Streicher Hawk Midget Die Cast Conversion

[Art]

Usually I like to build serially, but lately I've been getting the itch to try some other things while I'm hung up on other projects. I have been dying to try working with some brass since I was given a rack of metal last year. I thought a good first project might be a rework of this die cast midget I bought a few years back. I wanted to see if any of the parts would be a help to me in building my dad's midget he had back in the '80s. I'm not quite ready to start that project, but I thought instead I might modify the die cast to resemble my little brother's midget he raced in Indiana back around 2008. The more I think about the project, there will probably be less die cast and more scratchbuilding, starting with the frame.

Since I will likely want to enter the finished model in the Modified Die Cast classes at shows when there is one, I am going to use a few things, like the metal tail tank, the hood, the engine, tires and the rear end. That's probably about it, though.

Here's a few shots of my brother's car:

[Art]

Here's the die cast:







This my first attempt at scratchbuiling an open wheel chassis and my first attempt at brass work. So far it's a lot of fun.

It's not dimensionally correct to the real car, but is consistent with the die cast so that the parts fit.

[Chris K. Hale]

SWEET Art!! Your first attempt at Brass and solder is pretty nice.. I started building my own slot car chassis at the age of 8 and became quite good at making a jig, bending the pieces,and flowing the solder on. now its been almost 50 years and you may have convinced me to do something again soon.... the parts look like excellent replacements and I am sure this will be another stellar build... no pressure right? Chris

[Art]

Thanks, Chris! I'm really enjoying the brass work. I can see myself using it a lot more in the future. I certainly would love to see what you could come up with too.

[Art]

I managed to get the other side built. Amazingly, it matches up pretty well with the first side!

[Art]

Not all the bars are in place, but the two frame rails are connected...

[Art]

Small update- I added a few more bars. The anti roll tubes on the ends will get trimmed later. Not much different visually, but this actually took quite a bit of time to get the rear cage braces done.

[Art]

I got my dirtmodeler.com order in today  

I got the Kirkey seat, rod ends, spindles, radiator logo masks, and all kinds of goodies.



The seat is a perfect replica of the Kirkey in the actual car.

[Art]

It's an improvement over the die cast seat, for sure!

[Art]

I also did some work on the rear end. For some reason, they top of the rear end was shaved off. I wanted to add the shape back to it. I took a piece of brass tube that was about the same diameter as the center section, and cut a piece off that was about the same width. Then I filled the tube with resin and made a plug. I popped the resin out and cut a piece off of the circle and applied it to the rear end.

[alterrenner]

That is one incredible repair to the differential! Perfect blend! This is one of those repairs that no one sees because it looks so much like an injection molded part. Show photos when you show the car! Frank

[Art]

Thanks, Frank!

Added brackets for the steering gear. This was probably the hardest part to do so far, as getting small rings of tube to hold it, with a spacer behind it, was a challenge.

[Art]

Here's another update. I added some bracing for the cage and torsion tubes, and also managed to get the bumpers built. Thanks for looking!

[dustymojave]

Looking great Art. Nice work!

[Art]

Thanks, Richard!