There are times when building a model car, that you have to make decision's...Do you follow directions and build that box stock kit? Do you update the engine by kitbashing it with a different kit then find out you have clearance issues and the hood wont close? Do you Search the internet and find out you can get your hands on either resin cast or 3d printed engines in some huge displacements that would never fit under the stock hood?... Either way... this walk through can be used no matter how much room you need.
Granted, for the subject matter i am using today, i am making a monster cowl hood because this build will get a huge resin engine in the future. If you need to make yours more shallow, follor the same steps, just make your side pieces shorter.
First is a look at the stock hood.
The pencil lines i have put there so you can see where i will be making my initial cuts.
Using my dremel and a cut off disc i cut away the raised portion of the stock hood. Make sure you stay inside the lines, you want to leave a bit of finish work and it is a lot easier to remove more material than it is to add it back later. You can use a razor saw or even scribe through with the back edge of a hobby knife to get a cleaner result, i am not worried about the initial cuts as i will clean up the edges with a bit of file work.
About halfway through the file work here . just make sure that by the time you are done, your edges are straight.
For the actual cowl scoop, i cut a piece of .020 styrene sheet the width i want the scoop to be.
I cut two more smaller pieces to act as the side filler panels. i use one of them to make a template by drawing the shape i want on it that i know will both clear the engine and look good.
To make sure both sides match, i use a spring clamp to hold them together and then sand and shape them as one piece
Once i have the profile i want, we can move to the next step.
I first glue the side filler panels to the inside of the hood cutout we made earlier with liquid cement. Once that dries i slide the plastic i am using for the top of the cowl scoop under the lip of the hood opening. you can see here where i trimmed just a bit off each corner so i could get it in place a bit easier. you may or may not have to do that.
When the glue dries fully ( i would leave it overnight just to be sure ) you can now see the basic shape for the cowl. Now it is time to start refining it.
I start by using the files to smooth over the mating edges of the cowl. i also flip the hood over and do any clean up on the underside that's needed from the initial mounting of the panels. Out comes the auto spot putty. i apply liberally to the seams and edges, don't worry too much here as 95% of what you apply will end up being sanded off anyhow as we go.
This is what it should look like after the first round of sanding. concentrate on blending the seams and smoothing things together right now. Don't forget to round your edges of the cowl with a bit of sandpaper as well, Cowl scoops don't have sharp edges in the panel faces.
Test fit the hood on the vehicle and make sure things look as they should.
When the shape is where you want it, we will add a peak to the center of the hood for a bit of detail. I use some strip styrene held in place by my trusty clamps. then i flow some liquid cement against the strip so the capillary action draws it along the entire length on both sides.
I trim the edges both front and back. now its just basic bodywork. a small amount of filler on each side of the hood peak to blend it in, a bit of sanding and a coat of primer.
That is the profile i was looking for. Vary the sizes to your own needs, this is not complicated at all as you are working with basic shapes and basic techniques. if you can cut and glue two pieces of plastic together, you can make a cowl hood.
At the end of the day, it's only plastic. Bend it, twist it, carve it, glue it, fill it and shape it...till it looks the way you want it to.
Cya soon