Mustang-GT Super Boss Funny Car

So I had planned to do a full write up on this kit, and took pictures along the way, but just never got it down in the computer....

Had some great looking box art, and figured it could be a relatively quick build, that would look good on the display shelf.

Decided I liked the orange paint, and would just build it basically like it appeared in the art.

Here's the chassis coming together and some of the various pieces as they all get ready to come together. Love the long tube intake on the engine. Took a good bit of work to get them to all line up right, and be firmly attached to the intake.

And as I typically do, I managed to finish it all up before I remembered to get the camera out again.
This one has actually been finished for a couple of months now, but just decided to do a small update on what I am working on.

Looks good to me, and has that "too tall" stance typical of a gasser/funny car suspension set up.
I didn't use all the decals, and didn't quite follow the box art, but definitely looks angry, and ready to go racing.

And the one thing I have never seen in a model kit before, was a model of the packaging that it all came in. Only took about 10 minutes to cut it all out and folded up.

I guess by definition, it is a scale model...

Working with old kits - Flash

So I recently started a model that is a re-issue of an older kit.
I love the subject matter, and am quite excited, but have come across a problem common with these re-issued kits.

Flash

No, not like that....
Flash is a common name for the thin layer of plastic that squeezes out between the two halves of a mold when creating the overall runner of parts.


On a newer tooled kit, you may hardly even notice the "parting line"... The small seam of extra material from where the two halves of the mold were placed together.
Most noticeable on round pieces... there will be a small raised ridge.

On older kits, as time goes by, and thousands of reproductions are made, the gap starts to get bigger, and more material is able to ooze out between the mold halves.

Usually it is a very thin piece, and is easily removed with a sharp knife and some sandpaper....
But I just thought I would share, as this kit shows a great example of "flashing".

More on what this kit is going to be coming soon!

Has it been that long?

Wow!

Looking back it has been several months since my last post.
A big part of that has been due to us moving...
So we now have a bit bigger house, but it has been a long process.
Lots of stuff got boxed up and stored for months while we tried to sell our house, and then purchase a new one.

We have been at our new house for almost 2 weeks now, and while not everything is unpacked and sorted, it is starting to feel like ours...

Hopefully in the coming weeks I will be able to get back to posting here, and should have some updates on projects completed and a few other things.

Hot Wheels Porsche 356A - Custom Convertible

Several weeks ago I posted the custom Ferrari 599 that I did as a police car for the monthly "get-together"...
Well, this time the theme was Porsche... and beyond that it was pretty open.

Well, I had this sweet little Porsche 356A that just came out, and couldn't help myself. I just had to tear in to it!

Here it is already separated from it's base and most of the black paint has been stripped off.
A few molding lines that needed to be cleaned up, but other than that, a solid starting point!

Out come the POWER TOOLS... A Dremel with a small cut-off wheel made short work of removing the roof and making the spider version. Some clean up and shaping with small files and we were just about done with the major surgery.

A quick mock-up to make sure everything still fit back together.  The clear plastic "glass" was cut down so that only the windscreen remains. It took some special care, and a lot of metal filing to leave the windshield frame. Luckily... the clear part was molded in such a way that it would stay in place when it was all sandwiched back together.

And with a lack of progress pictures, here is the final product.
The wheels were swapped for a set from Matchbox that I felt looked more correct for the basic roadster look I was going for.
Simple medium grey paint with details picked out like the headlights, leather hood tiedowns...

The interior I left red plastic, but added a little dark wash to bring out some of the details, and make it look a little more used, and less factory fresh.

And the final piece is the "boot" covering the retracted top.
This was molded from a piece of polymer modeling clay.... It stays soft and pliable until you bake it in the oven... (don't throw the whole car in there, just the clay part).
I could have spent more time getting it symmetrical, and smoothed it out some, but time was running short and I wanted it done for the meeting.

So there it is, my latest custom creation.
Not sure if there is a theme for this month's or not... I may not have one ready in time for this month.

