TN's Race and Rally Car Projects

[Truck Norris]

On my return to RC about 18 months ago I was all about the hard body pick up trucks (hence the name), but my attention soon turned to cars. Initially I thought most of them looked a bit poor - stickered over windows, poor wheel fitment and too high a ride height but the work of Victorious Secret and DeeMiller on here (where are they now?) showed me what was possible in terms of scale looks.

Sure, for ultimate realism a 1/24 static model is superior, but I like the opportunity for improvement that RC offers - taking something that's compromised by the practicality of needing to be a robust toy and fixing everything that's stopping it from looking like a proper model. If the car will not be a runner then it opens up all kinds of possibilities for additions and changes that would be ruined on the first roll.

For these builds I set myself one main rule - the car must function - even though it won't get driven it must have all the electrics and be drivable, so no removing parts to make room for interiors etc.

There are also a few things which are "must haves" for each car:

1. A cockpit set

2. Exhaust

3. A roll cage

4. Windscreen wipers

5. Corrected wheel offset/fitment

6. Brake discs

7. Thin wheel nuts instead of the nylock kit ones

So far I have completed these:

Lancia Delta Integrale

This was the first one I did, and the first go at a roll cage. I want to add a few bits to this and make some changes at some point.

Showroom entry: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=127571

TamTech Porsche 934 RSR

These are both XB bodies, but I added the roll cage, dash, wheel and seat from the 1/12 static kit. I corrected the stance and added the tyre decals.

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128052

Showroom entry:

Porsche 911 GT2

This one sits perfect without any offset correction. I love this 911 and have five bodies for it, this is the first one I've finished. Two more are painted and two are still in the packet.

Showroom entry: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128197

Subaru Impreza '07

I was going to hold back this one as I'm going to struggle to top it I think and the next few I have will look a bit poor in comparison! I went even further with the extra bits, cutting out the front and adding mesh. My favorite bit is the roof aerials - just styrene tubing, sprue offcuts and a chopped up Sand Scorcher metal antenna.

Showroom entry: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128323

Bonus not-in-the-showroom shot:

Last autumn I painted 15 or so shells which I'm slowly working through over winter. More to come!

[beefmuffin]

I don't know which is better, your modelling or your photography skills. In the immortal words of Wayne and Garth: I'm not worthy.

[Truck Norris]

Thanks Mr Beef!

Those of you paying attention would have noticed that I said a roll cage was a must have, yet the 911 GT2 above doesn't have one. They are a bit of a pain to make so I've avoided doing one for a while but after doing the Impreza one I got the motivation back and managed to do two on Sunday, one for an Escort and the 911 one:

It needs a bit of tidying before painting, but the roughest parts won't be visible. To do it perfectly would take forever. Like the others I've done this will fit with a cockpit set so it has a reduced height compared to a full cage. It fits tightly between the shell of the car and the cockpit tray so doesn't need to be attached in any way. If it moves a bit when fitting the interior then a couple of bits of blu-tack will keep it in position.

I found next to no info when researching this so some tips I've discovered:

- Vary the tube diameters. For this I used 6mm for the main hoop, 5mm for the rest and 4mm for the smaller supporting tubes.

- Soften the tubes over a candle rotating it so no point gets overly hot. [Edit: I find a heat gun works better if you have one]

- Use a wire coat hanger or knitting needle to work out what curve the tube will need then bend to match. This avoids the need to melt and re-shape.

- I don't think it's possible to get a tight bend without kinking or bulging the tube. Fortunately these bends are hidden up at the roof of the car so it's not a problem.

- Don't worry about getting the joints at the top perfect. It'll take ages and won't be seen when the cage is in the car.

- The best way of sticking it together is hot glue. I tried Shoe Goo but it takes too long to dry and has a strong solvent smell. Hot glue dries in seconds and if you mess up you can just peel it off and have another go. It can be a bit messy but any extra bits are easily removed. If you get the exact right amount then join your tube a little bit squeezes out and looks very much like a scaled down weld. Very tricky to get this right though.

- Use masking tape to hold the parts in position in the body shell then glue the parts together. You can then remove when the glue has dried and add extra glue in any gaps.

- You can save time and styrene by not including sections that won't be seen. On the real car there would be cross bracing under the roof, but this can't be seen on the model so I didn't include it. [Edit: I dropped one of these after priming it and it broke at the joints, I now add as much extra tubing as possible for structural rigidity]

- You can cut the tubes with a sharp knife. You'll get neat cuts but it will blunt the blades quite quickly.

[ChrisRx718]

Awesome thanks for posting this!

I'm worried because I know you're working on a 306 Maxi and it will surely look amazing! How did you attach the cage in the end - is it fastened to the body or the cockpit set?

I really struggled for reference of the 306 Maxi rollcage but picked up a 1:43 model at Silverstone Classic last year. If you're in any need I can try and take some pictures of the fairly accurate looking cage.

