104 replies to this topic

[Pablo]

 

This is going to be an interesting, fun new challenge for me.

I say "fun" because the owner has given me license to do it however I see fit.

I say "challenging" because it will be a static display model, which changes the game somewhat.

 

Example, real Indy cars don't use skinny front wheels like slot cars benefit from.

So my wheel plan, for now anyway, is to use Russkit Replica 723 wheels all 'round, shod with Ortmann tires.

Something I have no experience with - yet

 

The first thing I learned, and thanks to dc-65x for lots of advice as usual -

despite Lancer's claim of their bodies being "CRYSTAL CLEAR", they are butyrate, not Lexan.

Lacquer paints are a no-no, so I decided on Testors Sea Blue enamel.

 

The next learning moment was a real surprise for me - since I love my inside (waterslide) decals using Faux Glazing Medium, I tried a crazy test.

You can see where I used the cockpit area to try some paint experiments - note the "Mobil" decal.

Enamels don't melt inside decals like I thought they would - it works fine, just as it does with acrylics

[Pablo]

Paint test: I used a race body to see exactly what the Testors Enamel Flat Sea Blue would look like (not good):

 

 

That's the first time I've ever sprayed enamel on a slot car body. Worked OK but it isn't the color I want.

Now at least I know exactly what direction I need to go for a Gurney dark metallic blue

 

Cannibalized a couple cheap brushes for the tapered exhaust pipes; gray primered and painted with low gloss engine enamel.

Also painted some Lexan for the air control device across the pipes

 

[Bill from NH]

Sounds like a fun project. Lancer sold a boatload of painted bodies in various colors. Some of those I have, have curled sides, other colors don't curl. I wonder what types of paint Lancer used, or if they were more interested in what color was being used. In the day, I didn't read Testor enamels being used for other than body details, but it might have been. Since you need an exact shade, be sure to include your undercoat/primer colors too. Have fun!

[dc-65x]

Hi Pablo,

 

I admit to not being a "rivet counter" as far as duplicating cars to the nth degree. But I have seen Gurney Eagle open wheel car pictures with quite a variation in the shade of blue. If all else fails you could consider using one of Testors Blue metallic or metal flake colors.

 

 

[n.elmholt]

You can mix a good colour using Faskolor Metallic blue and black  or the same colours from Vellejo. And the Acrylics do stick to the body :-)

 

Niels, DK

[Pablo]

Since you need an exact shade, be sure to include your undercoat/primer colors too. Have fun!

 

Undercoat ? Primer ?

[Bill from NH]

If you spray the body inside, call it a backing color, ie white, silver, etc..  I'm used to using enamels on the outside of bodies, which usually used a primer.

[Pablo]

OK. If it does need a backing, what would you recommend for dark metallic blue ?

I tried white, black, and silver in tests and wasn't impressed.

[Bill from NH]

Try an opaque blue.

[dc-65x]

Here's one of the Testors metallic blues (I forget which one but I'd choose the darker of the 2 today) with a silver backing:

 

[Noose]

If you use the Faskolor metallic blue you can back it with black for a good match. 

 

[dc-65x]

WOW!  That's beautiful Noose.

 

Have you used Faskcolor on vintage butyrate plastic bodies before. Will it curl them up into a ball over time like lacquer?

[Noose]

No Faskolor or Createx is acrylic and essentially water based.  I have done several with them and no problems whatsoever.

[Pablo]

I'll do my best, but those are hard acts to follow

 

I added a few drops of 1147 gloss black to 1539 metallic blue and used Gurney's helmet as a test swatch.

Looks pretty close to me, and of course it won't be glossy like this when sprayed inside the shell

 

[dc-65x]

That looks really nice Pablo. I've got to remember that.

[beardogracing]

Immense Miniatures offers a REAL Dan Gurney head in 1/24th. A superior Pablo Build deserves a superior Dan Gurney!

 

 

http://immenseminiat.../Figures_1.html

[Pablo]

Thanks Chris for the reminder but it's a Lancer body and it's going to have the Lancer head that came with it.

What I need now is an Ortmann consultant - wheels and tires arrived today and I have lots of questions about them.

