car, it will be my first time so I'm kind of excited to see what results I can get, particularly on the window frames and bumpers. After I foil the frame, I'll then glue it to a clear styrene sheet, trim around the edges, glue in some bolsters on the inside of the body for the frame to rest on and I'll have a nice assembly that will drop right in with a minimum of fuss, and will look sharper and be less distortive than the kit part when you look through it. I hope.


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## DCH10664

Eager waiting and watching  This is turning into a learning experience for me !


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> Eager waiting and watching  This is turning into a learning experience for me !


Oh trust me my friend, I'm having a learning experience on this car as well! Hope you'll bear with me as I muddle through, thanks for the support!

Surprisingly good progress on the fuel filler cap today. I knocked the raised ring down a bit more with my coarse sanding stick and managed to cobble up a cap out of some tiny bits in my spares box, and sheet and a _slice_ of tube styrene.

In this image I have the raised ring with some 500 grit Mr. Surfacer slopped in around it to feather into the surrounding body panel. I also backed the open hole from underneath with a piece of styrene sheet.










The filler cap...almost done. You can see the slice of tubing sitting on top.










And the cap in place just to check height. It's a little tall but I'll just trim down the neck later. The dished part and the cap will need to be Bare Metal Foiled too, but I have NO IDEA how I'm gonna do this right. _gulp_


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## whiskeyrat

Gee it seems all I do for this kit is cut and fit sheet plastic. So far I've used .060" .040" and .020" sheet styrene all over this model, with no end in sight. I scared myself last night when I caught myself wondering if it wouldn't be *THAT* difficult to fab up the engine bay walls and modify the firewall... I think I'm inhaling too much plastic dust and it's starting to control my mind... :freak:

I marked off and cut out the side markers. These will get little .020" sheet styrene frames.










Here I've started working on the missing lower windshield trim, cut from .040" sheet. I fitted the sheet into the notches I cut under each pillar, traced the pattern from underneath and simply trimmed it to match.



















This took quite a bit of work but if I do the rear window I gotta do the front. As molded it just doesn't look right to me.


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## whiskeyrat

...and MORE sheet plastic. The front lower valance missing from this kit has a pattern of holes in it that wanted to duplicate. I copied the pattern from one of my reference photos and carefully cut and filed out the holes.



















The turn signals curved housings need to be filled in over the new plastic, I'll use some more Aves for that. I also carved in the correct panel lines for the valance, up and around toward the bottom corner of the bumper notch, you can just see it in this image.


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## DCH10664

If there was a Modelers Medal of Honor,......You would definitely be the winner !!!


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> If there was a Modelers Medal of Honor,......You would definitely be the winner !!!


Lol Thanks DCH! This "Old War Horse" is throwing one challenge after another at me but I *REFUSE* to be thwarted by a few ounces of plastic! At least not this time anyway... 👅

A little more headway with the trim. *MORE* .020" sheet styrene. For the sharp corner at the inside of the rear pillars I wrapped the sheet around a paint brush handle, slowly pinching it down repeatedly until it fit the rounded contour, then held it in place while I tacked it in with Tenax 7R.

The first strip in place, showing the sharp curve at the rear pillar.










The offending corner nicely rounded now, and looking a bit closer to the real thing. As molded, the pillar simply dives straight down into the lower body with no curve there.










Passenger side finished...










...and the driver's side.


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## scottnkat

great work so far, man. I can't believe the amount of errors on the body. You're doing great


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## 1976Cordoba

I'm gob-smacked at the amount of work so far - great job!


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## LouO

Outstanding work, attention to detail and an inspiration! I'll be watching this build!


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## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> great work so far, man. I can't believe the amount of errors on the body. You're doing great


Thanks scottnkatt! Yeah, no shortage of omissions or mistakes on this beast! And more yet to come!



1976Cordoba said:


> I'm gob-smacked at the amount of work so far - great job!


Apparently I'm not happy unless I'm creating more work for myself 1976Cordoba! Humble thanks!



LouO said:


> Outstanding work, attention to detail and an inspiration! I'll be watching this build!


Many thanks LouO! I hope I have inspired folks to go that extra mile when building, I think it makes all the difference!

Speaking of more work... I had previously sanded down the molded on headliner and sunvisors knowing I would rebuild them later. I added more strip styrene to the inside and outside of the car to finish out the the trim, and filled in the rear pillars on the inside with some more Aves. I found myself clucking over the flatness and lack of depth to the door panels, so I cut them apart along the major sections, sanded them down to round them off a bit, then glued them back into position on a backing of .040" sheet, giving the panels some depth. 

Outer trim finished.










Pillars filled in and strip styrene glued in. 










Door panel cut apart, and glued back together. I opened up the pouch on the lower part of the panel to get a little more depth to it.








]

A couple of posts back I mentioned modifying the firewall and fabricating the engine bay walls. Well...


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## whiskeyrat

The trans tunnel bell housing on the chassis was *way* oversized, as was the hole in the firewall. I filled in the firewall with .040" sheet, and cut away the bell housing from the chassis. I'll have to fab up a smaller housing to more closely match the modified firewall. 

Liberty Bell housing cut away.










Firewall with modified top and trans pass through. I scored it and bent it along the score to achieve the correct shape, and then ran some glue along the cut to help strengthen it. I'll fill it with Aves later to make it solid.










Firewall in place, looking more realistic. The engine bay walls will get fabbed in after the firewall is done.


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## DCH10664

(in the voice of Waylon Jennings) It's been a long time since we checked up on the Dukes. And while some things never change. Other things do,....even in Hazzard. Uncle Jesse is still doing what he does best. Keeping the family together. And keeping the boys out of trouble with the law.

Cousin Daisy has retired her once popular short shorts. But still looks hotter than a fox's tail in a forest fire, in a short sun dress and high heels. And still turns alotta heads,.....with the help of a Wonder Bra !

Bo and Luke are sporting some snow on the roof these days. And don't seem to be able to slide in and out of the General's windows as quick as they once did. But they still have a bad case of the lead foot. And a knack for getting into trouble.

And the General,....yes, even the General is showing his age these days. His once gleaming orange paint job, just doesn't shine like it used to. And the old war horse carries many a battle wound from days gone by.

But still every time Ol' Boss Hogg sees that faded 01 coming around a curve sideways. It makes him as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs ! And he can't help but wonder out loud, "Is that ol' orange clunker car ever gonna lay down and die ?"


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## camaro75

*Totally Professional work!*

*So impressive a total expert work indeed....:thumbsup:*


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> (in the voice of Waylon Jennings) It's been a long time since we checked up on the Dukes. And while some things never change. Other things do,....even in Hazzard. Uncle Jesse is still doing what he does best. Keeping the family together. And keeping the boys out of trouble with the law.
> 
> Cousin Daisy has retired her once popular short shorts. But still looks hotter than a fox's tail in a forest fire, in a short sun dress and high heels. And still turns alotta heads,.....with the help of a Wonder Bra !
> 
> Bo and Luke are sporting some snow on the roof these days. And don't seem to be able to slide in and out of the General's windows as quick as they once did. But they still have a bad case of the lead foot. And a knack for getting into trouble.
> 
> And the General,....yes, even the General is showing his age these days. His once gleaming orange paint job, just doesn't shine like it used to. And the old war horse carries many a battle wound from days gone by.
> 
> But still every time Ol' Boss Hogg sees that faded 01 coming around a curve sideways. It makes him as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs ! And he can't help but wonder out loud, "Is that ol' orange clunker car ever gonna lay down and die ?"


LOL! Wonder Bra! :lol: I love it DCH!



camaro75 said:


> *So impressive a total expert work indeed....👍*


Many thanks camaro75! I am far from an expert, just trying to make a bad kit good!

A little more progress on the engine bay. I got the (inaccurate) windshield wiper motor perch built into the firewall along with some strip detail, and I have the side walls blocked in. I sort of painted (built?) myself into a corner here because the control arms will have to be re-mounted, since they now won't fit properly on the kit-supplied tubular framing. Ugh. 

The wiper motor perch is a little off, but I still think it looks better with it than without, adding more interesting detail. The hood struts will have to be re-manufactured too... :freak:










The side walls started. I'll have to make the reliefs for the wheel wells and figure out a way to remount the control arms. _gulp_










The radiator frame and perches will be the last thing I put in before I call it quits for the front clip. Again, most of the mods are making to this car are not exactly accurate, they are just meant to be an approximation and add more interesting detail to the car. If I tried to correct every mistake and omission this thread would never end!










And here's some video entertainment: 10 minutes of The General flying through the air!


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## Dave621955

You planning on driving this when your done? Your attention to detail, research and patience in building is an inspiration to anyone who builds any form of plastic models. Hats off wr, and this one is a definite follow....


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## iamweasel

I'm so very amazed at the amount of work and the quality with which you are doing it.
That being said, I do have 3 of these in my stash and when the day comes that I get to one of them (roughly 2043) I'll be muttering your name under my breath.


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## whiskeyrat

Dave621955 said:


> You planning on driving this when your done? Your attention to detail, research and patience in building is an inspiration to anyone who builds any form of plastic models. Hats off wr, and this one is a definite follow....


LOL You bet Dave I'm gonna climb into this thing and drive outta here! Humble thanks for your kind words!



iamweasel said:


> I'm so very amazed at the amount of work and the quality with which you are doing it.
> That being said, I do have 3 of these in my stash and when the day comes that I get to one of them (roughly 2043) I'll be muttering your name under my breath.


Thank you iamweasel! Here's hoping I get to see your build thread, if I'm still around in 2043 lol! 

A slow week for progress. The front end and engine bay walls really bogged me down, but once I had started there really was no going back. I just couldn't bear the thought of looking at a fender-less engine bay, it would have bugged me forever, since I am *NOT* doing this kit again!! I suppose if I really wanted an accurate General I could have simply bought one of the nice 1/16 die cast versions of this car and called it a day, but where's the fun in that?

I got the front top crossmember carved out of two .040" styrene strips laminated together. This would be my reference point for finishing blocking in the rest of the walls. 










I realized I had to cut the subframe away from the rest of the chassis to make building the front clip easier. I needed the frame for reference fitting, and couldn't really do it quickly with having to finagle the entire chassis in and out of the car each time. So I cut it away from the chassis and spent about 2 hours just sanding and filing it down until it looked more square and less warped. After cleaning up the front subframe and beefing up the sides with some more strip, I measure out the height and width of the front wall, cut it from .040" sheet and attached it to the front. I then cut out the square hole for the radiator, measured to the same size as the kit supplied part which will sit directly behind it on the frame. 










I had to cut out the side walls I had made earlier so that I could get the height cut correctly, so I took a step backward there, oh well. At least it will be easy to cut and shape them, instead of fiddling about on the body with a knife and ruler. I still have a long way to go with the front end. It turns out the front subframe now sits higher than it did before because of the changes I made to the firewall and front lower valance, so I'll need to figure a way to compensate for that now, too. Yeesh.


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## DCH10664

This build is looking finer than frog hair !! :wave:


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## iamweasel

I hope you're around at that time, of course I'll be gumming jello for dinner but still modeling.


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## slotto

Unbelievable! I love it!


----------



## terryr

Great work!

I wonder if this kit was molded as a race car. That would explain the oversized openings.


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> This build is looking finer than frog hair !! 👋


Lol thanks again DCH! 



iamweasel said:


> I hope you're around at that time, of course I'll be gumming jello for dinner but still modeling.


That'll make two of us iamweasel! 



slotto said:


> Unbelievable! I love it!


Many thanks slotto! 



terryr said:


> Great work!
> 
> I wonder if this kit was molded as a race car. That would explain the oversized openings.


Thanks terryr! You might just be right about the wheel openings, that didn't occur to me... I know this car was based on the Petty Charger so that would make sense. 

Well, after *MUCH MUCH* pulling out of hair (what little is left) and gnashing of teeth, and continued copious cutting of sheet plastic I was able to rebuild the trans tunnel bell and firewall join. I had to make a new funnel shape from .020" styrene to fit into the now smaller arch in the firewall, and cut new .060" sheet to fill in the gap left from when I cut the original out. This work bogged me down so badly because I really had no stationary reference point for the chassis, and had to set the position of it first before I could measure and cut the filler pieces. What a pain! I knew I was in for a severe challenge when I decided to make the engine bay but I really kicked myself hard on this part. Once I had made the cuts there was no turning back, so I was committed. And I probably *SHOULD* be committed for attempting to build this kit!

The new (and somewhat smaller) trans tunnel, and the rebuilt floorpan pieces all glued in. Getting to this point took me about 4 1/2 hours today. And yes, that's the hole for the steering column you see...



















My solution to the chopped subframe: I left slots in the floorpan for the frame to fit into. This way, I can attach the frame to the car long before I finish the interior and close her up. 










The frame fitted. I'll smooth the union between the bell and the new floor pan pieces with more Aves. The stuff is my best friend on this build.


----------



## irishtrek

terryr said:


> Great work!
> 
> I wonder if this kit was molded as a race car. That would explain the oversized openings.


The chassis was originaly from the Petty charger with some differences.


----------



## DCH10664

(in the voice of Waylon Jennings) Since Cousin Whiskeyrat came to Hazzard he's been as busy as a billy goat in a barn full of nannies ! And doin' himself right proud I might add. 
But it seems like he's gittin' as frustrated as a one legged man in a butt kickin' contest with this last bit. But we got faith in ya Cousin. So don't let it jangle yer nerves. Just keep up the good work.

(And with a name like whiskeyrat, we can imagine what his preferred nerve medicine might be.) :tongue:


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> The chassis was originally from the Petty charger with some differences.


MAJOR MAJOR differences it turns out irishtrek! You tried to warn me early on but I foolishly didn't listen, now I'm up to my eyeballs in this thing! Next time I'll pay attention! 



DCH10664 said:


> (in the voice of Waylon Jennings) Since Cousin Whiskeyrat came to Hazzard he's been as busy as a billy goat in a barn full of nannies ! And doin' himself right proud I might add.
> But it seems like he's gittin' as frustrated as a one legged man in a butt kickin' contest with this last bit. But we got faith in ya Cousin. So don't let it jangle yer nerves. Just keep up the good work.
> 
> 
> 
> (And with a name like whiskeyrat, we can imagine what his preferred nerve medicine might be.) 👅


Thanks Waylon lol! Frustration is a mild word for what I'm feeling for this kit right now, let's _*both*_ hope all this trouble is going to be worth it!

This week I was lucky enough to get one full day to work on The General. So what did I do with all that time? Why, cut apart the rear chassis and start rebuilding it, of course! Nevermind the fact that I haven't painted ONE part yet, or even started on the engine... I was eyeballing the tires as well, and thinking about how balloonish and slightly comical they look. The only real solution to that (at least IMO) was to find some smaller front tires to offset the big rears. I found some used 1:18 die cast car wheels and tires on line and bought them with the hope I would find some decent candidates to replace the front tires. Here's one, but it might be a little *TOO* small. I'm still on the fence. What do you guys think?










I started slicing and dicing up the box structure covering the rear subframe. I wanted to get something slightly closer to the real car, and bring a little relief to the frame so it will pop out a bit more, instead of just leaving it webbed to the floorpan which looks really bad to me.










I shortened the fender liners and reglued them, which gave me a better angle for the front wall, and will help the rear seat to fit properly. *REAR SEAT* who said that???










The drivers side fender here has already been shortened and glued back together, you can see the passenger side one still loose. The subframe is now partially cut away from the rest of the chassis. I might just thicken it with some .020" styrene.










New front wall. Might need to be taller, so it can wrap around the top and close up the chassis so this might end up being my template part. I cut the rear wall along its sides, scored it along the bottom and bent it forward to match the angle of the frame, then glued it back to the frame. You can just _barely_ see the change in angle compared to the picture above.


----------



## Dave621955

Uhmmm, have you had a cat scan lately? Seriously though wr I'm blown away at the amount of time you are devoting to building what will be undoubtedly the "best" representation of an all time classic. Your followers are waiting patiently for another installment.


----------



## irishtrek

Have you read the article in the Model Cars magazine from this past October??? The article is a by a man who's building the Petty charger. It also covers at least 1 detail regarding the front engine mount.


----------



## DCH10664

I seriously think this is going to be the best model car build I've ever seen on HobbyTalk !! As my kids would say, "I think this is going to be epic". :tongue: And after all the work you've done to make this thing perfect. It's going to be wild watching you beat, bang, and dent this car into an old battle scared war horse !!!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Dave621955 said:


> Uhmmm, have you had a cat scan lately? Seriously though wr I'm blown away at the amount of time you are devoting to building what will be undoubtedly the "best" representation of an all time classic. Your followers are waiting patiently for another installment.


Most kind Dave! I haven't had a cat scan, but I did have one stare at me for a few minutes, does that count? 



irishtrek said:


> Have you read the article in the Model Cars magazine from this past October??? The article is a by a man who's building the Petty charger. It also covers at least 1 detail regarding the front engine mount.


I haven't read this article but I'm super curious! I'll have to pop down to the local Barnes & Noble and check their magazine rack...Thanks for the heads up irish!



DCH10664 said:


> I seriously think this is going to be the best model car build I've ever seen on HobbyTalk !! As my kids would say, "I think this is going to be epic". 👅 And after all the work you've done to make this thing perfect. It's going to be wild watching you beat, bang, and dent this car into an old battle scared war horse !!!


Many thanks again DCH! While being far from perfect the car is a lot closer to reality than when I started. And yes, putting the age on this War Horse will *DEFINITELY* be the fun part, I'm looking forward to it as well! 

I progressed somewhat quickly with the rear subframe today. I got the new panels on the chassis and filled the gaps with Aves, and fabricated a new rear crossmember. The one supplied in the kit is a simplistic bar with attaching points for the four shocks. I thought the original frame part was more interesting and better shaped. I'm toying with the idea of fabbing up new leaf spring assemblies too, the kit ones have a horrible part line that would take longer to correct, I think, than making new much sharper ones. Hmmm...

Here's the subframe boxed in, this time with new angles. Is it accurate? Nope. Does it look better than the crappy kit part I started with? I think so!










View from underneath. Here you can really see how cutting away the frame makes a huge difference in appearance, and gives me a bit more room for the exhaust pipes. I'm going to be _80 years old_ by the time I finish this car. 








]

And the new rear crossmember. The shocks will attach to the lowest corners just like the real car. Which probably means the ones in the kit are too short. Where's my aluminum tubing and that saw??


----------



## whiskeyrat

Well, that went quicker than I expected! Although I still need to build another...

With the kit part for comparison. I also need to build new perches for the new shocks. This is just a neverending parade of cutting and fitting sheet plastic! I'm gonna have to buy some more soon...










I made my parts a little wider, and I simulated the curled ends with small pieces of tube. It's slightly shorter than the original part, but with the ladder bars I can easily compensate.


----------



## irishtrek

WR, that back issue is from October 2013 so you'll probably have better luck checking the magazine rack at your local hobbyshop rather than Barnes and Noble.


----------



## DCH10664

This has gone way beyond just "building" a model. You are "making" a model !!! At this rate there won't be but a few small scraps of plastic left of the original model in this car.
Of course I'm not complaining,......Just freakin' amazed !!


----------



## moparz65

I continue to be amazed by your intricate work and attention to details...keep it coming!


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> WR, that back issue is from October 2013 so you'll probably have better luck checking the magazine rack at your local hobbyshop rather than Barnes and Noble.


Ok thanks irish, I'll try to look for it, but unfortunately my LHS doesn't carry very many periodicals. Maybe I can get a copy online?



DCH10664 said:


> This has gone way beyond just "building" a model. You are "making" a model !!! At this rate there won't be but a few small scraps of plastic left of the original model in this car.
> Of course I'm not complaining,......Just freakin' amazed !!


Heh, I think you're right DCH! Most of this kit has been turned into plastic shavings and dust! I had *NO IDEA* how involved I was going to be in this build! I've had to reach into my bag of tricks *many many* times to pull off the modifications so far... I hope I've got enough gumption left to see this through to the end. Thanks again for the praise!



moparz65 said:


> I continue to be amazed by your intricate work and attention to details...keep it coming!


Humble thanks moparz65! Glad you're enjoying the build! 

I got a little bit further along with the rear end today. I sort of took a break from the front end, because I was getting kind of burnt out hammering away at it and making such slow progress, and I felt I needed to focus on another part of the car just to break up the monotony a bit... I also took a step backward on the body again, in order to take another step forward, I'll explain below... 

Here's the leaf springs with the kit-supplied shock perches. I was going to build replacements for the perches but I got lazy and decided these would be good enough. I have to pick my battles with this beast or I won't win the war... The front leaf spring mounts were made from the feet of an old Thunderbird 2 model! I cut small pieces of brass tube to simulate the through-bolts for the spring mounts.









Loosely assembled to the rear axle. 










Ever since I first got the scallops on the doors re-shaped, I had a gnawing feeling that they STILL weren't right. And they weren't, I had made them *too small!* So after several anxious moments of self doubt and fear, I tore into them again and _re-re-shaped_ them to the correct size, removing the top and bottom strips of plastic I had glued in earlier, and aligning the scallop edges more closely with the body lines. I still need to get the upper and lower corners filleted but the scallops are much better shaped and more correctly sized now. Phew!










After I glued up the rear axle so I could fit the leaf springs and mounts, and get a good idea of the positioning for the new shocks I'll be making, I then glued in some sections of brass tube for each side to provide more solid support for the pins that hold the wheels on. This beast will weigh quite a bit when she's finished and will need all the structural re-enforcement I can give her.


----------



## Tuxedo

Incredible job so far. If I keep reading this I may have to get back into modeling again !


----------



## whiskeyrat

Tuxedo said:


> Incredible job so far. If I keep reading this I may have to get back into modeling again !


Thanks Tuxedo! I hope I've inspired folks to break out the X-Acto blades and glue again!

Slow going this week, but I reached a turning point on the front end. Originally when I started building up the engine bay I thought I would try to simulate the real thing, but this is proving a bit more difficult and time consuming than I thought. As a compromise, I opted to use the kit-supplied tubular framing to support the suspension after all, and siamese it together with the front frame and firewall I had modified earlier. My rationale was this: the Duke Boys found the General, brought him back to Uncle Jesse's farm and began re-building and modifying him into a hybrid of a street racer/bracket racer car, a one-of-a-kind beast that would double as both a daily driver and a track car. Hence, the tubular-framed front end welded into the existing engine bay, and the interior rollcage. Yes, I'm making this up as I go along, if you hadn't guessed that already! 

Here's the tubular framing chopped down a little and shortened to fit in the engine bay with my scratched front radiator support. Actually looks kinda cool IMO. What do you guys think?










The assembly loosely fitted into the engine bay. I'll still make the lower sidewalls, but probably leave holes where the wheel wells would be so the control arms have room to move up and down. I was thinking of trying to simulate plasma cutting on the sheet metal, to make it look as if they had been opened up for the new suspension.










I started on the engine, FINALLY. I glued the main halves together and squared up all the edges and corners with my sanding sticks to sharpen it up. I also reduced the diameter of the transmission bell housing boss on the rear of the engine, because I will be making a new smaller bell housing to fit properly under the now smaller opening in the firewall.










And a little more body work. The deck under the rear window in place here, I'll work on it through the open rear window. I tend to hop from part to part on my models, sorry for the non-linear nature of this build! Must be the A.D.D. !


----------



## terryr

Switching the work around keeps it interesting.

That tube front end proves this used to be a race car model. Your story on it seems plausible anyway. Maybe that's why they can jump over rivers 'without damage'.


----------



## DCH10664

The more I see of this build. The more I shake my head in envy !!! I just can't figure out how you make these beautifully, clean, perfect cuts. Do you have some special trick ? Or machine ? Or do you just simply have powers far beyond those of mere mortal men ?


----------



## Bandit17

I can't wait to see the finished product!! Absolutely amazing work!

Any chance you can post pics of some of your other builds? I'd love to see what else you have!
Keep up the great work!!


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## RCDave911

Very impressive work and a great eye for detail. I used to ride dirtbikes on some property that borders where they filmed the show and the owner of the property found and kept a wheel off the General that has the center broke out where it was ripped off the car. Started watching this show recently for the first time in about 25 years, on a 60'' TV it's crazy what you can see, like the car flying through the air with a busted radiator or oil pan trailing oil and stuntmen looking like they are breaking their backs on landings.


