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“Blue Max” Mustang Funny Car

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“Blue Max” Mustang Funny Car
This is one of a collection of builds I have been doing to replicate some of the early funny cars I saw as a kid in Maryland at tracks such as Capitol, Budds Creek etc. This was a great time in drag racing history before the large corporations and computers etc. were involved. This was a time when you drove and tuned by the seat of your pants.

Since this is my first “Feature” article I will explain some steps that I apply to every model that I build. Hope you enjoy reading and get something out of it.

The kit used for this build was the Polar Lights “Blue Max" Mustang Funny Car. I started out the build with cleaning up all the mold lines/imperfections on each and every part and the body. Next I stripped all the chrome off the chrome parts with Easy-Off (the yellow can, not the blue) so I can clean up these parts to be re-sprayed with a chrome looking paint later.

Next I do a “white glue” mock-up of the whole model, so actually you will be building the model twice, most model builder will not take this extra step but this is the only way to know everything will work/fit together before putting that paint on. I know every modeler has had to remove paint/rework a part because of fit problems but with the white glue mock-up you can eliminate 99% of those problems.

The build went together pretty good. The one area I needed to rework was the wheelbase (found during the white glue mock-up).The kits wheelbase was longer on the chassis than that of the body. I corrected this by adding additional chassis cross-sections so the radius rods could be mounted further back pulling the front axle with it, adjusting the chassis wheelbase to the body wheelbase length.

Next, the whole “white glue” mock-up was put in a bucket of warm water to disassemble and the glue cleaned off with a toothbrush to ready the parts for paint. After priming/filling any imperfections with spot putty the parts were painted final colors. The body was shot with a Dupli Color metallic blue and cleared with Testors clear enamel. After the clear was fully cured I sanded/rubbed out the paint with a polishing kit.

Once I have some of the sub-assemblies done (engine, chassis etc.) I start to add detailing like fuel lines, oil lines, plug wires etc. etc. etc. (Pro Tech parts of course!) and work toward the final stages of the build. One area of a build I like to add further detail is the lug nuts on the wheels. I used Pro Tech’s Hex Fittings (PTMC 25) for the lug nuts along with Evergreen .025 rod for the studs (a tutorial under “Modeling Tips” is on my site showing how to do this). I also added a set of Pro Tech Valve Stems to finish off the wheels.

I also like to add a light weathering to my builds (engine, etc.) as the vintage drag cars “back in the day” were real work-horses. For my washes I use diluted (diluted with glass cleaner, not water, as water has a surface tension problem) water based charcoal colored paints. I also use pastel chalks to add to the effect. If you look behind the rear tires on the body you can see some of my weathering representing VHT (rubber compound used on the track) along with tire rubber from the tires. I even carry this weathering on the underside of body (tin area).

Well after about 9 months I completed the model and am pleased with the final results. If you have any question feel free to ask and I will try and answer them.

Till next time,
Charlie
Pro Tech Model Parts

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About the Author

About Charlie (protech)
FROM: FLORIDA, UNITED STATES


Comments

A beautiful build. Thanks for sharing Charlie
MAR 28, 2013 - 09:22 PM
Fantastic build, what did you use for the tranny blanket?
MAR 29, 2013 - 04:19 AM
Thanks guys! Walley, the trans blanket was made from an old t-shirt with masking tape and photoetch buckles for the straps then weathered. Charlie Pro Tech
MAR 30, 2013 - 02:24 AM
I was just looking at this kit today, very nice job on the finishing.
JUL 19, 2013 - 06:46 PM