How To: Custom Die-cast model
 

A fellow Porsche owner wants a die-cast replica of his 964. He couldn't find a match to his car (964s are hard to find in Die-Cast) so I'll be making a replica for him. I couldn't find a 964 Coupe in any scale except for 1:43 and even then it will take two models to make one replica (wheels, mirrors, interior).

I figured someone would be interested in seeing the process, so here it is...

Here's the two models I'm starting with:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193343691.jpg

Starting the teardown:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193343849.jpg

More stuff being removed. It's amazing just how easy some models com apart and how difficult other are.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193343746.jpg

Here's a size reference:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193343957.jpg

Yup, you're right. I had a case of the brain fades.

don't stop because you had a brain fart

Interesting subject. Can't wait to see the process.

In Napa, CA last weekend I totally stumbled upon a diecast gold mine. He ha d a ton of Porsche, BMW and Ferrari memorbilia too. Shop was called Automobilia and was in Napa.

Pretty cool, do you know if a middle years targa diecast is available?

There are several. Minichamps makes a nice '77 Targa. I have one that needs a couple of things fixed (mirror glued on, etc.) PM me and I'll send it to you...

How To?
Go on ebaY and buy yourself one, I guess?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193810338.jpg

Where's the rest of the thread..........?

That's actually a model I bought of my car on eBay.....waiting delivery now.

The thread will continue.

I need to resoak the model in paintstripper and haven't had the time yet this week. I was also waiting for pictures from the owner. The model will get a custom dashboard to replicate the righthand drive of Austrailian Porsches. I've also been researching what I can use to build up the stock "race" seats to more replicate street seats. The last item I've been searching for is 1:43 scale decals. Most likely I'll just replicate them in paint.

I wasn't going to strip the green car yet, but decided since I'm already creating a mess, I might as well go ahead. Although the decals on the white car were thr crummy water slide type, they did a good job protecting the paint from the stripper. I had to scratch the body before the second pass. Here's the two cars soaking in aircraft remover.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193946985.jpg

The green shell needs a bit more stripper, I'm also adding a bit to the few areas that need it on the white one too.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193947259.jpg

You got it! In turn, I will hook you up with some oil for your car!

PM sent


Thanks again!

Oh yeah, DO NOT apply aircraft remover to anything plastic, it creates one hell of a mess. While I'm waiting for todays application of AR to do it's thing, I'm working on the dashboard. This is going to require quite a bit of creativity. It's a good thing I'll have a backup piece in case the operation doesn't go as planned.

As I'm writing this post, I was studying the photos of the owners fullsize car and reasized that he has a widebody! Now I need to decide if I want ot buy another model or not. I don't recall seeing a 964 turbo coupe in this or any scale. I may make my own flares on this shell or maybe I'll just leave it be.

You can fab some flares?

You can do anything with bondo! :)

Porsche (and Wayne) sell a 964 turbo model. Its chrome.

Edit to say I went and looked, and couldn't find it anymore....

Bill

Those are really expensive too. This car will be completely custom fro about the same price.

There's a reason these models sell for cheap on ebay. The metal is iffy and the finish is average. With a little work, they'll be pretty good though, I'll need to spend a bit of time with a file to get rid of the ridges and seams. Here's where I'm stopping for tonight. With a wirebrush on my my Dremel tool, it looks pretty good.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193954499.jpg

That's fine if there is a model of your exact car and it looks like you were in luck.
If someone owns a car with a different color exterior or interior or even different wheels, then this is the other option. In this case, the owner couldn't find a 964 coupe model easilly and couldn't find one in silver. Then, he also wanted the aero mirrors and cup wheels (the reason for the second model). I'm going further and doing a RHD conversion on the dash as well as making the seats look more padded. I'll detail what I can on the interior and exterior to be as close to the person's 1:1 911. Next up I'll cut open the side windows and add some paint detail to the front wipers and rearview mirror. I'll also start working on mixing paint to find a color to match the real car's interior.

This is taking a lot longer than I expected. Working in the smaller scale is a bit more difficult than the 1:18 and 1:10 scale models that I'm used to .

The dashboard modification is coming along. Due to it's size I can't use a motortool like I usually do and because it's quite thick, the Xacto knife really takes awhile to cut through. I'm now trying a combination of the two.

