SPA Modeler

I've decided this will be my first WIP here on SPAM. I hope you enjoy my process and how and why I do the things I do. I'm missing only some gold flocking for the carpet but it looks like eBay has me covered so I am ordering some tonight. The Chrysler Turbine is truly a unique automobile in the history of U.S. auto makers and a decidedly rare one since after the initial testing with average American families the entire production run, tooling and cars themselves were scrapped as being too costly. There were other factors of course but only a handful still survive to this day. Jay Leno's 1964 Turbine car is a great point of reference since his video on it is pretty in depth. The Jo-Han kit that was consequently made of it is a truly accurate depiction of the car and is detailed like few other kits were during it's initial product run and since. Working doors, trunk and seats make it a great starting point for a very detailed build of this fantastic car. With a complete engine and running gear this kit is really head and shoulders above what was being offered back in its day and I intend to build a nicely detailed scale accurate version. My kit is from the second run and it's a nice example. I'll be painting it MCW Turbine Bronze from their enamel line with a clear coat and bare metal foil for the trim. A nice vinyl top should round it out. I plan on detailing the engine as per the Leno car and on line photos. So peek in from time to time and see how I get on. I am going to have fun.

Cool! This should be fun.

And so it begins. First order of business is remove the chrome from things that don't belong chrome. The rear transmission case is chrome? Huh? All the engine components are various shades of aluminum and the block is matt black. There is a throttle assembly I will have to fabricate along with many lines for fuel and various pressures. I'll have to fabricate the fuel regulator which in truth looks like an old household natural gas regulator. I think it actually was. There also various hoses and electrical wiring going to various blocks within the engine bay. I'll sand off the molded in ones and use my box of old CD player and headphone wires to replicate those. I sanded the body of parting lines and noticed I got a short shot under the trunk lid. I'm not sure what I'll do about that as it's tiny. I'll see if it bugs me. If it does...... I'll get after it. Oh, and the pictures of the chrome in the stainless bowl? Those were taken within mere seconds of each other. The purple pond dissolved the chrome right before my eyes. Glad I had the camera still on to record it. Unreal!

Your first work in progress build on SPAM... this should be fun to watch!



On a tangent, I used to love those 1/72 Jo Han aircraft kits when I was a kid. I never knew that they made cars as well.

So, looking like a fun build to wartch...being from the northeast, you'll understand that pronunciation. What is your "purple pond"? I tend to use household bleach.

Cool!! Watching!

"Wartch".... I get it Lyle. That is more of a mid west thing I think. I say "cah" and "ovah theah". I drop my "R's" like a proper Bostonian.

The "Purple pond" is nothing more than Super Clean. I use bleach for stubborn chrome, but vintage chrome is usually a little easier to remove and this is a great example of that. It just dissolved within moments. I had it all clear of chrome after only a few more swirls of the bowl. I've never encountered such a rapid dissipation of it before and it caught me off guard. I had it in soapy water in short order and then rinsed and on a paper towel within 20 minutes.

I made progress on the engine components which I'll show shortly. I'll mock it up with tape so I can begin making the linkage and brackets that I require.

Here we see I have mocked up the engine for it. It is truly a well detailed kit as is, but we can take it to the next level if we focus a bit. Engine bay also has the rails and structural supports like the real 1:1 car. Even the trunk has underside structure which is a first as far as I know. And finally the real thing. You can see the throttle details and bracketry I need to make. I'll tape the engine together and get out the Plastruct and photo etched frames. I keep them so I might use their thin metal properties to make things where I can. Soda cans are also a great source, but since I swore off sugary drinks I'll have to raid my brothers recycling stash downstairs.

Looking forward to this. Have one in the works myself.

Good to know I'm not alone Midnight. In the works I assume you mean still in the box but you're eyeballing it a lot?

Here I have the front subframe nearly complete. It gets semi gloss black on all of it so I assembled it while in bare plastic to be as strong as possible. There is a steering box and tie rods but they can wait. The box gets steel and the tie rods will get detail painted. I have some of my PE out and there are a billion brackets and linkages to choose from. I'll have to scratch the main brackets from aluminum since I see nothing even close to the triangular design the real car has. I'll use .015 styrene rod for the rods and I have a bigger size for the offsets and structural pieces. My superglue is junk so I need to go buy some more. I love Zap but I have yet to get through even the smallest bottle completely before the entire thing goes pear shaped and the top ends up no good. And finally the instruction sheet. I remember the first time I saw it. I thought..... well I just shook my head. Exploded drawings that are copies of copies of copies. So dark the part numbers are barely legible. Imagine a kid trying to put this together?