Finally I put myself and my equipment together after the prolonged vacation and there I am, with a new thread.
Disclaimer: the copyright of the pictures presented in this blog belongs to Right on Replicas, LLC., and are published under written agreement from the trademark owner. At the end of this build, a link to the video production based on these pictures will be posted.
I have received this kit for review from RoR, but it was commissioned by a Canadian collector, and here I am, with a double-commission build, double the trouble that is. And the truth to be said, I was the one looking for trouble.
However, let's get started:
Here is the box art, with a fiery red Mustang slightly customized. The kit is of older vintage and very rare nowadays. I have heard for some time rumors about a re-release by AMT, but none was confirmed:
.Here are the kit's contents. Although offers three versions (stock, custom and drag), the box it's only half full and the instructions are shrunk to 4 pages only (!). The only exciting parts in the kit are the tires. The instructions, the mold quality and detailing, as well as the clear plastic parts are rather "meh!", but I was expecting it!
The main piece, the body, is molded solidly and with just a few minor imperfections as too shallow panel lines and a little flash. The main issue was though the chip on the left side drip line.
The reinforcing piece of styrene here needed to be removed. It seems easy but isn't entirely so because the way was molded.
The stock bumper was added to the car as the first step in this build. The alignment isn't golden, and it needed dressing up after assembly:
The panel lines were deepened with Tamiya scriber:
And these three pieces are almost the entire build: easy to assemble but with sacrificed detail and hard to paint molded-in features:
The body primed with Mr. Surfacer 1500, diluted with Mr. Levelling Thinner
For airbrushing I have used my H&S Evolution 0.4mm @ 20psi:
The same products and airbrush were used to prime the bottom pan:
The bottom pan painted with Tamiya XF 69 NATO Black, diluted with MLT:
The final color of the body will be chrome yellow. Here, the body base-coated with gold:
I have used Tamiya X-31 Titanium Gold, diluted with MLT and sprayed thru H&S Evolution 0.4mm @ 20psi:
The bottom pan received a MicroSatin gloss coat, after being spayed with Tamiya X-69 NATO Black.
These 15 parts are dedicated to the engine. They are poorly molded and with lots of useless chrome:
The engine assembled. Lots of gaps and poor detailing:
The other side of the engine is every bit as bad as the first one:
I have identified and repaired the areas with finishing problems:
Painting redone over the afflicted areas:
A very thin coat of primer was applied over the engine, just to cover the chrome and as witness for the gaps in the assembly:
The body sprayed with Chrome Yellow Rust-oleum enamel, after the previous gold under-base was slightly polished with 3000 grit sanding sponge. Apparently the "trick" works. The yellow resulted very bright and didn't required more than one application:
The most difficult part so far it was the engine. At first, I noted I have installed the cylinder heads wrongly (left for right) because of the vague instructions. As a matter of fact, the instructions not even call for the stock ones, which I found hiding on a sprue. However, these last ones have no details, and some scratch was required:
Since I had already trouble with the engine assembly, I took my time to scratch a few details, including the distributor:
The engine block and transmission assembly painted with Tru-Color Paints 750 Viking Blue. The accessories I have painted initially with TCP-1231 Glossy Deep Blue Black but I didn't like the contrast and decided to re-do them in black:
The detailing of the engine almost complete now. At this stage it was still in need for a gloss acrylic coat before the oil wash:
The engine glued in its place, after it had received an oil wash:
The bottom pan it is probably the worst part in this kit with respect to detail quality. Detailed with a painting brush, Using Vallejo acrylics:
The interior parts cleaned from flash and dry-fitted:
The interior has received a coat od TCP-010 Black over the primer. Unfortunately, the rear bench is molded with the interior and needs masking before matting the interior:
The seats painted with the same TCP-010 Black:
The firewall has some petite details painted in, but too fine to be picked up by brush. Again, some scratch required:
The body panels which will end up eventually in yellow were primed and under-coated with Titanium Gold:
The bench masked with Tamiya masking tape, before the application of matte paint:
The interior sprayed with Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black after masking. The seats were also installed. The contrast between the two black shades seems good enough to my eye. The central console was picked up with Vallejo Air Silver:
The dashboard dry-fitted. I have drilled thru the steering wheel spokes to accentuate the sporty looks; however, the spokes are too thick and harmful for the scale effect:
The dashboard sprayed with TCP-010 Black. The kit doesn't have any dash decals, so I picked the dials with a white acrylic wash, while the rims were picked with a silver felt tip pen:
One of the toughest decisions in this built it was which wheels. Eventually I have chosen the "street burner" version:
The firewall painted with the base color. I have added "cables" from stretched sprue:
The wheels are attached thru metal axles. It is my least favourite solution, but I am content with the solidity of the assembly:
Side-view of the assembly to estimate the vehicle's stance. I'm almost happy with it:
The interior dry-fitted on the chassis. Well, it is just for the picture, because the interior's position cannot be precisely established before the firewall falls into place:
The body sprayed with Splash 2K urethane thru H&S Evolution 0.4mm @ 20psi:
The gloss is impeccable, but I have here and there the dreaded dry grains, so difficult to deal with because of the urethane's hardness:
The dash completed and added to the interior, as well as the gear shift:
The firewall installed in place. It needed some masking tape aid, because the alignment is lacking and the curvature of the wall doesn't match the body's curvature:
The "standard" features being installed. To be honest, I was expecting more trouble:
The rear bumper in its place: the fitment has its issues, but it could have been worst:
The radiator mask washed with Tamiya Panel Liner Black. The preliminary dry-fit test suggests that there were be no problems:
And now I am up to date with the Mustang build, the one that progressed the fastest during my "silence".
I'm looking now to gain ground with my Dacia dual build, and to regain synchronicity with the other ongoing builds - I've seen already couple of very interesting "new" blogs and articles.
Cheers!
Gabriel
