BODYWORK BEYOND THE BASICS Bob Downie
BODYWORK beyond the basics How to graft Jaguar and Mazda bodies for a unique look by BOB DOWNIE As a sports car and racing fanatic, the single-cockpit or Monoposto body style appeals to me in all of the right ways. And ever since Mazda rolled out a concept Miata Monoposto more than ten years ago, I have wanted to make a model of one in some sort of similar fashion. The concept car that sparked my inspiration was based on the second-generation Miata, but I ve always preferred the first (1990-1997) M1 generation. In 2009, Lindberg announced a reissue of its vintage Jaguar D-Type model (which is apparently delayed or in limbo); in the meantime, I was able to find a vintage D-Type kit at a local show for $5, and I thought at the time I d put effort into using relatively standard detailing techniques to make it into a presentable D-Type. In one of my design-inspired brainstorms, I was looking at the D-Type body parts and realized the proportions were very similar to a Miata. I got out a Miata kit, and was pleasantly surprised how similar the two models are in proportions of length, width, and location of the driver s cockpit. I laid the upper body of the D-Type onto the Miata, and Bob Downie s completed Miata D-Type Monoposto concept car. from there, my vision of a Miata D-Type Monoposto took off. It combines two of my favorite sports cars one a famous vintage racer, the other a modern sports car born from inspiration of vintage sports cars.
1 2 The red body is Tamiya s Miata; the yellow body is Lindberg s D-Type Jaguar. You can see the similarities in size and proportion, which I exploited in this buildup. Even the hood bulge is in nearly the same place on both bodies. Much of the work on this model was done on the fly. The easiest way to line up the parts prior to cutting was to remove the Miata s molded windshield frame. It was cut away with a hobby saw blade. 3 4 I placed the body onto an existing built Miata interior and chassis, so I could begin the process of marking and cutting the Jaguar body to fit. It s a bit difficult to see in these photos, but the Jaguar body is placed over the Miata, and the right-hand seat is located perfectly under the opening in the Jaguar body. 5 6 I wanted to keep as much of the Miata hood as possible, and cut away the rear part of the hood that is contoured to fit the now-removed windshield. I marked both bodies with tape where I would make the first cuts. I used a saw to cut the Jaguar body first. 2018, Kalmbach Media Co. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews. Published by Kalmbach Media Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612.
7 8 I lined up the Jaguar body onto the Miata to make markings to determine where to make cuts into the sides and the rear portions of the bodies. I needed to keep as much of the Miata body as possible in the bodysides, to maintain structural integrity. The Miata body was cut into the doors, and the Jaguar body marked so it could be cut to match. 9 10 I measured the Miata body where I needed to make the cuts, and matched the dimension to the Jaguar body. The Jaguar body was cut with tapered lines in the rear, so that when attached to the Miata body there would be a good deal of structural integrity. 11 12 The Jaguar body overlays the Miata body, and I marked the Miata body where it needed to be cut. The result would (hopefully) be a model of a car that in real life would be not only visually striking, but also a blast to drive around a race track or on back-country roads. This model concept was that it fit my personal requirements for fun : a model that would be transformed from disparate parts from different eras, into a vision that was a fairly radical alteration of both subjects, built in a compressed, nearly instant gratification time frame. That wasn t the initial plan; it s just how the time schedule worked out. By the time it was started, there wouldn t be time for me to lose interest or momentum. I knew from the similarities the transformation would be relatively easy to realize. Having a looming show deadline, I exploited my industrialdesign training to get the project done on time and under budget. Planning, which consisted mainly of looking at the After cutting, the pieces were adjusted further with a motor tool and sanding sticks, so that the body mating would be as true and symmetrical as possible. two bodies on my workbench, took a couple of months, but the execution of this model took little more than a week. How in the world can that be done? Honestly, it s not terribly difficult if you ve done any sort of bodywork like this before and have some familiarity with the processes, having realistic expectations (this is a curbside styling exercise, not a full-detail feat of engineering, machining, and aftermarket parts usage), and knowing how long it takes for things to dry. It was a combination of fairly straightforward bodywork, and the fact that two major areas of the model (the chassis and interior) were relatively simple, being based on Tamiya s excellent curbside Miata model (the current version being sold is the right-hand-drive Eunos Roadster, it contains the RHD dashboard necessary for use with the Jaguar D-Type body).
