Automatic 250

A great build and and a great car. I used to own a '72 Delta 88. Loved that car. No where near as cool as this machine.

What a fantastic kit and subject. Way to bring a great old model back to life!

Thanks Greg. I missed a few beats. I just didn't photograph them. You can check out my true confessions about how the kit came together on the "workbench" forum.

Proof that model building is a manly past time. I bet Hemingway would've built plastic kits if they'd been around then.

Thanks rmvw guy. After 10 years aged on plywood, I find the kit matures nicely. If I inspired you to make a start on it, great!

That is brilliant recreation of a rare and unusual film car!

Thanks. Turns out I reallllllly missed model building!

Nothin' says ready for business like...

Thanks, Tulio. Your Fairlane is fantastic as well. A beautiful car and a great AMT kit.

I would appear to have been schooled. Love that AMT kit.

I see I'm not the only 427 fan out there. Here's a happy coincedence: After I built the kit, it turns out a friend built the exact kit 10 years ago! Here are the two cars side by side: He was younger and more energetic, adding a working trunk, doors and turning front wheels.

Here's my finished AMT 1/25 Ford Fairlane 427 in all her glory. BTW, this is the first kit I've built in 20 years.

Thanks Mike. More patience yes, but a lot less free time!

Here it is, the first kit I've started in more than 20 years! I picked up this beautiful AMT Fairlane 427 over 10 years ago; finally I decided to do something about it... Stage One, research. I went online and found the exact car at www.mustangandfords.com Stage Two, more research. What new tricks are out there for building plastic models in the 21st Century, anyway? Found this little gem at my local hobby shop; Stage Three, quite dragging things out and actually commit. So, step by step, I actually got on with it. Put a lot of time and effort into finishing the engine block and components. Since this was the first subassembly I had tackled in a very long time, I luxuriated over it; sanding, filling and primering. Of course, as the weeks wore on, other aspects of the finishing received somewhat less attention... The quality of the kit moulding pleasantly surprised me. The parts fit so well that I used almost no putty. The joins bonded nicely with Ambro Safe Weld and disappeared with light sanding and filing. The transmission was a separate component from the engine block. This allowed me to finish and paint each element separately, unlike the old days when the whole thing came in two halves. Shift linkages were also included, which is I found a nice detail element. Given this was a "back in the saddle" exercise, i decided to build the kit OTB, with the exception of the spark plug wires, which seem to add so much realism. I used yellow fine-guage model railroad electrical wire. The prototype wires are black, but given the simple black and white colour scheme of the original car, I made the creative decision to emphasize small hits of bright colour as realistically as possible. I was initially apprehensive about detailing the tires. I love the red sidewall detail but dreaded how to achieve it. Fortunately, there is a very slight groove in the vinyl. With patience, reading glasses, a 000 brush and diluted flat red Tamiya acrylics, I got on with it. I allowed the diluted paint to flow into the groove and wiped away the excess, giving quite passable results. I think I may have had a whiskey as well after completing this stage. I'll post more pics later today and tomorrow. As promised; Here are some of the detail components. The dashboard was dismal, but the streering wheel turned out nicely. I sprayed the base colour using Testors semi-gloss black and painted on the chrome trims. Again, using a 000 brush and a lot of patience. No whiskey required this time. Completed engine compartment. Hose clamps are made from strips of aluminum tape. The completed sub-components ready for final assembly The first disappointment. In a misguided attempt to save money, I used commercial spray enamel instead of a better quality hobby enamel for the body colour. The result was an orange peel finish. Using super-fine grit sandpaper and polishing compound, I corrected most of the defects. I then finished the window trims and windshield wipers using Testors Krome Foil. Unfortunately, the foil picked up some of the residual orange peel finish. Lesson: get the finish right first! Completed undercarriage and detail. The selective hits of colour are all reasonably accurate to the original car. And...the final result.