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## whiskeyrat

terryr said:


> Switching the work around keeps it interesting.
> 
> That tube front end proves this used to be a race car model. Your story on it seems plausible anyway. Maybe that's why they can jump over rivers 'without damage'.


Right terryr, the tube front end and the oversize wheel wells are just part of the race car mods that were originally part of the Petty Charger kit. I guess that's just MPC tryin' to save a buck on re-tooling their kits. 

I thunk up that story because it's the only way to explain my Frankenstein's monster of a car that I'm building... pieces from all over! Gee, kinda like the Interceptor!



DCH10664 said:


> The more I see of this build. The more I shake my head in envy !!! I just can't figure out how you make these beautifully, clean, perfect cuts. Do you have some special trick ? Or machine ? Or do you just simply have powers far beyond those of mere mortal men ?


LOL Yes! I have powers beyond those of puny Earthmen! In reality, I just make my cuts as *CAREFULLY* as I can, and then often times after I finish the cut I'll block-sand down the edge (if possible) to make it properly angled, and as sharp as I can get it. I detest rounded detail when it should be crisp! Typically I just use a metal straight-edge and a sharp blade, which I usually change at least once every session, sometimes twice. It's worth it to me to really take my time and get it right. It is a hard-won patience!



Bandit17 said:


> I can't wait to see the finished product!! Absolutely amazing work!
> 
> Any chance you can post pics of some of your other builds? I'd love to see what else you have!
> Keep up the great work!!


Many thanks Bandit17! I'm hopin' to get The General finished before the end of May, but we'll see... I have a tendency to far overshoot my self-imposed deadlines!

My last full-build thread is here: 

You Can Shut The Door On This One Max!

And I have my albums here:

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/useralbums.php





RCDave911 said:


> Very impressive work and a great eye for detail. I used to ride dirtbikes on some property that borders where they filmed the show and the owner of the property found and kept a wheel off the General that has the center broke out where it was ripped off the car. Started watching this show recently for the first time in about 25 years, on a 60'' TV it's crazy what you can see, like the car flying through the air with a busted radiator or oil pan trailing oil and stuntmen looking like they are breaking their backs on
> landings.


Humble thanks RCDave 911! You know I never noticed any of those little details you mentioned but now that I have a large flat screen I'll have to go check those out for myself. I suppose there are lots of bits and pieces of the old cars they used on the TV show still littering the grounds, probably a gold-mine for souvenir hunters and collectors! Where did you say that was again? 

I switched back to the front end again this week, but I'm still bogged down on it. I attacked the front suspension parts with my files and sanding sticks, strengthened the joints, and made sure everything was as aligned as I can get it. I shudder at the thought of having a loose, sloppy front end that has awful negative camber...

Here I have the passenger side suspension assembled and "heat-staked" in place. I first cleaned up all the seam lines on the parts, then I test fitted everything and found it all loosey-goosey. So I bushed the upper and lower control arm ball joints with styrene tube, so the spindle fit snugly with no play.










In this image if you look at the upper control arm ball joint you can see where I used a hot X-Acto blade to flatten the spindle pin, and capture it in place. This is actually the technique called for in the original instructions, and it worked quite well, surprisingly. 










Upper control arm bushing. Just a small section of styrene tube glued in. I also glued in a section of tubing between the upper control arm pivot points, seen here. This helps to keep the hinged parts from working their way out of the mounting points, and helps stiffen the overall structure.










And the lower control arm pivot, strengthened with a section of brass tube super-glued into the frame. This way the lower control arms will support the weight of the car without twisting out of place and causing the front end to droop. The control arm/spindle assemblies will be a lot more robust and stable now.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Amazingly, I got some more work done earlier this week as well. Switching focus on the car does help to break up the monotony of chipping away at one area for too long. 

I did, however finally fix an alignment problem with the front valance. The passenger side of it was too far back, causing the arch across the car's width to be lopsided. So after some measuring and comparing I _*slowly*_ and _*carefully*_ cut it free from the quarter panel, along the original part lines, and shimmed it forward with some scrap styrene. I figure I moved it about 1.5mm forward, which doesn't sound like much but visually it makes a big difference.










Slightly closer image. The offset was really bugging me, I knew sooner or later I would have to attack it. Another defect in the molding.










So I finally got around to gluing, cleaning up and priming the main engine parts. Of course, all the chrome parts were stripped off with bleach. They look pretty sharp after a few minutes argument with a sanding stick. I also trimmed off the wacky-looking front mounts from the timing cover, and I'll scratch two new mounts properly positioned on the block. Now I need a little help from the audience: Anyone here know what the best colors would be to use for the engine block and other major parts? And while I'm at it, what would be the best orange for the body? I'm thinking of going with something slightly darker than the bright, toy-like orange I've seen on the die-cast cars. Opinions?


----------



## Dave621955

Hey wr, think you'll have her ready for the IPMS nationals???


----------



## whiskeyrat

Dave621955 said:


> Hey wr, think you'll have her ready for the IPMS nationals???


Dave I have a feeling the answer to that is a resounding NO! At the rate I'm progressing I'll be lucky if The General is finished by the end of this summer. Even with the concessions I'm making to speed this build along, I still have a long way to go to achieve the result I'm looking for, and it doesn't help things that I'm constantly going back and re-working areas I've already finished. At any rate, I don't think this build is anywhere near good enough to be entering any contests, so no real loss. Maybe one day!

I didn't get too far in the past two weeks, unfortunately. I did a little cleaning up on the body, and corrected a couple of spots that were uneven but essentially it's all been small stuff. I've also been test fitting the chassis and frame parts and lining those up, making small adjustments to refine the position. Moving around all these parts has caused a whole gaggle of fitment issues, and I'm still working those out. I'm really dreading the rollcage and interior, because it will make it very difficult to get the assembly into the car once its built. We'll see how it goes.

Still looking for some help from the audience for engine colors! Anyone have any suggestions?

My meager progress, scratching up a new pushbar, and modifying the front seats to make the separate headrests. The pushbar was cut from .060" sheet and styrene tube. I sawed off the headrests to the seats, filled the resulting holes with sheet styrene and putty, and will cut some brass rod to make the supports. Nothing too fancy.


----------



## vypurr59

IMHO Whiskey, I would keep it Hemi color Orange. Just for the realism. Which in fact is what you are doing for the build in the first place. Great Job. That is such an undertaking that I myself would be hesitant to do by myself. ALL HAIL KING WHISKEY!!!!


----------



## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> IMHO Whiskey, I would keep it Hemi color Orange. Just for the realism. Which in fact is what you are doing for the build in the first place. Great Job. That is such an undertaking that I myself would be hesitant to do by myself. ALL HAIL KING WHISKEY!!!!


LOL! Don't follow me vypurr, I'm lost!

For the engine colors, are the block, heads and valve covers all the same Hemi Orange? Or are the valve covers different? I seem to remember on my old Charger that the valve covers were blue... but I could be mistaking those for my junker '77 Nova...

Do you or anyone else know what the equivalent to Hemi Orange is in Tamiya or Testors? Or is there another brand that actually makes that color?

*Edit
Found an image I think I can use, even though it's a '66 the color scheme should be pretty much the same right?


----------



## vypurr59

That picture is the correct one. You could chrome the valve covers, but I like the wrinkle finish. Model Master has the correct color, Or you could take the Testors Orange and add just a drop or 2 of red to darken it a tad.


----------



## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> That picture is the correct one. You could chrome the valve covers, but I like the wrinkle finish. Model Master has the correct color, Or you could take the Testors Orange and add just a drop or 2 of red to darken it a tad.


Awesome, thanks dude! I will most likely duplicate that picture for my engine, with the black valve covers. Looks better to my eye.


----------



## irishtrek

Or you could go with hemi engine blue and Tamiya makes a light blue that comes very close.
@ viper, which MM color is the correct orange??


----------



## vypurr59

Model Master has Chrysler/GM Orange


----------



## DCH10664

With an engine like that under the hood, you could pass everything but a gas station !! :tongue: But she sure is a thing of beauty. And brings back some good memories.


----------



## irishtrek

vypurr59 said:


> Model Master has Chrysler/GM Orange


Would that be acryl, enamel or lacquer???


----------



## vypurr59

I only use Model Master enamels, and that is one of the ones I use.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Thanks everyone for the input! I think I'll try the MM enamels...vypurr I think you've hit the nail on the head. Now, as far as the body orange goes, is there something a little darker than the bright orange I've seen on the die-cast cars, or do I just need to mix in a little red, like you mentioned earlier on? I'd like to get a color that is somewhat subdued from that bright orange, being as this car will be aged and worn, with possible oxidization going on. I was pondering doing a flat coat on the horizontal surfaces with some white misted in along the edges, to sort of simulate sun-fading/oxidization. Opinions fellas?


----------



## DCH10664

Just some food for thought,........ I guess for you to know just how to do this paint job. Hypothetically, you have to answer some questions. How long has it been since the blazing orange paint job and rebel flag were applied ? The decided age of the paint job will go along way in determining just how it should look. How much of the damage to the paint job is from the sun ? And how much is from running through the brush, gravel, dirt, etc. ? Are you going to merely have a faded and beaten paint job ? Or is it going to go to the point of being surface rust, or even rusted out holes ?

Can't wait to see what you come up with,...


----------



## vypurr59

Whiskey, When deciding color I go to this website http://www.autocolorlibrary.com/
It helps me to see the color and visualize the color I want. Sometimes I see a color that I can get from Model Master, Testors, or should I just get it mixed from my local Automotive paint store. Hope this helps you and others as well.


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> Just some food for thought,........ I guess for you to know just how to do this paint job. Hypothetically, you have to answer some questions. How long has it been since the blazing orange paint job and rebel flag were applied ? The decided age of the paint job will go along way in determining just how it should look. How much of the damage to the paint job is from the sun ? And how much is from running through the brush, gravel, dirt, etc. ? Are you going to merely have a faded and beaten paint job ? Or is it going to go to the point of being surface rust, or even rusted out holes ?
> 
> Can't wait to see what you come up with,...


All of these are considerations I need to take into account, DCH. I am planning on rusted out holes in all the spots *MY* Charger had them, under the rear window, under the rear quarter panels just behind the wheels, etc. Also I plan on putting a few dents in this car, so I have to actually think through my approach to this, it's the first time I've done a kit this scale so I want to slap on as much "wear and tear" detail as is practical and aesthetically pleasing. I have a looong way to go...



vypurr59 said:


> Whiskey, When deciding color I go to this website http://www.autocolorlibrary.com/
> It helps me to see the color and visualize the color I want. Sometimes I see a color that I can get from Model Master, Testors, or should I just get it mixed from my local Automotive paint store. Hope this helps you and others as well.


Dude, that is an awesome reference page, thanks a million for linking it! It looks like 60436 is the factory color, but it still seems a bit too bright to my eye. Am I being too nit-picky? I still would prefer something just a shade darker, so I will probably be mixing in some red. 

What do you guys think, is a slightly darker orange more realistic for scale, or should I just go with the factory 60436 orange? Also, now that I think on it, the orange would appear lighter with age, wouldn't it?


----------



## vypurr59

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Lee_(car)
Reading this, they claimed the car was painted Hemi Orange
Chrysler code EV2 number 2186

From wiki, so you don't have to read article:
The first General Lee built in Georgia was a 1968 Charger converted to look like a 1969; the tail light panel, front grill, and front seats taken from LEE 1 were used. The paint used on these cars was Chrysler code EV2 or "Hemi Orange". Interiors not originally tan were sprayed with SEM brand "Saddle tan" vinyl dye. The first three Georgia Lees had a set of crossed flags (a Confederate flag and checkered flag) on the panel between the rear window and trunk lid. Although four sets were created, only three were used. They were discontinued due to the continuity of the General Lee graphics, making it one less thing to be used. The three surviving cars went back to California and had the crossed flags removed upon reconditioning. The wheels were generally 14-by-7-inch (36 cm × 18 cm) American Racing brand "Vectors" throughout the show and were mainly mounted on P235/70R14 B. F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires with the blackwall side facing out.


----------



## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Lee_(car)
> Reading this, they claimed the car was painted Hemi Orange
> Chrysler code EV2 number 2186
> 
> From wiki, so you don't have to read article:
> The first General Lee built in Georgia was a 1968 Charger converted to look like a 1969; the tail light panel, front grill, and front seats taken from LEE 1 were used. The paint used on these cars was Chrysler code EV2 or "Hemi Orange". Interiors not originally tan were sprayed with SEM brand "Saddle tan" vinyl dye. The first three Georgia Lees had a set of crossed flags (a Confederate flag and checkered flag) on the panel between the rear window and trunk lid. Although four sets were created, only three were used. They were discontinued due to the continuity of the General Lee graphics, making it one less thing to be used. The three surviving cars went back to California and had the crossed flags removed upon reconditioning. The wheels were generally 14-by-7-inch (36 cm × 18 cm) American Racing brand "Vectors" throughout the show and were mainly mounted on P235/70R14 B. F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires with the blackwall side facing out.


Oh sweet, thanks vypurr! Shoot, that pretty much covers most of the questions I had left about the exterior of the car! I did purchase an extra set of decals that has the crossed flags that go near the CB whip, I kinda like the extra little detail. I'm still looking for suitable alternatives for the front tires, something a bit smaller than the kit supplied vinyl. I'll probably take a trip to the toy store and see if I can find a 1:18 die cast that has something I can use. Getting expensive!

I corrected my pushbar that I had scratched up earlier. Remember what I said before about constantly going back over areas I had previously finished?  I realized I had made mine too narrow, just like the kit part, and had to cut longer sections of tube to go between the uprights.

New, longer pushbar compared to the shorter, sloppy-looking kit part.










I also got moving along on the seats, fabbing up the lower frame and making the headrest supports from brass tube. 

Lower frame started, .040" sheet and strip styrene.










Closer view after a little more modification.










And here I've got the headrest and brass tube supports dry fitted. I made little collars out of tube styrene for the supports. (The sanding drum is there to stop the seat from falling backwards while I snapped the photo)


----------



## whiskeyrat

Some more progress to make up for lost time over the last couple weeks. I attacked the simplistic dash that came with the kit, and using my reference photos came up with something more true to life. Wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be! I'll use the embossed gauges from the kit parts in the new dash's instrument pod.

Old dash cut out to make way for the new panel.










New panel taking shape. I'll be adding the little radio dials and the heater & A/C controls, along with the air vents at each corner.


----------



## vypurr59

You keep on impressing me. Very Nice!! Glad I could help you with research. I am told I store a lot of "useless" knowledge, but what do they know....lol


----------



## irishtrek

You sure the '69 even had AC???


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> You sure the '69 even had AC???


Heh, now that you mention it, I don't think so! :lol:


----------



## MadCap Romanian

This is an amazing amount of work. i just hope that when you paint it, you never experience what I do...which is usually fish-eyes or runs!


----------



## iamweasel

I don't know about the real General Lee but my '69 Charger had AC and the sometimes hard to find rear window defroster.


----------



## vypurr59

According to the wiki, it could have had A/C


----------



## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> You keep on impressing me. Very Nice!! Glad I could help you with research. I am told I store a lot of "useless" knowledge, but what do they know....lol


Thanks for the compliments vypurr59! And your "useless" knowledge is a gold mine for me!



MadCap Romanian said:


> This is an amazing amount of work. i just hope that when you paint it, you never experience what I do...which is usually fish-eyes or runs!


Many thanks MadCap! I'm still working on my painting skills so those issues are a real danger for me. I might have to get some practice in before I tackle the main body of this one, to be sure those fisheyes don't look right back at me!

I think as far as the A/C goes, there's no compressor or hoses included with the kit, so no point in trying to replicate the controls, it's just meant to be an approximation anyway, and not a main feature of the build.

Well, that annoying interruption called real life once again deflects me from getting much work done. I seized the opportunity today to get a bit further along on the dash and steering wheel. I had to cut away and re-attach the lower section of the dash to correct the angle; I had made it too shallow before. I should really learn to look more than twice before I cut plastic to make sure I've got the correct angle. :drunk:
The kit-supplied steering column is just a straight, featureless tube of plastic with a cup shape at one end that attaches to the wheel. *BORING.* I cobbled together a completely new column using brass and aluminum tube, and a couple of small cone shapes from my spare parts box, an electrical connector insulator and a paperclip. MacGuyver eat your heart out!

New column/wheel assembly next to the original part. Way better if I do say so myself! 










And the assembly loosely fitted into the dash. I'll do a little trimming to the insulator ring where it butts up against the dash, it's just a smidge too long as it sits here.


----------



## scottnkat

Damn fine work on that steering wheel and column. This is an amazing build, dude.


----------



## DCH10664

scottnkat said:


> Damn fine work on that steering wheel and column. This is an amazing build, dude.


Agreed !!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


----------



## -Hemi-

I must say, for a large scale model, this is due to say, IMPRESSIVE modeling.....NICELY done, I have not gone through the whole build of this model, but I think your getting the "gist" of this build, as what most that watched "The Dukes of Hazard" don't realize, is the FIRST General Lee was NOT ment to be a regular "street" car....

It was being built as a race car, all those street car features were removed, and the very FIRST General, had the 426 Hemi that was known as the A990, a race version of that big motor. There were 247 cars used and wrecked to make that series! ALL of them, did not have Hemi power in them! Matter of fact, some cars spanned multiple shooting of the film due to the type of shot it was to be for "that" viewing. In all of those 69 Chargers, some had little 318 V-8's others had the slant 6 for less performance shots, etc...But had exhausts to make it sound as tho it still had the Hemi under the hood. 

The first car, during the first recording was removed from the show VIA Warner Bros. As it went through a jump hit front axle first and cracked the windshield, and they pulled it from the show, and sat it aside and then someone within Warner Bros. Got it for I believe I read a 50 thousand dollars cash and restored it and they Warner Bros. bought it back, (unsure of what they paid). Some years ago, in or around the last reunion of the cast of the show, Warner Bros. put the first General Up for sale and as far as I remember, Ben Jones Better known as Cooter Davenport, bought the first General Lee, and as far as I know on this whole thing, still owns it!!!!!! At the time of sale he paid one million dollars for the car!!!!! Not sure of what he does with it, or if he has it in a museum for show (rightful place in my book!) Just glad to know, that the first car, is preserved for future movie goers and sight seers to be able to see a seriously well known car, from my age of growing up, and even my 9 year old daughter, knows of the General Lee!

In the last years (around 2), they even began making the shots of the car further away, as the car, itself, wasn't even a 69 any more! They used 68's in a lot of the last 2 years with the grill being modified OR replaced with a grill from an older shows 69 as the bodies were really close....

On this large scale model, I'm pleased to see this sort of work, you have done some serious work! But as a few has mentioned in the beginning, the BEST way to get the gist of the actual car is to watch the series! 

DO NOT take online pictures of a "General" to heart as an actual.... they're copies made for road driving and shows, and are street legal, the real cars for the show were not street legal is one of the reasons they were always chased in the show!

I noticed you "shaved" off the door handles. GREAT!!!!! The first car was THEE only car to have them removed! The rest of the shows cars had door handles! Even tho Bo and Luke still jumped through the door windows!!!!

I just thought for an amazing build, and such attention to detail, this thread needed a little history.....That I myself taken from the documentary of the show and cast.


----------



## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> Damn fine work on that steering wheel and column. This is an amazing build, dude.


Thanks a million scottnkat! 



DCH10664 said:


> Agreed !!! 👍 👍 👍


Thank You DCH!



-Hemi- said:


> I must say, for a large scale model, this is due to say, IMPRESSIVE modeling.....NICELY done, I have not gone through the whole build of this model, but I think your getting the "gist" of this build, as what most that watched "The Dukes of Hazard" don't realize, is the FIRST General Lee was NOT ment to be a regular "street" car....
> 
> It was being built as a race car, all those street car features were removed, and the very FIRST General, had the 426 Hemi that was known as the A990, a race version of that big motor. There were 247 cars used and wrecked to make that series! ALL of them, did not have Hemi power in them! Matter of fact, some cars spanned multiple shooting of the film due to the type of shot it was to be for "that" viewing. In all of those 69 Chargers, some had little 318 V-8's others had the slant 6 for less performance shots, etc...But had exhausts to make it sound as tho it still had the Hemi under the hood.
> 
> The first car, during the first recording was removed from the show VIA Warner Bros. As it went through a jump hit front axle first and cracked the windshield, and they pulled it from the show, and sat it aside and then someone within Warner Bros. Got it for I believe I read a 50 thousand dollars cash and restored it and they Warner Bros. bought it back, (unsure of what they paid). Some years ago, in or around the last reunion of the cast of the show, Warner Bros. put the first General Up for sale and as far as I remember, Ben Jones Better known as Cooter Davenport, bought the first General Lee, and as far as I know on this whole thing, still owns it!!!!!! At the time of sale he paid one million dollars for the car!!!!! Not sure of what he does with it, or if he has it in a museum for show (rightful place in my book!) Just glad to know, that the first car, is preserved for future movie goers and sight seers to be able to see a seriously well known car, from my age of growing up, and even my 9 year old daughter, knows of the General Lee!
> 
> In the last years (around 2), they even began making the shots of the car further away, as the car, itself, wasn't even a 69 any more! They used 68's in a lot of the last 2 years with the grill being modified OR replaced with a grill from an older shows 69 as the bodies were really close....
> 
> On this large scale model, I'm pleased to see this sort of work, you have done some serious work! But as a few has mentioned in the beginning, the BEST way to get the gist of the actual car is to watch the series!
> 
> DO NOT take online pictures of a "General" to heart as an actual.... they're copies made for road driving and shows, and are street legal, the real cars for the show were not street legal is one of the reasons they were always chased in the show!
> 
> I noticed you "shaved" off the door handles. GREAT!!!!! The first car was THEE only car to have them removed! The rest of the shows cars had door handles! Even tho Bo and Luke still jumped through the door windows!!!!
> 
> I just thought for an amazing build, and such attention to detail, this thread needed a little history.....That I myself taken from the documentary of the show and cast.


Wow, that's a ton of great info, thanks for posting that and your compliments -Hemi-! I watched the very first episode of The Dukes online and I sort of got the idea of the hybrid race car/street beast from there, so by happy accident it appears as though I sort of went down the correct path with this build. It is meant to be *my version* of The General, or how I interpret the car as being built for runnin' shine and OUT runnin' Roscoe! DEFINITELY not a normal street hot-rod by far. As far as my reference photos go, I'm using them as a guide really, not as an exactly-to-be-followed blueprint, just to get a good idea of how to reconcile the real car with the one I'm trying to build...lots of compromise.

This week found me making more modifications to the chassis. When I built the lower frames for the seats, I neglected to measure the width of the floor pan on both sides of the transmission tunnel to make sure they would still fit. They *didn't*. :freak: So, rather than attempt to modify the width of both seat frames, I opted instead to rebuild the transmission tunnel and center floor-pan area of the chassis, this time somewhat skinnier, to accommodate my new seat frames.

The transmission tunnel and floor-pan on both sides of it were cut out and rebuilt from black .020" styrene sheet. I made the tunnel skinnier so the seats will now fit properly. I had actually pondered doing this a while back, but my oversight gave me no choice in the matter now, so I spent the afternoon hacking, cutting and gluing. Now I have a headache. But the car is slowly moving along, thank goodness!


----------



## irishtrek

Any one here besides me watch the special features on the DVD sets for The Dukes Of Hazzard??? During the last 2-3 seasons they used RC cars painted up as the General Lee for jump shots.


----------



## -Hemi-

irishtrek said:


> Any one here besides me watch the special features on the DVD sets for The Dukes Of Hazzard??? During the last 2-3 seasons they used RC cars painted up as the General Lee for jump shots.


I watched a little of them, they only used the RC cars in jumps tho, not full blown drive shots....... kinda of like the screen would change pretty quick to turn it back to the real car being driven....

Interesting how that is done with special effects tho, isn't it?

As for the actual build, its GREAT work you've done, whiskey!!!! I need to get my hands on a set of the valve covers to the big scale model as I'd love to be able to make a 426 as a "display" to maybe someday finding one of these cars....But that is..........if I see one for sale, as I know, if I do, I'll be buying it! LOL

As for the trans tunnel isn't that the way tho? ALWAYS seems the distances we need or have to come up with at times always screws up some other work we're pleased with such as your seat mounts and such....I myself, hate when this sort of thing happens, is the different tunnel width going to effect how your seats will fit in the floor pan?


