The modified model car thread - pics

The modified model car thread - pics

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MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
Jader1973 suggested to start this topic so everyone can show how they modified a base model into a unique bespoke miniature.

I recon it is best to show a complete build in one post. So a before and after pic including some of the details while customizing a miniature car.

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
Let me kick off with an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. It is our car and my girlfriend uses it as a rally car.



The base model is by Minichamps. Neighter of the Minichamps models have the right colour so that is the first thing that needs to be changed.



Yes, this is the colour of our Alfa



Some small changes to the inside: race safety belts, a wooden box for the navigator to put stuff in,the compulsory fire extinguisher.



Most of the trim fitted. You just can see the metal steering colomn extender.



Now with all the stickers









More pictures










MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
Just to give you an idea of the size (1:18)


MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
I also made a replica of this race/rally Austin Healey



And the base model is by Kyosho





The model has a Le Mans type boot so that needs to be changed









And an extra airvent in the front



Now the 1:18 model of the Austin Healey 3000 MKI is painted in the right colour





Time to get started on the interior of this Austin Healey 3000 MKI. It is a rally/race car.

First getting all the upholstery out.





Inside painted in orange and adding the roll cage.



All the trim is back on and the first decals are on.





And here is the end result of the big healey scale 1:18 including "rally dirt"








MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
Two newsreporters entered the Tulpenrallye. They drove a Volvo Amazon 'KiKa'. Their aim was to rais money for KiKa. A fund for reseach to solve children cancer.

They asked me to make a replica of their car.



The two base models



Preparing the body of the police version. Too many holes.



The paint shop did a really good job. They also build the original car.



A sheet with all the decals.



Starting on the interior. New colour, seat and roll cage.



Most decals are on the model





The left model is nearly ready. Chrome around the windows, fast filler fuel cap, quick fastners on the bonnet, towing eyes and handles on the rear, just below the base of the window.





More photos











A few pics with the model and the real car:














226bhp

10,203 posts

127 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
MCWS said:
The title of this 'threat' drew me in, not quite what I was expecting! I thought you were getting pissed off by people with models of classics fitting miniature neons....

The pic above looks like a 'What do think happened next?' pic. smile

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
Luckily the cat was very careful.

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
Here's a BMW 325i Compact in scale 1:18

This is the car:



And the base model by Kyosho:




Now making the 'race' interior:


Front half of the roll cage:


The body is sprayed in several colours



Applying the decals (drawn in Inkscape)





Now the 1:18 scale model BMW 325ti Compact is ready some final photos:












MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
Quite recently finished a miniature of this BMW 328 in 1000 Miglia livery.





Two possible base models. Left is an AUTOart model and right a YatMing one. The AUTOart model is way more detailed so I'm using that one. From the YatMing car I only use the tail lights.





First I made the decals.



Then I took the model apart.



The interior is sprayed red.



The side vents in the bonnet are painted black.



Starting to make a bespoke banjo steering wheel





The old steering wheel in the front. A stock banjo steering wheel on the left (Austin Healey by Kyosho) and the bespoke one on its axle.



And this is how it turned out.










MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
I wanted to make a better looking Citroen ID/DS 19 with the first nose. Solido (blue) made one but it isn't really detailed.



So I started of with two models of NOREV. A late berline and an early cabriolette.





I need the front of the cabrio and the rear of the berline



A quick muk up



The front and rear are now connected





Now the body needs some work. The berline is a late DS with lots of chrome trim. The ID doesn't have these. Also the doors, front wings and bonnet need some adjusting. Time for lots of putty and sanding.





Half way a bit of paint to see what pasts need some more sanding







Time to get started on the interior

This is the original DS interior, very luxurious



An early ID has a much more basic interior. The seats are covered in basic fabric. So I first need to make the surface smooth.



Comming along quite nicely



The foor is being carpetted. It is now blue/grey so I need to spray it in dark grey later on.



The body is painted black and the interior in green/white



The Citroen 1:18 is finished.












Jader1973

3,942 posts

199 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
Brilliant.

Thanks for putting this thread together. The amount of work, and the level of detail you go to is really demonstrated by the pics and explanation.

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
quotequote all
Thanks Jader1973!

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
quotequote all
I did this pizza racer last year.

The original car



The base model by Minichamps



First all most of the paint needs to be removed.



