Andrew D Charger Chaser

LOL nice Hobie! 

A much larger problem arose; actually two related problems.  
     1) The suspension and exhaust system is all molded as one piece, looking toylike
     2) The rear suspension needs to be boosted to accomodate larger rear tires.  This will necessitate the total rebuilding of the aft ends of the leaf springs.
First, separating the exhausts:

 
Then, adding to the chassis frame to accomodate the extended rear suspension....



 
Also found the new engine was too short for the driveshaft; so the driveshaft had to be lengthened by 3mm.  Amazingly, the left exhaust also had to be shortened by the exact same length to fit the new engine.


 

The new engine arrived Friday; smaller-block engine from AMT's 71 Duster, will be heavily detailed and wired.  Still needed modifications to the front area with making an attached alternator and other mounts for the pulleys.  Also drilled out holes for the spark plugs and wires (very time consuming on a tiny distributor).


 
Also modified the engine mounts so it could accomodate the smaller engine block.  Not a perfect fit, but it's better.

A much larger problem arose; actually two related problems.  
     1) The suspension and exhaust system is all molded as one piece, looking toylike
     2) The rear suspension needs to be boosted to accomodate larger rear tires.  This will necessitate the total rebuilding of the aft ends of the leaf springs.
First, separating the exhausts:

 
Then, adding to the chassis frame to accomodate the extended rear suspension....



 
Also found the new engine was too short for the driveshaft; so the driveshaft had to be lengthened by 3mm.  Amazingly, the left exhaust also had to be shortened by the exact same length to fit the new engine.


 

The new engine arrived Friday; smaller-block engine from AMT's 71 Duster, will be heavily detailed and wired.  Still needed modifications to the front area with making an attached alternator and other mounts for the pulleys.  Also drilled out holes for the spark plugs and wires (very time consuming on a tiny distributor).


 
Also modified the engine mounts so it could accomodate the smaller engine block.  Not a perfect fit, but it's better.

Well, unfortunately I'm totally ditching the engine....finally the evidence was overwhelming that I needed to go with the smaller-block engine, finished in blue.  So I purchased the engine parts from the AMT Duster.  Starting over. 
In the meantime, here's what happened with the interior.  
Two modifications to be made: the steering wheel and the air vents.  In one episode (Gold Fever S2E2) the instrument panel is visible, showing the dashboard to be the style with two air conditioning vents.  I discovered this after I'd started painting, so, strip the paint, add the parts and start over.


 
Steering wheel should be a more standard type instead of the stock racing item in the kit.  I started with the steering wheel from a Chevy pickup, carved down the central spokes, added a third spoke plus some other detailing.  The wood paneling color is done by painting it Military Brown, then going back over it with Tamiya Smoke.  This is basically a transparent black, and when applied unevenly over brown actually looks like wood paneling.


 
An all-black interior is a problem since if you just paint it black, then almost zero details will show.  Here's how I bring it to life:
     -Flooring/carpet flat black
     -All the rest in semi-flat black
     -With a wide brush, drybrush dark gray all over the semi-gloss black areas to highlight and bring out the details
     -Mask carpet and then spray semi-gloss areas in a satin/flat clear mix
     -Drybrush dirt onto some of the carpet, especially driver's area.
Again, wood paneling done by painting first with Military Brown, then going over that with Tamiya Smoke transparent black.

 
Scratchbuild a CD radio for under the instrument panel, and voila!

Hollywood almost always uses more than one copy of any featured vehicle due to tight filming schedules plus mechanical issues.  Some features on these cars are often fictional.  This said, in my Dukes builds I try to balance or combine the sometimes fictional features with reality. 
I went through all the episodes in question searching for even one photo of the hood up on Daisy's car, maybe parked in front of the farm with the boys doing some minor maintenance.  Couldn't even find one; this actually made things easier; it means whatever I do can't be proven wrong.  I did find one scene with the hood up on the earlier-used '74, from the episode "Limo One is Missing," but of course it was the wrong car, and we couldn't see much anyway.
It was suggested that Daisy's character might have driven the Plymouth variant with the smaller engine, with a blue engine block.  I'm not sure if any muscle car kits actually offer smaller, "tamed" small-block engines, so I went with what I had.  Had to strip the paint and redo it in a more correct color.
I added a few details for the wiring, plus an aftermarket set of belts and pulleys.  Alternator came from Revell's '68/69 Charger.  There will be more hoses and wiring added after it's installed.




 
I also removed the molded-on battery and water reservoir from the engine bay.  See, the trouble with molded-on details is that they LOOK molded on, and therefore more toylike.  So once removed their respective areas were rebuilt.  Those specific items will have separate items installed to replace them.