----------



## DCH10664

Just looking around for an update. :wave:


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Any one here besides me watch the special features on the DVD sets for The Dukes Of Hazzard??? During the last 2-3 seasons they used RC cars painted up as the General Lee for jump shots.


I never knew that... maybe I was too young to notice the difference! Hmmmm, maybe I should have bought the DVD set...



-Hemi- said:


> I watched a little of them, they only used the RC cars in jumps tho, not full blown drive shots....... kinda of like the screen would change pretty quick to turn it back to the real car being driven....
> 
> Interesting how that is done with special effects tho, isn't it?
> 
> As for the actual build, its GREAT work you've done, whiskey!!!! I need to get my hands on a set of the valve covers to the big scale model as I'd love to be able to make a 426 as a "display" to maybe someday finding one of these cars....But that is..........if I see one for sale, as I know, if I do, I'll be buying it! LOL
> 
> As for the trans tunnel isn't that the way tho? ALWAYS seems the distances we need or have to come up with at times always screws up some other work we're pleased with such as your seat mounts and such....I myself, hate when this sort of thing happens, is the different tunnel width going to effect how your seats will fit in the floor pan?


Many thanks -Hemi-! And I agree, the 426 alone would make a great display kit, all dressed up nicely and fully wired. The idea behind re-building the trans tunnel was to simply provide room for the seat frames, but I had been toying with the idea ever since I started tearing up the chassis, so I simply bit the bullet and dove in... correcting my mistakes is a BIG part of my model building. Often, I don't look far enough ahead when I make changes, and it ends up biting me on the keester, like it did with the seats. It's all a learning process, even though I've been at this for a quite a few years. At least the seats fit now!



DCH10664 said:


> Just looking around for an update. :wave:


DCH I'm sorry to report that I have NO update on The General as of today, (life getting in the way of the really important stuff: MODELS!!). I also got distracted with my Enterprise 1701-D kit that arrived last week and I've been sort of tinkering a little with that. But I'm planning on clearing off and cleaning up my workbench tonight (looks like a tornado hit it) and will be posting up some more progress this weekend. Thanks for your support and comments, they are what keeps me hammering away at this build (I've almost given up on it a few times) and they are very much appreciated!


----------



## irishtrek

Even I've gone and did screw ups on models and had to go back and fix it.


----------



## RCDave911

This car is going to look great, you should display it on 1 of those stands used for airplanes so it looks like it's flying through the air. Paint is not really my thing but I think you should go with the lighter of the oranges and use a matte or semi gloss clear coat?

Earlier I mentioned how I recently started watching the show for the 1st time since the 80's on a 60" tv and I could see stunt drivers being slammed into the seat on big jumps. I'm now thinking it must have been dummies in the rc car.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Displaying it in "flight mode" so to speak is an excellent idea.


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Even I've gone and did screw ups on models and had to go back and fix it.


I hear ya. I suppose I just need to be more careful if I want to minimize my re-work.



RCDave911 said:


> This car is going to look great, you should display it on 1 of those stands used for airplanes so it looks like it's flying through the air. Paint is not really my thing but I think you should go with the lighter of the oranges and use a matte of semi clear coat?
> 
> Earlier I mentioned how I recently started watching the show for the 1st time since the 80's on a 60" tv and I could see stunt drivers being slammed into the seat on big jumps. I'm now thinking it must have been dummies in the rc car.


Thanks RCDave911, that's a good idea! I'll look into some sort of clear stand... I'm with you on the lighter orange for the body, following that an old faded paint job would be lighter in shade. I need to watch some youtube and see if I can spot those RC car shots.



Trekkriffic said:


> Displaying it in "flight mode" so to speak is an excellent idea.


It also means I need to whip up Bo and Luke figures...The General wouldn't be drivin' himself now would he? Or would he??


Progress slowly starts to churn it's wheels again... I dusted off the airbrush and started priming some more parts, and was able to get the pushbar, seat frames and radiator painted and weathered. 

Finished pushbar. I may touch it up a little with some rust after it's on the car, and maybe even put a bend or two in it...










Seat frames sprayed up with chrome silver and dirtied with some weathering powder. The weathering is more subtle to the eye, the camera made it more pronounced than it really is.










And the radiator.


----------



## -Hemi-

NICE work Whiskey! What did you use for paint on the pushbar? That looks AWESOME!


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> NICE work Whiskey! What did you use for paint on the pushbar? That looks AWESOME!


Thanks -Hemi-! The pushbar was simply airbrushed Tamiya flat black, and then I drybrushed Flat Aluminum to give it some wear and tear. The grain on the flat black actually helps to give the drybrushing a more realistic texture. You'll see a lot more of this type of weathering later on in this build, it's my favorite way of distressing and aging parts.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Some more painting done. The front seats didn't turn out too bad methinks... I used radome Tan for the basecoat, chrome-silver for the headrest supports, and I tried a couple of different weathering methods. On the seat on the right, I used flat black in a wash to darken the creases and a little drybrushing of the radome tan to tone it down. I also used a small amount of weathering powder to cover the larger areas. For the seat on the left, I actually used an ink pen in the creases, and then oversprayed the lines with the radome tan. I then used the same weathering powder to once again dust the larger areas. Both techniques produced pretty much the result I was looking for. Experimenting helps me decide which technique I wnat to go with in future. I think I prefer the ink pen method, the lines seem a bit more defined on that seat. I'll be making harnesses for these later on.


----------



## -Hemi-

The tan paint, was that from the "interior" type paints Testors offers as a fabric type look to it? OR just a simple ole tan paint that you had?

I must say the pen "lined" seat looks the best, so I have to agree with you on the look of the more defined lines in the seat!


----------



## DCH10664

Hey Whiskey, I know how it is when real life gets in the way of serious model building ! It's funny how a wife, kids, home, and full time job can be so demanding. If I had known it was going to be like this, I would have stayed home with Mom and Dad !!!

And I'm surely no one to point a finger when it comes to getting distracted from a build either. I've got more "almost finished" kits than I care to admit to. But I'm loving this General build you're doing. Absolutely fantastic work !! And I'm learning a lot from it as well. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


----------



## scottnkat

Yeah, I agree - the pen-lined seat looks better IMO. This build has really set the bar for General Lee builds, I tell ya.


----------



## -Hemi-

It has really re-set the bar on General Lee builds specially in 1:16th....Absolutely stunning craftsmanship into this model!

I can't wait to see what the engine holds for detail!


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> The tan paint, was that from the "interior" type paints Testors offers as a fabric type look to it? OR just a simple ole tan paint that you had?
> 
> I must say the pen "lined" seat looks the best, so I have to agree with you on the look of the more defined lines in the seat!


-Hemi- the paint was simply off the shelf at my LHS (Radome Tan), it most resembled the sort of cream colored interior, but I knew I was going to dirty it up a bit anyway, so I wasn't too worried about an "exact match". The fabric texture is actually molded on the seat plastic, so that was one bit of quality in the kit...



DCH10664 said:


> Hey Whiskey, I know how it is when real life gets in the way of serious model building ! It's funny how a wife, kids, home, and full time job can be so demanding. If I had known it was going to be like this, I would have stayed home with Mom and Dad !!!
> 
> And I'm surely no one to point a finger when it comes to getting distracted from a build either. I've got more "almost finished" kits than I care to admit to. But I'm loving this General build you're doing. Absolutely fantastic work !! And I'm learning a lot from it as well. 👍 👍 👍


Most kind DCH! I know I have a few devoted "fans" of this build so I try to post often, but it's difficult sometimes...thanks for the patience and the support, I hope it's been entertaining so far! Thanks to everyone for checking it out!



scottnkat said:


> Yeah, I agree - the pen-lined seat looks better IMO. This build has really set the bar for General Lee builds, I tell ya.


Thanks scottnkat! Coming from a prolific and expert builder such as yourself, that means a lot to me!



-Hemi- said:


> It has really re-set the bar on General Lee builds specially in 1:16th....Absolutely stunning craftsmanship into this model!
> 
> I can't wait to see what the engine holds for detail!


Thank you -Hemi-! I'm going to try and emulate the detail I've seen in your "W.I.P." thread for my engine build on this car. Wish me luck!


SO... I started on the back seat. I used to have the back seat from the '71 Street Charger kit, but I lost it somewhere or threw it out like a big dummy. I have to build it up from scratch so here goes nothing...

My reference pictures show the backseat having the same sort of square-panel and button pattern as the front seats. I'll have to layer up the padded parts with squares of styrene, and then putty them to round the edges to a sort of shallow "pillow" shape. I purchased a 2-part modeling epoxy putty from Japan that I'm dying to try out. The General gets to be the Guinea-pig...

The beginnings of the back seat. I won't build it in entirety, basically it will be just a hollow seat with a facade seat-back. The rest won't be visible once it's in place. Of course it will get seatbelts too.










Looks about the right size and shape. After layering and puttying it will look more realistic. I hope...


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey with the details you got involved already I think the motor for you will be no problem! I just can't wait to see it as you do it.....

The thing is, I am so droolin over the fact that this is a MOPAR and it has yep. you guessed it a Hemi under the hood, one of which I can't tell you how much I'd love to find a junker to rebuild and give a second life as a mere display.....Just because of its size....(I have a few quarter scale model Hemi's) I just want to rip right into one and just turn it from a model, to a miniature REAL one LOL Kind of like the one Auroa mad back in 1972 or 1973, that had pistons and everything and was called the Donovan 417...They had another one that was a Hemi under another name too! But you get the point....I bet you'll have no problem with yours on this General......The details so far are downright impressive and I see no less on the engine when you get to it!!!!


----------



## Trekkriffic

I saw the General Lee kit on the shelf at my LHS on Monday. I was tempted to get it just because of what you are doing with it here. Great work!


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey with the details you got involved already I think the motor for you will be no problem! I just can't wait to see it as you do it.....
> 
> The thing is, I am so droolin over the fact that this is a MOPAR and it has yep. you guessed it a Hemi under the hood, one of which I can't tell you how much I'd love to find a junker to rebuild and give a second life as a mere display.....Just because of its size....(I have a few quarter scale model Hemi's) I just want to rip right into one and just turn it from a model, to a miniature REAL one LOL Kind of like the one Auroa mad back in 1972 or 1973, that had pistons and everything and was called the Donovan 417...They had another one that was a Hemi under another name too! But you get the point....I bet you'll have no problem with yours on this General......The details so far are downright impressive and I see no less on the engine when you get to it!!!!


Thanks again -Hemi-! It warms my old ticker to meet other Mopar fans. Seems like you have quite a bit more of a knowledge base than I do so I will probably be asking for your advice quite a bit on this build! Would love to see you begin that mini hemi build!



Trekkriffic said:


> I saw the General Lee kit on the shelf at my LHS on Monday. I was tempted to get it just because of what you are doing with it here. Great work!


Humble Thanks Trekkriffic! Why not pull the trigger on the kit? It's a fun and challenging build, and I'll bet my Dremel you could do a fantastic job on it!

The General's back seat is getting whipped into shape. Everything is .020" sheet styrene. I had to add a strip to the backside edge of the seat because I had cut it just a bit too short. Then I sliced up some squares to approximate the padded parts of the seat, glued them with about a 1.5mm gap between them, and then sanded down the edges to make them more "pillow" shaped. I'll do the seatback the same way, of course.










The parts are cut slightly off centered, but no matter, it most likely will be difficult to see once the car is together and the seatbelts are draped across the seat. I need to add the tiny buttons at the intersections but overall they turned out pretty good, I think.


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey what ya do? score and taper the "pad" on each section to get that look? (Not sure, I'm saying this right) each corner with a button will look AWESOME!


----------



## RCDave911

Don't want to distract from the build but has anyone here seen the new Autotrader commercial?


----------



## whiskeyrat

RCDave911 said:


> Don't want to distract from the build but has anyone here seen the new Autotrader commercial?


YEEEEEEEHAH!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XonxZvXEPE#t=68


----------



## irishtrek

whiskeyrat said:


> YEEEEEEEHAH!!
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XonxZvXEPE#t=68


I like it, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## -Hemi-

Anyone notice Daisy's Billboard? "Daisy's Denim Depot"? With a serious NICE picture of her, showing off, what she made famous among other things.......


----------



## whiskeyrat

I took a break from the back seat for a while and moved on with the door panels today. Painted and weathered, they just need to get the Bare Metal Foil (which I have YET to purchase...) I pre-shaded the panels with black after priming, then overall with the Radome Tan (somehow it turned out a little lighter than the seats ), and then more aging with weathering powders, black and dirty brown to be exact. 










I think the reliefs I cut along the door panels between the sections really helped give them some more depth, and the pre-shading was a big help. The way I figure it, The Duke Boys would be clambering in-and-out of The General while still covered in grease and dirt from workin' on the engine and crawling about underneath the car, so naturally it would be kinda grubby inside...


----------



## whiskeyrat

Feeling productive today! I rallied and pressed on with the back seat. The top is somewhat warped, but it's a happy accident, I like the look of it, and I think it adds some well worn character! I'm going to leave it just the way it is.










Dry-fitted into the body, looks like it fits properly. Still needs the padded parts on the upright, then I'll get some more contour around the edges with 2 part epoxy, to get a more rounded look to the seat.


----------



## iamweasel

This build is so absolutely amazing!! Never thought I would see anyone who could outdo a Trek modeler on detailing. :thumbsup:


----------



## -Hemi-

whiskeyrat said:


> I took a break from the back seat for a while and moved on with the door panels today. Painted and weathered, they just need to get the Bare Metal Foil (which I have YET to purchase...) I pre-shaded the panels with black after priming, then overall with the Radome Tan (somehow it turned out a little lighter than the seats ), and then more aging with weathering powders, black and dirty brown to be exact.
> 
> 
> 
> I think the reliefs I cut along the door panels between the sections really helped give them some more depth, and the pre-shading was a big help. The way I figure it, The Duke Boys would be clambering in-and-out of The General while still covered in grease and dirt from workin' on the engine and crawling about underneath the car, so naturally it would be kinda grubby inside...


WOW! That door panel looks AWESOME!


----------



## whiskeyrat

iamweasel said:


> This build is so absolutely amazing!! Never thought I would see anyone who could outdo a Trek modeler on detailing. 👍


 Many thanks iamweasel! The irony? I have a pile of Star Trek kits about three and a half feet tall that I want to build after I plow through my stash of cars!



-Hemi- said:


> WOW! That door panel looks AWESOME!


Humble thanks -Hemi-!

A quick dryfit of the door panel in the body with the back seat. Like an *IDIOT*, I discovered I had made the back seat about 1/8" *TOO WIDE!* :drunk: After I finished crying and blew my nose, I realized the simple solution is to cut the seat in half, and simply slice out the required strip of plastic to make the whole thing narrower, and then glue it back together with some strips on the backside for re-enforcement. The seam line will be covered with putty anyway so no need to worry too much about it. Got lucky!

That door pouch really looks like it is bulging slightly from tools or what-not inside it. I'm really happy with the way the panels turned out.


----------



## scottnkat

Honestly, this is the best Charger build up I've seen. Fantastic job. You must have superior patience. :thumbsup:


----------



## -Hemi-

WOW! I'm still droolin over the thought of what you have planned for that BIG 426 Hemi you are going to be using under the hood!


----------



## Trekkriffic

Love the details. Adding some grunge to the door panels is a nice touch!


----------



## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> Honestly, this is the best Charger build up I've seen. Fantastic job. You must have superior patience. 👍


Thank you so very much scottnkatt! I'm _*LEARNING*_ the patience as I go along...



-Hemi- said:


> WOW! I'm still droolin over the thought of what you have planned for that BIG 426 Hemi you are going to be using under the hood!


Lol I hope I don't disappoint when I finally do attack the engine and trans... I'm going to try a couple of new things paint-wise when I get to it so wish me luck -Hemi-!



Trekkriffic said:


> Love the details. Adding some grunge to the door panels is a nice touch!


Thanks Trekkriffic! This sure ain't no cream puff!

I tried out my two-part epoxy from Japan on the back seat. In English it's "Wave Epoxy Putty Light Type". The stuff worked quite well, although I had a heck of a time getting the thin part near the front edge of the seat to stay stuck, but I conquered it! It cured up within about two hours and was ready to carve and sand, and I was able to form the seat top with little trouble.










A little more shaping with sanding sticks and finer grit paper is needed but overall I think it's a win!


----------



## whiskeyrat

A little more shaping done on the puttied parts, looking a little rounder and smoother. I carved some lines in the putty to simulate the joins in the upholstery. I also added the buttons at the centers of the panels. Pretty much done with this part, now on to the seatback...


----------



## -Hemi-

Absolutely insanely GREAT work on that seat.....

I'm diggin this thread just because of what your doing to it, and how your going about it is simply, put, amazing!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Almost finished... slightly more cartoonish than I would have liked, but I think paint and weathering will help sell it, plus the fact it's the _REAR_ seat, and probably won't be too visible anyway


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey once thats in the car, in the back seat, its going to look AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Its just, WOW!


----------



## 12Blacktop

Awesome build Whiskyrat. Can't wait to see more of this. Ed


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey once thats in the car, in the back seat, its going to look AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Its just, WOW!


Thanks -Hemi-! I really could have done better but I'm tryin' to get The General off the bench and on the shelf so I'm settling for what I got.



12Blacktop said:


> Awesome build Whiskyrat. Can't wait to see more of this. Ed


Thank You Ed! More on the way, stay tuned!

Focused a little more on the body today, adding some small detail that I've skipped up until now. Plus a break from the rear seat to help keep things from getting stale...

The door handles...or the lack thereof! Since The General's doors are welded shut the Duke Boys naturally removed the door handles, just in case one of them snags a pocket accidentally and gets dragged for a couple hundred feet before the other one notices... I cut through the kit plastic which is about .060" thick, and spliced in some .020" sheet to help sell the illusion of thin sheet metal...










...then filled in the gaps with putty and sanded down to blend the new panel with the kit plastic, and drilled three holes to simulate the openings for the absent door handle. Same on both doors. Just another little detail that will add to the realism I think. 










Also added strip styrene to help form the headliner when it goes in. I'll have to make sun-visors too... yeesh.


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey, VERY nice work on the missing door handles, BUT wasn't the door handle "Holes" fitted with a plate in behind them to seal out any water picked up during their runs with it? (See, I ask as this would have been a stock car) that the Duke boys drove on the road where it wasn't ment to be!

Not sure I caught that detail or not I know the door handles were removed on the first Gemeral Lee first Episode, BUT, I'm not certain they filled in the holes with a plate inside the door itself or not, I can't remember and I don't have the series on DVD either!

NICE tho, VERY impressive!

You know all the rest of the REAL cars they used, they left the door handles and simply never "opened" them, right? Was only the very first car, that they were removed from and plated in!


----------



## scottnkat

I love these updates. Whiskeyrat, you are a madman (though a very exceptional madman). I love the headliner ribs.


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey, VERY nice work on the missing door handles, BUT wasn't the door handle "Holes" fitted with a plate in behind them to seal out any water picked up during their runs with it? (See, I ask as this would have been a stock car) that the Duke boys drove on the road where it wasn't ment to be!
> 
> Not sure I caught that detail or not I know the door handles were removed on the first General Lee first Episode, BUT, I'm not certain they filled in the holes with a plate inside the door itself or not, I can't remember and I don't have the series on DVD either!
> 
> NICE tho, VERY impressive!
> 
> You know all the rest of the REAL cars they used, they left the door handles and simply never "opened" them, right? Was only the very first car, that they were removed from and plated in!


You know Hemi I'm not sure about the backing plate either... From what I remember of the show the handles were always there just non-functional. For myself, on this build, I think I'm going to leave the openings as they are, I want the holes to have a little depth and I'm thinkin' that if I back them with some sheet it won't look as real... I dunno. Any one else wanna chime in on this one?



scottnkat said:


> I love these updates. Whiskeyrat, you are a madman (though a very exceptional madman). I love the headliner ribs.


Hehe! Thanks again Scott! I'll tell ya, you gotta be pretty crazy to try what I'm trying with this car. Any sane model-builder would have walked away from this a looong time ago! For some reason _I don't understand_ I have to make this car look better than just a straightforward kit. Just the fact of it's large scale compels me to cram all the detail I can into it, seems a shame that so much was omitted. This could have been a fantastic kit right out of the box if MPC had given it some effort all those years ago. Full interior, proper roll cage, full exhaust, maybe even working lights and steerable wheels. Heck, even Bo and Luke figures too. So much room for detail. I suppose, this is my homage to this car after all those years of watching the show when I was a kid. The way I think the car would have looked if it had been REALLY real!


----------



## whiskeyrat

I believe the time has come to start thinking about the damage to the body. I want to put at least three medium sized dents in the body, along with some assorted minor dings and scratches with appropriate rust and rotted metal. I've already decided how to approach the rust and rot, but for simulating dents in the plastic, does anyone have any suggestions? My idea was this: Take my medium-sized coarse grit drum sander in my Dremel, and use it to carve out large swaths of plastic in a divot fashion, then putty in afterwards to smooth out the sanding marks in the plastic, and then put in some scrapes with my X-acto blade, then silver undercoat after priming and Orange top-coat. Then I could lightly sand away the top-coat and reveal the metal-looking silver undercoat, with a few touches of rust, of course. I also briefly toyed with the idea of splicing in some sheet brass in some spots to bend up and crumple. I may get into that at some point...I'm going to start on the first couple of dents today and will post up progress pics later on. Thoughts gentlemen? Suggestions? Anyone tried putting dents in their plastic car bodies before?


----------



## whiskeyrat

First most logical place to start with the body rot: under the rear window. My Charger had extensive rot here, but I'm just going to give The General a couple of medium sized spots here. There'll be plenty of rust around the window frame when it's finished so I didn't feel the need to go too heavy with the damage. I simply used a small drill bit in a very rough fashion, drilling, gouging and skipping over the surface until it appeared "corroded" to me...

Driver's side...










...passenger side. I like the way this looks and will probably repeat this type of pattern in various other spots on the body.










*THE BATTLE SCARRING HAS BEGUN!!*


----------



## irishtrek

Regarding the door handles, question is do you want it to look the way it did in the first episode or later on in the series????
Because in some episodes people actually tried to open the doors by grabbing the door handles.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Ok, well...going better than I expected! My technique of Dremel/sand/score/repeat has yielded some interesting results. I added some more rust corrosion around the trunk/rear pillar area too, where I think the most rust would be, along the window trim.

Rusty/corroded window corner










And my first dent. Thankfully the kit plastic is SUPER thick in most parts and will support this kind of gouging and grinding with no problems. Shoot, even cutting through the plastic could be made to look like rusty holes. You can't go wrong with this technique!










Even without paint and rust on it, the look already feels right to me. *SUCCESS!!!*


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Regarding the door handles, question is do you want it to look the way it did in the first episode or later on in the series????
> Because in some episodes people actually tried to open the doors by grabbing the door handles.


irish I think I'm going to stick with the first episode look. Again, this build is MY version of how I imagine The General would look. IMHO he looks more like a street racer/stocker with the missing handles... heck, for that matter I should have left the back seat out of it too! D'oh!

"Damaging" The General is a lot easier than I had anticipated...

The front driver's quarter panel...



















And some more rust and corrosion behind the front wheel


----------



## vypurr59

You got that damage looking sweet. I was going to suggest using a heat gun, to warm the plastic enough to indent, but I think you don't need my suggestion. Great Job Whiskey. Haven't spoken up lately, but have been following, in awe with every post....


----------



## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> You got that damage looking sweet. I was going to suggest using a heat gun, to warm the plastic enough to indent, but I think you don't need my suggestion. Great Job Whiskey. Haven't spoken up lately, but have been following, in awe with every post....


Thanks a million *vypurr!* Actually, you read my mind... I was thinking along the lines of using a heated soldering iron in certain spots to bend the plastic in very specific areas... I think a heat gun might disperse the heat too much and warp the rest of the kit if I wasn't careful. But it's the same basic idea with a soldering iron, except I can keep the heat concentrated and much more localized...although the thought of going *anywhere near* this kit with a heated metal object makes me have to go change my diaper...


----------



## whiskeyrat

One last post for today, trying out what vypurr59 had mentioned earlier, using heat to bend plastic to simulate the damage... it works pretty well!

I used my soldering iron to get the plastic pretty soft and then quickly bent it to the shape I wanted, then let it cool. Followed on with the drill, X-acto knife and sanding. Looks like The General caught some sheet metal on a stray cinder block somewhere...


