Russ Toy: Ferrari 348tb
Russ Toy has contributed pictures of several of his recent scratchbuilt cars - here is
his Ferrari 348tb. Below, Russ gives away his secret recipe for strengthening
a body. Thanks Russ! --tja
Russ writes:
This car uses a hybrid chassis; part production, part scratchbuilt. The center section
is a Champion Astro Flex and the pans are NOS from Parma. The pans are hooked under the
front uprights, just like the original pans, and retained in place with .047 wire and 3/32"
square tubing. A very simple and effective design. The hard front tires are from Pro/Track
as are the rears. The motor is blueprinted 16D with an balanced American arm.
This is my number one racecar and the fact that it's a hardbody does not make any difference.
The body is a Testors Ferrari 348tb I've had for a long time and is made from six pieces.
I glued the body up, and then reinforced the joints with plastic goo. Plastic goo is made
from chopped pieces of the part trees with liquid model cement. Put the chopped pieces
in a bottle and pour enough liquid cement to cover the top. Let it melt for a couple of
days and apply onto the joints. It will take a week or two to harden, depending on the thickness,
but the joints will be stronger. The body was painted with Tamiya spray paints. I like the
Tamiya brand because it dries hard in 24 hours. I've had paint jobs still tacky over 5 years ago.
This is one of my best handling racers for the road course.