13 14 The body parts are lined up and ready for gluing, bracing, and filling. The first order of business was flowing liquid styrene cement into all of the joints. 15 16 I overlapped pieces of styrene behind the cuts, and filled gaps with slivers/shims of styrene, also bonded with liquid styrene cement. With the body strongly glued together, I sanded away the vents and most of the molded windscreen retainer. It was covered liberally with catalyzed Evercoat spot putty, and allowed to cure in my dehydrator at 105 degrees for a couple of days. 17 18 The curbside chassis was started in the meantime, first order of business was coating it with primer for a factory appearance. Mr. Surfacer 1000 primer was airbrushed onto the chassis. After the putty cured for a weekend, it was carefully block-sanded with a number of tools: small rubber sanding blocks, rubber tadpoles, and sanding sticks. 19 20 The first coats of primer were applied to see where additional filling and sanding would be required. I used a mechanical pencil to mark where it needed more filler, and to get an idea where I wanted to scribe in the new and revised panel lines.
21 This time, putty was applied in smaller quantities where needed. I decided to fill the lines for the pop-up headlights to simplify and streamline the front-end design. 22 Wet-sanding shows where further filler and refinement is required. I removed the molded headrest from the upper body to fit a modern racing seat, and used styrene strip and putty to recontour the molded cockpit surround. 23 I did a test-fit with the kit chassis and interior before recoating the body in primer. I had to do a good bit of cutting of the kit interior sides and dash to fit under the body, and because that was all basically invisible, it was done rather quickly with a motor tool. 24 The aftermarket seat was painted with an undercoat of Testor s fabric paint, then overcoated with flat black, lightened a bit with dark gray. I used aftermarket racing harnesses to add detail. 25 Here you can see the basic interior; I ve removed about 1/4 inch of material from the door panels at the top, and much of the dashboard, only leaving the center stack and the gauge cluster. While the bodywork was curing, I was able to build the chassis and interior, and I also used a built Miata as a guinea pig; I could fit the chassis and interior into that body when the custom version I was building was in the dehydrator curing. I used it to help guide me for my first overlays of the two bodies to plan out the first cuts. This article will give you a rough idea how I took the concept from an idea and transferred it into plastic, and hopefully it can inspire the reader to try their own hand at building a custom personalized exactly how you want it, and perhaps be able to realize your visions in a bit less time than usual. To other designers, the effort to make a model like this isn t noteworthy; designers and modelmakers who work with them 26 The body is reprimed, and nearly done. I used Tamiya primer throughout; it doesn t affect the plastic as automotive primers do, so ghosting and color bleed from the plastic was not an issue. practice this type of work on a regular basis. Most of us are familiar how designer Chip Foose and his crew build completely transform 1:1 cars on the show Overhaulin in only a week. This project ended up mostly a 1/24 scale variant of that general theme. What all designers and model makers can relate to is how inspired we can be when we have an idea that fuels our passion to put forth the effort to make it happen. Sometimes it comes together rapidly; other times the results come at a much-morerelaxed pace. The main idea is to have fun. I had a blast building this model (I d surely love to own and drive a 1:1 copy of it). I am pleased with the results, and happy to share how I did it with everyone.
27 28 29 Rescribing the panel lines can be tricky. I use a couple of different pointed scribers, and small triangular files, including a riffler file. I use a small ship s curve to draw the scribed lines that need to be curved, and a straightedge for lines that need to be straight. Here you can get an idea how I use the small curve as a guide for my scribing tools. I shot the first coats of decanted Tamiya TS-42 Light Gunmetal. I applied black panel lines with my Pigma.005" pigment liner pen. Subsequent coats of color allow the darker panel lines to still show up, but not as prominently, giving a nice shadow to the panel lines in a darker shade of the color. 30 31 I borrowed the color scheme from the 2010 Mazda Miata Super20 SEMA showcar. I applied flat black rocker-panel paint to visually slim the main body, and added orange accent stripes on the front fenders. The chassis was assembled and detailed per Tamiya instructions. I used a set of XS Tuning wheels, tires, and brakes. I used a Parts By Parks turned aluminum exhaust tip on the stock exhaust. Final assembly took only a few hours after the body was dry and buffed out, and the finished model was ready for the show.