----------



## irishtrek

Whiskeyrat, that first dent on the rear quarter panel looks good except for the last image you posted, I can clearly see a 'step' at the top of the dent. I'm thinking you may have to smooth it a bit. But the other dents are looking good though.:thumbsup:
As for those rust spots, they aint looking too good. Maybe when they're painted??????............


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Whiskeyrat, that first dent on the rear quarter panel looks good except for the last image you posted, I can clearly see a 'step' at the top of the dent. I'm thinking you may have to smooth it a bit. But the other dents are looking good though.:thumbsup:
> As for those rust spots, they aint looking too good. Maybe when they're painted??????............


Right irishtrek, the rust spots are still unpainted and unfinished, I'm actually thinking of using real rust to finish them up with, so let's see how my experiment turns out! As for that dent on the rear quarter panel, that 'step' was intentional, or at least I thought it looked ok earlier... now that you mention it, and I look at it a bit longer, I may re-work that area...

Thanks for the input dude!


----------



## 12Blacktop

whiskeyrat said:


> Right irishtrek, the rust spots are still unpainted and unfinished, I'm actually thinking of using real rust to finish them up with, so let's see how my experiment turns out! As for that dent on the rear quarter panel, that 'step' was intentional, or at least I thought it looked ok earlier... now that you mention it, and I look at it a bit longer, I may re-work that area...
> 
> Thanks for the input dude!


 

I think it looks good... It looks almost identical to a crease some moron left me on the door of my '88 Trans Am some years ago.. The rust holes look good as well. Once painted you'll see it clearly. Don't fall into the trap where you keep messing with something that looks good the way it is only to find out you over-did it.


----------



## whiskeyrat

12Blacktop said:


> I think it looks good... It looks almost identical to a crease some moron left me on the door of my '88 Trans Am some years ago.. The rust holes look good as well. Once painted you'll see it clearly. Don't fall into the trap where you keep messing with something that looks good the way it is only to find out you over-did it.


Thanks *12Blacktop*! I kinda see what *irishtrek* was talking about, but I think you are on the same page as I am. I don't want to get too involved with the damage because I know at some point I'll over-do it and end up hating the results. Also, there's no paint and weathering on the body yet, so the look is not anywhere near what I'm hoping it will be when finished. I was thinking of spot priming the "rusted" areas to see how the paint will change the texturing, and maybe even trying a little powdered rust on them for proof of concept, before I move on with the rest of the car. I've seen other builders on this forum use that technique with rousing success, so I'm eager to try my hand at it too! Just have to find something _*really rusty*_ so I can scrape some off and dapple it on the body.


----------



## irishtrek

That reminds me of something I tend to do, when ever I putty a seam and then sand away the excess putty before I paint the entire model I brush paint the puttied area with a grey colored paint to see if there's any flaws such as tiny cracks that need to be puttied again.


----------



## solographix

whiskeyrat said:


> Thanks *12Blacktop*! I kinda see what *irishtrek* was talking about, but I think you are on the same page as I am. I don't want to get too involved with the damage because I know at some point I'll over-do it and end up hating the results. Also, there's no paint and weathering on the body yet, so the look is not anywhere near what I'm hoping it will be when finished. I was thinking of spot priming the "rusted" areas to see how the paint will change the texturing, and maybe even trying a little powdered rust on them for proof of concept, before I move on with the rest of the car. I've seen other builders on this forum use that technique with rousing success, so I'm eager to try my hand at it too! Just have to find something _*really rusty*_ so I can scrape some off and dapple it on the body.


There has to be some Fords out there someplace that you can scrape the rust off of. Don't take too much they may fall apart.


----------



## whiskeyrat

:lol: PLENTY of those around! Why didn't I think of that??


----------



## vypurr59

If you have a parts store that machines brake rotors and drums, they will be happy to give you some of the cuttings. Water and leave it to rust, takes only a day or 2 for that to happen. Best rust I have found, but have not used as of yet. Still trying to get perfection down before moving on.... may take the rest of my life!!


----------



## vypurr59

solographix said:


> There has to be some Fords out there someplace that you can scrape the rust off of. Don't take too much they may fall apart.


Just Plain Wrong...but worthy of a great chuckle:jest::lol:


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> That reminds me of something I tend to do, when ever I putty a seam and then sand away the excess putty before I paint the entire model I brush paint the puttied area with a grey colored paint to see if there's any flaws such as tiny cracks that need to be puttied again.


It's a good way to spot the areas that need more work before you begin painting in earnest. Can't remember how many kits I've ruined by being impatient and not checking my work before I sprayed the final coat.

Here's the last major dent: a side-swipe just behind the passenger door. Like *irishtrek*, I sprayed a test coat of primer to chase out all the cracks and seam lines and areas that will need re-puttying...eesh there's a lot of it! But the dents turned out looking alright, aside from a little puttying to fill the more obvious Dremel marks I'm happy. What do you guys think? This one might need a touch more work, maybe...


----------



## terryr

whiskeyrat said:


> ...Just have to find something _*really rusty*_ so I can scrape some off and dapple it on the body.


There's a thing called Rust Removal by Electrolysis. Rusty metal is put in a container of water and soda and electricity run through it. The rust is pulled off the metal.

I've done it a few times. Left in the water is very fine ''rust dust'. I let it settle to the bottom and drain off the clean water.
This dust would be great for rust, because it is rust.


----------



## irishtrek

whiskeyrat said:


> It's a good way to spot the areas that need more work before you begin painting in earnest. Can't remember how many kits I've ruined by being impatient and not checking my work before I sprayed the final coat.
> 
> Here's the last major dent: a side-swipe just behind the passenger door. Like *irishtrek*, I sprayed a test coat of primer to chase out all the cracks and seam lines and areas that will need re-puttying...eesh there's a lot of it! But the dents turned out looking alright, aside from a little puttying to fill the more obvious Dremel marks I'm happy. What do you guys think? This one might need a touch more work, maybe...


Looks to me like it's been side swiped more than once.:thumbsup:
Back in the late '80s I was visiting a former neighbor when some guy, not sue who he was, showed us a little trick, aluminum foil will remove rust by just rubbing it over the rust.


----------



## aussiecylon

I make real rust by placing some steel wool (the sort you use in the kitchen), in a shallow bowl of water. Leave it for a few days till the water evaporates, and you are left with rusty steel wool. Crumble it all up and you end up with real rust powder. You can use it as is, or what I do is sift it all through a fine mesh and end up with really fine powder. You can then add a little powder and water together to make a wash and brush it on wherever you want it. You can use the left over bigger bits from the sifting process to make coarser rust.


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey, thats got to be the best "plastic dent" I've ever seen! LOL NEVER did I EVER think, I'd be saying that! 

NICE work!


----------



## solographix

At my work we make custom "Vintage Signs" and we rust brand new hardware to add to the look. It may be possible that you have some old S-Hooks or eye screws or a bucket of nails laying around that you could use to do the same process and get Basically free rust.

Put the hardware in a bucket and cover with Muriatic Acid, a 30 minute soak is all you need to get all the coatings off. You can strain this off and reuse the acid if you like. Dump the hardware onto a piece of cardboard and let dry off. Then pour Clorox Bleach and salt over the metal and almost immediately it will fizz up and start to rust. The longer it sits the more it rusts. Once your done with them throw in a bin and you will get PLENTY of rust dust in the bottom.


----------



## iamweasel

I have never been more impressed with any work I have seen then I am with this build. Talk about building vicariously through someone else


----------



## 12Blacktop

Hey Whiskeyrat... Might you be the same person who also posted a WIP build of the 69 ZLX Baldwin Motion Camaro over on the Supercar site a few years ago?


----------



## G3ML1NGZ

I'm loving the attention to detail here and the dedication to accuracy in the body shape and contours. Dents are also looking really good.


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey, thats got to be the best "plastic dent" I've ever seen! LOL NEVER did I EVER think, I'd be saying that!
> 
> NICE work!


Thanks *Hemi*! You're making me blush! 



solographix said:


> At my work we make custom "Vintage Signs" and we rust brand new hardware to add to the look. It may be possible that you have some old S-Hooks or eye screws or a bucket of nails laying around that you could use to do the same process and get Basically free rust.
> 
> Put the hardware in a bucket and cover with Muriatic Acid, a 30 minute soak is all you need to get all the coatings off. You can strain this off and reuse the acid if you like. Dump the hardware onto a piece of cardboard and let dry off. Then pour Clorox Bleach and salt over the metal and almost immediately it will fizz up and start to rust. The longer it sits the more it rusts. Once your done with them throw in a bin and you will get PLENTY of rust dust in the bottom.


Sounds like a recipe for Alchemy! I'd love to try this one day when I have a garage, I fear if I tried to mix up that brew in my little apartment you guys would never see any more posts from me, after having choked to death on the fumes lol!



iamweasel said:


> I have never been more impressed with any work I have seen then I am with this build. Talk about building vicariously through someone else


Most kind *iamwease*l! Thank You!



12Blacktop said:


> Hey Whiskeyrat... Might you be the same person who also posted a WIP build of the 69 ZLX Baldwin Motion Camaro over on the Supercar site a few years ago?


Not me, *12Blacktop*, sorry... Got a link? Sounds like an interesting build...



G3ML1NGZ said:


> I'm loving the attention to detail here and the dedication to accuracy in the body shape and contours. Dents are also looking really good.


Humble Thanks *G3ML1NGZ* (There's a name to conjure with!) Glad you're enjoying the build!


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Looks to me like it's been side swiped more than once.:thumbsup:
> Back in the late '80s I was visiting a former neighbor when some guy, not sue who he was, showed us a little trick, aluminum foil will remove rust by just rubbing it over the rust.


Funny I thought the same thing about that dent after I made it *irishtrek*! So, aluminum foil removes rust??? I need to try that out...



aussiecylon said:


> I make real rust by placing some steel wool (the sort you use in the kitchen), in a shallow bowl of water. Leave it for a few days till the water evaporates, and you are left with rusty steel wool. Crumble it all up and you end up with real rust powder. You can use it as is, or what I do is sift it all through a fine mesh and end up with really fine powder. You can then add a little powder and water together to make a wash and brush it on wherever you want it. You can use the left over bigger bits from the sifting process to make coarser rust.


You know *aussiecylon*, I kinda had the same thought. Some months back I had gotten some water on a steel wool pad and it rusted within a matter of just a few hours. I may very well use this trick in conjunction with some natural rust scraped from a car or steel plate or something, because I want some flakes as well as the fine dust. Let's see how well I do...

I'm sorry I don't have an update to post today, but the weekend is upon us and I will DEFINITELY be back at my bench tomorrow.

*Many, many* thanks to everyone for your comments and input and support! Hobbytalk is kind of a second home for me now, and everyone here has made me feel very comfortable and welcome! You guys are all pretty awesome!


----------



## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> If you have a parts store that machines brake rotors and drums, they will be happy to give you some of the cuttings. Water and leave it to rust, takes only a day or 2 for that to happen. Best rust I have found, but have not used as of yet. Still trying to get perfection down before moving on.... may take the rest of my life!!


Another good idea, thanks *vypurr*!



terryr said:


> There's a thing called Rust Removal by Electrolysis. Rusty metal is put in a container of water and soda and electricity run through it. The rust is pulled off the metal.
> 
> I've done it a few times. Left in the water is very fine ''rust dust'. I let it settle to the bottom and drain off the clean water.
> This dust would be great for rust, because it is rust.


This also might be viable in my little apartment. Awesome thanks for the tip *terryr*!


----------



## 12Blacktop

whiskeyrat said:


> Not me, *12Blacktop*, sorry... Got a link? Sounds like an interesting build...


Yeah here you go..I think once you see this you might just think it IS your build. ha. Uncanny similarities. 

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubb...274/zlx-427-69-motion-camaro-ex-ke#Post316274 Look for the model build about halfway down the thread or so. If it shows up as being 3 pages it starts on page 2 I believe. Same checkerboard work surface... Same kind of details with styrene as you're doing on this Charger... Do you have a twin you were separated at birth with?? haha


----------



## whiskeyrat

12Blacktop said:


> Yeah here you go..I think once you see this you might just think it IS your build. ha. Uncanny similarities.
> 
> http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubb...274/zlx-427-69-motion-camaro-ex-ke#Post316274 Look for the model build about halfway down the thread or so. If it shows up as being 3 pages it starts on page 2 I believe. Same checkerboard work surface... Same kind of details with styrene as you're doing on this Charger... Do you have a twin you were separated at birth with?? haha


Wow wish I _*COULD*_ take credit for that lol! I think that guys accuracy on his build is better than mine, but I kinda see what you're talking about.
Cool!


----------



## scottnkat

Just wondering if we've got any update coming soon...


----------



## -Hemi-

Yeah Scott, I was kinda wondering that too. any update on the ole General?


----------



## whiskeyrat

Sorry I've been so quiet fellas...

I have an old shoulder/neck injury that flared up like crazy over the last two weeks, and I've been in no small amount of pain. I've laid off The General for a little while and have been resting when I get home from work mostly. I've had to ice my shoulder for a couple hours at a time, and I just didn't have the gumption to get back at the work bench...until this week! The shoulder is feeling substantially better today and I'm pretty sure I'll have some progress to post up this weekend. 

One thing I _*CAN*_ say for sure... I don't like the back seat. I've been looking at it off and on and finally it dawned on me that I'm just *NOT* happy with the first attempt, it just looks too cartoonish and unrealistic. Anyone want a 1/16 scale back seat for a '69 charger? Free to a good home!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Well Ol' Whiskeyrat's back in the saddle...for now at least. I spent a good part of the day today going over the body. After deciding to scrap the backseat, I switched to another part of the car to give myself some variety. I'll most likely fab up a new back seat later this coming week. I scoured the body looking for Dremel grooves and cracks and surface imperfections (well, the ones I *DON'T* want) and filling with either Tamiya white putty or Mr. Surfacer 500 grit surface primer. Luckily, Mr. Surfacer doesn't take long to cure so I could sand and re-apply pretty quickly. The Tamiya putty takes a little longer. I finished the corners of the door scallops with some Tamiya putty and got those smoothed down. They look MUCH better than the original moldings now. I then started the sanding process on the primer, first by knocking it down with steel wool, then an 800 grit, then finishing up with about a 1200 grit. It will take several coats/rubdowns to cover everything properly and give me the finish I want, but I expected this after having learned from building and painting my Mad Max Interceptor. GRAINY PAINT IS UNACCEPTABLE!! 

First spritzes of primer and filling gaps and depressions, especially around the door handle holes. The small rectangles I had spliced into the doors were slightly recessed, and I had to fill them out to match the contour of the door.










The General finally gets some orange on him. This is Vallejo paints Orange-Red. It's just about the right shade that I want for my General, and it's easy to thin and sprays quite well. I caught a few stray dust particles in this test shot below, but the color seems to work well over the gray primer. I may try one or two other shades before I settle on a final color.


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## DCH10664

WoW !! The o'l war horse is looking,....... I'm not sure what to say. How do you compliment work on a car that's meant to look like it's been terribly abused ??? I guess I can say you are doing a great job of making a beautiful car look like it's been to hell and back, lol.
Anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing more ! :thumbsup:


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## -Hemi-

GAWD thats awesome looking Whiskey! NICE work on the ole General!


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## vypurr59

Glad to see you are back to work on this and hope you are feeling better, Whiskey.


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## scottnkat

Cool - I'm glad you were able to get back onto this. This is really setting the bar high for General Lee builds. It's fantastic


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> WoW !! The o'l war horse is looking,....... I'm not sure what to say. How do you compliment work on a car that's meant to look like it's been terribly abused ??? I guess I can say you are doing a great job of making a beautiful car look like it's been to hell and back, lol.
> Anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing more ! 👍





-Hemi- said:


> GAWD thats awesome looking Whiskey! NICE work on the ole General!





vypurr59 said:


> Glad to see you are back to work on this and hope you are feeling better, Whiskey.





scottnkat said:


> Cool - I'm glad you were able to get back onto this. This is really setting the bar high for General Lee builds. It's fantastic


Thanks a million fellas! Most kind!

Today I switched away from the body, and tackled some painting. But, it's still progress! Since I had the airbrush, paints, thinners and brushes out already, I figured, why not? I primed up and painted the front sub-frame, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well the detail popped after just a little dry-brushing. Just the aluminum/silver dry-brush looked nice, but after some weathering pastels the whole thing really came to life. So happy!

Here's the sub-frame after some aluminum/silver dry-brush, loosely fitted in to the body




















And after a little more wear and tear with the pastels...


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## whiskeyrat

Trying to squeeze in as much work as I can while the gettin' is good...

Primed up, painted and weathered the rear half of the chassis. Here's where the Tamiya weathering pastels really pay off. Easy to use, quick to cover large surfaces if you do it right, and if you screw up, just wipe off your mistake and start again! I've got four shades on the chassis: sand, light sand, mud, and rust.










I almost over-did it, but I slowed my pace and went back to some areas with flat black paint to help darken them against the now mostly lighter-colored chassis.


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## -Hemi-

Whiskey that front end "engine compartment" looks GREAT with the edges shown up well and the slight rust added in for looks WOW! This whole model looks like a dream!

NICE work!


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## scottnkat

dude, far out, man!


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## irishtrek

Hey Whiskeyrat, maybe you should write an article on your build and submit it to either Fine Scale Modeler or Scale Auto Enthusiast.


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## iamweasel

If I may channel Wayne and Garth for just a moment 
"We're not worthy" :thumbsup:


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## -Hemi-

:thumbsup:....HEY YA whiskey, just a news flash, I'll be JOINING YOU in a build of this caliber.....I just found me one too BUT I'm going another way, to make the General a General Lee, Mine will be a "Show Ready" version, all dolled up and polished!

Stay tuned for another HUGE 1/16th scale General Lee! (I got a few other ideas on the build too!)


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## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey that front end "engine compartment" looks GREAT with the edges shown up well and the slight rust added in for looks WOW! This whole model looks like a dream!
> 
> Thanks *Hemi*!
> 
> NICE work!





scottnkat said:


> dude, far out, man!


Lol for a second I thought you were quoting Tommy Chong! Thanks *scott*!



irishtrek said:


> Hey Whiskeyrat, maybe you should write an article on your build and submit it to either Fine Scale Modeler or Scale Auto Enthusiast.


Hmmm... *irish *I don't know if my General is accurate enough to be in a actual magazine, but thanks a bunch for the vote of confidence! Maybe I can get in contact with them and send a long a few images, see if they're interested...



iamweasel said:


> If I may channel Wayne and Garth for just a moment
> "We're not worthy" 👍


LOL! Many thanks *iamwease*l!



-Hemi- said:


> 👍....HEY YA whiskey, just a news flash, I'll be JOINING YOU in a build of this caliber.....I just found me one too BUT I'm going another way, to make the General a General Lee, Mine will be a "Show Ready" version, all dolled up and polished!
> 
> Stay tuned for another HUGE 1/16th scale General Lee! (I got a few other ideas on the build too!)


Oh awesome!! And at the rate I'm going, you'll probably be finished with your build before I finish mine! Can't wait to see it Hemi!

Moving along with some more interior work this weekend, specifically, the roll cage. Since I'm going to be putting a back seat into this car, the rear half of the roll cage assembly is going to be omitted because it simply won't work with the seat in the way. So I checked the fit of the parts and to me it looked like the front two legs that come down from the halo were too far away from the front pillars, leaving a size-able gap (you can even see that in the picture of the finished model on the box top). So, after cleaning up all the mold part lines, I moved the connecting points of both legs at the halo about 4mm forward, and then heated up and bent them to more correctly match the angle of the pillars. Since the new attachment points had no pins or anything to support them, I clamped the first one in place after gluing, and will wait until it's completely cured before I add the passenger side leg.










The rest of the roll cage taped into position while the driver's front side sets up.


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## irishtrek

Before you get too far into the roll cage if I remember correctly the General does have the rear piece of the cage minus the horizontal cross pieces. One can see the vertical tubes every time the boys climb in and out.


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## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Before you get too far into the roll cage if I remember correctly the General does have the rear piece of the cage minus the horizontal cross pieces. One can see the vertical tubes every time the boys climb in and out.


Ah! Right you are *irish*! A little Google image searching reveals several different versions of the rollcage, but most of which show the rear legs stretching out and down through the rear window sill... This should be easy enough to replicate, I think. The way the kit parts are set up, the rear section goes right through where the back seat will be. So I'm going to run the rear legs down through the sill on mine. *irish*, where would I be without you?? Thanks!! :thumbsup:


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## irishtrek

whiskeyrat said:


> Ah! Right you are *irish*! A little Google image searching reveals several different versions of the rollcage, but most of which show the rear legs stretching out and down through the rear window sill... This should be easy enough to replicate, I think. The way the kit parts are set up, the rear section goes right through where the back seat will be. So I'm going to run the rear legs down through the sill on mine. *irish*, where would I be without you?? Thanks!! :thumbsup:


You're welcome!!! And I was not reffering to the legs that go through the rear seat, what I was talking about was the vertical legs right behind the drivers seat. Looks like you caught a bit of detail your self!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## steveo3002

fantastic work..ive got one of these but gave up beacuase of the faults on it

one comment...i dont think the front seats do this justice , theyre still pretty wrong looking , and one tip if you did decide to scratch build some , you can glue on fine stainless wire as the piping around the edges


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## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> You're welcome!!! And I was not referring to the legs that go through the rear seat, what I was talking about was the vertical legs right behind the drivers seat. Looks like you caught a bit of detail your self!!👍👍


Yes, I did see those but for some reason I neglected to mention them in my reply... too much whiskey for ol' whiskeyrat! I'll be adding the vertical supports using some brass tube.



steveo3002 said:


> fantastic work..I've got one of these but gave up because of the faults on it
> 
> One comment...I don't think the front seats do this justice , they're still pretty wrong looking , and one tip if you did decide to scratch build some , you can glue on fine stainless wire as the piping around the edges


Thanks steveo3002! You're right about the front seats, they are pretty far off, and I was actually thinking of re-building the headrests at least, to try and get them a little closer to reality... That's a great tip using the stainless wire for piping, nice call! Though I will probably leave the seats themselves as-is; I'm just so far behind on this kit that I have to make some tough choices regarding which parts to tackle and which to leave unmodified. 

Looking at the body this morning I realized I had missed a couple of spots where some more sheet styrene was needed. The notches on the quarter panels where the bumper wraps around are supposed to be depressions in the sheet metal, but the kit simply has open notches. So I filled them in with styrene and putty.



















After puttying the recessed body parts I moved on with the roll cage to give the putty time to dry. The rollcage, much like most of this kit, gave me a hard time when I was trying to modify it to fit better, but I think I'm winning! I had to heat and bend the front legs again, after re-adjusting their positions. And I actually had to saw the cage apart to make it *narrower*, so it would fit between the door panels properly, and inside the roof line as well. That makes heart attack no.6 on this build, I think. What a pain! The overall height ended up being too short, so I lengthened all the legs with 5mm sections of styrene tube on each end. I also added the diagonal crossbar on the main section using super-glued brass tube. And as *irishtrek* pointed out I'll be adding the missing vertical braces just behind the main hoop. *BUT*... what I got so far is a much much better fit than the original kit part, sits nicely snug up against the body and will add quite a bit to the realism I think.


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## -Hemi-

Whiskey, you know that is a GREAT job! Got a question tho.....you need to make the roll cage have "padding"???? Easy way to get that is heat shrink tubing, might take a couple over lapping pieces but....will get the "padded" look! AND depending it can be painted, or left black!


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## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey, you know that is a GREAT job! Got a question tho.....you need to make the roll cage have "padding"???? Easy way to get that is heat shrink tubing, might take a couple over lapping pieces but....will get the "padded" look! AND depending it can be painted, or left black!


Thanks Hemi! You're spot-on about the padding, if you look closely at the driver's side of the cage, the upright and that side of the halo are molded twice as thick as the rest of the cage, and there is some simulated wrapping on the lower section which can't be seen in the above photos. My plan is to paint the padded section in a very dark flat grey, then the rest of the cage in semi-gloss black, to hopefully make the padded part pop a little more than it would if the cage were all one color. What do you think?


