In the last episode I shortened the chassis to fit the shortened body. Saws were drawn; glue was squirted; RDCs were dreamt about; all ended well.
The next thing I decided to do was install the drivetrain. This involved shortening the driveshafts and lowering the engine a little so its transmission would line up properly with the transfer case's new location. This doesn't sound like much, but it turned out to be a tricky sort of job. In the end I couldn't get all the drivetrain elements lined up as I had hoped so I simply connected the partially lowered engine to the transfer case with a highly unrealistic, cobbled together drive shaft whose universal joints are an insult to hotrodders everywhere.
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The kit's driveshafts were cut, shortened, and glued back together.
The transfer case mount and the engine mounts were lowered. |
Again, while I was doing this work I thought back to when I first tried this project when I was 12 and realized once again I could not have done it back then, and that this phase of construction is so involved and convoluted I can see why it was glossed over in the article. I'm doing a bit of glossing over here myself, but at least I'm showing you what the underside of the vehicle has ended up looking like, and giving some hints about how to proceed if you're crazy enough to tackle this project.
Speaking of crazy, since there appeared to me to be information missing from the article I decided to ask Gemini to summarize the article and see what it might find. No, I haven't lost my ability to think, I was just curious to see if it could actually 'read' a jpeg of the article and see what it had to say about it. Here's the summary Gemini gave:
The article, titled "A Desert Dodge," was written by Bill Wright for the September 1972 issue of Car Model magazine. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to take MPC’s then-new 1/25 scale "Baja-Brute" Dodge Adventurer SE kit and modify it into a more authentic Mexican off-road racer.
Here is a summary of the article:
Background and Context
The author opens with a brief history of off-road racing in the Southwest, noting the transition from modified "junkers" and VW-based dune buggies to the professionalization of the "Baja 1000." He highlights how major manufacturers (Ford, Dodge, etc.) began entering the fray, leading to the release of specialized model kits like the MPC "Baja-Brute."
The Project Goal
While the MPC kit provided a good base, the author argues that serious off-road racers are even more modified than the "out of the box" kit suggests. The goal of the build is to "shorten" the truck and add a custom, heavy-duty external roll cage to match the real-world racers of the era.
Key Modifications
The article details eight specific steps to achieve a more "pro" look:
• Sectioning the Body: To make the truck more agile, the author instructs to cut one full inch out of the stock pickup bed and shorten the chassis and drive shaft accordingly.
• Custom Roll Cage: Using K&S brass tubing (1/16, 3/32, and 1/8-inch), the author explains how to bend and solder a complex "exoskeleton" roll cage that wraps over the roof and into the bed.
• Weight Reduction: The roof is "sliced" from the roll cage (likely referring to the interior clearance or thinning the plastic) to simulate racing weight-saving measures.
• Scratch-Building Details:
* Screen Mesh: Used on the roof cage for cargo/spare tire storage.
• "Flex-Straw" Intake: A clever "low-tech" tip where a plastic drinking straw is used to simulate the large air cleaner hose running from the dashboard to the engine.
• Air Cleaner Housing: Cut from thick plastic or wood to simulate the housing that protects the carburetor from desert sand.
• Finishing Touches: The build uses decals from a "Duster" kit and adds spare tires and off-road lights to the rear cage.
Summary of the "Baja" Style
The article concludes by noting that these modifications simulate the "funny car-style" tube chassis machines with fiberglass bodies that were winning the Baja 1000 at the time, elevating the standard kit from a "street-legal" 4WD to a dedicated racing machine.
It's quite a decent summary actually. I was glad to read in the 'Sectioning the Body' bullet point Gemini interpreted the text the same as I did that the instruction is to cut an inch out of the pickup bed. Unlike Gemini though, through the experience of building the model I can figure out that cutting out that inch is too much when the resulting bed is compared to the article's photos. In fact if I had paid more attention to the photos instead of the text I would have twigged that the text was wrong. Gemini didn't come to that realization and I don't think it can.
