So we had a snow day today... and since I really liked the way my Fairlane convertible came out, I decided to try another ragtop I've been meaning to do. I think Scott (noddaz) did one of these a while back, and I've had this in my head ever since...

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/gtorag.jpg

This one gave me a harder time than the Fairlane for a few reasons. First, the roof was harder to cut off since the C-pillars are much wider. Second was that I was trying to save the JL paint... so of course I slipped and put ugly knife scratches across the trunk lid and down the fender. Finally, I was working with a Weird Jack's interior that I had started working on for another project, and I ended up cutting too much off in the front (you can see through to the gearplate where the dash should be). I'm not real happy with the Gabriel Hijackers stance, but that's as low as I could get without hacking away at the underside of the interior (which I may do yet). It looks real cool running around the track, though...

I also finally finished this one:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/birdrag7.jpg

This started out as a Speedline basket case that I got with the roof ripped off. I painted it and adapted a windshield from a diecast to fit, but I had no interior. Because Speedlines already sit low, I couldn't use a WJ or Mustang interior unless I wanted to have the whole interior sticking up out of the car--they were just too thick. I know that usually the top of the driver figure's head ends up higher than the windshield, but I hate when it looks like he can rest his chin on it. So I ran it for a while with no interior... and finally today, looking at the finished GTO, I was motivated to come up with a solution for this one. The answer: the base of the interior is a sheet of plastic cut from a diecast blister, and the seats are card stock. The driver figure is from WJ, and he was kinda sanded on an angle so he'd lean back and look a little lower...

So now here are all my custom ragtop conversions:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/ragtops05.jpg

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/ragtops16.jpg

let's see yours! :thumbsup:

--rick

Rick,

They look great. That scratch on the rear of the Goat, ouch! What about a little polish to take it out? :thumbsup: Dave

Great stuff Rick. The Camaro dude is just a tall guy! LOL. I really woundnt have noticed, had you not mentioned it. Check the auto parts store for tinted wax or a wax crayon. You might get lucky! I use it all the time on 1:1 cars with good results.

BH

Rick - Nice collection of vert conversions. Just like the fiarlane, you got that interior to fit real well in the goat.
Jim

Here are my 55 Chevy and my Willys( which is my first). I picture Archie and Jughead riding in the Willys. Guess i'm showing my age...lol.

schweet! i really want to do a MM '55 like that...

--rick

Fun in the sun! My hands shake at the thought of whacking a roof!
Very nice cars! :thumbsup:

Great conversions ! I gott show some of what I did with some cars soon !

Neal :dude:

Nice gang of drop tops you have made there Rick.
Yes, I did a GTO a while back...
Broke the windsheild frame in the last stages of assembly.
Glud it back together 3 of 4 times after that.
Couldn't get the windsheild to stay in the frame.
(Never could find that stuff called "crystal Clear".)
It's in a box somewhere...
Scott

Rick, VERY nice group of convertibles.......I want to get hacking on a few roofs soon myself.

Love them Verts..They are an awsome group of converts. Nice work.. :thumbsup:

Joez,
Shaky hands...Didn't anyone tell you..
Do not watch the smut channel and try to cut a slotcar :D :eek:

Love them Verts..They are an awsome group of converts. Nice work.. :thumbsup:

Joez,
Shaky hands...Didn't anyone tell you..
Do not watch the smut channel and try to cut a slotcar :D :eek:
How dare you, Joez don't watch smut, he's just really old.............LOL

Nice gang of drop tops you have made there Rick.
Yes, I did a GTO a while back...
Broke the windsheild frame in the last stages of assembly.
Glud it back together 3 of 4 times after that.
Couldn't get the windsheild to stay in the frame.
(Never could find that stuff called "crystal Clear".)
It's in a box somewhere...
Scott

Hey Scott, to get the W/S to stay in, I left the tab on the bottom of it to position on the post under the cowl vent... and then I had to "egg" the hole to get it to sit correctly. It's held in with white tacky glue available at any craft store. Aleene's is the brand name on mine, but I don't think it matters... any tacky white glue is like Elmer's on steroids. I use it for bumpers and other stuff too... I have this one Aurora Jag that's 4 pieces; the roof, the hood and doors, the left quarter panel, and the right quarter panel. The quarters are off a car that had schmutz on the roof and hood, the roof and hood are from a car that had cut wheelwells. The pieces are all held together with this tacky glue... works like a charm. It also happens to be what's holding the interiors in all those convertibles...