The flares are giving me grief. Maybe it's because the Bondo I'm using is older, but it's just not working. I've make a switch to spot putty so maybe that will work better. Just in case, I'm looking for a Turbo model to cut up. I expect perfection and won't ship something I'm not pleased with at least a little bit.

I'm going to be using polymer clay for the seats. I'm cutting off the "race" bolsters and will sculpt the clay to better match the prototype's seats.

Will all this work going on in the interior, I not going to have it obscured by the thick side "glass". I've used a Dremel cut off wheel and modelers files to "roll down" the windows" Now you can see the interior better.

Well, the spot putty didn't work either. On such a small surface with so many compound curves, it just can't get a firm grip. That leaves still a few options. While I'm working on other parts, I'll continue to search for a 1:48 scale Turbo model that I can use the entire thing or even just cut off the fenders. I can also attempt at using the same polymer clay, sculpt the fenders and adherer them to the model with glue.

Some progress pics...
 

Side window removal:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1194622236.jpg

Original dash:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1194622303.jpg

started cutting up the dashboard:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1194622366.jpg

Filing the seams:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1194622432.jpg

Filed the underside of the hood to lessen the huge gap under the headlights:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1194622490.jpg
In the photo above, the shiny one is the model that had the hood modification. I can't file anymore without distorting the hood line where it meets the bumper.

Just a thought, could you try some jb weld? Make sure you rough up the surface for better adhesion. Once jb weld sets you should be able to work/ sculpt it a bit.

I've had a couple of people ask me about this model recently. No I haven't given up and refunded the client yet. I have though gone through many many sets of flares and materials. Finally I have a material (back to spot filler) and a few techniques of getting the body work done. This should be the final product...

After the putty had dried for several days...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1203362381.jpg
After a lot of filing and scraping to get the basic shape.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1203362424.jpg
I'm using several grits of sandpaper and emery boards and files to get the shape I want without taking too much off. This is where I've failed often before. I had tried dremel tools and rasps with poor results. Now I'm doing all by hand and as slow as I can. I also am constantly referring to the reference photos.

I'll post the finished RHD dash shortly. I'm pleased with the way it came out.

Here's the RHD dash awaiting paint. Teh gauge area was cut away from the top and a matching shape was taken from the flip side. These were switched around, glue and gaps filled. Primer was applied and now it's ready fro the proper interior color and details added with paint.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1203608772.jpg

I sanded the flares some more and coated them with a little primer just to get a feel fro the finished product. I'm pretty happy with the outcome. With a little finish sanding and a small repair here or there to fill some flaws this side will be done. Now I need to duplicate the flares on the other side.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1203609002.jpg

cool, and how much do you charge to do this?

Juan,
Price varies depending on how much work is required. Then, I also try to fit my price to the customers budget. I've repainted die cast cars for as low as $30 and as high as $300. I still prefer the larger scales though.

interested in doing a small die cast of mine (perhaps 3 copies)?

see my avatar and/or website......

you can contact me via pm or email (ervikingo at gmail.com)

Ok Juan, I'll give you a shout. Be on the look out for some 911R models preferably 1:18 scale but 1:48 scale is doable too but not preferred to get the details.

I had someone the other day ask if I had ever finished this model. The answer is no, I'm still working on it. I stopped taking pictures until today though. I have so many hours into this with trial and error that I'm no longer keepiing track but It's over 100 easily. I'm sure someone could do a better job and build a more accurate model but I doubt in this scale. I've long since given up considering this build as a business project, it's now just my pride in knowing I'm doing the best that I can do.

Here's the full progress on my site: http://www.airbostongraphics.com/964model.htm

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1225226306.jpg

Hello David. We spoke about 2 months ago. I never heard back from you concerning my Carrera. You were heading up to the mountains and would call afterwards.

Mark, you have a PM

David,

Funny you posted on this yesterday as I started to take apart a 911R 1:43 to try to make a replica of my race car. I must find me a "cheap" source for 911R 1:43 models... Ideas?

Cheers, Juan

No, Juan, I have no ideas. I've searched for 911Rs with verry little luck. Once in awhile I'll find a 1:43, but nothing larger. Doing that paint scheme on such a small car won't be easy. I don't think I would try it anyway.

I have a box of Fujimi 1:12 scale 911R's of which I want to make a couple of replicas. Being 1:12 it should be relatively easy(er) to do airbrushing of the graphics. The reason for the smaller one is that they are metal and will better survive my kids.... The reason for me trying to do it is that the budget has been substantially reduced :(