February’s model challenge: Speedweeks

In reply to slowbird :

You could put tape on both sides of the color split, and sand down the line in the middle, then respray the blue further forward. Paint just the door. I actually had to do this on my trunk lid... made my red section too short. D'oh! 

Chassis done! 

I could probably have this thing done tonight if I felt like rushing, but there's no need. I'm not going anywhere this weekend so I can take my time. There's probably another hour or two of decals, a little paint touch-up and detail dabbing, and I can call it done.

I wish I liked NASCAR stuff like this. These kits have some impressive detail.

In reply to ddavidv :

They look especially good when built by people that do the right research, and a kid can build the basic kit. I also am not a NASCAR fan, at least for the upper echelons, but I know from other modelers that there are many inaccuracies in the kits, and those inaccuracies get worse with later issues. Revelogram updated the bodies without updating the chassis. Saron picked a good one because it is an early one, and he's done great with the aftermarket hose and seat belts.  

So here's a photo of my Ferrari now that the body and chassis are permanently joined. The shocks anchor to the body structure at the top, and of course the chassis at the bottom, and behind the brakes so they had to wait for the joining too. And the rears don't clear the tires by a mile, even the kit ones, not just the aftermarket ones. I haven't worked on it today, too many full scale jobs.

Done. A little video on my new paint stand. How'd I live without one of these all these years?

I kinda like it. Just wish I had a better experience with the kit. Let's see what the Revell C7.R is like next month.

Wait? Am I done early?!?!?!?

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

That turned out great! The C7R looks like a fun kit.

Finally finished the 330 P4. I'm not a fan of red cars, but the 330 is sexy in any color! It's tiny, too. Not much longer than an NA Miata.

Picking a winner this time is going to be tough.

In reply to ddavidv :

I agree! Some AWESOME kits being turned out this month!!! 

Yeah, the chassis on most (if not all) of the Nascar kits up to the 2000s at least were all based on the original 1983ish releases of the original Grand National Series race cars. There's basically either a Ford kit, or a GM kit for everything. It was ok on the 80s cars, and they did change engines, add cages with molded in padding, and more detail parts over the years, but the basic chassis never changed. They certainly made their money off those moulds (and they're still being used today!) This original 83 Tbird body was apparently molded after the car that was in the movie Stroker Ace, explaining a lot of the inaccuracies. That car was apparently built before the actual racecars by Banjo Matthews on a chassis that was a few inches shorter. That car had the door lines, odd wheel wells, and extremely flared fenders. 
 

Man the build this month are insanely good! 

I'm trying to push through all weekend and get as far as I can. I managed to get the body finished and do a thousand cuts to the chassis to get it to fit nice.

The firewall in particular was a pain. I also have the cage and interior mostly built and the chassis as well. The weather is nice today so if I can get some paint laid down I might make it.

Working on dry fitting the cage and interior parts before laying paint.

I had to add the upper door bar on the driver's side. Definitely need to add some more.

Laid down some paint!

So close to done! So many little stickers!

Looking good, everyone!

I'm doing decals today as well! 
(accidently deleted my last post...) 

White layed down nicely. Unfortunately I'm out of red and blue  Still plugging away.

I got really lazy and tried to touch this thing up with brush paint but it doesn't match. Losing motivation to put decals on. I ordered the aftermarket ones anyway so I'll probably end up completely stripping it and starting over.

The other side is only marginally better.

To distract myself from this failure, I'm hacking up this Euro-spec Revell Ford Escort. It was already half-mangled when I got it from ebay (the body shell was literally cracked in half, and the firewall was chopped out) so I'm making it a Lemons-style build. RWD conversion, Miata motor, salvaged parts box suspension.

Submitted for approval, Mike McLaughlin's 1999 NASCAR Busch Series #34 Goulds Pumps Monte Carlo. No fancy outdoors shots, it's raining today.

If I had to grade this build, I'd give it maybe a B-minus. The chassis came out pretty well, with the biggest issue being the right rear being way out of alignment in a way I can't really explain. I could have spent more time doing more detailing dibbing and dabbing here and there, but those wouldn't have added materially to the finished product in the grand scheme of things.

The body came out well, despite my best efforts to sabotage it. The front valance came out OK, and even if the bodywork there didn't, it would have been covered by a klunky decal. I thought I was done for when I accidentally shot the body gloss gray instead of primer, but that all worked out in the end.

The decals were the worst part, and that's too bad. Yes I should use some sort of decal setter/softener, but I have never done so before and I didn't want to experiment on something that was overall coming out pretty nicely. The decals were a hair too big for the panels they went on, and I didn't (and still don't) know how to trim them back without their leaving a jagged edge. If I thought I had a blue paint that matched the decal blue, I'd consider dabbing some along the fender openings to try and clean that stuff up. I might down the road if I get bored.

Overall I'm happy with how this came out. It'll look good on a shelf even if it won't stand up to closer scrutiny (a fairly common theme here). I'd like to do more of these, even one that doesn't let me get away with not having to mask and shoot a second color on the body. But I'm hesitant: the decals for cars of this era aren't being made anymore, so they're all 20+ years old and brittle and occasionally uncooperative. Plus I discovered at some point that I have three Monte Carlo kits that had three different bodies. Were the #34 decals really meant for one of the other bodies? There's no real way to know.

Is there a Little Trees hanging from the mirror?

A fresh razor blade should easily cut those decals without tearing them. A slightly dull one will ruin your day.

Made it... with hours to spare! 
There are things I want to add still (the wired distributor, some fine mesh for the grill, and a fuel overflow hose) but I'm calling it done for now. 
1985 Bill Elliott Coors NASCAR. Painted with Tamiya TS-8 and TS-26. Mike's decals. Added lights from the Pro Stock Tbird kits, modded body to fit. Filled in door lines, reshaped wheel wells, removed body moldings. Reshaped front bumper and splitter. Added seat and rear package tray from 87-88 kit. Added roll bar padding, seat belts, and drilled out dash for gauge details. Lowered ride height.  Drilled out wheels and exhaust. This is my favorite NASCAR ever. 

Saron81 said:

Made it... with hours to spare! 
There are things I want to add still (the wired distributor, some fine mesh for the grill, and a fuel overflow hose) but I'm calling it done for now. 
1985 Bill Elliott Coors NASCAR. Painted with Tamiya TS-8 and TS-26. Mike's decals. Added lights from the Pro Stock Tbird kits, modded body to fit. Filled in door lines, reshaped wheel wells, removed body moldings. Reshaped front bumper and splitter. Added seat and rear package tray from 87-88 kit. Added roll bar padding, seat belts, and drilled out dash for gauge details. Drilled out wheels and exhaust. This is my favorite NASCAR ever. 

Man, this or the Ferraris? Hard call for me.

There's a lot of great work here yet again.  This is as far as I've gotten. I haven't had a dry enough day to paint for a while.