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## steveo3002

i think alot of the real tv show cars had the side markers smoothed over 

keep up the good work


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## irishtrek

Hey Whiskeyrat, the main piece for the roll cage is what I was reffering to and the only other thing that needs to be done is to do the padding as -Hemi- mentioned. Don't recall that diagonal center piece being there though.


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## -Hemi-

whiskeyrat said:


> Thanks Hemi! You're spot-on about the padding, if you look closely at the driver's side of the cage, the upright and that side of the halo are molded twice as thick as the rest of the cage, and there is some simulated wrapping on the lower section which can't be seen in the above photos. My plan is to paint the padded section in a very dark flat grey, then the rest of the cage in semi-gloss black, to hopefully make the padded part pop a little more than it would if the cage were all one color. What do you think?


That "thick" area of the roll cage for me would have seen a file really quickly just to thin it down a bit! 

As far as painting the roll cage, have a look:






Looks like to me, the roll cage was that Tan interior color, with what seems as black foam padding. IN this video, I can see that angled cross over top of roll cage on the passenger side to the lower roll cage on the drivers side.....


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## whiskeyrat

steveo3002 said:


> i think alot of the real tv show cars had the side markers smoothed over
> 
> keep up the good work


I think you're right *steveo3002*, I surfed around a bit and from what I can see of the images from the show, it looks like the side markers were indeed smoothed over. COOL! that saves me the work of making them! _Where's that tube of putty gone..._



irishtrek said:


> Hey Whiskeyrat, the main piece for the roll cage is what I was referring to and the only other thing that needs to be done is to do the padding as -Hemi- mentioned. Don't recall that diagonal center piece being there though.


I think I'm a little confused on the rollcage. There seem to be a more than a couple of different versions out there... *irish* I've seen the diagonal brace in some images but not all of them have it. Mine is now super-glued in, so I'm not about to try prying it off because the whole damn thing is so delicate... At any rate I think it adds a little more interesting detail so all in all not a bad 'mistake'. Again, I'm not going for a super-dead-on-accurate general, (there's plenty of those) so there are and will be a lot of differences on my build from the actual filming cars. I found a still from the TV show where you can just see the diagonal brace on the cage...


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## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> That "thick" area of the roll cage for me would have seen a file really quickly just to thin it down a bit!
> 
> As far as painting the roll cage, have a look:
> 
> The Dukes of Hazzard: General Lee chase, Daisy driving, season 1 - YouTube
> 
> Looks like to me, the roll cage was that Tan interior color, with what seems as black foam padding. IN this video, I can see that angled cross over top of roll cage on the passenger side to the lower roll cage on the drivers side.....


Hmmm... I grabbed a screenshot from the clip you posted Hemi, as Daisy drives away you can see the rear section of the cage more clearly, and the padding appears to be the same tan color as the interior and upholstery... Also the two rear legs of the cage that attach diagonally to the upper section of the main hoop look like they dive down to either side of the backseat. This may be more complicated to cobble together than I originally thought...


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## whiskeyrat

One last update for the weekend. It occurred to me that this whole time I've been looking at the manual transmission molded in the kit, the car is supposed to be an automatic. My eye started twitching and I broke out into a cold sweat at the prospect of even *MORE* modifications...:drunk: *BUT* I put on my big boy pants and Googled up some images of a Torqueflite 727. Then I started hacking away at the manual gearbox in a desperate attempt to make it look like a slush-box.










It's not super accurate by any means, but at least it will resemble an automatic when I'm done, hopefully. I'll be smoothing in some putty to blend the detail together to make it look more like one casting. The oil pan is two blocks of .060"styrene laminated together and ground to shape with a Dremel, then .020" styrene on top to form the lip of the pan. It turned out a little short but I'm ok with it.


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## -Hemi-

Whiskey, 
Remember.....in the Filming of the show, there were 247 '69 Dodge Chargers pretty much *GULP* destroyed in the making....Each one, was never quite the same as the last...

The first one, (pulled after first jump shattered the windshield) was THEE ONLY ONE to EVER have a 426 Hemi in it! All the rest were done with small block engines, that had pipes to make them "sort of sound" as tho it had the same engine!

So this bears mentioning that the video I added a couple posts up, was from the episode 1, season 1 I do believe....Show ran from '79 to '84....NOT a bad run, sadly all those poor Chargers tho.....

Because of the staggering numbers of parts from all 247 cars, the roll cage was never the same in each one....BECAUSE they did find in some cases that it made filming multiple people in the actual car, difficult!


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## -Hemi-

...Forgot to say, the work on that Mopar 833 transmission to make it look like a 727 Torqueflite, looks GREAT, nope not dead set replica, BUT pass muster, to look the part it was never meant to play to begin with.....GREAT eye tho, you got the general shape of it down!

My question is, how you plan to "wrap" the bell housing?

GREAT start for a master copy man! Really!


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## scottnkat

Looking good, man. I'm not sure I would have even thought of the tranny. That should make a pretty good representation.


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## irishtrek

One last post regarding the roll cage, as -Hemi- said above not every General had the same cage set up, some have the horizontal U piece while others did not. And I saw what looks to be a slice on the cage in that video, interesting.....


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## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey,
> Remember.....in the Filming of the show, there were 247 '69 Dodge Chargers pretty much _GULP_ destroyed in the making....Each one, was never quite the same as the last...
> 
> The first one, (pulled after first jump shattered the windshield) was THEE ONLY ONE to EVER have a 426 Hemi in it! All the rest were done with small block engines, that had pipes to make them "sort of sound" as tho it had the same engine!
> 
> So this bears mentioning that the video I added a couple posts up, was from the episode 1, season 1 I do believe....Show ran from '79 to '84....NOT a bad run, sadly all those poor Chargers tho.....
> 
> Because of the staggering numbers of parts from all 247 cars, the roll cage was never the same in each one....BECAUSE they did find in some cases that it made filming multiple people in the actual car, difficult!





-Hemi- said:


> ...Forgot to say, the work on that Mopar 833 transmission to make it look like a 727 Torqueflite, looks GREAT, nope not dead set replica, BUT pass muster, to look the part it was never meant to play to begin with.....GREAT eye tho, you got the general shape of it down!
> 
> My question is, how you plan to "wrap" the bell housing?
> 
> GREAT start for a master copy man! Really!


Boy *Hemi*, "all those poor Chargers" is right! I remember wondering how many cars were destroyed when I used to watch the show... now I'm sad to know! _sniff_

For the trans bell housing, I'm going to try building it up with two-part epoxy putty. I just need to fill in the form I'm making with more styrene to get the final contour, then pack it with putty and then sand to shape. Let's see if I can make it work, now that I've blurted it out!

Took me a little while to come to the same conclusion about the number of different cages. I think what I've got is at least representative, even if it's not 'accurate'. To my eye, it evokes the memory of the car I used to watch sail through the air like a plane on Friday nights. Maybe that's the main point of this build for me...not to have a "screen accurate" General Lee, but a model that makes me feel like a kid again, that takes me back to those days when I was parked in front of the TV, imagining I was ridin' along with the Duke Boys, runnin' from Roscoe and jumpin' train cars while helpin' out the good folks of Hazzard...

_I miss those days, sometimes._ 



scottnkat said:


> Looking good, man. I'm not sure I would have even thought of the tranny. That should make a pretty good representation.


Thanks *scott*! I almost missed the transmission myself! Even though the trans most likely won't be seen by anyone, I couldn't leave it alone knowing I had an automatic shifter sitting on top of a manual gearbox. Blasphemy! 



irishtrek said:


> One last post regarding the roll cage, as -Hemi- said above not every General had the same cage set up, some have the horizontal U piece while others did not. And I saw what looks to be a slice on the cage in that video, interesting.....


So *irish* I think what this means is that, whichever version you pick to model your General after, you can't go wrong!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it lol! And when you mention the slice are you talking about the rip or what looks like a rip in the roll cage padding?

Remember a number of posts back, I had mentioned that I was going to try and find smaller front tires for my General Lee? Well, I read in another website that a fella had used the front tires from a toy General, circa 2006, manufactured by Malibu International Limited (China). It's the sound and lights version, about 1/18 scale, with three buttons just behind the the rear window. First button is the engine starting and revving, the second button has one of the boys screaming YEEEHAWW!! and the third button is the "Dixie" horn! And when any of the sounds play, the tail lights and the front turn signals flash! I logged in to the Ol' Ebay and found two...one to sacrifice tires from (and maybe other parts too) and one for keeps; it's just too cool not to have a complete one! I peeled off one of the front tires from the toy and test fitted it to one of the wheels from the 1/16 kit...*PERFECT FIT!!!* *PLUS*, one of the cars came with a passenger, but minus his trademark white ten-gallon Stetson...


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## irishtrek

Yes I was reffering to the rip in the padding.
And the only times I remember seeing the U piece of the roll cage was when ever the Duke boys were about to make a planned jump, like in the 2 part episode where Bo went and joined a car carnival run and owned by a young woman.


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## DCH10664

Cool idea using the toy General tires. I like doing kitbash type project from time to time. And find that old toys can be a great source for odds and ends parts, and greeblies and such. I mostly pick them up at yard sales and flea markets. And get them for just a dollar or two. But occasionally Ebay has some deals on old beat up toys too.

Loving this build more and more. You are really going the extra mile :thumbsup:


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## -Hemi-

Whiskey,
The toy idea was a good one. does the rims match? OR do they need work? I may go this route, BUT If I can modify the suspension in the front as well as the rear, I may keep the tires the same from the kit...This however does depend on what I'm able to do, in either location of the model to sort of "rake" the stance.....BUT smaller tires asked the question if the actual rims are any different then the factory ones! OR are the tires from the toy able to take the models rims?


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Yes I was reffering to the rip in the padding.
> And the only times I remember seeing the U piece of the roll cage was when ever the Duke boys were about to make a planned jump, like in the 2 part episode where Bo went and joined a car carnival run and owned by a young woman.


Hmmm...don't think I ever saw that episode *irish*... well, for what it's worth I think the cage as it is serves it's purpose and doesn't look _too_ shabby. Shoot, now that I think about it, I'd like to run away and join a car carnival owned by a young woman too! That sounds like _all kinds_ of fun! 



DCH10664 said:


> Cool idea using the toy General tires. I like doing kitbash type project from time to time. And find that old toys can be a great source for odds and ends parts, and greeblies and such. I mostly pick them up at yard sales and flea markets. And get them for just a dollar or two. But occasionally Ebay has some deals on old beat up toys too.
> 
> Loving this build more and more. You are really going the extra mile 👍


Thanks *DCH*! I was a little leery of spending 20 bucks for the toy car _just for the tires_, but there's no way I was going with those balloons supplied in the kit, they're OK for the rears but with the lower fender line at the front wheel wells, they just wouldn't fit. Turns out one General Lee saves another by donating some rubber!



-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey,
> The toy idea was a good one. does the rims match? OR do they need work? I may go this route, BUT If I can modify the suspension in the front as well as the rear, I may keep the tires the same from the kit...This however does depend on what I'm able to do, in either location of the model to sort of "rake" the stance.....BUT smaller tires asked the question if the actual rims are any different then the factory ones! OR are the tires from the toy able to take the models rims?


*Hemi* the rims don't match. The rims from the toy car are not deep enough to use for the 1/16 kit, and they are a two piece affair that is much skinnier than the 1/16 kit tires, they don't look right at all, and you'd have to shim them with quite a bit of styrene or what-have-you to make them work. Even then, they look like what they are: toy parts. The kit wheels are much, much better, and the toys tires fit them very nicely.

So here's the trans with its coat of putty, and a new oil pan (the first one I made turned out too small). This is the first time I tried this technique of applying the putty, by thinning it with lacquer thinner to about the consistency of paint, then simply brushing it on and working carefully to fill the voids and crevices evenly and not leave too many brush marks. It worked great and I'm *very* happy with what I got... an automatic out of a manual!










After this part is all done I'll fill the bell housing with a two part epoxy that won't shrink, and then sand it to the final shape. Eventually I'll add the dipstick tube and maybe even cooler lines...


----------



## -Hemi-

Transmission looks GREAT Whiskey!

PM headed your way!


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## whiskeyrat

Transmission gets a bell housing. I pressed a short piece of styrene rod into the still soft putty to create the reliefs for the bolts. After it's cured I'll sand it down smooth and the reliefs should look a bit better.


----------



## -Hemi-

NICE work on that bell housing man! That turned out VERY well.. What type putty you use for it?


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> NICE work on that bell housing man! That turned out VERY well.. What type putty you use for it?


Thanks *Hemi*! The putty is a Japanese product, it's called "Wave Light Type Epoxy Putty". It's a two-part putty that you knead together in equal amounts. Cures about the same hardness as styrene, workable by using some water to soften it, and doesn't have a horrible odor.

I found my supply here, I'm not sure if it's available from any domestic suppliers, I haven't looked...

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10022262


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## vypurr59

Milliput is the same type of Putty. I have used it to do a similar project, to smooth it out, you can wet your finger with some water, and work it more. Once dry it is hard and works like styrene.

Great Job on the tranny!!!


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## whiskeyrat

vypurr59 said:


> Milliput is the same type of Putty. I have used it to do a similar project, to smooth it out, you can wet your finger with some water, and work it more. Once dry it is hard and works like styrene.
> 
> Great Job on the tranny!!!


Thanks vypurr! I've never tried milliput... does it have any tendency to shrink? The Wave Epoxy Putty doesn't shrink at all, and neither does the Aves Apoxie Sculpt, which is why I prefer them. The next best thing IMHO is the Tamiya white polyester putty, which is what I used on the 727. It does shrink but very minimally. Usually a second thin coat on top alleviates that. How long does milliput take to cure fully?


----------



## -Hemi-

Will be getting some Milliput, I've heard good things about it in this way!

Whiskey,
GREAT work amn that thing will be AWESOME when the bellhousing is coupled to the engine block!

You have all the left over parts? Hmmmmm to the standard tranny I mean....Bell housing to it, and the innards that were details to it....? Didn't it come with a stall converter, and flywheel? (I'll have to look on mine to see, for sure!)


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Will be getting some Milliput, I've heard good things about it in this way!
> 
> Whiskey,
> GREAT work amn that thing will be AWESOME when the bellhousing is coupled to the engine block!
> 
> You have all the left over parts? Hmmmmm to the standard tranny I mean....Bell housing to it, and the innards that were details to it....? Didn't it come with a stall converter, and flywheel? (I'll have to look on mine to see, for sure!)


*Hemi* I have the lower cover and the clutch assembly, but I destroyed the old manual bellhousing when I was hacking it up to try and make it smaller. Needless to say that didn't work!

You inspired me to take a pic of the engine and trans coupled together just for ducks:


----------



## -Hemi-

The bell housing I can see, I probably would have done the same to "try" to see if I could have made it work.....

As for the other parts, got a pic of them? I may be interested in the left overs! 

I'm gonna TRY to make a 1/16th "440" Wedge" from existing parts to have a little to offer for the '69 Charger BESIDES being a General Lee! So, I'm on a hunt, and designing thoughts as I go.....(you know why too! LOL)


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> The bell housing I can see, I probably would have done the same to "try" to see if I could have made it work.....
> 
> As for the other parts, got a pic of them? I may be interested in the left overs!
> 
> I'm gonna TRY to make a 1/16th "440" Wedge" from existing parts to have a little to offer for the '69 Charger BESIDES being a General Lee! So, I'm on a hunt, and designing thoughts as I go.....(you know why too! LOL)


Well* Hemi*, if you have the same kit they are the same parts, just the clutch assembly and the lower cover for the bell housing. I'm happy to send them along if you're planning to use them, but you should already have them on the sprues in the kit, so I would just be sending you duplicates. PM me if you still want em!

Switching things around again I attacked the dash with my airbrush and acrylics. The medium brown is a custom mix but I think I got it close enough. I'll add the radio and gauges later on after I either find or make some decals to simulate the faces. After a little weathering it should look the part a lot more convincingly. Still need to make a C.B. and bracket for it to go under the dash. Touched up the steering wheel with chrome silver paint, haven't got my BMF yet so I cheated a little on that part. Anyway, progress!










I had originally painted the turn signal stalk chrome silver, but then thought better of it and scraped all the paint off, to let the bare paperclip metal show instead. Looks better don't it?


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey,
NICE work on the dash! That came out really well!

I asked on the old transmission parts in case I messed up on the engine conversion to a 440 for other uses, when I get around to getting that far, (I got to get the 426 Hemi right, first!) So, that way I'd have a back up plan if something failed!


----------



## scottnkat

Nice looking dash. I like the color you mixed up


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey,
> NICE work on the dash! That came out really well!
> 
> I asked on the old transmission parts in case I messed up on the engine conversion to a 440 for other uses, when I get around to getting that far, (I got to get the 426 Hemi right, first!) So, that way I'd have a back up plan if something failed!


Ah, I gotcha *Hemi*. Thanks BTW! If you'd still like those spares, PM me and I'll send 'em along if you need 'em.



scottnkat said:


> Nice looking dash. I like the color you mixed up


Thanks *scott*! There were several color schemes I could have gone with but I think I like the two tone interior best. The rims of the gauges will get BMF (If I'm skillful enough) to help them stand out a bit more, and I'm going to try and make my own decals for the faces. Wish me luck!

Today I started in on the center console. I chose to build it without the rear A/C. I didn't get the shape exactly right, but it was enough work to get it this close that I think it will pass. The whole thing is .020" styrene with .040" crosspieces inside for rigidity. 










Here's the raised center section glued in place on top










Here I filled in the channel that was formed around the center strips with thinned putty, letting it flow in, and round out the depression and fill minor gaps. I love this technique and it's easy to do, I'm surprised I never tried it before. Finally I drilled and cut the slot for the shifter handle, which I'll make later.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Pretty much finished with the console except for primer and paint. Added the center compartment lid and the framing around the shifter hole and gear selector indicator, and the badges on either side. I also bought some flocking for the carpet so it might be getting some of that too. Still not a spot-on replica but I think with the added detail its flaws are somewhat hidden. Jeez I'm actually getting somewhere with this build. Seems like I've been at this thing for an eternity...


----------



## irishtrek

An eternity??? Nah, only about 9-10 months at this time.:tongue:


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey, it is fun right? the long projects always seem long BUT worth it when your done!

SO FAR, the whole thing looks like an ole War Horse and sorta, was, right?


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> An eternity??? Nah, only about 9-10 months at this time.👅


*irish *I think this has to be the single longest build of my entire life... I'm actually looking forward to taking a break from building after this beast is done. Been inhaling *WAY* too much plastic dust!



-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey, it is fun right? the long projects always seem long BUT worth it when your done!
> 
> SO FAR, the whole thing looks like an ole War Horse and sorta, was, right?


*Hemi* it sure is fun, but, exhausting too! Yeah I'm really hoping to convey that 'Ol' Warhorse' look because that's the way the General always sort of appeared to me. I truly hope all this time and effort will be worth it, seems like it will almost be kinda anti-climactic when I do actually finish... I think most of the fun is in the building anyway, once a model is done, it's kinda boring! Just sits on the shelf collecting dust! Sheesh, I'll be _HAPPY_ to get this clunker off the bench though, so I can rest up and then gear up for the next one... I ain't done by a long shot!

Spent some time tonight righting a couple of wrongs, corrected the lower detail on the transmission (it didn't match the shape of the pan), added a starter relief on the bell housing, and I modified the engine oil pan by adding a sump, and fabbed up new headrests for the seats.










A number of posts back, *steveo3002* had mentioned that the seats still don't look right...and I agree with him. I tore off the headrests that I had made from the existing kit parts, and then made my own. Four strips of .060" styrene each, laminated together with some thin strip wrapped around the outside for the trim. Much better.


----------



## DCH10664

WoW!! This is some incredible work here. Those seats look like two good o'l boys have been climbing thru the windows and putting their feet in them. And the console and tranny are beautiful !!


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey you have got to tell me HOW IN THE HELL you getthe seats to have that "rubbed" look with the tan color, what type of "wash are you using/doing to get them to look that way? India ink? what? You got me, I've been pondering how to come up with something close but nothing I'm doing is coming out even close to what your doing here, and I'm NOT looking to be beaten, up looking as a ole War Horse, BUT slightly "used" but polished look, so what I'm trying to do, on a model, will be quite a bit lighter then what you've done here, I just got to figure out how your getting "that look" 

And GOD those front seats, the head rest you made looks GREAT!


----------



## DCH10664

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey you have got to tell me HOW IN THE HELL you getthe seats to have that "rubbed" look with the tan color, what type of "wash are you using/doing to get them to look that way? India ink? what? You got me, I've been pondering how to come up with something close but nothing I'm doing is coming out even close to what your doing here, and I'm NOT looking to be beaten, up looking as a ole War Horse, BUT slightly "used" but polished look, so what I'm trying to do, on a model, will be quite a bit lighter then what you've done here, I just got to figure out how your getting "that look"
> 
> And GOD those front seats, the head rest you made looks GREAT!


I'm curious about how he weathered those seat too ! They look great ! And IMO anyone wanting to build a great looking General would have to weather the seat a little. Let's face it. If you have a car that two Good O'l Boys are always climbing in and out of the windows in a big hurry. The seats are certainly gonna be scuffed up a bit. And over time, they would like be some rips in the seams.


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## irishtrek

Didn't he explain a while back in a post how he weathered those seats???


----------



## -Hemi-

irishtrek said:


> Didn't he explain a while back in a post how he weathered those seats???


I don't recall seeing where he had mentioned "how" he done it, I just recall "seeing" it.......

I'm more looking for a "how-to" then just what he used and then try with miserable failure, I just need to do it a bit "lighter" then He did for the very reason, I'm making mine or any of my cars, "show" polished types, not show stoppers like this one! Whiskey has done this ole car justice specially from the actual TV series!


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> WoW!! This is some incredible work here. Those seats look like two good o'l boys have been climbing thru the windows and putting their feet in them. And the console and tranny are beautiful !!


Thanks DCH! You know I think I actually *overdid* it a little on the grubby seats, I may yet go back and dry-brush some Radome Tan over the weathering to tone it down a touch...



-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey you have got to tell me HOW IN THE HELL you get the seats to have that "rubbed" look with the tan color, what type of "wash are you using/doing to get them to look that way? India ink? what? You got me, I've been pondering how to come up with something close but nothing I'm doing is coming out even close to what your doing here, and I'm NOT looking to be beaten, up looking as a ole War Horse, BUT slightly "used" but polished look, so what I'm trying to do, on a model, will be quite a bit lighter then what you've done here, I just got to figure out how your getting "that look"
> 
> And GOD those front seats, the head rest you made looks GREAT!


Thanks *Hemi!* The seats already had a "fabric" texture molded on the surface so that was a big help to begin with. For the recessed lines in the seats, I simply used a fine point ink pen, and drew in dark lines after primer. Then the top-coat of Radome Tan, and some black wash after that to help really make the lines pop. The weathering was done with a combination of pastels from my Tamiya Weathering Powders set, and my Doc O'Brien's weathering powder set. I just brushed in the powder until I thought it looked sufficiently dirty. As I mentioned to *DCH10664*, I might have over done it a little, but it's easy to fix. I highly recommend the weathering powders and pastels if you haven't tried them, they work great, with a little practice.



DCH10664 said:


> I'm curious about how he weathered those seat too ! They look great ! And IMO anyone wanting to build a great looking General would have to weather the seat a little. Let's face it. If you have a car that two Good O'l Boys are always climbing in and out of the windows in a big hurry. The seats are certainly gonna be scuffed up a bit. And over time, they would like be some rips in the seams.


Right again *DCH*! Now that you mention rips in the seats, I really want to make some in mine. I'm still thinking about how best to approach it...



irishtrek said:


> Didn't he explain a while back in a post how he weathered those seats???


I might have *irish*, but I don't mind explaining again! Inquiring minds want to know!



-Hemi- said:


> I don't recall seeing where he had mentioned "how" he done it, I just recall "seeing" it.......
> 
> I'm more looking for a "how-to" then just what he used and then try with miserable failure, I just need to do it a bit "lighter" then He did for the very reason, I'm making mine or any of my cars, "show" polished types, not show stoppers like this one! Whiskey has done this ole car justice specially from the actual TV series!


*Hemi* I suggest using light touch with the weathering and then slowly building up the layers. A lot of the time, I find that less is actually more, so if you go layer by layer you can stop and judge at each step how much further you may (or may not) need to go with it. Better too little than too much, I say.