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| I glued on some bolt greeblies to suggest detail. |
Since the instructions for modifying the chassis and body are missing - the subject of this post and the previous one - I asked Gemini to tell me what was missing. I wanted to see if it noticed that, and to see if it noticed any other missing instructions. Here's what it told me:
Based on the era of the magazine and the "pro-modeler" style of Bill Wright, the article is remarkably complete for its time, but it does leave out a few technical "connective" steps that a modern modeler might find challenging.
By 1972 standards, this was a high-level instructional piece. However, if you were trying to replicate this build today, you would likely find gaps in three specific areas:
1. Structural Alignment (The "Chassis Sectioning")
In Step 1, the author mentions removing an "equal amount" from the chassis and the rear drive shaft after sectioning the bed.
• What’s missing: He doesn't explain how to reinforce those cuts. Simply gluing two ends of a plastic chassis or a thin drive shaft together creates a very weak "butt joint" that will likely snap. A modern guide would suggest "sleeving" the drive shaft with a brass tube or using plastic reinforcement plates (gussets) on the chassis rails to ensure the truck doesn't sag in the middle.
2. Soldering vs. Gluing Brass
The article suggests that the K&S brass tubing can be "soldered or epoxied together if you clean the joints."
• What’s missing: Soldering brass to create a roll cage is a specific skill. The author doesn't mention the need for flux or how to "fish-mouth" (notch) the ends of the tubes so they sit flush against each other. If you just touch two round tubes together and apply solder or epoxy, the surface area is too small for a permanent bond.
3. Interior and Engine Integration
The guide focuses almost entirely on the exterior "look" of the Baja racer.
• What’s missing: * Step 8 discusses the air cleaner housing and hose, but it doesn't detail how to modify the hood to accommodate these parts or how the "Flex-Straw" passes through the firewall without interfering with the dashboard.
There is no mention of interior modifications, such as removing the passenger seat or adding racing harnesses, which would be standard for a truck of this caliber.
Is it "Complete"?
Yes, for the 1972 hobbyist. During this era, Car Model readers were expected to have a "parts bin" mentality. The article provides the difficult creative solutions (the measurements for the body and the design of the cage) and assumes the builder has the basic mechanical skills to make the pieces stick together.
It’s a perfect example of the "kitbashing" philosophy that E. L. Moore and his contemporaries championed—using everyday items like drinking straws and window mesh to solve complex modeling problems.
Regarding Gemini's advice for chassis sectioning, the part I've been dealing with recently, its advice is true, but generic. As you've seen, I didn't follow that advice. I used butt joints to hold the drive shafts together, and didn't use sleeving. The resulting joints I made are quite strong and rigid, it just takes a little patience to hold the pieces together while the glue is setting up. Also, I didn't reinforce the chassis as again the glue joints are quite strong and the entire unit of chassis and body will be quite strong when it's finally all glued together. I guess it's an experience thing, the modeller needs to apply their knowledge to the problem at hand and proceed with what seems appropriate. In this case, the model isn't subjected to any loads other than casual handling, so lots of extra reinforcement isn't required, just careful fitting of parts and solid gluing.
The E. L. Moore reference at the end is odd, but Gemini has run E. L. Moore requests for me before and I've added an note to it that I have a significant E. L. Moore database, so Gemini seems to inject Mr. Moore wherever it seems appropriate to it. I don't completely disagree with it's assertion about E. L. Moore as he did use everyday items now and then, but he certainly wasn't a kitbasher, that was an Art Curren speciality.
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| Chassis was base coated with Vallejo Model Color Black Grey |
Gemini concluded its response about missing instructions with this question to me:
Would you like me to look closer at the photos to see if I can spot any "unspoken" modifications to the interior or engine bay?
To which I said, Yes. It then generated this:
After a closer look at the photos and researching the original 1971 MPC kit, I’ve spotted several "unspoken" details that Bill Wright included in his final build but didn't explicitly describe in the text.