But starting on a new 1/24 kit from Tamiya... very excited, but all of the decal work will be a project in itself.

Thank for stopping by!

Revell Corvette ZR1

My latest project was the Revell Corvette ZR1 in 1/25 Scale.

This represents the newer C6 body style.

Featuring a clear panel in the hood so you can see the supercharged engine lurking underneath.

 



The contents of the box are well done, and there was no flash anywhere to be removed, as you would expect from a newer tooling. Parting lines were minimal and required little clean-up.

One that I did miss was this little beauty on the underside of the chassis pan. Yes, I know it was a Revell kit molded in China.

A little work with some sandpaper, and quick re-spray, and it's gone!

Or at least well enough for this one.

I wasn't planning a completely detailed kit. Just wanted it to fill a spot on a shelf next to all it's other brothers from Chevrolet.

A few steps later, and the engine is mostly in, along with the driveline and interior.

Again I left off the seat decals, and a few other small parts, as they will hardly be visible through the small windows.

Still missing here is the radiator and supercharger shroud. But it's starting to look mean!

For the body I chose a darker metallic red that I like. While not entirely a correct "factory" color for the ZR1, I think it shows well here.

A quick test fit of the body on the chassis just to make sure everything lines up, and sits where I want it to.

So several steps later, and lots of little bits and pieces added, it's complete.

Still a little dusty as I took the pictures in a hurry.

It's middle of winter here, and got a quick afternoon with some sunlight coming in, so I grabbed a few quick pictures while I had the chance.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this kit, and felt that it went together pretty well, with only 1 real problem.

The supercharger sits where it should in the hood opening (I had heard it may sit too low). I am more than pleased with the final results of my "not too serious build."

 

The one problem that I did encounter was the windshield.

I am not sure if I was fitting it wrong, or if it came warped in the box...

But as you can see, it didn't fit the frame quite right. The driver's side, and top of the windshield fit just fine. I tried several different ways, and could never get all 4 corners to fit where I needed at the same time.

So I tried something I knew I shouldn't.... I tried to flex it back.

Regular styrene has some "give" and can be bent.

NOT CLEAR PLASTIC.

I even tried heating it some to make it more pliable....

Nope...

 

So now it fits flush, but it is in two pieces.

I may be looking for a windshield in future, but for now.... It will be good enough.

 

Not sure what is next....

But I do have a Hotwheels Porsche 356 Custom, for the local trade/swap day this weekend yet to unveil...

 

 

Quick tip - clear plastic pieces

Just about finished up with my next project, and thought I would share this quick tip...
I think it is pretty well known, but I still see lots of pictures of models that haven't done this....

The little clear plastic pieces that go over headlights on modern cars, often look "plastic-ey" and fake to my eye. Part of this reason is the scale thickness. For the strength required to be de-molded in the manufacturing process, as well as handling during assembly, they need to be very thick for the relative scale. While I don't have a micrometer to measure, they look to my eye to be a couple of inches thick in scale.

Which is fine if you are modeling a presidential limo, or other "bulletproof" car, it doesn't look right to me.

So what I like to do is trace the inside very edge of the plastic with a black Sharpie marker. This helps to hide the refraction at the edge of the piece, and make it appear thinner.

As seen here, you don't get a "glowing" edge where it shows off the thickness.

It also has the added feature of appearing as the gasket around the headlight lens cover on most modern cars.

Seen here on the front of my almost finished Corvette ZR-1.

(oh man, I should have dusted that off before the picture).
But hopefully you can see the difference.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned the thickness of the clear plastic? Well, that clear plastic is also much more brittle than the regular styrene that the rest of the kit is molded in, so be careful.

You can also use the Sharpie on the inside of the windshield to create the black surround. In this kit Revell provided a nice line molded all the way around to guide where I needed to color. Other manufacturers go as far as providing actual pre-cut masks to help you with the painting of this surround.

Up next, the finished ZR-1, with a slightly damaged windshield!