--rick

Neat stuff here, Park-

I like the F/bird a lot! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I’ve made a Lemans convert’ out of a JL GTO—still needs some final detail.

I’d also started a Fairlane around the time you decided to do this one-
A friend saw it and wanted to work on it for me. I got it back closer to done, but still in need of a few areas addressed.
I’ll post em’ soon-


Win:
Good job, mate! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

The tri-5 and the Willys look excellent!
Great colour choices! The Willys paint look electric!


Thank you for sharing!


Cheers..

I’ve made a Lemans convert’ out of a JL GTO—still needs some final detail.


I always wanted to do that with a GTO... I assume you mean painting or foiling the nose so it looks like a chrome bumper?

looking forward to seeing them!

--rick

I just might have to find me some...
Tacky glue indeed....
Humph...
Scott

Maybe a stupid question but how do you made the convertible boots ?

They 4 looks very good and are definitely ragtops that turn heads

Maybe a stupid question but how do you made the convertible boots ?

They 4 looks very good and are definitely ragtops that turn heads

I think for the most part they are taken off of die cast cars...
But on this GTO I made the boot for it srom a spare section of plastic...
I just trimmed some plastic down into a rough ] kind of shape. Then trimmed the edges down to make it look puffed up...
The seats are cut from a Mustang interior but are mounted on a flat peice of styrene that was cut to fit. I have a shaved down dashboard for this somewhere. That was to take up the flat expanse at the base of the windshield... I wonder where it is?
I kind of lost interest with this when I couldn't keep a windshield in it and when I broke the frame around the windshield.. It has been glued a couple of times but keeps breaking loose.. I bet Chip Foose doesn't have these problems.... lol
Scott
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/GTO_Convert_001.jpg
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/GTO_Convert_002.jpg

I looked at a couple of convertible boots off diecast cars... the ones I had access to were too wide. The GTO and the Impala use Weird Jack's interior kits, which come with a boot. The Fairlane uses a Mustang interior and boot. And the Firebird's boot is just a piece of scrap plastic cut from the lid of a plastic baby food container...

Scott, I like the boot on yours... it actually looks more realistic in shape than the Aurora ones, I think...

Now get some tacky glue and stick that windshield in. It even dries clear so you don't have to worry about glue boogers on the glass...

edit: and yes, that's definitely the car I remember seeing you working on that got me started on my idea...

--rick

Shucks, Noddy! After seeing yours, I almost didn’t post mine!
The dash I have is the same colour as your interior—wanna’ trade for a red one? (save me painting)
That is a clean job, my friend- :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Here’s my Lemans, Park-

As you can clearly see, it’s not finished.
I’d cut the roof off, formed a rear shelf, and foiled the beak and rocker panels to see if it would have the look. I haven't started on the boot cover yet.
I've never tried a DC boot- I make them out of sheet stock and putty.

This is a piece I’m making for remembrance of a past girlfriend.


http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Lemans_ragtop.jpg


She was a model (real one) and simply gorgeous. We dated for a few years until I dumped her because of her terribly slobbish ways (plus guys would constantly stare at us and follow her around asking her for dates).
It may have been a mistake—but she would have been gone anyway once she “woke up”. (Hey, it’s me we’re talkin’ about here!:freak: )
Honestly mates, I got real lucky bagging that byrd-


http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Lemans_ragtop-2.jpg


Anyway, she drove a Lemans ragtop very similar to my build. Hers had red interior, and a black top. I don’t remember what she did, but she flattened out the whole passenger side quarter- sideswiping something.

I do recall she commissioned some gypsies to “fix it” in the parking lot(!) for $300. Bad call-

And she wasn’t even blonde…



Cheers..

I couldn't let you guys have all the fun

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/videojimmy/CUSTONBLKWILLIESROD3.jpg

I kept it simple and clean, this being my first willies convert

I couldn't let you guys have all the fun

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/videojimmy/CUSTONBLKWILLIESROD3.jpg

I kept it simple and clean, this being my first willies convert

dang.. that looks good! i ll need a chrome hubcap for my red conv.

Wes

Thanks Wes, they're RRR's "Galaxy" rims with weird jack's white walls.
The rims fit perfectly under the fenders

Here's a few I,ve done over the last couple of years. The Porsche and the Vettes I cast myself. The others are just conversions.
hojoe

great looking stuff here!

hey Boss, now i'm looking for a GTO to Lemans-ize...

