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Dick Johnsons Tru Blu Xd Falcon


Vinno

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I saw Area 71 Slotcars recently advertised they were doing a 1982 Ford Granada and thought it was the perfect opportunity to build one of my all time favourite Bathurst cars, the Dick Johnson 1981 Bathurst winning car. The Granada and the Falcon are very similar with a few minor differences that would make it reasonably easy but time consuming to convert. Their length is pretty much spot on and Falcon is a little wider. This model seems wider than scale anyway so it will pretty much suit the Falcon.

 

The kit contains a 3D printed body and parts and is pretty sharp in detail. It comes with a chassis that accepts Slot.it, Olifer and most other pods. I like the Olifer ones as they have adjustable axle height.

DJ XD 1.jpg

 

The Granada wheel arches look different but it won't matter as they will be getting flares. The cente mould will need altering amongst other things.

DJ XD 2.jpg

 

The Falcon profile has a flatter bonnet/guard that angles up to sit a little higher than the side window frames. This meant I had to cut the bonnet and guard join from the windscreen to about halfway along and raise it a couple of mm. I then added a piece of styrene sheet on each guard and back filled it with Araldite as it is nice and strong. I am going to need to do the same for the boot as well. I also marked out where the flares will sit approximately anyway. The wheels are just to get an idea of how it will all sit but seem pretty spot on. The Ninco rears are also very similar to the actual race car although it has standard road nuts rather than a centre lock hub.

DJ XD 4.jpg

 

DJ XD 5.jpg

 

DJ XD 3.jpg

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When I saw the Granada had come up I hoped someone would do this conversion. .

Love the detailed descriptions too. Nice work!

 

Going to take some time as I need to finish my proxy Jag first and the more I look at the Granada the more changes I see I need to make.

 

I’ve also got a week away next month and the usual life stuff. I will try and get it as accurate as I can so maybe by Christmas I might have the body sorted.

 

It was not cheap bringing it out here too, ended up near $160.00 landed but it came air mail so was here in a week. Will end up doing a XE some time too but I have so many of Phil and Munter’s resins and plans to build just about every Sport Sedan raced here in the 70’s and 80’s. I think I have about 15 years worth of ideas to build.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A bit of an update as I got a couple of hours this afternoon to work on the Falcon. I started fitting rear flares last week with 3mm Sheet Styrene and extended them with some 2mm sheet styrene today. After the Araldite hardened enough I did some rough shaping to get an idea of how it will sit. Seems about right on the width so I will start on the fronts next weekend or if I get a bit of time between work and mountain biking one night during the week.

 

DJ XD 6.jpg

 

DJ XD 7.jpg

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  • 2 months later...
  • 5 years later...

Well I haven’t done much more on this since my last post 5 years ago. A lot has changed over time both at home and on the Slotcar scene. 

Personal 3d printing has taken off and every man and his dog has one, except me. Anyway a couple of years ago, (time flies eh Gazza), Gazza came down to my new place bearing gifts. He brought me numerous 3d printed bodies, chassis and other bits and piece. All greatly appreciated.

Anyway one of those bodies he printed was a Group C XD Falcon. Being a couple of years ago it doesn’t have heaps of detail but the accuracy of the shape made me think this is the way to go.

So, over the last two years I have been working away on the body when I have some time, spraying with spray putty, sanding back and whitling away at the body.

The body didn’t come with opening detail so I have started to cut that in also. I am hoping I should have some decent progress in the next year or two. Well I am hoping to get there a bit sooner than that really. Anyway here are a few photos f the progress. Sorry I didn’t take pictures of the body pre work but you get the idea. 

IMG_3225-compressed.jpeg

IMG_1747-compressed.jpeg

IMG_1748-compressed.jpeg

IMG_1749-compressed.jpeg

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