Hi guys,
This is the OLD AMT McLaren M16 C/D of Johnny Rutherford, the charismatic "Lonestar Jr" Texan whose career is matched by few others. He is one of only eight three-time winners of the Indy 500. This is his 1974 winning car.
This is the first model that my Dad ever built for me when I was but a young turd...I remember him fretting over getting that mysterious "McLaren yellow", and how I watched, fascinated, as it took shape on his desk downstairs in the den. Me, sitting there, silent except for 10,000 questions! LOL!
J.R. was my favorite driver; we would go up to Pocono International SPeedway and see him race in what was then "The Schaeffer 500", named for a local beer. I can still hear the high speed whine of the cars..."Undercover Angel" playing in the station wagon, waiting in the long lines on the narrow country road that led to the entrance to the track, and the excitment of the first green flag!
I started this in May! Man, it has been a loooong road! I have lovingly nursed it to this point--LOTS of filler, lots of sanding, etc! SO here, I present what progress shots I have thus far...
"The Man", and his machine...
The engine/ rear suspension...I decided not to plumb/wire it, cuz it would all be hidden under the cowl anyway...
The whole thing was first painted Model Master acrylic Steel.
..and then painted with various mixes of Tamiya Metallic Grey, Aluminum, Bronze, and Steel again. Washed with Black oils on the bottom parts...
My own mixture of Tamiya Yellow + Orange got me a close match...
...and then I had to mask the blue accents. Man, what a PITA!
The car was sealed with Tamiya Clear--this stuff works GREAT!!!
...and the driver and tail...
...and a set of 20+year decals! I first made certain they wouldn't self-destruct by coating them with MicroScale Liquid Decal Film...
The decaling session--complete wit a big ol' mug of Cappachino! I stole a technique from the "Future" boys--I used a swab of Model Master Gloss Clear under each application of each decal, which was them patted down onto the model with a soft water-wetted facial tissue; no Solvaset was used. This sat the decals pretty well!
...and where I am so far! I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results so far! Got some detail painting to do now, and some more assembly, and I'll be close to putting a memeory back on the shelf!
Next update as soon as I get something good to show! Comments and questions always welcomed!