VJ, are those wheels the same size as stock Tjet wheels? They look bigger, but if they were, I guess they wouldn't fit under the car like that...

and joe, I especially like the Porsches and Corvettes... looks like an early '60s SCCA event...

--rick

Here's a tip I seem to recall from my modeling days. Someone had used toilet or tissue paper to make convertible boots for their 1/24 scaled models. Trim out your basic outline and then you soaked the paper in a mix of Elmer's glue and water. Believe it was 3 parts water, 1 part glue. Once this was soaked, you can layout the boot design out on the car and pushed it into place, creating the highs and lows as you see fit. Once it dried overnight, you could paint it, detail and whatever else you needed to get it to look okay, then remount it with a few drops of Elmers. Guess you could scale this down to work in the HO world. May have to give it a go with a custom. :eek: rr

Hey Rick, they're bigger but they're also thin. I haven't tried any under a Galaxy body, but seeing as they're supposed to be made for them, I'll assume they'll fit under the Galaxy body

Here's a tip I seem to recall from my modeling days. Someone had used toilet or tissue paper to make convertible boots for their 1/24 scaled models. Trim out your basic outline and then you soaked the paper in a mix of Elmer's glue and water. Believe it was 3 parts water, 1 part glue. Once this was soaked, you can layout the boot design out on the car and pushed it into place, creating the highs and lows as you see fit. Once it dried overnight, you could paint it, detail and whatever else you needed to get it to look okay, then remount it with a few drops of Elmers. Guess you could scale this down to work in the HO world. May have to give it a go with a custom. :eek: rr

I remember reading something like that too! I had a friend who used a similar technique to make canvas textures (bags, covers, tarps, what have you) on his military models. It's actually the same friend that has the 1:1 Fairlane ragtop now... Sounds like it's worth trying. If I ever get around to it, I could use that to dress up the Firebird's boot, which is kinda cheesy looking...

--rick

great looking stuff here!

VJ, are those wheels the same size as stock Tjet wheels? They look bigger, but if they were, I guess they wouldn't fit under the car like that...

--rick

The RRR Galaxy rims are Vincent Size.

Roger Corrie

The RRR Galaxy rims are Vincent Size.

Roger Corrie

oh, duh, finally it clicked... they're the same size as other RRR rims, I guess! So wait... WJ makes whitewalls in that size now? If I had been thinking clearly, I guess that's what I should have asked to begin with...

--ricki

not quite done LOL

oh, duh, finally it clicked... they're the same size as other RRR rims, I guess! So wait... WJ makes whitewalls in that size now? If I had been thinking clearly, I guess that's what I should have asked to begin with...

--ricki

Rick, unfortunately, to my knowledge WJ doesn't produce a tire for the RRR wheels....yet. I wish he did..... :(

You use the white walls Jack makes for Tyco S of for the Hot rod hobs for RRR rims

You use the white walls Jack makes for Tyco S of for the Hot rod hobs for RRR rims

Ya see TX, Jimmy's a tire crammer.... :tongue:

I confess so am I :rolleyes: of the worst sort.

"Hi my name is Bill. I have a problem. I'll cram any tire on any rim if it looks close, and try to true them inspite of the obvious lumps and wobbles........"

Please send help!......... or cash :devil:

All kiddin' aside, Vj's vert Willy's is really sumpthin'. The choice of rims sets the era, and just like evening wear, ya cant go wrong with basic black!

Just another awesome ride from VJ, in a long line of many. :thumbsup:

You use the white walls Jack makes for Tyco S of for the Hot rod hobs for RRR rims


Dang man, Thanks for the info. Do the tires fit decently....or do they really have to be stretched to fit??? I'd like for the tires to run fairly true if possible.

I dont know what goes on in Jimmy's secret projects room, But Jack's tires have good stretch. I true/check darn near every tire I install. Jack's tires cut/sand like butter so go easy.

There are those who will poopoo tire truing saying you'll lose some traction. I'll counter with "how can you have traction when the contact patch is bouncing around like a clown car".

Jack's tire's arent the stickiest on the planet, but they do provide a nice ballance of traction and give for some controlled slide out of the corner, but still have good pickup on accelleration. Quite realistic in my view.

I also like the quick truing nature of Jacks compound. It's very simple to take a couple thousandths of for wheel well clearance, rather than carving/sanding your wells.

Well...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s40/bidman477/DSCF0261.jpg