52 Hudson: Finishing touches and final assembly (#3 for 2018)

Not one of my better foiling jobs, especially when blown up with the camera, but it will look OK behind a glass cabinet. The jury is still out on this one: foil, or tape and paint (or even paint freehand on days when the hand is steady enough). I do like how the Hornet text comes up nicely with a drop of red paint, though.



The grille is a problem. I have built an eggcrate with a fair resemblence to the classic Chrysler 300 unit, using bits from the stash and part of the Hudson grille that looks good from far, but is far from good if you look up close. It may just have to do for now; I'll wedge it in without glue so I can pop it out and replace it if I get carried away at some later date. I recently saw a How-To on Facebook outlining a 'simple' approach to an eggcrate grille and maybe I need to play around with this.



Glass has been cut to fit (front and rear) or made new (rear quarter windows). The front vent wings have also been cut down and the frames painted.



The stance is definitely snout-up. All in all I am pleased, although as usual there are plenty of places where I could have done better.







I'd love to hear the rumble of the big sixes on Main Street! Not evident in the picture is how much lower the Hudson is, starting with the perimeter frame and continuing with the top chop.






Next up: The New Modeler's Club (a closed group on Facebook, but open to new members and well worth joining) is running a build-off, the theme being drop-tops. (For unknown reasons, the admin selected the code word Smokey & the Bandit). My entry will be a well-modified Honda S600. Expect somewhat more than the stock 57 horsepower at 8500 RPM ... stay tuned as I shoehorn some bigger bits into it.

52 Hudson: chassis

The luscious paint scheme has led to the nickname Chocolate Mocha Caramel. Progress is being made; the chassis and interior are together and looking good. I like the side exhaust which is included in the kit but not mentioned in the instruction sheet. (The kit also includes a visor, and the body has holes that need drilling out to install it, but this, also, is not in the instructions.)



The interior is very detailed and could have benefited from more detailing. However, most of this won't be obvious through the windows, which were narrow slits before I took a saw to the roof pillars.



The rear axle has been dropped but I've left the front axle at stock height.



The result is a mild tail-dragger, lightly lowered to go with the mild chop.



Overall I am quite happy with the progress so far. Next will be cutting glass to fit the lowered roof, and designing grilles and rear lights.



One point worth making: this Moebius kit is very well designed and researched; and the quality of the parts is reflected in the fact it took over 3 hours in the Easy-Off bath to strip the chrome off the bumpers and steering wheel. Great kits!

52 Hudson: Paint

I was debating what colour to paint the Hudson, and had decided that some form of period-correct two-tone would look good. You know, pastel green and forest green, or cream and burgundy, that sort of thing. Coincidentally the local Canadian Tire had a rack full of Krylon paints on clearance, and I thought the khaki and leather looked wonderful together.



So here it is, prior to foiling the chrome which will cover the seams between the two colours.



The khaki is a gloss colour but after wet-sanding it with Tamiya 400 through 2000 grit, I liked the dull appearance so much I decided to leave it alone as a fine vinyl roof, rather than continue on to the the usual 12,000 grit polish.



Ignore the little droplets, that's water from washing off the sanding grit. The interior will follow a similar scheme using flat Tamiya paints that are close approximations to the Krylon colours. I'll post as it advances.




Chocolate cake with mocha icing, anyone? Looks scrumptious.

Challenges remaining will be cutting the glass, and getting the stance right. An appropriate grille is still under consideration. Dropping it over the solid rear axle shouldn't a problem but the spindles in the front may need some planning. Maybe a nose up stance, to go with the tilted top chop, will work. Stay tuned. Mmmm meanwhile it's time for dessert.

New workspace

Back in the house after major renovations at 1:1, I now have a new and improved workspace, I've sorted through all my wheels, and I will be getting going on new builds. Yippee!





First up will be to complete the Hudson and LN 8000 started when I was in exile, and to move the 956 pickup forward.






All this is in preparation for a build-off run by Randall Wheeler, the admin of The New Modelers Club on Facebook, with the objective to produce a convertible by June 1. The competition looks to be fierce and so I have decided to start with a Honda S600 and insert some power in the form of an S2000 power plant ... stay tuned!