The Mustang and Corvette Group Build

The builds are looking good! Sorry I've been off the grid for a couple of weeks. I had to go out of town for some training and testing to upgrade a license I hold. On the last day of the training I started coming down with the flu, and that put me down for another week. Again everones builds are looking good! I hope to get some work done on the Mustang II this weekend if I can get rid of this cough I have left over from the flu.

Uh-oh.  5 days and no posts?  Did I kill this thread or is this a case of  "if you don't have anything nice to say..."  lol  I got thick skin boys, I can take it.  Besides, it's so cold my tears would just freeze up anyway.

I had a closer look at that 53 vette kit and it is pretty nice.  It's definitely my next GB subject.  Keeping it simple.

Gordy

Tada!  Presenting my completed entry for the Mustang vs. Corvette FSM 2014 group build.  The Revell 1978 Indy 500 Chevy Corvette pace car. 

I'm calling this one done.  I really phoned in the last few steps.  Frustration/boredom I guess.  I attempted too many new techniques to succeed. 

The exterior paint is horrid, I had the worst time working at that.  Air brush noob learning curve I suppose.  I'm wondering if I could brush some Future over the painted areas to smooth it out and give it some shine.  Any advice on that would be welcome. 

The distributor, solder headers, using alclad, using an airbrush, photo etch stuff, all things I had never attempted before combined to make for a bigger challenge than I was expecting which is evident in the final result. 

I have a 53 vette I will try for next, keeping it simple and focusing more on honing the skills I already have rather than introducing new ones.  :)  Live and learn.     

I'm no kit reviewer but I have a feeling this kit may be on the slightly junkier side.  I dunno, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.  On to the pics.  I tried for intentionally crappy pics to hide the many, many flaws :)  lol  Oh and I left off the mirrors assuming my bro will just break them off leaving a glue mark anyway.  On to the pics.  I will try to remember to take some better, natural light/daylight pics to really amplify the flaws. 

Try not to focus too much on my header to exhaust connecting point.  I realized too far in that I wasn't going to be able to route the straight pipes to look like a 1:1 extension of the header pipe.  Another lesson in planning.  It'll be on all fours anyway so I hope that is enough to hide it.

Not happy with that air cleaner but in an effort to move along I just painted the kit part and dropped it in.

*edit-I removed the extra WIP pics, they weren't very good anyway.

So anyway, that's her.  I learned a lot and had fun.  It took way too long (or longer than I'd prefer) and I'm kind of sick of black on black on black for now.  I will come back to the stang vs vette GB with a 53 vette entry I have but for now I'm going to join the generic automotive GB with a chevy rescue van I've just started on.

Thanks.

Gordy

Yes it sprays like a dream.  You can really do just a single wet coat.  I even do them generally without primer.  Believe it or not the one coat has no clear on it.  I can't remember which is which right now, so I will update that info as soon as I dig up the cans and give the right colors.

It's too late to do it to the Stang, but I'm considering ripping apart the Vette and adding flocking to it.  At the very least I'm going to make the Vette floor matts like I did the Ford ones for the Stang.

I've added the badge for completion of one Mustang and one Corvette to the front page. Thanks again Eric, great work that is very much appreciated.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks Eric. Hope you got something done.

Cheers

Tony

Your builds are looking nice fantacmet.

Tony, I'll get the mustang and vette badge ready this weekend and send it to you since he's almost ready. I plan on getting some work done to the vette tomorrow. We are finally getting some warm weather, at least for one day hehehehe.

L8TR,

Eric

Really nice work fantacmet. I like the detail work in the stang especially. You're making some good progress.

They both look pretty close, and they will look great in your collection.

I'm, familiar with Testors Custom lacquer, but I'm not with One coat lacquer. is it Testors as well ? Does it spray well ?

Cheers

Tony

Ok well here is my current progress. 

First up is the Stang.  Still not sure what wheels I'm going to use.  I can't get a decent cast out of the dang wheels I want.

So now the Vette.  While the paint may look very close, they are in fact two different colors.  Two different lines of paint.  testors customer lacquer and one coat lacquer.

Sounds like you're a bit over this one Gordy. I know the feeling, it'll be good to get it done.

I look forward to the photos.

Made a bit more progress around the headlights on mine, I think I'm going to have to prime it soon to see how close it actually is.

Cheers

Tony

Well I'm sorry you guys are seeing some troubles but it is nice to know I'm not alone.  I've screwed up every portion of the final stages of this build.  The windshield lost a chunk when I removed it from the sprue, I transferred a finger print via glue to the exterior when the bumper broke off, sanding, more clear coating, more sanding.  

It doesn't matter, I'm proceeding and determined to complete this black heathen.

I don't have any pics yet but my next post will be the complete pics.  Come hell or high water, I am moving onto something new :)  I want this vette done.

Gordy  

I hate the  way that goes Dale, and unfortunately it happens to a lot of my car models, less so the others. Soldier on, it's looking great to me.

I took a photo of my Corvette, you can see the pencil marks around the headlight where I'm marking the adjustments to be made.

I think I'll try out all the chrome bits before painting the body, it will slow me up, but will be better in the long run.

Cheers

Tony

Ed, that looks like a cool kit, I plan on doing a funny car at some point this year.

Thanks for the tips on the windshield mishap. It's kind of odd how you overlook the simple solution to a problem sometimes. The Corvette I did for this GB came with a scuff right in the center of the windshield, so I sanded and polished it. Here's a picture of the Mustang windshield after I sanded the glue off the inside.

