botty kayer

Drillium Dude excellent, work, second is still better than all bar one , look forward to seeing more when they get done

Even though I was a chlld at the time that era black and gold JPS Lotus, was all across the TV back then and was etched on brain as being cool as hell then, and it still is today.

OldsCOOL

Very cool DD, that is weight weenie heaven!!

botty kayer

And luckily the saddle fail didn't cause me to hit the deck, I veered wildly on a road that thankfully was not busy with traffic of people. The ride home hovering over the spikes of doom kept the heart racing for a while though. It made such a noise at the time I'd thought I'd done something catastrophic to the ti Marckx I was riding, so in the end losing just a saddle didn't seem so bad.

I stupidly threw all the bits away though, not knowing there are top notch rebuilders out there that could maybe have given it the kiss of life.

Darth Lefty 

Perhaps given all the model car paint stuff, DD will forgive me for revealing that you can fake carbon fiber by starting with solid black and spraying metallic graphite paint through a mask of shelf liner. I learned this as an airbrush trick for R/C car bodies (where you do the masked graphite first)

Drillium Dude 

Thanks!

There will be more F1 content when I wrap this up, but yeah - I was also glued to my TV on the rare occasion (back in the Dark Ages of limited F1 coverage available in the Colonies) a Grand Prix was televised. Damn good times

DD

Drillium Dude 

Thank you! I probably added a little more weight with the 4 layers of paint on the underside, but that'll be offset this afternoon when I remove the 1/8" of excess CF from the non-dive side of the nose

DD

Drillium Dude 

Good news, Botty! Similarly, I didn't suffer injury in my experience, either, but like you, the ride home was long and stress-inducing - I had to pedal standing up for about 15 miles, with the carbon shell tucked inside my jersey!

I'm sure somebody out there besides myself repairs these beautiful, classic (they are at least 20 years old, after all) saddles. But if not, perhaps I can help someone at some point. I'll be adding tags to my Flickr pics of the process; perhaps the additional exposure might be seen by someone with a saddle they'd like to restore to original condition. Wish I could get replacement logos, tho.

DD

Drillium Dude 

He's right, you know

However, I'm lazy these days and plump for correspondingly-scaled CF decal sheets. These, used in conjunction with Micro Sol and Micro Set decal solutions really add to the realism of anything 1/20th scale or larger.

Once I'm done with this project, it's back to my current build: a Tameo superkit of Niki Lauda's 1975 Championship-winning Ferrari 312T - in 1/43rd scale.

DD

Drillium Dude 

Good deal - I'm happy to know there's at least a couple fans of F1 following the thread - and one particular member who's also a fan of the legend that is Gilles Villeneuve

That's pretty cool that you have a distant connection to him in your friend and brother. How cool is that? When I first heard Jacques was going racing, it was when he was competing in Japanese F3000; never did I dream he'd go on to win the Indy 500, and subsequently the F1 World Championship when he changed disciplines. But then again, considering his father's talents, it seems natural Jacques inherited something of that burning desire to race - and win.

There will be more F1/GV content - after all, both inspired this exercise - when I present the final photos. It might assist those on the fence about this modification in understanding the thought process - not to mention passion - in creating this tribute.

I know Ayrton had numerous irons in the fire beyond F1-related consumer relationships, but I wasn't aware of his connection to marketing in our two-wheeled world. I do know after his death, Ducati produced a Senna version of the Panigale - as close an association with two wheels (vice four) that I was aware of. I'll have to look into the Senna/Audi connection, see what I can find. Thanks for that interesting tidbit!

Thanks for your enthusiastic thumbs-up

DD

Drillium Dude 

Sorry folks, but I did a boo-boo during the final phase. I can fix it, but I have to wait for the clear-coat to cure harder before I feather in and around the error.

It's 95% finished, so there's that

DD

Drillium Dude 

Hopefully, this will hold some of you until tomorrow

Gilles Villeneuve over-compensating for the 1981 Ferrari 126CK's lack of proper road-holding; Brazil, 1981:



DD

cudak888 

As when building models, if something doesn't go right, it's time to dial back any idea or notion of time pressure. The process to rectify a small error usually takes 10 times the time and patience of whatever led to it in the first place.

-Kurt

Drillium Dude 

You ain't just whistlin' Dixie, Kurt!

OMG, I had a devil of a time this afternoon applying the decals (partly, I believe, because I laid them down on the bare carbon - if I were to do it again, I'd lay one coat of clear first), because the ones I used were from a pretty old kit (1979), thus a couple came off the backing sheet in pieces - exceedingly small pieces, at that

LOTS of fiddling got them to where I wanted them to be, but it was a bee-yotch, to be sure. However, I did have the opportunity to share in a lengthy conversation about a Huffy (and other bike-related fodder), thus the day balanced out quite nicely

DD

AdventureManCO 

I dare not show that fancy seat to the Huffy...it will be too jealous! And right now the seat is the least of our many concerns.

But back to the seat - seriously impressive work. I have a firmly cemented admiration of quality work that will almost never be seen, as it is virtually always an indicator as to the quality of the work that can be seen.

Really curious to see this decal that gave you grief - I'm sure it came out stellar. I've done some model kit stuff with the kids (as I used to do it when I was a kid), but I have to take off my 'perfectionist hat' in order to do it, otherwise it will never get finished. Can't wait to see the rest!!!!

cudak888 

I was going to suggest I could do an Illustrator trace and a new decal could be printed and cleared, but I dare say the original is probably a thicker, non-digitized ink transfer. Your call...