 

One more for today.  For the filming, all identification logos/scripts on the vehicles were removed (i.e. all the "Charger" logos, the "FORD" from above the grill and tailgate on Jesse's truck, "PLYMOUTH" and "DODGE" from the Sheriff cars, etc).  Most of this is easy for Daisy's Plymouth, except for the grill and in front of the hood.  We'll deal with the grill later.  
For the removed emblem in front of the hood, there is a recessed area that was left untouched once the emblems were removed, and then painted over.  


 
I tried removing the bit inside the recessed circle with a roto-drill, but I couldn't make it into a flat disc surface.  So I cut a tiny circle of sandpaper, smaller than the target area, and glued it to the end of a toothpick.  This, with a tiny dab of putty, exactly did the trick.

 
There was CONSIDERABLE bodywork to be done with the Front Body Pan; this appears seamless with the rest of the body, so I wanted to install it before painting.  The rear one will be blended in after assembly and carefully retouched.  Additionally, the Front bit didn't completely fit, and the trim around the wheel well had to be rebuilt onto it and everything blended together.  

Well, unfortunately I'm totally ditching the engine....finally the evidence was overwhelming that I needed to go with the smaller-block engine, finished in blue.  So I purchased the engine parts from the AMT Duster.  Starting over. 
In the meantime, here's what happened with the interior.  
Two modifications to be made: the steering wheel and the air vents.  In one episode (Gold Fever S2E2) the instrument panel is visible, showing the dashboard to be the style with two air conditioning vents.  I discovered this after I'd started painting, so, strip the paint, add the parts and start over.


 
Steering wheel should be a more standard type instead of the stock racing item in the kit.  I started with the steering wheel from a Chevy pickup, carved down the central spokes, added a third spoke plus some other detailing.  The wood paneling color is done by painting it Military Brown, then going back over it with Tamiya Smoke.  This is basically a transparent black, and when applied unevenly over brown actually looks like wood paneling.


 
An all-black interior is a problem since if you just paint it black, then almost zero details will show.  Here's how I bring it to life:
     -Flooring/carpet flat black
     -All the rest in semi-flat black
     -With a wide brush, drybrush dark gray all over the semi-gloss black areas to highlight and bring out the details
     -Mask carpet and then spray semi-gloss areas in a satin/flat clear mix
     -Drybrush dirt onto some of the carpet, especially driver's area.
Again, wood paneling done by painting first with Military Brown, then going over that with Tamiya Smoke transparent black.

 
Scratchbuild a CD radio for under the instrument panel, and voila!

Well, unfortunately I'm totally ditching the engine....finally the evidence was overwhelming that I needed to go with the smaller-block engine, finished in blue.  So I purchased the engine parts from the AMT Duster.  Starting over. 
In the meantime, here's what happened with the interior.  
Two modifications to be made: the steering wheel and the air vents.  In one episode (Gold Fever S2E2) the instrument panel is visible, showing the dashboard to be the style with two air conditioning vents.  I discovered this after I'd started painting, so, strip the paint, add the parts and start over.


 
Steering wheel should be a more standard type instead of the stock racing item in the kit.  I started with the steering wheel from a Chevy pickup, carved down the central spokes, added a third spoke plus some other detailing.  The wood paneling color is done by painting it Military Brown, then going back over it with Tamiya Smoke.  This is basically a transparent black, and when applied unevenly over brown actually looks like wood paneling.


 
An all-black interior is a problem since if you just paint it black, then almost zero details will show.  Here's how I bring it to life:
     -Flooring/carpet flat black
     -All the rest in semi-flat black
     -With a wide brush, drybrush dark gray all over the semi-gloss black areas to highlight and bring out the details
     -Mask carpet and then spray semi-gloss areas in a satin/flat clear mix
     -Drybrush dirt onto some of the carpet, especially driver's area.
Again, wood paneling done by painting first with Military Brown, then going over that with Tamiya Smoke transparent black.

 
Scratchbuild a CD radio for under the instrument panel, and voila!

Found a great one while researching Daisy's Plymouth.  
From that car's final chase leading up to its destruction at Kissing Cliff, they recycled the same shot but reversed it.  
I first noticed it by noticing the same body damage (rear fender above the wheel) on both sides.  When I slowed it down frame-by-frame, I was shocked to see it was the EXACT SAME FOOTAGE but reversed...and that I'd never had a clue!
First time we see it is the reversed footage.  You can see on the supposed driver's side what is Luke's arm casually on the window ledge, gripping the roof...on what is actually the passenger side.  In the subsequent shot, a millisecond later, the driver can be seen gripping the wheel on the wrong side (must've gone to the UK).
One will also notice between the two shots the rear view mirror is on the wrong side, to emphasize what we have already seen.


