The bodywork was to be thermoformed from 0.5mm polystyrene sheet, and this required patterns to be made over which the panels would be formed. I prefer to make wooden patterns using clear poplar which is easily obtainable in planed boards which can be laminated into suitably sized blocks. For the Flowfree I made one block for the body and bonnet, one for the rear wings and tail, and one each for the front wings and running boards. 

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I printed 1:1 copies of the drawings, cut out the required shapes and glued them to the wood blocks. I could then cut out the shapes with the bandsaw, first the side views, then the top views, then sand them to the precise contours. The main body has sharp crease lines but slight curvature on roof and sides which are filed and sanded to shape using templates cut from thin plastic. Curvature on the front and rear wings is much greater but is achieved in the same manner using multiple templates to ensure both sides are the same. Forming the polystyrene sheet over the patterns is achieved by judicious use of a heat gun and thermal gloves using appropriately cut pieces of the plastic sheet. I must admit this has taken much practice, many mistakes, and a bin full of discarded plastic. Only relatively small areas can be covered at a time, and these pieces are then carefully trimmed, reassembled over the wood pattern, and glued edge to edge. When complete the fabricated part can be carefully removed from the pattern but all the joints will require reinforcing on the back with polystyrene strips. At this point the outer surfaces are quite rough and will require considerable filling and sanding to achieve the correct shape and finish. The main body is trimmed to accept the rear wing molding which can then be permanently attached using appropriate adhesives. In order to facilitate finishing the interior of the model, the front wings are mounted on a fabricated floor which can be attached to the body section using three bolts and hidden nuts. Apertures for windows and bonnet louvres are cut out using patterns from the printed drawings. The two sections of the model can then be separately prepared for painting.

The sculpted shape of the Flowfree called for greater attention to surface finish than my previous models, and for this reason I decided to use an enamel paint which would give a nice high gloss finish as long as the surface was really smooth. To this end I used two coats of a sanding primer wet sanded with 400 & 600 grade emery paper between each, one coat of air-brushed white primer wet sanded with 1000 grade paper to give a solid colour base for the cream finish. Then 4 coats of Humbrol gloss enamel, their ‘cream’ being the closest colour I could find to Rob’s car. This was air-brushed with each coat 2 days apart, and progressively thinner so that prior to the final coat any minor defects such as dust can be dealt with using 8000 grade abrasive pads. Painted parts are then shut away in a dust proof container for at least 2 days before I dare touch them, and then only with cotton gloves. This finish would take a couple of weeks to fully harden, and was good enough that it did not require further polishing.

Meanwhile, attention has been paid to producing all the parts that will be assembled on to the finished model. To simulate the bonnet louvres, 12 pieces of polystyrene sheet are cut to fit each parallelogram cutout, then several short lengths of 1/32” quarter round strips are glued into place on them and filed to shape so they fit snugly into each aperture. These will be painted separately and installed from the inside after the body is painted. The rear number plate housing was fabricated from layers of polystyrene sheet and hand painted, the actual numbers being computer generated, printed, and cut out. The radiator grill was made from wood, shaped, primed, and finished with a product called Molotow Liquid Chrome which is applied with felt tipped pens of various sizes. The radiator slats were simulated by slicing through the finish with a sharp knife but this did not work well with the Molotow so I decided to finish the slats with body colour similar to many other examples of Gloria radiators. The radiator mascot was filed to shape from 1/8” plastic rod and the wings added cut from thin plastic sheet. The headlights were molded in epoxy putty from a polyester mold cast from a pattern made from a wooden dowel sanded to shape in a drill chuck. The reflectors are simply the conical shape of a suitably sized drill bit tip, and the glass cut to size from clear plastic and glued in place. The whole headlamp assembly was coated in the Molotow Chrome as were all the other plated parts. The badge bar and headlamp mounts are brass rod, bent and soldered, and mounted in pre-drilled holes in the front wings. The horns were fabricated from polystyrene and glued to the badge bar. The front bumper is a brass strip with short lengths of brass rod soldered at the ends and filed to shape. Two brass rods are soldered in place and mount the bumper using two pre-drilled holes in the under body. The fog lights are made similar to the headlights and glued to the bumper along with the front number plate. Door and boot handles are pieces of brass rod soldered together and filed to shape and glued into pre-drilled holes.

The interior is not as visible so, with the exception of the dashboard and steering wheel, didn’t require as much attention to detail. I had no pictures of the interior of the car so made up my own based on interior pictures of other Glorias taken from the internet. Windows are clear plastic sheet, cut oversized and glued to the interior walls. I chose a red colour for seats and trim which was brush painted with a matte enamel. Seats were fabricated from sheet polystyrene but the cushions are epoxy putty, sculpted to look like they’ve been sat in, and painted in a sort of streaky way to look like worn leather. The dashboard was based on a ’36 Gloria and painted to simulate wood. The instruments are photographed from internet pictures, cut out and glued in place. Switches and other details are too small to reproduce exactly so are simulated with plastic and paint as best I can. The steering wheel is fabricated from brass wire and strip with the controls on the hub from polystyrene, all painted in semi-gloss black with chrome highlights. The windscreen is flush with the surface so has to precisely cut to fit and is initially held in place by the chrome trim which are 1mm strips cut from chrome self adhesive tape. When in place, suitable adhesive is carefully applied to the inside of the windscreen for security. The chrome flashes on the body sides are also cut from the chrome tape. The rubber strips on the running boards are 1mm strips cut from black duct tape.

Wheels are one of the most important components of any car model as poorly made ones, or out of scale details can destroy the overall effect, but good ones can significantly enhance it. Fortunately the Bugatti wheels I’m using require only the Ace discs to be added, and these are made from polystyrene discs with a narrow segment cut out, and the disc reassembled with a slight conical shape. These are finished in body colour with smaller plated discs and wheel nuts added later. Unfortunately I was unable to simulate the inner chrome ring of the Ace discs so I had to leave them off. The wheels are mounted on 1/8” brass rod axles which locate in 3/16” polystyrene tubing mounted to the underside of the model. Once the two assemblies of the model are bolted together and all the minor components glued in place, then adding the wheels and axles is the final step.