SCORPION
MONOGRAM CHERRY BOMB KITBASH
(SOLD TO A PRIVATE COLLECTOR IN NEW YORK.)
BUILT BY IRA DAHM (4/03)
2ND PLACE WINNER IN THE SHOWRODS.COM
2003 BUBBLETOP CONTEST!
MORE COLOR PHOTOS BELOW
The Scorpion is inspired by drawings I did
back in the 1970's. I've wanted to do a custom 3-wheel show car like this
for a long time. Show Rod.Com's Bubbletop Contest was a great excuse to
finally build the Scorpion. I started with the Cherry Bomb (a 4-wheel/turbine
powered show rod) and transformed it into the Scorpion a 3-wheel/ 4.6 Liter
Supercharged Ford powered show car. Here's some of the details.
The Scorpion's dashboard instrumentation
was kept to a minimum because this car has holographic displays for all
the the vital information needed. Scorpion also has two joysticks for playing
holographic video games and internet access, for when you are parked or
on automatic pilot.
The main body parts for the Scorpion are
from the Monogram Cherry Bomb kit. The tires and rear wheels are from Monogram's
Groovy Grader kit. The Quick Change rear end is from the Monogram Pie Wagon
and the radiator ornament is from Monogram's Paddy Wagon. The engine, springs
and radiator are from Revell's Mustang Mach III and the steering wheel and
side pipes are from AMT's Silhouette.
Here's how it was built. First the Cherry
Bomb interior was glued in place, then I taped the body halves together
to check the fit for the front tire and engine. A front wheel section was
cut out of the body and then a section was removed for the new larger engine
compartment. Rear wheel wells were cut out to make room for the big tires.
The rear roof scoop was made from the seat backs from Revell's 1939 Ford
panel truck and the sunken headlight area was made using the head light
housings from the same kit. Tail light housings for the AMT's 1962 Thunderbird
tail lights were cut into the rear of the body and backed with sheet plastic.
Next openings were cut out of the bottom of the body for the rear springs,
rear end and drive shaft. The front end was shortened and the grill opening
was enlarged. Exhaust outlets were made from teardrop shaped plastic shapes,
modified for the side pipes. (See construction photo below.)
The body was then glued together. The Cherry
Bomb head light housings were used to make scoops for the engine. Putty
was used to reshape the fender/wheel well areas and fill in the low spots.
The body was then sanded and primed.
The front wheel was made from 2 inner wheels
from the Pie Wagon with an half inch diameter tube between them. Then the
wheel was covered with chrome plastic film. The front axle is made from
brass tubing. Rear end and engine parts were modified to fit. The gauge
panel from AMT's 1929 Ford was used to mount the steering wheel. The ends
of the side pipes also were drilled out.
The Scorpion was covered with grey and white
primer coats, sanded between each coat. Three coats of Boyd's Lime Pearl
were applied followed by three coats of Testor's Glosscote. The interior
was painted with Boyd's Lime Pearl with Testor's Flat White.