-Kurt

Drillium Dude 

It's officially tomorrow

In February of 1977, I became aware of Formula One. This fortuitous discovery was made via Reader's Digest and the story of Niki Lauda, recounted in RD's monthly 'Drama in Real Life'. This was the story of how Niki crashed and burned at the 1976 German Grand Prix on the Nurburgring. He went into hospital as a result, and at one point his prognosis was so grim, he was read the Last Rites by a Catholic priest. However, the same determination that saw him walk the 1975 F1 World Championship was put to good use, returning to the wheel of his Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza just six weeks later. He lost his Championship crown by a solitary point after he abandoned the sodden Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, considering the rain-swept conditions too dangerous for the F1 cars - not to mention tires - of the time. The following year, he won three races - including the German Grand Prix - on his way to regaining the World Championship for the second time in three years.

This was my introduction to both F1 and the Ferrari Grand Prix team. I began reading anything related to both F1 and Ferrari, and soon enough found that Road & Track magazine had a monthly feature on the Grands Prix; my first season following F1 was 1978, and by then, Niki had departed Ferrari. His replacement? A Canadian named Gilles Villeneuve.

While Niki was analytical and scientific in his approach to racing, Gilles was anything but. He would take the car by the scruff of its neck and wring every bit of performance he could out of it - every single time. He didn't drive with an eye on the Championship, per se, but to win - every single time. He did so on just six occasions, but that was of no importance to me - I simply loved watching this man ply his trade with abandon; I loved to watch him race. He hung it out there every time he was out on the track, and for this passionate approach to F1 he was hands-down the crowd favorite of his era. If he was still running, you had the feeling anything could happen - and frequently did. Winning his first F1 race on home ground in Montreal at the 1978 season-ending Canadian Grand Prix began the fairy-tale of just four years in the top rank. In 1979 he finished second to his Ferrari team-mate Jody Scheckter by a mere 4 points, scoring three three popular victories along the way. 1980 was a barren season for Ferrari and Gilles, while 1981 - with Ferrari's new turbocharged car - yielded two more victories, in Monaco and Spain. In 1982 Gilles turned up for the 1982 season installed in a brand-new concept: the Ferrari 126 C2 - which finally had a superb chassis to match its considerable power.

Tragically, only 4 races into this season, he was killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. I'll never forget the moment I heard the terrible news, delivered by Brent Musburger in the late afternoon of 8 May, and my visceral reaction: I completely broke down, and was absolutely inconsolable for months. Whenever I read an article or saw a photo of his exploits, tears were never far away. Two years it took to assimilate this loss; Formula One was never again the same for me.

However, inspired first by the successes, trials, and tribulations of Niki Lauda, and subsequently Gilles Villeneuve's amazing, albeit short racing career, I became - and remain to this day - a true, dedicated tifosi. Win or lose; feast or famine; the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, my support of Ferrari has endured. Today, at the season-opener in Bahrain, I'll be hoping they add yet another victory to their unbeaten record of (currently) 242 Grand Prix wins. Forza Scuderia Ferrari!

And Gilles? He's gone, but not forgotten. The passion for F1 and Ferrari remains, but no driver since has resonated with me the way Gilles did - and never will again.

This is my tribute to the great man (and his team) which so inspired me in my youth:



















Gilles: thanks for the memories!

Ferrari: continua buona fortuna!

DD

BFisher

Classy little tribute project, and the results are fantastic, especially that you took the step to do the underside of the shell so nicely. Way to make it your own!

unworthy1

^ ditto ^

AdventureManCO 

Simply stunning

northbend 

Cool tribute Jeff and very well executed as usual with all your projects.

Bravo!

Drillium Dude 

Thank you, I appreciate that

While I knew what I wanted to do on the top of the shell from the start, the underside was a different story. Originally, I figured I'd clear-coat it, too, but when I realized I had a shade close to the California Burgandy of the Medici, I decided to step it up, and add a little contrast - tho I did always intend to add Gilles' name and number along with the Ferrari shield.

I left the tiny edge as sharp as possible to better demark that contrast. I'm pretty happy with the result, tho tiny voids in the CF did result in a couple-few 'fisheyes', but that's me nitpickin', honestly.

DD

Drillium Dude 

Thanks for the kind comments, Matt! Too bad this little nod to history didn't help the Scuderia to a victory today in Bahrain, but there's always the next race...

DD

Drillium Dude 

I took a few shots today in natural light - finally, the metal transfers on the transom pop like I expected them to!

More photos:











Note the finish seems a bit dull at the edges of the 'swallowtail'; I still plan on laying 2 or 3 more coats of clear, which will shine things up a bit - and provide the finish with more longevity. Since this saddle's gonna be a user, the more the merrier.

DD

merziac

@Drillium Dude

WOW!, just efn WOW!

This is fantastic, so cool.

I often go down this road in my mind with really severe detail like this, quickly realizing I can't get there, no paint skill at all, I built models as a kid and was ok at paint, good with detail and great overall but never followed through with paint so got horrible at it as time went on.

Screwed up so many projects now that I don't even try, mad respect for those like you.

Encourage you to read "Faster" and "They call me Mister 500" if you haven't.

And while not a practicing fan of F1, I have always been a JPS and Jackie Stewart fan.

Yamaha East sold Nortons and had JPS's that were so cool looking despite being typical problem plagued Nortons.

They were across the street from Gateway Schwinn and next door to Honda Norwest so you could go see JPS's, Elisinore's, Bultaco's and chrome Paramount's circa 73-74 to your hearts content.

I spent a lot of time up there.

Lattz

Whaaaaaaaaat? There are no words for this.... this is really awesome, congrats Drillium Dude elagant and striking just like the cars themselves.