I look forward to your next installment!

[volvotech]

You are incredibly skilled, TN! These look fantastic!

[Theibault]

Fantastic work TN. I have a huge soft spot for rally cars and your Suby looks absolutely gorgeous. Good tip on the roll bar with the different thickness on the tubes. I have a couple Evo bodies NIB that I might try this on once they are painted.

[Wez-li]

Amazing work as always TN.

Could do with a bit more dirt/damage on the Scooby & Lancia though

[Truck Norris]

Awesome thanks for posting this!

I'm worried because I know you're working on a 306 Maxi and it will surely look amazing! How did you attach the cage in the end - is it fastened to the body or the cockpit set?

I really struggled for reference of the 306 Maxi rollcage but picked up a 1:43 model at Silverstone Classic last year. If you're in any need I can try and take some pictures of the fairly accurate looking cage.

I look forward to your next installment!

Thanks! I might take you up on the offer of pics.

The cage is held in place by the cockpit so it doesn't require fixing to the shell. If you're not fitting a cockpit then a few bits of servo tape will hold it in place.

[StrokerBoy]

Just ace. Nice to see proper photographs too instead of phone snaps with cluttered backgrounds.

[beefmuffin]

Just ace. Nice to see proper photographs too instead of phone snaps with cluttered backgrounds.

LOL is that directed at me?

[StrokerBoy]

LOL is that directed at me?

I didn't have anyone in mind. I wasn't even thinking of this forum specifically. The vast majority of 'photos' on the various forums I go on (plus facebook etc) are badly composed and poorly lit. So good photographs stand out, to me. Not that I'm a skilled photographer (far from it) but I hope I put a little thought into framing and background at least.

[beefmuffin]

I didn't have anyone in mind. I wasn't even thinking of this forum specifically. The vast majority of 'photos' on the various forums I go on (plus facebook etc) are badly composed and poorly lit. So good photographs stand out, to me. Not that I'm a skilled photographer (far from it) but I hope I put a little thought into framing and background at least.

No worries I was just joshing you... but it could have been true. I even said so in my showroom entry currently up on the main page: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128320&id=39840

[Wandy]

They are all fantastic but this latest one, the Subaru, is truly spectacular. I wish I had this level of patience/skill to create something like this.

[TeaMonster]

They are all fantastic but this latest one, the Subaru, is truly spectacular. I wish I had this level of patience/skill to create something like this.

Agree with this, they are all stunning but the scooby tops the lot. Fantastic skills you have in both modelling and photography

[Wooders28]

Stunning work,again.

A Burns/Reid WRC Impreza is on my bucket list,if it turned out anywhere near as good as that, I'd be happy.

[Truck Norris]

Completed another 911 GT2 body today. More pics in my showroom: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128380

I still prefer the Jäger one but there's some new stuff on this like the headlight stickers which I'll do to that one too.

[ChrisRx718]

Looks awesome as always. How are you doing the body lines if you don't mind me asking? They look nice and crisp.

[Truck Norris]

Thanks! I cut 0.6mm wide strips of matte black vinyl. It was surprisingly easy to get them to curve to follow the lines. When it's so thin it's quite stretchy.

[Truck Norris]

Who buys an XB car then sells the perfectly finished factory body to buy a clear body so he can paint it himself? This guy!

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128441&id=43050

[Truck Norris]

I bought some of these realistic looking brake discs and callipers:

They look great but a bit too flashy drift car-esque in the anodised blue, so I de-blinged them by painting TS gun metal then TS flat clear to take the shine off. I added AP Racing logos too. A little too large but it's as small as my vinyl cutter will do. Finally I modified the front uprights so the callipers could be correctly located behind the discs.

The 1:1 Impreza WRC actually has blue bells on the discs so that works out nicely.

I also changed the intercooler to a more accurate black one rather than silver:

[ChrisRx718]

That looks great. What brand are the discs/calipers set?

Also, the sticker in front of the bonnet scoop, is it supposed to look like that?

[Truck Norris]

Thanks! They are 3Racing, but the same setup seems to be available under various brands.

The scoop sticker is a bit higher than it should be, but it does obscure it in real life: http://img.infocoches.com/img/subaru/2007-Impreza-WRC2006/subaru_2007-Impreza-WRC2006-003_2.jpg Because of the front mounted intercooler the scoop isn't used like it is on the road car.

[Butler]

Do you drive these?

They look fantastic.

[Truck Norris]

Thanks! No, they get built, photographed then go back in the box. I've got more bodies than chassis so when you see photos like the TamTech Porsches that's one chassis with the body swapped, photo'd in each position then stitched together in Photoshop.

I've got runners too, but they're nothing special and get driven quite hard so are not in the best shape. Not worthy of posting on here!

[Butler]

Post a runner!! Just for comparison.