The doors didn't fit very well. And I am going to put a thick coat of car paint on the model. So this needed to be addressed.



Removed all paint from the door frames.



The doors are grinded off just a but so the door fits nicely. Then the paint on the doors is sanded down to get a smooth fit with the rest of the body.



A bit further with the Fiat 500 conversion.

First a strip to make the outlining of the wheel arch extenders.





The are now resonably the same.



Some blue tape to indicate where the arch extention should start.



A bit of putty.





And a bit of sanding to see how it will turn out.









During the molding and sanding of the wheel arch extentions I've made some changes to the engine.

Old vs new.



I'm not happy with the Weber carb so that needs to be changed.

The extenders are sanded to a smooth finish. The body is nearly ready to get painted. Also a new Weber is fitted.

Big difference between the old and the new wheels.





The light blue paint looks really well on the model



Okey, time to start on the roof. Minichamps made a nice canvas like roof. This model, however, will get a checkered roof. So I had to remove the fabric and glue. Now it is in primer.



The dashboard changed to 695 dails and logos.



The front with some blingbling



I'm struggling a bit with the wheels



First I made the rear ones but they don't look like the real wheels at all. Just made the front one and that starts to look more like it. The cap needs to be smaller. Also a bit more detail on the centre bit (spokes) of the wheel.

While waiting for some new wheels, I put some of the smaller details





The little Fiat is ready. I changed the wheels and the chrome bit for the lights of the number plate.


















EskimoArapaho

5,135 posts

134 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
quotequote all
Fantastic work. Hmmm, maybe a targa-ed version of the AutoArt NSX...

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
quotequote all
I did make a couple op Porsche 911 Targas. No NSX yet.

The first one I did:



Here are the two base models by Autoart and Minichamps



First a bit of disassambling and testfitting



Marking were the body needs to be cut



Chopping the roof off really worked out well



Next up, grinding off some of the body and the fill the gabs.

The rear window from the coupe differs from the targa so the inside of the body needs to follow the shape of the interior as close as possible.



Also the small gab between the body and the window needs to be filled. Sounds easy but is it a lot of work to make a smooth edge and raising is less than 1 mm.





Checking to see if everything fits.





After grinding off the front window frame the hard top fits nicely.



The body seems OK now so I can take it to the paint shop.

Back from the paint shop and now in ivory (4610)



Some better pics (a bit yellow-ish)





Big step forward









And now all stickers are applied









Some last changes.
- the suspension is lowered
- 911T badge on the rear
- new Porsche script decal on teh side
- square mirror









MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
quotequote all
This is the second one, mainly the interior is different.

Preparing the body:



While the body is being resprayed, I can start on the interior. It used to be black.





The body is ready and a bit of black is added eventhough it will be hardly visable.



Testfitting the interior.



And the undercarriage.



A bit of chrome sticky paper to cover the Targa roof.



And that seems to fit as well.





Not very common, a green engine cover (deep down there somewhere).



Together with the base model from AutoArt.










897sma

3,347 posts

143 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
quotequote all
Not really into models much but these are really good Maarten, top workmanship. Thanks for sharing thumbup

MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
quotequote all
Many models I customize are classic rally cars. Only minor body changes and mostly adding roll cages, different wheels, lots of decals and some spot lights.

This one however is quite the opposite. It is a former slant nose Porsche 930 with 993 front wings and a custom rear bumper.

Here some pics of the real car while being rebuilt.







I started with two models, a Welly 911 Turbo and a Bburago 993







One side is nearly finished



The work on the Porsche 911 scale 1:18 continuous









A bit of progress



It took a while but finally some big progress. Time to make the body smooth.







The model is now at the paintshop for its bright yellow paint.

Meanwhile I started on the interior.

The old interior, a black and dark plastic place



Now in light brown, including rear seats from the donor 911



The model is now bright yellow



Now I have added the wheels



And some small black lines between the body and the bumpers



And now the model is finished










MCWS

Original Poster:

258 posts

122 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
quotequote all
897sma said:
Not really into models much but these are really good Maarten, top workmanship. Thanks for sharing thumbup
Thanks Steve!

Jader1973

3,942 posts

199 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
quotequote all
The amount of work on the DS and the targa Porsches is very impressive.

Couple of questions:
1. how do you make the wheels?
1. what sort of tool do you use for cutting the bodies? Dremel or something similar I assume?

Cheers,

Doug