Bobbed and Dove-Tailed Tamiya Blackfoot

[RideLowInAGTO]

Here is my first attwmpt at bobbing and dove-tailing a body. So far it looks really good. I started by laying down a strip of blue masking tap at the angle that i wanted. I did this on both sides then used the thread technique to cut it out. The thread was a little annoying at first, but once i figured it out it was simple. After i cut the angle into it i used the channel that sperates the bood from the quater panel to cut the line that runs against the fender. Once the body was cut up in the front i pinched the two sides together and tacked them with some glue. Next i used a ruler and measured the distance between the quaters so that i could figure out how much i needed to cut from the grille. The grill was 6 5/16 inchs long and the distance between the fenders was 5 inches. So i found the difference of the two and divided it by 2 to get the middle marker. From there i made a mark on the top and bottom of the grille and layed a piece of tape down on both sides. I used a coping saw to cut the grille out. Once it was cut i sanded them flat and did any extra trimming before glueing. I used a small amount of glue and held the two pieces together until they were strong enough to sit on there own. After that i bolted it up to see how it fits...






Alright here is were i need you guys...

How do i reinforce the joint between the hood and panel? Do i use a strip of styrene underneath the gap or something else?

What kind of filler do you guys use?

And most of all what do you guys think of it so far?

The rear panels will be a little later down the line. Im not sure if i like the step sides, so i might attempt making my rear panels out of balsa then making fiberglass ones using the balsa as a mold. I might also give styrene an attempt.

[nascarkeith]

Bondo spot putty is cheap and works pretty good. Styrene and Shoe Goo would reinforce it good.

I think it looks good so far.

[RideLowInAGTO]

Started working on the bed sides... Im making them out of balsa and layering it, then i get some bondo and fill it in. Now i need to figure out how to make the rear fender flares like this...



and

Driver side

[Mt.Dew]

Very nice job, looking forward to see how it turns out....
Form the wheel well edge out of Bondo when you cover it. Lot's of sanding
but probably the best way IMO.

[RideLowInAGTO]

I thought about that, but it would be brittle and probaly just chip off. So i was thinking of using a thin piece of 1/8 or 1/16 wide balsa and curving it to the wheel well, then applying bondo and sanding.

[Tron]

Dovetailing looks cool.