Since I polished the last windshield I thought I would try future floor polish on this one. As the windshield was already glued into place I brushed the future on, all the windows came as one piece so I brushed the future on all the windows. I think it came out pretty good.

Thats the last thing that went well. When I did one last mock up to see if everything was still going to work, nothing was right. The rear of the car was to high. That was my fault, I did not take into account that the windows, and the interior tub attached to the same spot, so when I set the rear suspention in place it was to high by the thickness off the window. And I have not been able to figure out what happened to the front end, it sits somewhere between a street car and a straight axle gasser. Oh well, I am going to finish it, even if I'm not real happy with how it comes out.

Guys, you can stop the slow hand clapping now. I've finally done some more work on my 53 Corvette. The cleanup of the body is done, except that I've found that the fit of the headlights to the body is poor. I'm still trying to work out how I'm going to make it fit without any gaps or abnormalities. It's not just a case of filling or removing plastic, I think I'm going to have to build up the body around the headlight, which I think will take some care to get a good result. Nonetheless, I'm rolling now, at long last. I'll probably move on and do some other parts, just to get some runs on the board and see some progress too.

Cheers

Tony

That's a beauty Ed, it should be fun to see that one get done. I'll add you to the build roster. I'd forgotten about that old kit.

Cheers

Tony

68GT, if those decals should self-destruct let me know, I have a spare sheet.

Ed,

That's a cool looking kit. Looking forward to see how it comes out.

L8TR,

Eric

I finally have a spot opening up and chose a Mustang.  I'll probably start this in a few weeks.

Billy Meyer's 7 Elleven Mustang.  Hope the decals hold up on this oldie.

Hi all,

I was able to get some stuff done on the vette. Mostly worked on the engine but did a litle work on the body and suspension. I started working on the interior, but my white glue was still frozen so I couldn't do the carpet stuff. Come on Spring! hehehehe

L8TR,

Eric

I do the same Dale, except that I polish it our rather than dip it in Future. Usually I wont go harsher than 1200 grit wet and dry to sand it, used wet.

Polishing plastic is more forgiving than polishing paint.

I'm feeling really determined to get going on my Vette, now that the hot spell is done, althought these other GBs keep drawing my time. I might try and get the paint down this week.

I'm thinking Tamiya Pure White for it.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks guys I'll go after it with some sandpaper from my polishing kit.

Dale, if all else fails, pm me here, I have some extra glass for that kit.  Eric's suggestion very well may work for you, I know other modelers that have fixed the problem that way.  Just remember, its only a hobby.  If we barf up a kit now and again, so what!  I have butchered my share of em.  Keep glooin' and having a good time!

Hi Dale,

The best way I've found to fix windshields after a glue mishap is to take really fine sandpaper and get it smooth again. Then I dip it in Johnson's acrylic floor wax and use a paper towel at the bottom corner of the windshield  to wick off the excess. When it dries it will be crystal clear again. Hope this helps.

L8TR,

Eric

I had a little mishap as I was gluing the windows into the Mustang. I used super glue where it meets the middle of the roof and fogging would not be a problem. Next I was using Testors window cement. This is where the trouble starts, I spilled glue all over the inside of the windshield, I tried to wick it up with a paper towel. That was going ok until I tried to wipe the rest off. Now I have a thin layer streaked on the inside of the windshield. Does anybody know of a way to clean the set glue off the inside of the clear plastic without etching the windshield.

Thanks Tony. I planned on doing the interior today but the bottom dropped out and it is spitting snow. It's supposed to be nice over the weekend.

L8TR,

Eric

Looks really sharp with the decals Dale. That's what I do with bubble, it should turn out ok. Sometimes heat can help too, like a cloth dipped in hot water and pressed down, but be careful.

That chrome is like bling Eric, had to put the sunnies on !

Cheers

Tony

Hi all,

Dale, The color is Cherry red sprayed over red primer. It's actually darker but the flash lightens it up some. I like the decal work. That's one area I want to improve in. Most times I leave them off just to avoid them hehehehe. I still need to remove the damaged ones from the Funny car and try it again after I finish the vette.

I sprayed all the chrome tonight it it came out great.The dusty stuff is some of the flakes that haven't settled yet before I took the shot.

Rommel, the Minilites are looking sharp hehehe.

I want to start on the interior tomorrow. I picked up some red embossing powder so I can try it out. (Thanks Ken).

L8TR,

Eric.

Eric that is one smooth paint job. I'm sorry if you said what color red that is and I missed it, but what color red is that?

I've been working on the decals for a couple of nights. Since there are so many decals I did one side at a time. Then I'll have to go back and apply the decals that go on top of the wide white side strips. Once thats all done the windows will go in, and the decals that get applied to the windows will be added. Here's a couple of pictures of what I have done so far.

I tried slicing the bubble with a hobby knife and giving it a bath of setting solution, I'll have to see how that went tomorrow.

Hehehe, Thanks Rommel. I think it is one of the smoothest I've done.

I finished prepping all the chrome stuff and got the gloss black sprayed. Tomorrow I'm going to spray the chrome and polish the PE stuff. We're supposed to have decent weather all week so I should get a lot done. I also have a Chevelle to work for the other GB.

L8TR,

Eric

Dale, you have more nerve than I do building that little Mustang!  Looks like you are having better luck than I did.  I have yet to try a pre-wired distributor, I have been doing it the old way, drilling all the holes, my fingers and wiring all 8.  I will have to give one a try.  

Eric, I looked over your paint and I think it burned my retina.  I like it!!!