 
Now, compare the first photo with this one, taken later in the same chase scene.  It's EXACTLY THE SAME but reversed.  Even the tree, shrubbery, position of the Sheriff car, etc....

Found a great one while researching Daisy's Plymouth.  
From that car's final chase leading up to its destruction at Kissing Cliff, they recycled the same shot but reversed it.  
I first noticed it by noticing the same body damage (rear fender above the wheel) on both sides.  When I slowed it down frame-by-frame, I was shocked to see it was the EXACT SAME FOOTAGE but reversed...and that I'd never had a clue!
First time we see it is the reversed footage.  You can see on the supposed driver's side what is Luke's arm casually on the window ledge, gripping the roof...on what is actually the passenger side.  In the subsequent shot, a millisecond later, the driver can be seen gripping the wheel on the wrong side (must've gone to the UK).
One will also notice between the two shots the rear view mirror is on the wrong side, to emphasize what we have already seen.


 
Now, compare the first photo with this one, taken later in the same chase scene.  It's EXACTLY THE SAME but reversed.  Even the tree, shrubbery, position of the Sheriff car, etc....

One more for today.  For the filming, all identification logos/scripts on the vehicles were removed (i.e. all the "Charger" logos, the "FORD" from above the grill and tailgate on Jesse's truck, "PLYMOUTH" and "DODGE" from the Sheriff cars, etc).  Most of this is easy for Daisy's Plymouth, except for the grill and in front of the hood.  We'll deal with the grill later.  
For the removed emblem in front of the hood, there is a recessed area that was left untouched once the emblems were removed, and then painted over.  


 
I tried removing the bit inside the recessed circle with a roto-drill, but I couldn't make it into a flat disc surface.  So I cut a tiny circle of sandpaper, smaller than the target area, and glued it to the end of a toothpick.  This, with a tiny dab of putty, exactly did the trick.

 
There was CONSIDERABLE bodywork to be done with the Front Body Pan; this appears seamless with the rest of the body, so I wanted to install it before painting.  The rear one will be blended in after assembly and carefully retouched.  Additionally, the Front bit didn't completely fit, and the trim around the wheel well had to be rebuilt onto it and everything blended together.  

Hollywood almost always uses more than one copy of any featured vehicle due to tight filming schedules plus mechanical issues.  Some features on these cars are often fictional.  This said, in my Dukes builds I try to balance or combine the sometimes fictional features with reality. 
I went through all the episodes in question searching for even one photo of the hood up on Daisy's car, maybe parked in front of the farm with the boys doing some minor maintenance.  Couldn't even find one; this actually made things easier; it means whatever I do can't be proven wrong.  I did find one scene with the hood up on the earlier-used '74, from the episode "Limo One is Missing," but of course it was the wrong car, and we couldn't see much anyway.
It was suggested that Daisy's character might have driven the Plymouth variant with the smaller engine, with a blue engine block.  I'm not sure if any muscle car kits actually offer smaller, "tamed" small-block engines, so I went with what I had.  Had to strip the paint and redo it in a more correct color.
I added a few details for the wiring, plus an aftermarket set of belts and pulleys.  Alternator came from Revell's '68/69 Charger.  There will be more hoses and wiring added after it's installed.




 
I also removed the molded-on battery and water reservoir from the engine bay.  See, the trouble with molded-on details is that they LOOK molded on, and therefore more toylike.  So once removed their respective areas were rebuilt.  Those specific items will have separate items installed to replace them.


 

Under expert automotive guidance from the good folks at Modelcarsmag.com forums, I procured a Revell '71 Plymouth GTX as the base kit, and ordered the correct hood from Harts Parts resins.  I decided to make this a fully detailed build rather than the "curbside" closed-hood builds I've done for much of my Dukes of Hazzard fleet.  It will feature a fully super-detailed engine bay, similar to what I did with The General.  


 

Okay, on to my next project: Daisy's Plymouth!  I much prefer the look of the SECOND car used, the one that went over the cliff (actually I prefer how it looked BEFORE, but nevermind).  It just looks sleeker to me, plus it was used in more episodes (14 vs 9).
First, let's dispel some rumors and falsehoods:
     -Rumor # 1: Daisy's second car was a Plymouth Roadrunner, either '71 or '72 depending on where you read.
     -The Truth #1: Apparently it was probably a '71 Plymouth Satellite Sebring with some '71 GTX features including a non-Sebring hood.  Therefore, it shall henceforth be referred to simply as "Daisy's Plymouth".
     -Rumor #2:  Daisy's first car ('74 Plymouth Satellite) was only used in the first five episodes, the ones filmed in Georgia.
     -The Truth #2:  Actually, the '74 Satellite was retained for the first four California Episodes (Swamp Molly, Luke's Love Story, The Big Heist & Limo One is Missing).  The Sebring/GTX's first appearance was in Episode 11, "Money to Burn."  It made a nice first entrance on this episode.  It finished the first season, and was used in 14 episodes of Season 2.
     -Rumor #3:  Except for the dive off the cliff, Daisy's car was never really used much for stunts.
     -The Truth #3:  Actually, besides spinning wheels and fishtailing to Daisy's fantastic driving, it was used for a jump in Season 2 Episode 2, "Gold Fever".  Additionally, before its tragic dive off the cliff to destruction, it did a 2-wheel bank between the Hazzard Sheriff cars.  