 

The 723 Russkit replicas, I think, are the perfect size and I still intend to use them all 'round.

The Ortmann Firestone/Cox tires (despite the fact I wish they were Goodyears) are a perfect ID snap fit for the wheels.

The width is also a perfect fit.

 

But, question #1, are they trimmable/trueable ? They are way too big OD for this car, 1.16"

 

 

#2, are the insides always rough like this, or are these defective ? All four are the same way.

 

 

#3, one of them has splotches of a glossy dried liquid on the outside, what will remove this ?

 

 

Too bad Ortmann doesn't have a website to list tire dimensions and answers to questions like these.

If they do, I sure can't find it.

 

I'm hoping this works out; if not, I'll simply go to plan B

 

[dc-65x]

Hi Pablo,

 

I true Ortmann tires on my Hudy but just enough to get them round. The inside sidewall of their tires are rough because they are cast in an open mold....not injection molded in a closed mold like vintage slot car or model kit tires.

 

As for their diameter, their scale diameter should be about 1.03" for the front and about 1.13" for the rear. The fronts really should be smaller in diameter and width than the rears to look right.

 

How "scale" do you want to get for this car? Russkit wheels are a bit smaller than a scale 15" as they didn't take into account that the 15" size refers to the tire diameter accross the tires bead. The overall diameter of the wheel is actually about 1.5" bigger. A 1/24 scale 15" wheel should be about .688"

[Bill from NH]

Ortmann's are urethanes aren't they? Two products we use to locally glue Paul Gage urethanes to aluminum rims are IC2000 rubber-toughened ca glue & Sally Hansen "Hard as Nails." A Hudy works fine for making them round.

[Pablo]

Thanks Rick, I really don't care about scale, I just want them to look proportional to the body.

I'd like to shoot for about 1.10 rear/1.00 front, and trim the bulge on the fronts a little narrower than the rears.

 

I hear you saying they are trueable on a Hudy, but can they be trimmed/sanded ? Enough to make them the OD and widths I want and remove all the ugliness from the insides ?

 

How about the glops of stuff on the sidewall ? It's on the outside - I can't "Hudy" it off ....

 

Bill, the fit is so perfect I don't plan on having to secure them. Unless the owner puts a G7 in and starts racing it

[dc-65x]

I've never done anything to the sidewalls of Ortmann's or Paul's tires so I can't help.

[Pablo]

OK thanks Capt. Rick, I'll chuck 'em up to the Hudy tomorrow and we shall see......

What's the worst that could happen, I ruin a tire I don't like (so far) and nobody else here knows anything about anyway.

 

I have a feeling it's going to be a failure, but so far it's a failure anyway, so ......   fix it or break it time 

[dc-65x]

What would look really good and perform really bad would be some vintage kit car injection molded tires like the Cox Firestone's or K&B Goodyear's. I found some K&B rears on eBay but not much in the way of Cox.

 

I've got some Russkit Dunlop rear's you can have.................

 

[Pablo]

Thanks Rick, first let me Hudy up these Ortmanns and see what happens. If it doesn't work, I'll go from there.

 

If you can tell me exactly which K & B Goodyear tires will fit the 723 wheels I'd scour eBay until I found 'em -

"looking good and performing bad" would be perfect for this build  

If the owner ever wanted to run it I'd simply supply him with 721 fronts with EJ's 15's and 723 rears with foam.

[dc-65x]

Here are Paul's Slot Car Shop urethane K&B Goodyear Stock Car Special front and rear tires. They look to be mounted on some wheels that look a bit bigger in diameter than the Russkit's. The fronts will fit on the standard width Russkit rears (722?)...I have a ton of repops of them. I forget if the rears fit on 722's or 723's.

 

 

These have the same "problem" on the inside sidewalls as Ortmann's but overall they look pretty nice and work well too.

 

Here is a link:

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Here are the vintage rears:

 

 

The link:

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

I haven't find the fronts yet........

 

These tires look just like the Goodyear "Sports Car Special" tires but say "Stock Car Special" in tiny letters on the sidewall. Nothing ever seems to work out perfectly but these are close.

 

Paul has a standard compound which works well and is easier to grind. He also has a super soft XPG compound that is more difficult to grind.