Kit bashing time in 1:25

[InjectTheVenom]

So the 1:25 Roe is shipped and I find myself sobbing over seeing it go... what better remedy than to start another one!
Knowing what went good and what went bad I will be building another one, this time as part of a bigger and more difficult project: turning a gen 1 R/T10 from AMT/ERTL into a gen 2 with parts from a Revell GTS.
Will be taking my sweet asp time on this one because all of the bodyparts need to line up perfectly before my bodyshop guy is gonna paint it... Sapphire Blue! Here you see the general idea, GTS hood needs minor trimming at both points where it meets the upper part of the doors after which it should fit nicely. Either that, or the R/T's ass end is gonna be transplanted onto the GTS body.

CitySnake is SO going to buy his old car back once I'm done !

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[V10SpeedLuvr]

Any reason for this project or just a "b/c I can" type thing? ie, why not just assemble and paint the Gen 2 sapphire blue instead of the body transplant?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Because the gen 2 kit is a GTS and I don't know of a gen 2 R/T 10 in kit form... and as far as the "because I can" thing, I don't know if I can at this moment but am sure gonna give it a try. It looks easy enough if sufficient carefulness is used in modifying and/or transplanting body parts.

 

[CitySnake]

NOW you build a Gen 2, when mine is sitting in the sales lot at Roanoke (I think )????

How about a black Gen 4 with graphite stripes and factory aero package?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

NOW you build a Gen 2, when mine is sitting in the sales lot at Roanoke (I think )????

Did the VIN end in 704907 and is the mileage of 46,309 close enough? I thought you had black interior If so it sounds like I'm giving you the neccessary kind of motivation at exactly the right time

How about a black Gen 4 with graphite stripes and factory aero package?

Get me the CAD files of the valve covers, intake manifold, airbox, hood, aero parts plus your wheels and we shall see !

 

[InjectTheVenom]

All things considered I decided that chopping the roof/rear section off is going to be less of a hassle so here ya have stage 1 of the chopping process, roof and door pillars will be going next.

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[InjectTheVenom]

Stage 2 complete, only need to sand down the remaining chumps with a nail file, chop the R/T's asp off and start aligning everything before glueing each half together. The front window part will be a tad difficult and requires a large part of the afternoon to figure out.

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[InjectTheVenom]

Just got confirmation that it IS Scott's old car! Come on man, you KNOW you want to join the two-Viper community

Used 2001 Dodge Viper, Peoria, Morton, Bloomington, Roanoke, IL, Coupe, Roanoke Motor Company Stock: 704907

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Zhe general idea. I deliberately cut each section off with room to spare because it allows for finetuning the seams. Anyone from CAAP feel free to check the tolerances when I'm done, lol.

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[InjectTheVenom]

Planned on being able to keep the door seams in one piece to avoid use of body filler, no such luck. One thing that is a huge relief is I managed to line up both body halfs just a hair shy of perfect on the first try, driver's side first and then the passenger side.
Only minimal sanding with a file and a few drops of filler were needed to take care of the imperfections, now I just need to find a way to rescribe the line between the door and rear quarter on both sides
Note that the sportsbar, hood and front bumper are placed loosely on the shell to provide preliminary eye candy.

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[InjectTheVenom]

'Aight, this is where I'm at for the moment. Still working on the body shell where I had to add a strip of styrene to bridge the gap between the shell and the shortened GTS interior tub (rear hatch area with spare tire needed to go), the AMT/ERTL rear bumper is all but finished including a hole where the GTS rear exhaust will come out and it looks like I need to go Jeff Lemke on the hood/upper door transition because that area won't line up properly. Don't mind the huge quantities of body filler and the ugly looks of the bodywork, that will all be sanded down smooth.

Pictures talk for themselves.

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Here you see the line between bumper and addition

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The other side

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Also, when two halves are pieced together it would be a good idea to strengthen the connection by adding a strip of styrene at the back that covers the seam and then some, or when you're busy sanding the connection starts to crack and lift ....

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[Vipuronr]

I built a Red Gen II RT/10 last year out of a GTS hood, Gen II wheels and converted a McViper (no side pipes).

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Though, McVipers are difficult to find...it was a 1:24 scale

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Looks sweet When manufacturers don't have it in their offering custom is the only way to go.

 

[Vipuronr]

I applaude your drive, though the whole cut and put together thing seems to be alot of work. Maybe its because I had some of these cars already in my house, only one I had to buy was the McViper as the base car.

There certainly were problems and filing, as the Maisto and Bburago bodies are not exactly the same! The hood, which was my main focus, is different both in mounting and in actual fit. File came in really handy on this one, only downside is that the new hood does not work with the hinge...more like a racing hood -- lift off Also, the wheels were a bit of a challenge, so I trashed a (fairly rare) black/silver stipe '87 (I think) in order to get the correct Gen II wheels similar to my 98.

For me, more interested in having a miniature of my RT than having a blue GTS.