If you are looking for the most complete picture for your E. L. Moore dataset, here are the subtle additions visible in the images:
[JDL: No, I don't know why it again mentioned my E. L. Moore dataset. It seems to think everything I ask it has something to do with E. L. Moore. Ok, well, yes to me all roads lead to E. L. Moore, but come on :-) ]
1. Interior Strip-Down
While the text mentions the "Baja-Brute" kit as a base, the photos of the finished model (specifically Step 8 and the final profile views) show a very sparse interior.
• The Dash: In Step 8, you can see the "Flex-Straw" intake hose disappearing into the dashboard area. Real Baja trucks of this era often had their entire heater core and glove box removed to save weight and make room for radio equipment or specialized gauges.
• Seats: Though not detailed in a step, the final photos show low-back bucket seats. The original "Adventurer SE" trim usually featured a plush bench seat, meaning the author swapped these out for "racing" buckets, likely from his parts bin.
[JDL: No, the seats in the model haven't been replaced with bucket seats. The kit's original bench seat is still there.]
2. Chassis and Suspension "Lift"
The final photos show the truck sitting significantly higher than a stock 1972 Dodge.
• The Secret: If you look at the wheel wells in the final assembly shots, there is a massive gap. This suggests the author likely performed a "suspension lift." In 1970s modeling, this was often done by adding small plastic spacers (or "lift blocks") between the leaf springs and the axles—a common modification that Wright likely assumed his readers already knew how to do.
[JDL: A good observation and this is what I did being schooled in the 70s as I was.]
3. Engine Bay "Pass-Through"
Step 8 is the only mention of the engine, but it’s a crucial one.
• The Missing Cut: To get that "Flex-Straw" from the air cleaner (in the bed) to the carburetor (under the hood), Wright would have had to cut a hole through the rear firewall of the cab.
[JDL: Wright's modification was more show than the go suggested above.]
• The Airbox: He mentions simulating the air cleaner housing with plastic or wood. In the photos, this looks like a large "canister" style filter. This was a classic "Pre-Cleaner" setup used to spinning out heavy sand before it reached the engine.
4. Exterior "Survival" Gear
The final photos show several items that aren't in the "How-To" list but are vital for the look:
• Spare Tires: Two full-sized spares are strapped into the rear cage.
• Fuel Cell: There is a cylindrical object in the bed near the air cleaner that likely represents a high-capacity fuel cell, essential for the long stretches of the Baja 1000.
• Rear-Facing Lights: Small spotlights are mounted to the top of the roll cage, facing backward—used by racers to let trailing drivers see them through the thick dust clouds.
Gemini wanted to do more at this point, but I had had enough.
I don't think I'll be asking Gemini for help with interpreting scale modelling articles anytime soon, but there were a couple of interesting things that came out of this for me.
First, I was struck by an overwhelming sense of how much things have changed since I bought that issue of
Car Model in the summer of '72 at
the Painted Post Smoke Shop. It's not like I didn't already realize this on an intellectual level, but it hit me at a visceral one as I asked this thing, this simulation of human thought, about something from an era where things like it didn't exist. It's a freaky feeling I need to examine some more.
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| Have a look at the passages on bricoleur and bricolage. |
Second was Gemini's introduction of the term "parts bin mentality". It rather dances around this phrase, but from its use the meaning has something to do with a modeller having some experience with kitbashing and feeling at ease using carefully chosen everyday items in a model. I'll agree with it in that specialized things like photoetched and 3D printed parts weren't available so creative modellers had to find other ways to build the things they were after, and repurposing everyday items was one way. For this approach though I think Claude Lévi-Strauss' use of the term bricoleur and bricolage, that he develops in his book The Savage Mind aka Wild Thought, are more accurate and descriptive of the long history of this type of modelling, art, and, ultimately, understanding. Bricoleur and bricolage are worthy of their own post, so I'll leave further discussion for the future. Maybe Gemini will update its vocabulary in the meantime :-)
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The cursed GMC Jimmy compared to the Desert Dodge
The Dodge looks like it'll be much taller. |
For my immediate future though I'll be moving on to preparing the body and cab interior for attaching to the chassis. Stay tuned!