I mixed up my own version of Hemi Orange for the block and cylinder heads today. I'm way over-budget on this car, what with the extra tires and the extra decals and the BMF and what not, so I eschewed running out to try and find a good match, mixing my own instead. Got the valve covers and the intake manifold and timing chain cover sprayed up, still need to stain and weather everything, and I still need to glue up and paint all the accessories, plus the exhaust manifolds. My paint scheme will be a little different than what came out of the factory, since this is a mutt of a car with parts from all over Hazzard County. Still debating whether to spray the engine oil pan with the same Hemi Orange, or something close to Mopar Blue. Got quite a ways to go, but there's light at the end of the tunnel...or is that a locomotive??


----------



## -Hemi-

Thanks Whiskey, I'll be looking into the weather chalks, -never had nor used them even when I was doing model trains....I ALWAYS had weathered with acrylic paint and a light hand with the air brush much the same way you said in layers....

Your 426 Hemi, being what it is, I myself, it could have been just a bit darker, BUT you plan to weather it so that its used and have been ran, which would have burned off some of that orange darkness....The only part I'd change? the oil pan, paint that thing the same color as the block! Then oil it right up from the lip that has the bolts in it....

The intake, is PERFECT....That "Rat Roaster" was all aluminum to begin with....Why? I think it was weight, they're HUGE and that had to have been at least 100 extra pounds on the front of the car....Remember it was originally built as a race car! SO, that be a lot of cast iron on the motor had it been!

SO, with that, my only gripe? YA PAINTED THE CHROME VALVE COVERS!!!!!!!!! ????????

LOL I just had too..... I can't seem to bring myself to paint over chrome! You got a stiffer upper lip then I do! LMAO....Looks good tho (needless to say, I'll be casting my own valve covers), and setting the chrome babies aside for a later build! LOL

Don't get me wrong, it looks awesome tho....I like how it looks altho that intake....bugs me to death....Its a Nascar intake from back in the day when Mopar was racing the 426 Hemi....NOT a Pro-Street race car! LOL

Me being a "rivet counter" is all.....BUT, I'll have something other, crazy enough as I got a ton going on, BUT my 1/16 General is a long ways from assembly LOL BUT, I know, that you knew that! from our PM's.....The rest, is in the making and I'll keep that quiet for now!

GREAT work man, really, and nicely done! (I too have to remember what your doing with the ole War Horse!) I'm doing almost the exact opposite!


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## scottnkat

I like the engine there. Personally, I prefer the black valve covers, but I agree with Hemi about the oil pan. You're definitely making this something special.


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## vypurr59

Chrome is for show, Black is for GO.... Nice Job Whiskey. I agree with Hemi on the oil pan, should be same as block color.


----------



## -Hemi-

-just looked again at this posting, Whiskey the painted valve cover bolts, WOW! That looks AWESOME against the black that I can't bring myself to do....

vypurr, I have to say no matter what, chrome or black, the Hemi is just "GO" no matter what it looks like LOL BUT the way ya put it, I agree, even tho the "show" will "go"....

Great work tho Whiskey!


----------



## irishtrek

Hey Whiskey, in that 1st photo of the engine it looks like you got the oil pan on back wards??? Also what color did you use for the bolts???


----------



## -Hemi-

irishtrek said:


> Hey Whiskey, in that 1st photo of the engine it looks like you got the oil pan on back wards??? Also what color did you use for the bolts???


WELL on the Hemi and all Mopar big Blocks the "sump" on the oil pan was frontward due to having the sump pump "collector" was in the front, look at a real one, its sort of "offset" but more towards the front of the block, as the dip stick for the oil as on the drivers side of the block, connected with a "holder" from the first header/manifold bolt....In some cases, went BEHIND the manifold or Header, others, depending the car it was in, was on the out side of the header/manifold.

The oil pump "collector" could be turned in any direction, 360 degrees of the down pipe to get to the oil in the bottom.....This was so that a 9 quart pan for racing, could be used.....


----------



## irishtrek

Not quite sure I understand all of what you just posted there -Hemi-. No offense.


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Thanks Whiskey, I'll be looking into the weather chalks, -never had nor used them even when I was doing model trains....I ALWAYS had weathered with acrylic paint and a light hand with the air brush much the same way you said in layers....
> 
> Your 426 Hemi, being what it is, I myself, it could have been just a bit darker, BUT you plan to weather it so that its used and have been ran, which would have burned off some of that orange darkness....The only part I'd change? the oil pan, paint that thing the same color as the block! Then oil it right up from the lip that has the bolts in it....
> 
> The intake, is PERFECT....That "Rat Roaster" was all aluminum to begin with....Why? I think it was weight, they're HUGE and that had to have been at least 100 extra pounds on the front of the car....Remember it was originally built as a race car! SO, that be a lot of cast iron on the motor had it been!
> 
> SO, with that, my only gripe? YA PAINTED THE CHROME VALVE COVERS!!!!!!!!! ????????
> 
> LOL I just had too..... I can't seem to bring myself to paint over chrome! You got a stiffer upper lip then I do! LMAO....Looks good tho (needless to say, I'll be casting my own valve covers), and setting the chrome babies aside for a later build! LOL
> 
> Don't get me wrong, it looks awesome tho....I like how it looks altho that intake....bugs me to death....Its a Nascar intake from back in the day when Mopar was racing the 426 Hemi....NOT a Pro-Street race car! LOL
> 
> Me being a "rivet counter" is all.....BUT, I'll have something other, crazy enough as I got a ton going on, BUT my 1/16 General is a long ways from assembly LOL BUT, I know, that you knew that! from our PM's.....The rest, is in the making and I'll keep that quiet for now!
> 
> GREAT work man, really, and nicely done! (I too have to remember what your doing with the ole War Horse!) I'm doing almost the exact opposite!


Lol thanks *Hemi!* Correction, I didn't paint OVER the chrome valve covers, I stripped the chrome first a while back, then primed and painted black. Yeah I know that intake isn't right for the type of car this is supposed to be, but I'm too tired to make a new one! 



scottnkat said:


> I like the engine there. Personally, I prefer the black valve covers, but I agree with Hemi about the oil pan. You're definitely making this something special.


Thanks *scott!* The black valve covers are better looking to my eye too...great minds think alike!



vypurr59 said:


> Chrome is for show, Black is for GO.... Nice Job Whiskey. I agree with Hemi on the oil pan, should be same as block color.


LOL haven't heard that one in a looong time! Thanks vypurr! And Hemi Orange for the oil pan it is, I was leaning that way myself, so I don't even know why I bothered to even consider it. D'oh!



-Hemi- said:


> -just looked again at this posting, Whiskey the painted valve cover bolts, WOW! That looks AWESOME against the black that I can't bring myself to do....
> 
> vypurr, I have to say no matter what, chrome or black, the Hemi is just "GO" no matter what it looks like LOL BUT the way ya put it, I agree, even tho the "show" will "go"....
> 
> Great work tho Whiskey!


Thanks again *Hemi!*


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Hey Whiskey, in that 1st photo of the engine it looks like you got the oil pan on back wards??? Also what color did you use for the bolts???


Irish the oil pan is pretty much the way it should be, I believe. There's an image I posted a couple of pages back of a 426 on an engine stand, and you can see the sump section of the oil pan closer to the front of the engine. Mine is all the way forward, so it's a little inaccurate, but I think it's somewhat better than the flat, featureless racing pan that was supplied with the kit. I painted the valve cover bolts with Tamiya Chrome Silver, they stand out nicely against those black valve covers, no?



-Hemi- said:


> WELL on the Hemi and all Mopar big Blocks the "sump" on the oil pan was frontward due to having the sump pump "collector" was in the front, look at a real one, its sort of "offset" but more towards the front of the block, as the dip stick for the oil as on the drivers side of the block, connected with a "holder" from the first header/manifold bolt....In some cases, went BEHIND the manifold or Header, others, depending the car it was in, was on the out side of the header/manifold.
> 
> The oil pump "collector" could be turned in any direction, 360 degrees of the down pipe to get to the oil in the bottom.....This was so that a 9 quart pan for racing, could be used.....





irishtrek said:


> Not quite sure I understand all of what you just posted there -Hemi-. No offense.


Pretty much what I posted above,* irish*. The deeper, "sump" part of the oil pan on most Mopars is closer to the front of the engine instead of the rear. Also Hemi reminded me I need to make dipsticks! And I don't mean Roscoe and Enos!


----------



## whiskeyrat

A little more headway made late last night...

Engine accessories done. (Except for the power steering pump...hmmm) Not pictured is the drive belt and alternator pulley, which are molded as one piece. The water pump pulley had to have a new outer ring put on it after I trashed the original part when sanding it. I was trying to make the ovoid pulley round, and in the process almost destroyed it. Hard to see but it was repaired!










Headers primed. I sanded all the pipes down smooth, leveling as many seam-steps as I could reach with my sanding sticks and files. I also ended up making my own collectors, the kit pipes just end right where the collectors should be, so I needed to make something more realistic. And that means the rest of the exhaust is on its way too!










And just because, here's the battery all done up. 








]


----------



## -Hemi-

irish,
I'm sorry I got a bit technical.....but as whiskey said, is how the true '60's and'70's Hemi's were....with deep section of the oil pan "sump". the pump for this has a collector, that hovers just above the oil pan floor, to not pick up gunk and even metal shavings in the oil, it allows it to settle, but anyway,. that part, can be twisted in a circle around the pipe its connected too inside the oil pan.....that is how the oil gets circulated within the motoe block by means of special passages for it....

Whiskey NICE work on those headers! *Shakes head* this poor kit. could have been a REALLY great one, but for what I paid for mine, I'm not gonna complain!

I'm not tired yet Whiskey so what you leave, I'll pick up on mine!


----------



## irishtrek

whiskeyrat said:


> Irish the oil pan is pretty much the way it should be, I believe. There's an image I posted a couple of pages back of a 426 on an engine stand, and you can see the sump section of the oil pan closer to the front of the engine. Mine is all the way forward, so it's a little inaccurate, but I think it's somewhat better than the flat, featureless racing pan that was supplied with the kit. I painted the valve cover bolts with Tamiya Chrome Silver, they stand out nicely against those black valve covers, no?
> 
> Pretty much what I posted above,* irish*. The deeper, "sump" part of the oil pan on most Mopars is closer to the front of the engine instead of the rear. Also Hemi reminded me I need to make dipsticks! And I don't mean Roscoe and Enos!


That photo you're reffering to is way back on page 5. Should have paid a bit more attention to it.
As for the Roscoe and Enos dip sticks you would need to build a Hazzard County sheriffs car in the same scale as the General.:wave:


----------



## terryr

Happened to see these Happy Meal prizes from the 80's.


----------



## -Hemi-

That ---^

Is WAY to funny........ I haven't seen those since i had a few way back in the day, sadly all of mine went up in a house fire about 4 years ago, when my home place burned to the ground........

Good memories on those tho!!!!


----------



## iamweasel

Honestly this thread should be pinned permanently. You simply stun me with all the work on this car.


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> That photo you're reffering to is way back on page 5. Should have paid a bit more attention to it.
> As for the Roscoe and Enos dip sticks you would need to build a Hazzard County sheriffs car in the same scale as the General.👋


Oh *no*...one large scale Dukes Of Hazzard model is more than enough for me!



terryr said:


> Happened to see these Happy Meal prizes from the 80's.


These are cool! I dig on the stickers, nice find *terryr*!



iamweasel said:


> Honestly this thread should be pinned permanently. You simply stun me with all the work on this car.


Most kind *iamwease*l! Not sure if it's accurate enough to be permanently pinned, but thanks for the vote! I'm hopin I'm on the down-slope of it now, getting kinda tired of making new parts every week. My next build is going to be a strictly straight-out-of-the-box project with no scratch-building funny business!

Once again, a little forward and a little backwards today...ugh. One of the drawbacks of being a dis-organized monkey like me is that you lose parts sometimes. This time it was the rear float bowl for the carburetor. I have no idea where it went, probably consumed by Vacuum-Zilla and sitting in a landfill somewhere by now. I had to make a new one from scratch. Close enough.










Speaking of making new parts... I decided The General would get a front brake upgrade, because four wheel drums are so 1960's...

Front brake rotors with the hats, and one half of a brake caliper started.


----------



## whiskeyrat

A couple of weeks ago I was looking over the body of the car and comparing the proportions to my reference photos, when I noticed something. I had made the stupid fuel filler cap and ring _*TOO SMALL*_. _*Grrrr!!! *_Luckily for dopey ol' whiskeyrat the toy Generals I had bought from Ebay came to the rescue yet again. The filler cap on the toy was way oversized, but *perfectly* sized for the kit! And considerably better looking than the poorly shaped effort that I had cobbled together. So I grudgingly scraped the old assembly off the body, made a larger ring from a slightly larger aircraft wheel, and fitted everything to the quarter panel. When it's glued up and smoothed to the panel it will look better.


----------



## irishtrek

Don't feel so bad about loosing a piece of the carburetor, I lost one of the front suspension a(?) arms shortly after I got my General a couple of years ago. But then it turned up in the box a few days later.


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey, 
Loosing parts are ye? I tell ya, thats the true "WAR" behind EVERY model builder, I SWEAR to it, and thats my story....... and you the rest.....LOL

Speaking of "loosing" parts, I recently found the other half of the starter to the engine on MY 1/16th GENERAL! AND I have no idea how in the hell it got where it was.....I mean all the way on the other side of the room from where I was working on the engine last, (HAD to have fallen off the parts sprue!) so.....Wouldn't be to difficult to make another one but....DAMN IT for loosing parts (I know EXACTLY what ya mean on that one!)

I do however, agree to "pin" this thread! Its a damn good one to such a thing too, no matter what!

Off to play/work on the monster truck!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Brake calipers glued together. I guess this means I'll be running brake lines to all four wheels...


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey, 
Nice work on the rotors and the brake calipers!!!! WOW....What did ya use to "slice" the caliper with?


----------



## irishtrek

I don't think he sliced the calipers at all considering I can see a couple of seam lines on the edge/ends.


----------



## whiskeyrat

*Hemi*, our buddy *irishtrek* is right! I cut and shaped both halves of the calipers from .060" sheet styrene, then I glued them together with two small lengths of .060" strip. The rotors are .060" as well, so it was easy to get everything to fit properly. I also need to build attachment brackets for the spindles, and I'm going to beef up the spindle attachment to the rotor assembly, because eventually the weight of the wheel and the tire will be on it too, and I don't think the small surface area will hold up to a simple face-to-face glue job, it needs internal reinforcement.


----------



## -Hemi-

- See the glue joints now! I didn't look that close and with the plastic all being white, well.....I am ashamed to admit it was a mere quick glance!

GREAT cutting and shaping of the half round "bow" that goes around the edge of the rotors! Damn near look machine done!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Howdy folks, *whiskeyrat* here, checking in after a moderate absence...

Remember that back seat? I tried to forget it, but that empty spot in the back of the Generals tub kept mocking me every time I looked at it, and I had to get back on task with this beast, or I'll _*NEVER*_ finish it...

I had a mini brainstorm (that's being very lucky for me!) about how to rebuild the backseat a bit more sturdily and neatly. I used the two front seats from the '71 Street Charger kit that I had saved most of the parts from, siamese-ed them together at the proper distance with some .060" square rod, and then made a frame around the whole assembly with .060" sheet. I then backed any through-openings with .020", then filled around the seats with two-part putty. This was much, much easier than my previous effort, and quite a bit more stronger to boot. Don't know why I didn't think of this in the first place. 

The front seats connected with styrene rod, and framed in. The center pieces are supported by the interconnecting rods.



















After puttying. All the cavities around the seats were filled and smoothed to contour, and will get sanded to final shape. Success! It looks a little klunky at the moment but I'm pretty sure after sanding and priming it will clean up very nicely... I'm glad I'm done scratching up this backseat, what a monumental pain! Oh well, I asked for it...


----------



## irishtrek

Great idea there Whiskey!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup: Can't wait too see the back seat all painted.


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey ole buddy, Hope all is well and got to comment on your NEW back seat build for the ole Warhorse.....Looks great AND is a GREAT rendition too! NICELY done!

How ya been?


----------



## DCH10664

Now that's what I call some good old fashioned ******* Engineering !!! :thumbsup:


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## scottnkat

There ya go - nice way to get that done


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Great idea there Whiskey!!!!👍👍 Can't wait too see the back seat all painted.


Thanks *irish*! It's taken *waaay* too long to get this durned thing finished, shoulda thought of this solution a long time ago... better late than never I guess!



-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey ole buddy, Hope all is well and got to comment on your NEW back seat build for the ole Warhorse.....Looks great AND is a GREAT rendition too! NICELY done!
> 
> How ya been?


I've been sorta battling the shoulder/neck lately, *Hemi*. But feeling better this week! Thanks!



DCH10664 said:


> Now that's what I call some good old fashioned ******* Engineering !!! 👍


Right?! If you ain't got a whole one, cobble two halves together 'til you do!



scottnkat said:


> There ya go - nice way to get that done


Thanks *scott*, apparently banging my head against the wall for several hours at a time produces inspiration... who'da thunk it?

Finally finished the backseat, now it just needs seatbelts and I'm home free! It's weathered with Doc O'Briens powder, in water, so I could get it down into the lines a bit better. I overdid it a little and had to wipe off some of the excess with a damp paper towel, but it turned out looking better for it.










And together with the front seats, which also got a re-touch with the weathering powder solution, and new headrests that are a bit more accurate looking. The lines in the seats look a bit dark, but I'll probably dust with some Radome Tan to lighten things up a touch before I install everything permanently. Interior is starting to come together! Pretty soon I'm going to start on the flocking for the carpet, and the headliner which I'll make from some old bed sheet I have. Seriously thinking about re-building the roll cage too...


----------



## whiskeyrat

Since I had the weathering powders out, I tried the solution on the engine. I wanted an oil-stained, scratched-up look to this big block. A couple of false starts aside, I got a good technique down, and after the dark wash I highlighted some edges with chrome silver drybrush. Still to come: spark plug wires and coolant hoses.


----------



## scottnkat

The seats look good, but I really like how the engine came out. Very nice job


----------



## -Hemi-

Good to hear your feeling better Whiskey! Never to hamper modeling time don't ya know!?

The seats looks GREAT as do the engine! I see the oil pan is among the missing....NICELY DONE man! The whole works look great to date!


----------



## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> The seats look good, but I really like how the engine came out. Very nice job





-Hemi- said:


> Good to hear your feeling better Whiskey! Never to hamper modeling time don't ya know!?
> 
> The seats looks GREAT as do the engine! I see the oil pan is among the missing....NICELY DONE man! The whole works look great to date!


Thanks fellas! I'm tryin' really hard to make up for lost time. I've fallen so far behind on this beast that, now, I'm *itching *to just get it done and on the shelf, so I can take a breather from building and re-organize my workbench, which I've been wanting to do for a while now. 

Earlier I had mentioned strengthening the front spindle assemblies for the new disc brakes, and I found a quick, easy way to do it. Styrene tube glued into the rotors, cut just long enough to fit into the rest of the spindle assembly. The tubes fit so snugly into the holes I drilled that I don't even need to glue them! And the whole thing is quite rigid, and should hold up well.










The front tubular frame assembly got a substantial re-working, because I had miscalculated a couple of measurements when test fitting, and had to move a lot of things around (and remove some bits) to compensate. *D'oh!* As a result, the assembly sits a little lower on the car, and will give me the right height for the front wheels. 










If you look closely at the inside of the spindle assembly you can see the styrene tube 'axle' protruding, painted black. I made new shock bodies from styrene tube also, seen here. The kit ones were too large and sloppy. I simply cut to length, painted black, and glued in.


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## -Hemi-

Whiskey,
NICELY DONE man! I will add here that PLEASE the ole War Horse asks of you, DON'T rush it, you've done a wonderful job to this point rushing it will only allow for disappointment in the end! Its a wonder of work you have done.....(I'm sad to say other might not agree but.......... DON'T RUSH IT, so what if ya have fallen behind? Who says we have a "deadline" on any one build!?

LOVE it so far!

BTW, this EXACT posting "number" is the whole reason for my Screen name! "426". The rest is obvious! :wave:


----------



## irishtrek

Back a couple of years ago when I picked up the R2 reissue I did the same as you did Whiskey, I used styrene tubing for the shock housing. and I still aint got around to finishing mine.


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey,
> NICELY DONE man! I will add here that PLEASE the ole War Horse asks of you, DON'T rush it, you've done a wonderful job to this point rushing it will only allow for disappointment in the end! Its a wonder of work you have done.....(I'm sad to say other might not agree but.......... DON'T RUSH IT, so what if ya have fallen behind? Who says we have a "deadline" on any one build!?
> 
> LOVE it so far!
> 
> BTW, this EXACT posting "number" is the whole reason for my Screen name! "426". The rest is obvious! 👋


Thanks *Hemi*! I'm trying not to rush too much...*BUT* my deadlines are usually self-imposed, I've got a closet full of of models to build and only so many years left to build em! I gotta get crackin!



irishtrek said:


> Back a couple of years ago when I picked up the R2 reissue I did the same as you did Whiskey, I used styrene tubing for the shock housing. and I still aint got around to finishing mine.


Sometimes simple solutions are the best, eh *irish*? Poorly molded parts tend to give away the scale of a lot of builds, so I try to re-work or build anew anything that looks bad to my eye. I find most tube-shaped parts supplied in kits are mis-shapen and/or molded offset one half from the other, making it look terrible. Styrene tube is an easy fix in most cases.

Slow going for ol' *whiskeyrat* these last couple of weeks. I got a few bits and pieces done on the engine today, still plugging away at the detail. I got the fan painted and glued on, and modified it to stick out a bit further from the pulley so it clears the crankshaft pulley. The transmission is glued on now, I got the starter glued on, and I cut and fit the spark plug wiring. The yellow vinyl tube supplied in the kit worked very nicely, and I super glued each one in place after fitting the ends to the distributor and valve covers. I weathered the wires with my Tamiya weathering powders.


----------



## scottnkat

Now that is a fine looking engine, sir.


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## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> Now that is a fine looking engine, sir.


Thanks *scott*! Even all dirty with oil leaks, it's still a fine beast to my eyes too! I'm still debating over whether to make a power steering pump or not...

A couple more images with the scratch-built ignition coil and bracket attached to the passenger side of the intake manifold. It wouldn't fit in the small space between the distributor and the intake, which is where I originally planned for it to go, so it goes there, incorrect as it is. The way I figure it, Bo and Luke pieced this engine together from as many spare parts as they could find lying around Cooter's garage and Uncle Jesse's shed, making a mutt of a car! The kit didn't come with an air-cleaner housing, so I'm scratching that up next.










Showing the transmission attached here. Still needs some reddish leaks on it to simulate a leaking oil pan gasket.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Here's the dual-snorkel air cleaner housing that I've scratched up, at least as close to what I remember mine looked like. I made the main part using one of the drums from the front wheels which I replaced with disc brakes, it seemed to be just about the right diameter. I had to sand the radial ribs off the drum, then cut styrene tube for the snorkels. I opened up the center so it would sit perfectly on top of the carb horn. For the trumpet shaped ends of the snorkels, I heated up my soldering iron, unplugged it, then waited until it cooled about 75%, then pushed the tube down onto the soldering tip until I got the shape I wanted. Ta-da!










The air cleaner atop the carburetor. Again, probably wrong for this engine, but Bo and Luke used whatever parts they could find that would work to get this engine running...The lid of the air cleaner still needs some more concentric features but it's almost there. I did a test fit with the hood and it doesn't seem to quite fit beneath, so I may shorten the height on it a little. Or mount the engine a little lower, whichever is easier...










*Edit... I took a quick look around online AFTER THE FACT, like a dummy I realized the snorkels were pretty badly off, so...










Looks much better! And yes, they are differing lengths on purpose! Even though I won't add the hot air stoves I still made the thermostatic air cleaner vacuum motors on the snorkels. makes for a bit more interesting detail, I think.


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## -Hemi-

NICE work Whiskey! NICELY done! 

You know, I never looked, for the air cleaner in my kit, I THOUGHT I had seen something to resemble an air cleaner, so.. I'll have to look when I'm able, My shop is a mess!

I have the "Nascar" version air cleaner from the 1/25th scale kits of the Daytona, I might see what it take to custom make a version to fit the 1/16th for the ole General "Hemi"....Altho, its pretty big, I would not be mounting it "solidly" to the carburetor, so that the detail underneath it can be seen....


