"Mechanix Menace": An LS7-motivated, chopped and heavily modified 1973 Datsun 240Z

[chevyz240]

I am pretty pleased with the general shape of the car. I have started to add in more details, for instance I have made the hood a separate piece. I also took the tires from a model that was included in a Blender course I have purchased; 3D Cars: Inside And Out ( https://blendermarket.com/products/3...out-in-blender ) I had to modify them by changing the diameters and widths. They absolutely look like they are real! One of the more fantastic things is that the text and all the sidewall details actually are three dimensional! It is made by converting a picture in grayscale to a three dimensional texture. I can highly recommend the course; it includes some nice tricks to make modeling a lot easier and with better results!

Now I am at a stage where I will try different changes to the shape of the car to see what I like the best. When that is done, I will add all the remaining details. I have for instance tried three different curvatures of the body side. I have also started to experiment with the shape of the door opening.

Even though you can rotate the the model on the computer screen, use different focal lengths and depth of field on the camera, I still think that it's really important to have a physical model to feel and view. I already have a model car in 1:18 scale, so I 3D printed mine in the same scale. They body was printed in two pieces with 0.12 mm layers. I took more than 86 hours! I also 3D printed the tires and rims. Before I make a final decision on the shape of the car, I will probably 3D print one in 1:8 scale or larger.

The renderings are getting more refined, with depth of field and real backgrounds. They start to feel more and more realistic. I also enjoy trying out different colors and types of paint. In the course I learned how to create a customizable metallic paint where you can change the size of the metallic flakes, how much orange peel you have, plus a lot of other parameters. It's really cool, and you can make the paint look more realistic.

I think I will try to go back in the garage soon and continue the physical work on the car!







A lot more pictures at https://www.facebook.com/MechanixMenace

[chevyz240]

I was planning to creep into the garage to continue the physical work on the car, but I got stuck at the computer! I have been fine tuning my Blender model and tried different shapes and proportions. This is an example of what I have tried.





This time there's not more to see on Facebook, due to some problems there. However, much more can be seen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mechanix_menace/

[chevyz240]

The first video shows some rough versions of different door openings I am trying out. I want the door opening to harmonize with the DLO (Daylight Opening) or side window area. I will probably go with something like the last one. I feel that that the backwards sloping front edge of the door gives a sense of speed.

In the second video, to get a better feel for the car's size, I have put an 18 year younger version of myself next to it!

I first found a photo of me next to the car in the garage. I then adjusted the camera angle and focal length in Blender to match that picture. Then I had to cut myself out from the garage picture. Next up was to download a Blender model of a man. After that I changed his size and posture to match mine. Then I could match my size to the Blender man's size in Photoshop. I had to change my right arm and hand a bit and I also had to tweek the Blender man a lot to get the shadows to match me. Then I added some shadows, blur and changed other parameters of the picture of me to make it fit as good as possible in the entire scene. It's not perfect, but considering I am a novice at this, I am pretty happy!

So here is Henrik standing with his Datsun 240Z at Münsterplatz in Ulm, Germany in 2005!

[https://youtu.be/l60XrXXGtfM]

[https://youtu.be/hUNyTeoN1p8]

[chevyz240]

I have made a little compilation of different views of the car.

[chevyz240]

I am back in the garage again! I have managed to get all the pieces for the rear suspension towers in place. Seam welding will be done later.







A lot more pictures at https://www.facebook.com/MechanixMenace

[chevyz240]

A couple of wheelwell corner pieces more have been tacked in place and the left hand side outer C-pillar panel has also been tacked in place. This will create a very bending stiff beam reinforcing this part of the chassis. Together with sheet metal that will make up the front part of the rear quarter panel, this will add stiffness to an area of the chassis that, due to the placement of the rear subframe, might not be stiff enough as it sits now.







A lot more pictures at https://www.facebook.com/MechanixMenace

[TANKMASTERJ]

Looks like some great progress Henrik. But damn you got mountains of patience and perseverance!
Looking awesome and the renderings as well

[chevyz240]

Looks like some great progress Henrik. But damn you got mountains of patience and perseverance!
Looking awesome and the renderings as well

Thanks, Jason!

Yeah, I guess you need that for a project that has stretched out over half your life.

[chevyz240]

The final sheet metal pieces for the left hand C-pillar have been welded in place. The top piece is pretty complicated; it has a varying radius, it's twisted and it has a sharp bend. It took me a while to figure out how to make it. When it was almost done, and I just had to trim off a triangular piece, I cut out that piece oriented 180 degrees wrong... I had to start over again! Frustrating! This time, instead of using my sheet metal roller, I tried to make several sharp bends in the sheet metal brake. It din't work out very well, so I went back to the initial method. Plus I used the stretching tool to simplify the twisting of the piece. In the end it came out pretty nice.



I have also tried two alternative designs for the front spoiler in Blender. One that has a smooth rounded edge, and one that has a sharper edge that also is aligned with the outer hood edge. I haven't decided fully yet which way I will go, but I am leaning towards the smooth one. I think it makes the car look wider.

On the right hand side I have tacked in the outer C-pillar panel.







A lot more pictures and a film clip at https://www.facebook.com/MechanixMenace