 

Found a great one while researching Daisy's Plymouth.  
From that car's final chase leading up to its destruction at Kissing Cliff, they recycled the same shot but reversed it.  
I first noticed it by noticing the same body damage (rear fender above the wheel) on both sides.  When I slowed it down frame-by-frame, I was shocked to see it was the EXACT SAME FOOTAGE but reversed...and that I'd never had a clue!
First time we see it is the reversed footage.  You can see on the supposed driver's side what is Luke's arm casually on the window ledge, gripping the roof...on what is actually the passenger side.  In the subsequent shot, a millisecond later, the driver can be seen gripping the wheel on the wrong side (must've gone to the UK).
One will also notice between the two shots the rear view mirror is on the wrong side, to emphasize what we have already seen.


 
Now, compare the first photo with this one, taken later in the same chase scene.  It's EXACTLY THE SAME but reversed.  Even the tree, shrubbery, position of the Sheriff car, etc....

One more for today.  For the filming, all identification logos/scripts on the vehicles were removed (i.e. all the "Charger" logos, the "FORD" from above the grill and tailgate on Jesse's truck, "PLYMOUTH" and "DODGE" from the Sheriff cars, etc).  Most of this is easy for Daisy's Plymouth, except for the grill and in front of the hood.  We'll deal with the grill later.  
For the removed emblem in front of the hood, there is a recessed area that was left untouched once the emblems were removed, and then painted over.  


 
I tried removing the bit inside the recessed circle with a roto-drill, but I couldn't make it into a flat disc surface.  So I cut a tiny circle of sandpaper, smaller than the target area, and glued it to the end of a toothpick.  This, with a tiny dab of putty, exactly did the trick.

 
There was CONSIDERABLE bodywork to be done with the Front Body Pan; this appears seamless with the rest of the body, so I wanted to install it before painting.  The rear one will be blended in after assembly and carefully retouched.  Additionally, the Front bit didn't completely fit, and the trim around the wheel well had to be rebuilt onto it and everything blended together.  

Found a great one while researching Daisy's Plymouth.  
From that car's final chase leading up to its destruction at Kissing Cliff, they recycled the same shot but reversed it.  
I first noticed it by noticing the same body damage (rear fender above the wheel) on both sides.  When I slowed it down frame-by-frame, I was shocked to see it was the EXACT SAME FOOTAGE but reversed...and that I'd never had a clue!
First time we see it is the reversed footage.  You can see on the supposed driver's side what is Luke's arm casually on the window ledge, gripping the roof...on what is actually the passenger side.  In the subsequent shot, a millisecond later, the driver can be seen gripping the wheel on the wrong side (must've gone to the UK).
One will also notice between the two shots the rear view mirror is on the wrong side, to emphasize what we have already seen.


 
Now, compare the first photo with this one, taken later in the same chase scene.  It's EXACTLY THE SAME but reversed.  Even the tree, shrubbery, position of the Sheriff car, etc....

Funny how that doesn't happen with other types of flags flown as high. Funny, that....

Another from Rosco, from "Lawman of the Year":
"Ugly baby! He fell through an ugly tree and hit every limb...."

Another from Rosco, from "Lawman of the Year":
"Ugly baby! He fell through an ugly tree and hit every limb...."

Another from Rosco, from "Lawman of the Year":
"Ugly baby! He fell through an ugly tree and hit every limb...."

Okay, finally time for the COMPLETED item, my Ultimate Cooter's GMC Tow Truck!  Only complaint is the decals on the door are 'way too oversized, but they were the only ones I've been able to find in years of looking.













 

I actually made a huge list of "Waylonisms" that takes up several pages, too long for here.
But two from Rosco:
"I caught them fighting like the third monkey on the gangplank of Noah's Ark!" (S4E1 "Mrs Daisy Hogg")
Or:
Cooter: "Well, what brings you out so early, Boss?"
Rosco: "I'll tell you what brings him out.  He knows you’re an early bird, and with him being a worm, he plans on catching you.” (S5E19 "Welcome Back Bo 'N Luke")