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## irishtrek

That article I mention back when you first started this project mentioned how the engine mounts had to be shortened because the engine was sitting too high.
Also Whiskey you must have red neck blood in your veins considering how you placed the ignition coil when it wouldn't fit where it was supposed to go and how you came up with a 'stock' air cleaner.


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## DCH10664

Dude !!! That engine is wicked to the 12th power ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> NICE work Whiskey! NICELY done!
> 
> You know, I never looked, for the air cleaner in my kit, I THOUGHT I had seen something to resemble an air cleaner, so.. I'll have to look when I'm able, My shop is a mess!
> 
> I have the "Nascar" version air cleaner from the 1/25th scale kits of the Daytona, I might see what it take to custom make a version to fit the 1/16th for the ole General "Hemi"....Altho, its pretty big, I would not be mounting it "solidly" to the carburetor, so that the detail underneath it can be seen....


*Hemi* I don't believe there is a kit-supplied air cleaner housing, you're S.O.L. just like I was. 



irishtrek said:


> That article I mention back when you first started this project mentioned how the engine mounts had to be shortened because the engine was sitting too high.
> Also Whiskey you must have red neck blood in your veins considering how you placed the ignition coil when it wouldn't fit where it was supposed to go and how you came up with a 'stock' air cleaner.


Lol thanks *irish*! I never knew the stock kit parts made the engine sit too high. Maybe the car was designed to be displayed with the hood open only?



DCH10664 said:


> Dude !!! That engine is wicked to the 12th power ! 👍 👍 👍


Thanks *DCH*! 

Back at The Beast again. I was dreading doing the painting on the wheels, because I had no idea how to go about getting the radial ribs painted without making a huge mess. Masking them was right out, I couldn't spray them because I knew there would be underbleed of the masking. I got my BMF a couple of weeks ago, but I don't want my first attempt with it to be on something so thin and hard to get at. So, I grit my teeth and attacked the rings first. I chucked up each wheel in my Makita drill, and held one of my thinnest brushes against the rim and the center circle, respectively, while turning it at slow speed. With a steady hand I was able to get the rings done almost perfectly. For the ribs, I had no choice as far as I could see. I held my breath while I _*hand painted*_ each individual rib. I slopped over a tiny bit here and there, but luckily I was able to cover my tracks with more of the semi-gloss black. Then I picked out the wheel lugs with Chrome-silver. This took me 4 hours today, but it was worth it! I still need to drill some tiny holes for the tire valves.


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## DCH10664

Well all your hard work certainly paid off ! The wheels are fantastic :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> Well all your hard work certainly paid off ! The wheels are fantastic 👍 👍 👍


Thanks again *DCH*! here's one more shot, after I installed the air valves made from small bits of brass rod, and slipped one of each size of tire on to see how they look. Now I'm happy! Wheels done!


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## scottnkat

Hey, nice job on those. You did right well there, sir


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## DCH10664

I've seen a lot of model cars built. But I ain't never seen anyone go to the trouble of putting in valve stems !! That's just over-the-top !
But I guess it's tiny details like that which makes the difference between good models and great models. Well done Sir :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## irishtrek

Hey Whiskey Rat there are some 'paint brushes' with a foam rubber tip called Micro-Brush which come 10 to a small pack for only about $2.49 and they come in 3 different sizes and they would have been prefect for doing your wheels. In fact I used the smallest ones about a month ago to paint the lug nuts on some fire truck wheels and they turned out really good.


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## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> Hey, nice job on those. You did right well there, sir


Thanks *scott*!



DCH10664 said:


> I've seen a lot of model cars built. But I ain't never seen anyone go to the trouble of putting in valve stems !! That's just over-the-top !
> But I guess it's tiny details like that which makes the difference between good models and great models. Well done Sir 👍 👍 👍


Thanks *DCH*! At this scale, there's so much detail I'd like to try and get in on this beast... The more detail I can add, the more realistic-looking the final product will be...I hope!



irishtrek said:


> Hey Whiskey Rat there are some 'paint brushes' with a foam rubber tip called Micro-Brush which come 10 to a small pack for only about $2.49 and they come in 3 different sizes and they would have been prefect for doing your wheels. In fact I used the smallest ones about a month ago to paint the lug nuts on some fire truck wheels and they turned out really good.


*irish* where did you get these brushes? You're right, they sound perfect for doing this kind of detail paint work. Did you get them at your LHS, or online? Even though the wheels are already done I know there'll be much more of this type of painting coming up...

Took a* big leap* today and started assembling the tub! *PROGRESS!!* Of course, knowing me, just getting two sides done took me the better part of the afternoon. I started with the side panels, gluing them down to the floorpan and creating a brace to go across the top front of the panels for rigidity. As it turns out, and not much to my surprise, I had made the stupid back seat too narrow, and as a result had to widen it by adding four panels of .060" styrene, two each to either side of the seat. I'll have to strip and repaint it after I get the putty work done along the outer edges, but it's worth the effort to make the seat fit properly and look right.











The rear seat with its widening strips of styrene on either side. Luckily for me correcting the width is an easy fix!










The seat fits pretty snug now, and the door panels line up nicely with the window lines on the body. Phew!!


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## DCH10664

I don't think you will ever be accused of not making this look realistic ! When it comes to the tiny details, you really impress me. I just noticed the door panel. And the little built in pouch. You even got the wrinkles in the pouch  and the over all interior has that somewhat worn look to it. As it should. Can't wait to see what's next :thumbsup:


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## -Hemi-

DAMN Whiskey that back seat looks GOOD! NICE work!

Also, in my kit, YES there is a "Air Cleaner" IF thats what ya wanna call the part they made as a "Air Cleaner"...... NOT that I'll be using it mind you...................odd lookin thing to say the least!

I can tell ya on my Hemi in this same model, I'm scratchbuilding a dual plane intake which means I have to cough up a SECOND carburetor! BUT we'll see.....

GAWD that interior looks GOOD! :thumbsup:


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## irishtrek

Whiskey Rat, go to www.hobbytownusa.com click on and paints and tools then painting and finishing accessories
then scroll down and click on miscellaneous finishing materials
and you'll see images of black, green, yellow and white brushes in white colored packs marked micro brush.
and yes I got mine at a LHS about 10 years ago.


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## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> I don't think you will ever be accused of not making this look realistic ! When it comes to the tiny details, you really impress me. I just noticed the door panel. And the little built in pouch. You even got the wrinkles in the pouch  and the over all interior has that somewhat worn look to it. As it should. Can't wait to see what's next 👍


Appreciate the kind comments *DCH*! The door panels were one of my favorite parts of this build. They turned out much better than I had hoped!



-Hemi- said:


> DAMN Whiskey that back seat looks GOOD! NICE work!
> 
> Also, in my kit, YES there is a "Air Cleaner" IF thats what ya wanna call the part they made as a "Air Cleaner"...... NOT that I'll be using it mind you...................odd lookin thing to say the least!
> 
> I can tell ya on my Hemi in this same model, I'm scratchbuilding a dual plane intake which means I have to cough up a SECOND carburetor! BUT we'll see.....
> 
> GAWD that interior looks GOOD! 👍


Many thanks *Hemi*! I must have lost the air cleaner that came with my kit, I don't remember ever seeing it... for the second carburetor it seems like you should be able to make a mold from the kit-supplied part and simply cast your own, right? And I'm dying to see that intake when you're done!



irishtrek said:


> Whiskey Rat, go to www.hobbytownusa.com click on and paints and tools then painting and finishing accessories
> then scroll down and click on miscellaneous finishing materials
> and you'll see images of black, green, yellow and white brushes in white colored packs marked micro brush.
> and yes I got mine at a LHS about 10 years ago.


Thanks *irish*! I'll check it out. There's a HobbyTown not too far from me so If they have them I'll simply wander down there and pick some up.

Well, a few more steps backward today because of the tub. Getting everything to fit properly after I made all these modifications is *no small challenge*. I've had to make many compromises to get everything to work and it looks like I ain't done makin' 'em. The rollcage was scrapped altogether, in favor of a simplified version that more closely resembles the show car. After all that fussing around with the kit-supplied part, I finally admitted to myself that I was never happy with the molding from the beginning, and I don't know why I even attempted to make it look any better. Like putting a silk hat on a pig. I'm an idiot.

I heated and bent some tubing to match the original hoop contours, added a pair of "feet", and a diagonal crossbar. Done. After the paint is finished I'll simulate the tubular foam padding with heat shrink most likely.










Eliminating the whole front portion of the first rollcage means that the holes in the dash where the front legs would have gone need to be closed up, and the dash face needed to be lengthened to fill the gap. *Heavy sigh*. I had already stripped the paint off the dash because I wanted to get it all one color, so I cut it back apart and began adding styrene at the outer edges, and I also added styrene to the top so there would be more purchase against the body, and so I can get the correct mounting angle.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Dash 2.0... Much better. Added the buttons on the left side and the radio dials, made from strip. For the center air vents I used a small strip of a toothed belt from a 1/25 blower I had in my spare parts box...perfect fit! And much neater and cleaner than anything I could have slopped together.


----------



## scottnkat

Nice updates, though I'm sorry to hear that you had to go back and re-do what you've already done


----------



## whiskeyrat

scottnkat said:


> Nice updates, though I'm sorry to hear that you had to go back and re-do what you've already done


*Scott*, it seems like I can't make any progress on this build unless I go backward! To wit: I've made a more accurate steering wheel out of the spare I had... here it is in contrast to the original kit part I had settled for, which had little resemblance to the real thing. I figured since I'm re-shaping the dash I might as well take a stab at the steering wheel too...


----------



## aussiemuscle308

Whiskeyrat, i admire your tanash for improving this kit. having built it myself, i found it very disappointing. I really wanted to do this but didn't want a year long project. i ended up only adding a back seat and some inner fenders. i've been meaning to go back and fix the front fender arches.


----------



## whiskeyrat

aussiemuscle308 said:


> Whiskeyrat, i admire your tanash for improving this kit. having built it myself, i found it very disappointing. I really wanted to do this but didn't want a year long project. i ended up only adding a back seat and some inner fenders. i've been meaning to go back and fix the front fender arches.


Aussiemuscle308, disappointing is a mild word for this kit! Some problems I found along the way, aside from all the corrections I've attempted:

The body is warped/twisted; most likely from being pulled from the mold too quickly. 

The front quarter panels (wings in Oz?) are uneven, one is slightly longer than the other. 

The interior door panels are uneven, one is slightly longer than the other

The chassis isn't even a full length piece, it's way too short (on the order of about a centimeter!)

If you build the thing box-stock, you can't close the hood (bonnet?) because the engine sits too high on its mounts.

*DEFINITELY NOT* one of MPC's better efforts.

Once I had gotten to a certain point on this build, I had a choice: Quit now and save my eternal soul from everlasting damnation, or forge ahead with it, knowing that it would be a long slog. Well, you can see which choice I made. No turning back or giving up now, I have to finish this build if it kills me. No way I'm gonna let 15 ounces of plastic, putty and glue blobs out-smart me... at least, not yet anyway! :freak:


----------



## -Hemi-

Honestly guys.....I think this kit has a BUNCH not going for it. 

One, its NOT anything near what ANY "General Lee" was meant to be, meaning is a hodge-podge of parts to make a somewhat "sell-able" kit. Meaning, I can see SEVERAL "other" kit parts all wrapped up into one!

Two, the plastic type used isn't of NORMAL kit type. not sure WTH it is actually, but its not 100% Styrene as used an any normal plastic model kit.

Three, the tooling seem to be from 1970....THEY need REDESIGNED! This kit is so old the dust is embedded into the plastic when casted from the heat! LOL

Four, the molds.........They're WAY to old to keep "producing" flawless castings....

Round2 Models need to discontinue production of this kit and ANY OTHERS near like it. and redesign the molds and start over with todays technology...Costly? YES, but will make a WAY better kit then whats seen and gotten here....Last I looked this SAME kit new was $34.95 at Hobby Lobby....I paid $17 for mine, and its not worth more then $10 to me....BUT like Whiskey, this half pound of plastic isn't gonna kick my ass to be built, AND because of that and its sheer size, I'm gonna ENJOY stomping its ass into a display case lookin like a million bucks!


----------



## irishtrek

The chassis, suspension and engine are from the old Richard Petty kit, you know the one that came with the body molded in clear plastic.


----------



## aussiemuscle308

vypurr59 said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Lee_(car)
> Reading this, they claimed the car was painted Hemi Orange
> Chrysler code EV2 number 2186


according to the boffins at CGLFC it wasn't ever actually the proper hemi orange and after much research, found it was actually Corvette Red (a GM color)

for those interested in my 1/16 Lee, it's here
http://s1307.photobucket.com/user/aussiemuscle308/library/Model Cars/Dukes of Hazzard


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## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> Honestly guys.....I think this kit has a BUNCH not going for it.
> 
> One, its NOT anything near what ANY "General Lee" was meant to be, meaning is a hodge-podge of parts to make a somewhat "sell-able" kit. Meaning, I can see SEVERAL "other" kit parts all wrapped up into one!
> 
> Two, the plastic type used isn't of NORMAL kit type. not sure WTH it is actually, but its not 100% Styrene as used an any normal plastic model kit.
> 
> Three, the tooling seem to be from 1970....THEY need REDESIGNED! This kit is so old the dust is embedded into the plastic when casted from the heat! LOL
> 
> Four, the molds.........They're WAY to old to keep "producing" flawless castings....
> 
> Round2 Models need to discontinue production of this kit and ANY OTHERS near like it. and redesign the molds and start over with todays technology...Costly? YES, but will make a WAY better kit then whats seen and gotten here....Last I looked this SAME kit new was $34.95 at Hobby Lobby....I paid $17 for mine, and its not worth more then $10 to me....BUT like Whiskey, this half pound of plastic isn't gonna kick my ass to be built, AND because of that and its sheer size, I'm gonna ENJOY stomping its ass into a display case lookin like a million bucks!


Right on all counts, *Hemi*. The only problem I can see with re-tooling this kit in 1/16 is that there are plenty of really good die-cast replicas out there still. Anyone who has an ounce of sanity can simply buy one of those and be done with it, instead of beating their heads against the wall trying to modify one, like a certain drunken rodent I know...



irishtrek said:


> The chassis, suspension and engine are from the old Richard Petty kit, you know the one that came with the body molded in clear plastic.


Right you are *irish*. And more's the pity, it could have been a truly awesome kit if they'd given it some more love, way back when.



aussiemuscle308 said:


> according to the boffins at CGLFC it wasn't ever actually the proper hemi orange and after much research, found it was actually Corvette Red (a GM color)
> 
> for those interested in my 1/16 Lee, it's here
> Photobucket | The safer way to store your photos


*Aussiemuscle308*, I discovered that little tidbit sometime back, as well. Looking at the color this kit came molded in it does look much redder than you would think an orange would be. 

I like your General, you should think about going back to it and sprucing it up a little more to your liking. 


Well my faithful companions, it has officially been more than a year since I started this project. I think most of the delay has been in finding time to actually sit at the bench when I'm not drop-dead exhausted, or battling the shoulder injury with my ice pack and heat pad... And then perhaps another 8-10% time wasted going back over previous work and reshaping it. By my estimate I'm somewhere around 65% done, so at least that's over the hump. (there's that word again...) Has it been worth it so far? Ask me at the end, after I only have one or two marbles left rolling around upstairs. (some would say that's _already_ the case)

Some more body work, and a first for me this week. The rollbar got a lower cross stabilizing piece, which can be seen in the images below. I'm so glad I simplified that part, if I had tried to go forward with my original idea of a full cage it would have set me back pretty damn far. Going over the body and comparing the valance vent under the windshield to the real thing I realized there were no windshield wipers on the kit. *!&$#*@!&%!!* I drilled the holes and lined them with short sections of tube, and then smoothed them to the body with Tamiya putty. I have no clue how I'm going to make the wipers themselves. Anyone?












So this is the very first time I've tried Bare Metal Foil. Great stuff! I'm a little shaky at the moment but I think with a little more practice I can get nice smooth cuts. Not bad for a start though:










Driver's door panel accent and the center console










Passenger door panel accent. The Charger emblems were tough to cut round, I got close but not perfect. I think I'm going to try a bit of a wash to make the script stand out more and give them a bit more depth at scale, they look a touch shallow to my eye.


----------



## aussiecylon

WHISKEYRAT...your build is incredible. Fantastic work. I've been waiting for updates on this for a while, but I know how frustrating and time consuming these things are. I look to you for inspiration, and if I can do a tenth of what you can do, I'll be a happy man!!

As to those wipers, I have seen PE wipers, but they are 1/24, 1/25 scale, not 1/16. All these little details certainly add up to a fantastic build....keep building and posting updates....I look forward to seeing your progress :thumbsup:


----------



## whiskeyrat

Many thanks *Aussie*! You know, I was considering photo-etch for the windshield wipers but I can almost guarantee there aren't any 1/16 photo-etch wipers anywhere, I would have to do it myself, and that's just too much even for me... I'm entertaining the notion of using sheet brass, but it's difficult to cut so small, so let's see what my little peanut brain can come up with!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Almost forgot the dad-gummed CB radio for the boys to communicate with! I scratched together a rudimentary radio and bracketry using a couple of likely-looking bits from the spare parts box, some sheet and rod styrene, and a length of tinned copper wire to simulate the coiled mic wire. I simply wrapped it around and around a thin piece of styrene rod to give me the coiled wire look. It's great for this because I can bend it to whatever position I want and it will stay there; I can simulate the droop of the wire as it hangs from the radio. I'll probably use the bare Metal Foil on the brackets to make them stand out a bit.


----------



## scottnkat

Nice job on the CB - I wouldn't have even thought about that


----------



## DCH10664

Just for your information,.....The CB radio used in the TV series for the General Lee was a Cobra 78x.


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> Just for your information,.....The CB radio used in the TV series for the General Lee was a Cobra 78x.


Just for you *DCH*! Not perfect, but a little closer...










I cleaned up the face a little and re-glued the two lower knobs. Sloppy whiskeyrat!!


----------



## DCH10664

Oh my !!! I wasn't suggesting that you change your CB. Nor was I trying to be critical. But when I seen that you had made a CB. I was curious if the information was online. And it was. For those wanting to build a real General Lee. Having everything down to the radio is important. The Cobra 78x, under normal circumstances, would barely be worth $20.00. But since it was used in the General. People are digging them up and fixing them. And I have seen prices ranging from $200.00 to $350.00. Depending on if they had the original make and type of Antenna used on the show.


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> Oh my !!! I wasn't suggesting that you change your CB. Nor was I trying to be critical. But when I seen that you had made a CB. I was curious if the information was online. And it was. For those wanting to build a real General Lee. Having everything down to the radio is important. The Cobra 78x, under normal circumstances, would barely be worth $20.00. But since it was used in the General. People are digging them up and fixing them. And I have seen prices ranging from $200.00 to $350.00. Depending on if they had the original make and type of Antenna used on the show.


Lol no worries! Just ribbin' ya! Actually, I'm happier with the way it looks now so you did me a favor! Thanks dude!


----------



## irishtrek

Speaking of antennas, how accurate do you want it to be for the General??


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Speaking of antennas, how accurate do you want it to be for the General??


I'm assuming there is an "accurate" antenna, versus just scratching one up that _looks_ right... I have some .020" music wire that I was planning on polishing and using for the whip, but as for the base, yes I do want to simulate something close to what's recognizable on the car...


----------



## whiskeyrat

And, back at the door scallops for a _*third time*_... After almost a year of looking at them, and fretting over their lack of depth, I got brave and began modifying them to add the raised lip around the front of each scallop. I created a small wall at the front of each scallop out of .020" styrene strip, glued on-edge, then puttied in around them to feather into the flat panel, sort of the shape of a dam. Same goes for the passenger side. The added depth will give it just that much more realism. Ye gods, I hope these hold up to the carving and sanding...


----------



## irishtrek

And that makes post #301 on this thread.:wave:
After looking at a few pics of the General it has a whip antenna mounted behind the back glass, just in case you're not sure how to make one you'll need to take a length of wire and wrap it around a rod slightly thicker than what you're going to use for the longer part of the antenna and then trim to fit.


----------



## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> And that makes post #301 on this thread.👋
> After looking at a few pics of the General it has a whip antenna mounted behind the back glass, just in case you're not sure how to make one you'll need to take a length of wire and wrap it around a rod slightly thicker than what you're going to use for the longer part of the antenna and then trim to fit.


LOL I didn't know anyone was counting! 

I think I understand what you mean about the antenna whip, *irish*. I came up with a handful of images specifically of the hero car antenna, and it looks easy enough to replicate. I made the mic wire for the CB the same way you mentioned, by wrapping wire around a piece of styrene rod. Works great!

Roll bar is done, except for some dirt and grime which will only take a few minutes to do. I sprayed it flat black first and dry-brushed a little chrome silver to give it a little character (which won't ever be seen again, so I don't know why I did that...) Then to simulate the foam padding, i used 1/8" heat shrink cut to size. I first shrunk the tube around a piece of brass rod, so I could slit it along its length afterward to remove it from the brass tube, then install it on the roll bar. After all the pieces were cut to size and slit, I airbrushed them with the same Radome Tan as the rest of the interior. It was then simply a matter of sliding them back into position on the roll bar, and then tacking them down with super glue.

Tubing painted and in position on the painted roll bar.










And the padded roll bar sitting in place just in front of the back seat. Looks much more the part now, I'm glad I re-worked this piece.


----------



## whiskeyrat

And lo and behold I'm actually getting somewhere with the dash. All that's left is to back the gauge openings with some black styrene sheet and shrink down some images I found online to make decals for the gauge faces. The mic wire for the CB is hanging a bit low but I'm not sure I care at this point, I'm just happy to be this far along with it!


----------



## irishtrek

It's HT that's keeping count on every thread, I simply took notice is all.
And I sure hop you place the roll bar a bit forward 'cause there aint enuf leg room between it and the seat.
As for the CB cord hanging too low it may not look that way once you glue the dash in place, and besides the longer the cord the more reach it has.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Yesterday I finished up the door scallops and they look _*MUCH*_ better. It took quite a bit of careful sanding to get both sides to match but I think I got pretty close. The difference in appearance to the whole car, just from this little modification, is quite marked. Looking at the body as a whole it seems that of all the modifications I've made to it, the scallops appear to have made the most difference; it's really looking like a proper Charger body to me now.



















More putty, more white styrene. I had glued on the rear bottom valance quite a while back, but during the course of the build, due to handling, butter-fingered drops onto the floor and being bumped around on the work bench, it had broken off several times and I had to re-attach it. Unfortunately, it also hindered the installation and removal of the tub and chassis, making it very difficult to get it in and out of the body without stretching the sides of the body and hearing cracking sounds coming from...somewhere...
My solution to the whole mess was to first strengthen the valance at the corners, then build up the attachment points on both the body and the part. Then I'm going to make a dowel-pin locating/mounting fixture at each corner, so it can be removed and installed with relative ease. Here the valance is shown with its strengthened corners, and the reverse lamps, simulated with rings cut from styrene tube.










And the gas cap raised lip is smoothed with Tamiya putty. With the insert from the toy General it'll be *way* improved over what I had cobbled together before..


----------



## DCH10664

Was just curious to know if there is any further progress on the old war horse. And when I looked at the pics, I seen you had made some progress on the dash etc. That I had somehow missed. Looks Great ! :thumbsup:

I was also curious about how long you had been working on this model. So I checked the date of the first post. It was 12/30/2013 
Is this the longest time you have ever worked on one model ???
It is a long time to spend on a model. But the results have been nothing short of amazing !
And I have to admit that between you, Hemi, and a few others, you guys have really broadened my ideas of what can be done with model cars. So much so, that I've taken an interest in building cars again. And have even purchased a few model cars for future projects.

Looking forward to seeing more, :wave:


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> Was just curious to know if there is any further progress on the old war horse. And when I looked at the pics, I seen you had made some progress on the dash etc. That I had somehow missed. Looks Great ! :thumbsup:
> 
> I was also curious about how long you had been working on this model. So I checked the date of the first post. It was 12/30/2013
> Is this the longest time you have ever worked on one model ???
> It is a long time to spend on a model. But the results have been nothing short of amazing !
> And I have to admit that between you, Hemi, and a few others, you guys have really broadened my ideas of what can be done with model cars. So much so, that I've taken an interest in building cars again. And have even purchased a few model cars for future projects.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing more, :wave:


Hi *DCH!* Yes it's been a while since I posted anything on The General. I've been battling the old shoulder/neck injury these last few months off and on, but it had really flared up about three weeks ago and I just did not have the strength to work my regular daytime job and then come home and pound away at the car for another two to three hours every night like I was doing before. Getting old and having old injuries sucks!

