There is one thing that has bugged me for years. The engine had no headers and it just looked incomplete to me. I've tried to build them out of styrene before but the tight bends were just too difficult. The other night I found something in the parts bin that worked pretty good so I decided to go for it this year.
I went to the hardware store and bought some 10 AWG solid core wire. The test piece worked pretty good. It adds a bit of weight but I will live with it.
This proved to be a difficult task; the first tube was fine but getting the rest to align took some patience for sure.
I made the first one touch the frame and put a dab of hot glue to hold it. As I got each of the others done I used another tiny dab of hot glue to hold them to each other.
For the collector I used a piece of 0.005" aluminum flashing and wrapped it around. I used a piece of 1/4" tube to form the exit. Then some CA holds it all together. I then went back and added more hot glue between the tubes to make the whole thing more solid.
The coating on the wire didn't really like the tight bends but it didn't turn out too bad.
A coat of flat black and they are looking decent.
Here it is installed with a piece of 1/4 tube for the exhaust pipe. It's not perfect by any means, but it gets the idea across pretty well. The third tube somehow moved and isn't quite centered on the exhaust port, but you'd have to be looking pretty close to tell.
I'd like to have more detail (like the collector flange) but I decided this isn't a static model so they don't need to be perfect. I'm really happy with the look now, looks much more finished. The header is hot glued to the motor; I figured that was the strongest way to attach it even though it looks a bit messy. Again, you have to look pretty close to tell. The exhaust pipe has to remain a separate piece or I wouldn't be able to remove the motor and get to the steering servo.
Gotta build the other one tonight.