Peter

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Don't get me started about filing!! I have been sanding the hood/door transition and rear body extension the entire afternoon and just now it looks somewhat like I want it to be. Had to use filler again and remodel the passenger side mirror area by glueing a small piece of styrene on and sanding everything smooth. Would like to think that I'm doing Jeff Lemke proud, lol.
Interior tub fits nice & snug now as well, the only problem now interiorwise is making the door panels sit flush with the doors.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Notice the rearview mirror areas

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Where everything is at now

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[InjectTheVenom]

Rear bumper is ON! Just need to do some more filling/sanding here and there, finalize fitment of the interior tub, sand off the GTS logos on the hood, add a couple of small styrene strips to the rear wheel tubs, glue/fill/sand on the sportsbar and we should be ready for paint. AND fully grind down the GTS window frame so that the AMT/ERTL windshield ensemble will fit
Just for jiggles I held the exhaust stubs in place to create a preview of the Gen 2 look from behind:

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[InjectTheVenom]

Before I continue with the sportsbar, I need additional pictures of this corner in between the seat and door stanchion facing outward looking directly at the sportsbar/quarter panel transition:

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[InjectTheVenom]

While awaiting the requested pictures I decided to have a go at the windshield area.
By looking closely to the AMT body section I used my Dremel to grind down excess material that unfortunately included an important piece providing rigidity to the entire body shell, but that will be corrected when the windshield is glued in place.
Note that in order to regain some form of rigidity required for lining up the windshield frame to the shell two clamps are holding the front bumper to the rest of the frame. It is going to be a beeotch to glue the windshield in exactly the right place without causing a chemical reaction inside of the plastic that blurs the clear part! Remember that this is my first ever undertaking of such a major surgery as this.

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[Vipuronr]

That's certainly alot of work....but, I'm diggin' the red front fender flares!!!

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Sorry to disappoint but those fender flares are gone now

Didn't get much done lately because I am in huge need of CAD files for dashboard and wheels, but the rear wheel tub needed a few small styrene strips to fit snug against the quarter panel (still needs minor work) and I got the briliant idea to chop the hood up as well because I can't stand the idea of not having the R/T10 raised lettering on the sides.

Wheel tub

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GTS emblem sanded away on one side

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YIKES.. there goes a $15.000 hood

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Amazingly, it looks like even this will be a smooth fit just like the rear clamshell to front body joint. Will need to do a good bit of sanding on the hood and new addition to give them a straight lined edge before I can start thinking of glueing them together (speaking of glue my cyanoacrylate glue bottle is empty ). On the grey part a very fine line should be barely visible that will be a great aid in making sure that the cut will be straight.
For the idea:

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[InjectTheVenom]

Couldn't wait to have a go at tacking the left side in place and HOT DAMN it actually fits like a glove so smooth !!
Need to wait for the glue to dry and then it's trimming time. Actually it works pretty simple: grind the top of the new part down to where you feel the raised lettering will survive a sanding job and make sure to grind as straight of a line as possible, put new part over existing hood and use a scribing tool to mark the line where you need to cut into the hood, once cut away grind said edge of hood in perfect sync with the scribed line and upon trial fit with a slice of tape on each side glue the parts together.
My only hope is that the soft plastic glue will hold together or I will still need to use cyanoacrylate glue.

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[Vipuronr]

So, curious to see the finished product. For me, I just sanded off the GTS logo on the side of the hood and left it "logo-less".

What color are you planning to finish it with?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

That is still a LONG ways away! I'm currently fighting hood fitment issues and need to do more sanding on the left side that had to be reworked several times.
Right side is perfect, just need to add a small strip of plastic on the front part where it meets the wheel well. Then it's on to the sportsbar and after THAT I MIGHT start thinking of taking it to my paint guy to see if he deems it paintable.
Color was already mentioned in the first post: gonna be Sapphire Blue

So, curious to see the finished product. For me, I just sanded off the GTS logo on the side of the hood and left it "logo-less".

What color are you planning to finish it with?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

I seem to have found the "jazz" to get going again, left side of the hood gave me a good number of headaches so the project was put to rest until eventually the wish to continue re-appeared by itself.
Some MAJOR reconstructive surgery was needed because the joint kept cracking open every single damn time when going over it with sanding paper That is now (hopefully) solved, these past days I have been working on adding a few extra styrene strips neccessary to reshape the curved part on the right side (grinded too much away with my Dremel) and right now glue is drying on an additional piece that is needed to reshape the upper door/hood joint for a proper fit.
Left hood side still needs minor surgery work and then the sportsbar will get my attention.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Save for a few minor touch ups and even MORE sanding the left side is all but finished. I'm very pleased with the result because fit is pretty darn perfect, the pictures do not do the result justice and the mishmash of colors do a pretty good job at disguising the shape.
I'm taking it to work on monday because my body guy is coming to pick up a company car to repair some damage, might as well ask him for his preliminary opinion

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[InjectTheVenom]

Yup, I got a "that's paintable" lable from my paint guy today
So as soon as my new bottle of cyano glue arrives sometime this week I'm gonna finish a few last bits of hood rework, put the sportsbar on, find a special glue to attach the windshield to the body without the clear plastic fogging up or worse, causing very fine spiderwebs to form from the inside outward.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

It took a sh!tload of time redoing stuff over and over again because I just didn't get the shape that I wanted, but here is the right side almost done save for final sanding. Gotta love CA glue, but next time I will be ordering medium, the bottle that is now in use is the thinnest available which is not exactly handy to work with.

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[Vipuronr]

Not done yet?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Har har you be funny

The reason I can not make big updates is that progress is now halted because I need to get CAD files. Before the windshield can go on the shape of the front part of the dashboard needs to sit flush with the firewall, and since nobody is offering the correct style dashboard I am forced to go the DIY route.