Yeah it has now been over a year since I started this kit. I guess now this is officially the longest time I have had a work in progress. The only other kit that I have in progress that is older than The General is my 1/537 USS Reliant, which I'll get back to one day, I hope. Got kinda stalled out on the lighting... 

I promised myself that once I started this build I would power through it until it's finished, no matter how long it takes! Once it's done I don't intend on building any more Generals, large or small scale, so this one had better cut the mustard! :tongue:

I'm glad that I've inspired you and hopefully others to keep building and modifying, it's what I love the best about this hobby and I love to see others doing it too. I'm always excited to see new builds posted up on the board, and going and re-visiting older ones too. As long as I live, I'll never get enough of model-building!!

I do actually have some progress, but I don't have any images yet, so I'll try to get a real update posted before or during this coming weekend. Once again, I've made some progress and I've also taken a couple of steps backwards. I've thickened the rear pillars at the insides after looking at the body and comparing the dimensions to my reference photos, and discovering that the kit pillars are somewhat too thin. And I tore out the floor again, including the trans tunnel, because it just won't work with the new center console that I'm fabbing up as well. The original floor and console just weren't right, and I'm certain I would never have been happy with them if I had just let it go. If I could get things right the first time around I would probably be finished with this beast by now, but it is what it is. Just have to make sure not to give up!

I'll be back in a couple of days with pics, and maybe even some more progress, since it's going to be a three-day-weekend, and I got nothin' else planned!

How about yourself *DCH*, you got anything in the works at the moment?


----------



## whiskeyrat

As promised, an update with some pics. Like I mentioned in the prior post, I went backwards again tearing out the floor pan. I started the rebuild with some thicker sheet styrene (.060") to keep things rigid and square, and tubing with a lengthwise section cut out for the trans tunnel. I reshaped the bell with some spare parts and a piece cut from the first bell I had made. 










Generous amounts of putty will smooth all the differing parts together. I still need to add the framing and strengthening features too.










And I added some depth to the rear pillars with a piece of wedge-shaped styrene on the forward edge. I have to fill in the insides of the pillars with more putty to strengthen the join, and to help shape the interior for the headliner. I had to extend the deck at the base of the window about 5mm forward, to match the new angle of the pillars. 




















I just had a sobering realization..*.it may well be another year before I finish this model.* Someone get the straitjacket and padded cell ready please! :freak:


----------



## DCH10664

"Getting old and having old injuries sucks!"

Believe me. I know how you feel ! These days I feel like and old, out of date robot. At one time I was the top of the line model. I was stronger than a bull, ten foot tall, and bulletproof. And seemingly impervious to the ravages of time and the elements.
But now I'm rusting. My batteries don't recharge as quickly as they used to. And I'm in serious need of replacement parts ! :tongue:

As for projects I have going,....To be honest, I got more half finished projects than I do finished. But I am determined to finish them all. If I actually live that long.
But my newest project I am getting gears up for is an IMAI model called the The Mach. It's actually a 1/24th scale Mach 5 from the old Speed Racer cartoon. But the Japanese tend to have a habit of changing names on things just to avoid paying licensing fees.
And I'm not going to build it as a Mach 5. But rather as a Retro-Futuristic Spy car. That is to say something futuristic from a 1968 to 1972 point of view. I plan on adding machine guns, and other gadgets. And putting a female driver in the seat. Will post some pics when I get some progress on it.

As for the General, you are certainly doing him proud. This is one of those builds that you will never forget.


----------



## scottnkat

Far out work, man - flawless. This is truly a fantastic build you've got going on here. I hope it helped taking a little break as I personally am really enjoying watching this. You have amazing patience.


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> "Getting old and having old injuries sucks!"
> 
> Believe me. I know how you feel ! These days I feel like and old, out of date robot. At one time I was the top of the line model. I was stronger than a bull, ten foot tall, and bulletproof. And seemingly impervious to the ravages of time and the elements.
> But now I'm rusting. My batteries don't recharge as quickly as they used to. And I'm in serious need of replacement parts ! 👅
> 
> As for projects I have going,....To be honest, I got more half finished projects than I do finished. But I am determined to finish them all. If I actually live that long.
> But my newest project I am getting gears up for is an IMAI model called the The Mach. It's actually a 1/24th scale Mach 5 from the old Speed Racer cartoon. But the Japanese tend to have a habit of changing names on things just to avoid paying licensing fees.
> And I'm not going to build it as a Mach 5. But rather as a Retro-Futuristic Spy car. That is to say something futuristic from a 1968 to 1972 point of view. I plan on adding machine guns, and other gadgets. And putting a female driver in the seat. Will post some pics when I get some progress on it.
> 
> As for the General, you are certainly doing him proud. This is one of those builds that you will never forget.


*DCH* I remember you had mentioned that Mach model sometime back, curious to see what you do with it! Thanks for the kind words, I know *I* won't be forgetting this build!



scottnkat said:


> Far out work, man - flawless. This is truly a fantastic build you've got going on here. I hope it helped taking a little break as I personally am really enjoying watching this. You have amazing patience.


Many thanks scott! This build is definitely far from flawless, the mistakes are just going to be very well hidden!

A short update: 

I managed to get the floor of the tub rebuilt, and puttied all the joints with Aves Apoxie Sculpt. Now I need to check the fit of the front subframe again, to make sure I've got the correct ride height, and correct degree of rake to the front end. With the tires now offset sizes front to rear, the height is critical to making the car look good. Too low, or too high, will throw off the whole appearance of the car as it sits.

Here I simply placed the subframe in position to see how it rests on the floor and front support.










Things looked pretty good, so, indulging myself, I flipped the car over and rested it on a small plastic cup to support the rear, and positioned one of the rear tires in the wheel well to check the look of the offsets:










Looks right about where I want it!! I need to make sure the rear axle and springs get installed at the right height, but I think the offset tire sizes really give The General a more aggressive looking stance that changes the whole character of the car.


----------



## aussiecylon

Ohh man, that's looking sooo cool. Wish I had the motivation and patience to finish my build of the Mach V, but that project is currently shelved. Your General is awesome. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup:


----------



## whiskeyrat

aussiecylon said:


> Ohh man, that's looking sooo cool. Wish I had the motivation and patience to finish my build of the Mach V, but that project is currently shelved. Your General is awesome. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup:


Thanks Aussie! I was wondering what had happened to your Mach V build... Trust me, I understand how frustrating it can be trying to make major modifications! You'll get back to it one day, sooner or later. Hopefully sooner!


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## irishtrek

The General looks to me like he needs to be lowered just a hair or 2 more, any way he's looking great for being in need of a uniform.:wave:


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## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> The General looks to me like he needs to be lowered just a hair or 2 more, any way he's looking great for being in need of a uniform.👋


Thanks *irishtrek*! I know what you mean about needing to lower him maybe a smidge more. I'm going to try my hand at flattening the tires, so maybe that will help bring the ride height down the required amount to make it look bang-on. I'm sure there will be some final adjusting before I cement everything home.

Moved along on floorpan 2.0 this week, cutting and gluing *even more* sheet and strip styrene to try and re-create the look of pressed sheet metal and strengthening features. It's much better looking and makes a world of difference, even if it's still not 100% accurate. I beefed up the lower sections of the subframe a little more, and flowed thinned putty in around everything to help soften the sharp joins. Still have a couple of frame members to cut and glue up, but I'm liking this one heck of a lot more than my previous effort.


----------



## whiskeyrat

And here's the mid-cross member, made from strip styrene and a section of an old wheel from my spare parts box super-glued in place. A little putty in the corners where the section of wheel meets the frame, to fill the small gaps. Again, much better than what I had before.


----------



## megasaxon

Wow I've been following this thread for a bit now and that floor pan is insane, awesome job!


----------



## whiskeyrat

megasaxon said:


> Wow I've been following this thread for a bit now and that floor pan is insane, awesome job!


Many thanks *megasaxon*! A couple of more pics below showing the (90%) finished floorpan. I've added the front beams, and the ribbed strengthening features, and extended the main frame legs back from the part I originally cut away. Again the whole assembly got thinned putty brushed on and around to soften the joins and even things out in general. (ha ha...general...get it?)


----------



## DCH10664

There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said. Except that your skills never cease to amaze me !!! :thumbsup:


----------



## jbailly

WOW!!!! Simply amazing. I wish I had your skills and patience. I always wanted this kit as a HUGE Dukes fan, but maybe now I'm glad I never got it, as I would be disappointed and would never have the talent or time to attempt a build to this magnitude. Can't wait to see the final result.


----------



## terryr

That pan floors me.


----------



## scottnkat

Sorry, but I've been away for a bit. Nice to see this going again. Love the floorpan, dude. Nice job


----------



## -Hemi-

Whiskey, AWESOME work! Good to see, your still pluggin away on the ole war horse!


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said. Except that your skills never cease to amaze me !!! :thumbsup:





jbailly said:


> WOW!!!! Simply amazing. I wish I had your skills and patience. I always wanted this kit as a HUGE Dukes fan, but maybe now I'm glad I never got it, as I would be disappointed and would never have the talent or time to attempt a build to this magnitude. Can't wait to see the final result.





terryr said:


> That pan floors me.





scottnkat said:


> Sorry, but I've been away for a bit. Nice to see this going again. Love the floorpan, dude. Nice job





-Hemi- said:


> Whiskey, AWESOME work! Good to see, your still pluggin away on the ole war horse!


Thanks everyone for your kind comments! The floorpan is much much better than what I had before and will look more realistic once it's painted and weathered.

I don't have a progress update because I'm in the middle of a much larger project (life) that won't be finished for a few weeks.

On a very different and much more somber note, some saddening news:

James Best, who played Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane has passed.

http://www.jamesbest.com/jamesbest.com/Welcome.html


----------



## DCH10664

All too often life does tend to get in the way of more important things,..... Like model building and such :tongue:
But since my "honey-do" list keeps getting longer. There's not much I can do about it. So I understand why you don't have an update. LOL.

But I will be looking forward to when you do have an update. In the meantime, try not to work too hard. :wave:


----------



## 1966TVBATMOBILE

Awesome work all the way.


----------



## Crossroads

WhiskeyRat... That is some amazing stuff. I loved seeing the early fabrication work you did - can't wait to see the thing when it's all finished off!


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## irishtrek

So Whiskeyrat, any original parts left???:wave:


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> All too often life does tend to get in the way of more important things,..... Like model building and such
> But since my "honey-do" list keeps getting longer. There's not much I can do about it. So I understand why you don't have an update. LOL.
> 
> But I will be looking forward to when you do have an update. In the meantime, try not to work too hard.


Thanks for understanding, *DCH*! Wish there were more hours in the day!




1966TVBATMOBILE said:


> Awesome work all the way.


 Many thanks *1966TVBATMOBILE*!



Crossroads said:


> WhiskeyRat... That is some amazing stuff. I loved seeing the early fabrication work you did - can't wait to see the thing when it's all finished off!


Much appreciated *Crossroads*! This build has been, and continues to be a challenge to my skills, and an all-around learning experience. *AND* a *HUGE* test of patience!



irishtrek said:


> So Whiskeyrat, any original parts left???:wave:


*Irish*, I think the only remaining *original* parts are the body, the rear third of the chassis, the front seats, the top of the dash, the wheels, the engine, and the remains of the front subframe. I'm hoping to find a couple of hours here and there to get some work done over the next couple of weeks, so I **might** have some more build progress to post up before I finish up the life project. What's worse, I just came down with a cold! Time for a Hot Tottie for poor ol' Whiskeyrat! *_sniffle sniffle_* *at-*CHOO*!*


----------



## DCH10664

I'm really looking forward to seeing how you paint the underside of the car. Knowing that you are building the "Old War Horse" version. And considering all the jumps this car has made. I'm betting the underside will look like it's been dragged through hell and back !!
And since I'm not very good at weathering and such. I'm waiting to see how you do this.


----------



## whiskeyrat

DCH10664 said:


> I'm really looking forward to seeing how you paint the underside of the car. Knowing that you are building the "Old War Horse" version. And considering all the jumps this car has made. I'm betting the underside will look like it's been dragged through hell and back !!
> And since I'm not very good at weathering and such. I'm waiting to see how you do this.


*DCH* I'll probably be doing the underside the in the same fashion as before, except yes, this time I will try adding a small amount of underside abuse before I weather it. For the weathering, I usually go with a silver/aluminum drybrush or other metallics (according to individual taste of course) followed with a dark wash and then powders. It's a bit of a lengthy process but the results give me a realism that I simply don't get with just a flat black or gray paint job. Plus, after all that work rebuilding the floorpan I really want to highlight that detail. I'll be doing all of this later on down the thread, so stay tuned!

I finally got a free Saturday and re-built that center console that I had hacked together previously. Much like the floor pan, I was growing really unhappy looking at it, and so Center Console 2.0 was born out of .020" styrene:




























Here's the original crappy part versus the new improved version. I am a happy drunk rat.


----------



## -Hemi-

LOL Whiskey @ Drunk Rat....... Whats yer choice of poison?

NICE job on the new console! MAN the custom fitted one looks GREAT! 

Yeah, its been awhile, I've been beat, slapped, and kicked, but I'm back to me again..... AND if all is well here, I'll be around more often too!


----------



## whiskeyrat

Lol [email protected]! Thanks *Hemi*! Good to see you back.


----------



## -Hemi-

LOL Whiskey, HOPEFULLY the modeling isn't whats fueling the drunk rat comment! LOL 

NICE e-mail address! Thats cool! :thumbsup:

I'm still droolin over the custom fitted/made console! That turned out GREAT!


----------



## addicted2164s

hey whiskey...how the GL coming along..haven't seen any updates in awhile..i sure hope it hasn't been scrapped due to the latest bars&stars bashing...please don't forget the GL flag...let it show with pride...

add


----------



## whiskeyrat

-Hemi- said:


> LOL Whiskey, HOPEFULLY the modeling isn't whats fueling the drunk rat comment! LOL
> 
> NICE e-mail address! Thats cool! :thumbsup:
> 
> I'm still droolin over the custom fitted/made console! That turned out GREAT!


Actually the email address isn't real, I wish it were it WOULD be cool! 



addicted2164s said:


> hey whiskey...how the GL coming along..haven't seen any updates in awhile..i sure hope it hasn't been scrapped due to the latest bars&stars bashing...please don't forget the GL flag...let it show with pride...
> 
> add


You know, *addicted2164s*, I have been watching this whole flag ban thing with no small amount of amusement. I am a brown skinned person, and I have been the subject of racist attacks, but I decided long ago in my youth not to see the hate that some people choose to see when they look at the Stars and Bars. I see a flag, on top of a car that I love. And that's the way it will always stay for me. That flag decal is going to get as much care and attention when it gets applied as any other decal would. Who in their right mind would build a General Lee model without it? And I'm not quitting this build for anything as paltry as political correctness either. If someone chooses to be offended, well they can go look at another build thread. This one's got offensive images in it. Pretty soon you won't be able to build WWII German armor models because they'll ban swastika decals, if this keeps up.

Ahem.

As for the build, unfortunately a real update won't be forthcoming for a little while longer. That life project that I embarked on a couple of months back is nearing completion, and then I'll get some bench time alone with The General. Thanks for checking in on me! :wave:


----------



## DCH10664

Three cheers for you whiskeyrat ! I love how you worded that statement ! 
"but I decided long ago in my youth not to see the hate that some people choose to see",.....The key word being "choose".
Some people "choose" to see hate in some things. 
Growing up, nearly all my cars, and many of my friends cars, had a Rebel Flag tag hanging on the front bumper. But we didn't see it as a symbol of hate. Nor did we care about the whole north and south thing. 
We mostly liked it because of the name "rebel flag". In other words, we saw it as a sign of our youthful rebellion. For some silly reason we liked the idea of being seen as rebels. But again, it had nothing to do with the whole north and south thing. We were just young and wild. And having fun.

And that's really how I looked at the rebel flag on the General. It was IMO, more a sign of the Dukes rebelling against Boss Hogg and all his underhanded nonsense.
There was no hate in the TV show. It was really just a fun show centered around a really cool car. And of course, Daisy and her famous "short shorts". And I would have tuned in to watch that, even if they had painted a big pumpkin on top of the car !! LOL.


----------



## -Hemi-

-AGREED Whiskey..... the so-called "rebel flag" IS NOT RACIST...... ONLY to those looking, you know? OF COURSE YOU DO..... From your statement its more a SYMBOL of freedom, then ANYTHING.......

I LOVED the General Lee.....NOT because of the flag it adorned, but more-so, the type of car (NO-BRAINER, with me), AND the cars exterior color......I have favored the color "orange" of the deep, dark shades most of my life....

PLUS seeing short-shorts go across the doors edge, well, theres alot to be thought of there men........ 

I'M glad, and pleased to see my thoughts on the "rebel-flag" isn't an alone thought......

AND Don it is just that.....rebellious nature.... your youth, mine, and as it seems Whiskey too...... HELL, i'm still a rebel!!!!!!! -and.....i was born in the north!!!!!!


----------



## portland182

Just a quick bump. What's happening?


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## aussiemuscle308

looks like your hard work is bearing fruit, whiskey. keep it up.



-Hemi- said:


> - its more a SYMBOL of freedom,


i'm all for historical accuracy on the Dukes car, but i think you're misrepresenting the war for your own spin. They were fighting to maintain the status quo, not freedom for the south, unlike say, the war against Britain's rule.


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## iamweasel

Been sitting on the edge of my seat hoping for some new updates.


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## whiskeyrat

iamweasel said:


> Been sitting on the edge of my seat hoping for some new updates.


Sorry for the absence, fellas. Life has been pretty crazy lately. I've moved to another state and been pretty busy with my new job, and working on my new home, haven't had much time for any building. What's more, I haven't even got my build table set up properly yet! But, I am looking at getting things going again hopefully within the next couple of weeks, baring any unforeseen circumstances, but those do seem to be coming up more lately than usual... At any rate, I haven't given up on The General, and I hope folks haven't given up on me!! I promise I won't disappoint, just bear with Ol' whiskeyrat as he takes another slug of "medicine," and grabs the X-Acto blade....


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## iamweasel

With all the work you've done and to such an exacting degree, I will wait any amount of time to get see updates on this. I thought Trek modelers went the extra mile, but this work is fantastic to me. Thanks for the update, I totally understand your situation, we bought a new home 16 months ago and I still haven't progressed beyond some priming getting done, so I'm with ya on this


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## whiskeyrat

iamweasel said:


> With all the work you've done and to such an exacting degree, I will wait any amount of time to get see updates on this. I thought Trek modelers went the extra mile, but this work is fantastic to me. Thanks for the update, I totally understand your situation, we bought a new home 16 months ago and I still haven't progressed beyond some priming getting done, so I'm with ya on this


*iamweasel, *thanks a million for the compliments! My sincere apologies for the lengthy delay...

Aaaaaand we're back. Life has been a roller coaster of epic proportions for me this last year. Major upheaval and untold stress, moving out of state, starting a new job, fixing up my new home, making new friends, essentially starting over again in many different ways. BUT... you can't keep a feisty rat down, and this one's no exception...I warned you I was going to get The General back on the bench again, and here we are. I'm slowly getting back into it, so just a little progress report to start with today. After examining the headliner and interior of the upper body, I saw that I needed to make the rear pillars thicker inside, to properly fit up against the deck under the rear window. I cut and fit .020" sheet for a template, and made my final piece out of .040". I got into the wave Epoxy Putty again and smoothed a couple of lumps into the pillars, trying to fill them out evenly with the right curvature. The rear deck got a clip to hold it under the window, just a strip of .040" sheet glued directly underneath creating a notch to rest in. 

More putty in the rear pillars...










The rear deck installed with the rear seat butted up against it. The fit is almost perfect...










The deck installed in it's notch.


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## whiskeyrat

Some more interior work; the front pillars beefed up with sectioned tubing, and Wave putty at the top to blend the contour close to to what my reference images show. I *was* going to use real fabric to make the headliner, but that proved to be impractical when I test fitted some on a scrap piece of styrene-unsatisfactory results! So I think I'm going to use Tamiya white putty thinned with lacquer thinner, and brush it in and build it up to simulate the cloth.

The tubing glued in and the Wave putty shaped and blended in at the roof.










Passenger's side pillar:


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## whiskeyrat

Somewhere way back near the beginning of this thread I started building up the engine compartment, and then never got around to finishing it up, due to fitment issues with the subframe, tires, etc. So now I think the time has come to tackle the rest of this part of the car. MORE .020" sheet cut up and fitted in to create the fender liners. I want to leave them mostly open on the insides to accommodate the suspension. Was toying with the idea of how to simulate plasma cutting to make it look like the sheet metal was cut away by tiny 1/16 scale hands...

Left fender...










Right fender...











Underneath. There are still generous amounts of two part putty to be slopped in to smooth this mess together...


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## whiskeyrat

Moving along on the fender walls this week, got the insides glued up to the body, and trimmed out to fit the shocks and suspension of the subframe. LOTS of .020" sheet, again, which will be smoothed out with some putty after a few more miscellaneous features get put in for detail's sake.


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## irishtrek

Is this going to be painted up as the General Lee??


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## whiskeyrat

irishtrek said:


> Is this going to be painted up as the General Lee??



Hi Irish... yep, if I ever get back around to it it'll be The General... I'm hoping to pick this back up sometime in the next few months, I've been heavily distracted with that annoyance called real life for a couple of years...


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## Richard Baker

whiskeyrat said:


> Somewhere way back near the beginning of this thread I started building up the engine compartment, and then never got around to finishing it up, due to fitment issues with the subframe, tires, etc. So now I think the time has come to tackle the rest of this part of the car. MORE .020" sheet cut up and fitted in to create the fender liners. I want to leave them mostly open on the insides to accommodate the suspension. Was toying with the idea of how to simulate plasma cutting to make it look like the sheet metal was cut away by tiny 1/16 scale hands...


You might try roughing up the cut metal edges with a file- depending on the size of the file's teeth you can get some good scaled torched/cutting effects...


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## irishtrek

And here I was just a week or so ago wondering about this thread.
Glad to see you're still around Whiskeyrat.


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## whiskeyrat

Hello everyone... the Ol' Whiskeyrat is still hammering away at this, finally got my affairs in order and I'm back at my workbench. Suffice it to say I am HIGHLY motivated to get this damned thing done because now I'm sorta sick of it. Anyhoo, some progress, I got the floor carpeting in, using scale car flocking, and glued the seats in, finally. Also the center console. I dirtied up the carpet with some weathering powder.


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## irishtrek

It's ben a couple of years since you last posted any thing on this thread and so I was wondering if you got around to finishing the ole clunker car.


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## Milton Fox Racing

@whiskeyrat is one of the handful of individual members who was directly effected by the last migration. I havent heard back from him in almost a month now though to see if he was still having image and editing issues. Perhaps though he is still lurking about - waiting on a resolution? It was suppose to be forthcoming this month but we only have 6 days left to go.....

If anyone else is still having issues with images and edits, please use the report button to flag them and let us now about it, (Click on the 3 stacked dots in the post to access. The report function is at the bottom of the pop up list.)

If you are still having password issues or are blocked from access - we are not aware of that and need you to let us know! The easiest way to do that is to use the Contact Us button below. (Be aware that neither K.I.T.T, Daytime Dave nor I get copied on those messages yet. So we are depending on VS Admin to address them as received.) Or you can just create a new membership - if you can - and let use know about it that way.


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## irishtrek

Also if any one is interested John Schneider AKA Bo Dukes has some posts on youtube about the show along with The General Lee.


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## whiskeyrat

Hi Fellas,

No, I'm sorry to report The General is not finished...yet. I sort of built myself into a corner, got disgusted with myself, then promptly chucked the entire build into a tupperware container where it sits at the moment. I do intend to finish this old battle wagon, and I hope to get started back up after I knock out my current build and get my workbench cleared off. It's time to get organized, stop flitting from one unfinished project to another, and actually finish a build for once. Wish me luck...


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