My first car build: Revel 68 Charger

[ryanja]

A few years ago a friend gave me a Revell 68' Dodge Charger kit that was a gift to him. He'd never be able to build it, so he asked if I was interested. I mostly build airplanes, but I'll give anything a try. I've been working on it off an on for the last few years, but until recently hadn't done much except test fitting and sanding.

Oh... the sanding. And the filling. So many ejector pin marks, and lots of flash that needed tidying. Someone please tell me that there are higher quality car kits out there. This one is great for the ammount of parts and options it contains, but not nearly as tidy as the other kits I've worked on recently.

I'll be painting it up to closely match this charger I found online:

That one actually has the Hemi, but I've chosen to put in the Magnum instead, much like this one:

Since the kit came with two engines, as well as an engine stand, I decided to build both engines. I figured it would be good practice as well, since I've never done one of these before. I've gotten a fair bit done on the Hemi already. Here's an early shot of the painting:

I'd like to give big thanks to Geoff who has been helping me via PM during the last few weeks. He built the same model last year, and I've been borrowing heavily from him: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56217

I've not painted the body yet. I'm sort of dreading it, as airplane paint jobs don't require near the airbrushing skills that cars do. I've fixed a few of the body errors, sanded, and some details for the vinyl top:

Yeah, that vinyl top is going to be a bitch to paint. I really should have gone with a single paint colour for my first time, but can't help myself when it comes to adding detail. I even intend to add as much wiring detail to the engine as possible. I'll post some more pics in the next few days, as the Hemi engine is coming along nicely. Just a bit more Future to gloss it up, and a bit of chrome Alclad, and it should be ready to glue together.

I didn't realize how popular this kit was until today. When posting this I noticed that there are already two other 68 Charger builds on the first page!

[CJ1971]

Good for you in trying something different. This kit is actually quite a good kit, a real good interpretation of the 68 Charger. What you'll need to test fit & maybe amend, is the front suspension- spindles. It's sits too high & need's to be lowered. ( easy enough to do ) Another is the vinyl roof. It's actually quite easy to get it looking realistic, in a variety of ways. Most people tend to use a flat/Matt black through the airbrush but with very little dilution ( thinner ) so the paint sort of splatters out in a thicker pattern, therefore replicating vinyl ;-) Or another method that I've used & is very realistic is with artist ( can ) adhesive. Tape/mask off the body & spray the adhesive over the roof. You will see the texture very close to vinyl. Next just airbrush matte/flat black over it. Hope this helps :-)

Cliff

[ryanja]

I found this post on how to detail vinyl tops:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?s=b3cf12788e5a0d04701dfce33f75d221&showtopic=27431

It too recommends sprat adhesive. I was going to try using primer from a rattle can to try and get the orange peal effect. I'm trying not to dump too much money into this project, and $15 on a can of adhesive for just a bit of texture may be a bit much.

Is flat black the way to go? I was thinking semi-gloss, as close ups of the vinyl are actually fairly shiny. But full on gloss might be a bit too shiny.

[CJ1971]

Ryan?? Although the cost of the can may seem steep to you for 1 project.... I'm guessing you might get sucked-in & build more auto models? If that happens... Some of those future projects might have a vinyl roof ;-) Its always handy to have what you need on hand :-)

Actually you're right about the semi-gloss black... You could go with that or Model Master has a colour called Black Chrome Trim, in its enamel range. This stuff is not quite flat & not quite semi-gloss. It's got a very mild "sheen" to it. What you could do is use this colour ( if you can source it?)

& once you've completed the build, use a nice wax in the roof... It'll give you a perfect vinyl roof replication ;-)

Cheers Cliff

[ryanja]

Yeah, I may do more cars in the future. But just how likely am I to do another vinyl top? I'd say it's pretty low.

I've got a bottle of Tamiya Semi-gloss on order. I hope it does the trick. Yeah, it'll be acrylics for the body paint. Hoping they'll look good enough, as I'm not sure you can polish acrylics?

I've made a heap of progress on engine #1, and the engine stand is complete, though I think I'll touch up the paint a bit:

I made some custom brackets to hold the spark plug wires in place. Still debating whether to paint them black or not.

This is my first time spraying Alclad Chrome. I think it looks okay, but could be a bit better. I'll have to practice more with it.