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Roadrunnertwice

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  • Scale I Build
    1/25, 1/24

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    Brad

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  1. It's good to see this tool getting some attention, and I like you're street-custom approach. I can't wait to see your progress! Despite this tool's body's flaws, it looks closer to the real thing than the Revell 240Z. The US-Spec bumper hides a lot of the blockiness on the rear end, but your rear valance modification is a great solution - especially if you're building a bumperless car. I wish Revell/Monogram would reissue this kit and the others in this series of curbside kits. Here's one I built a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't correct the front clip fitment problem as you have done: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2019_01/DSC04407.thumb.JPG.b457d0a3e9a64f0c316d229e57afcf74.JPG I'm looking forward to seeing more!
  2. I like the color and the "before they were classics" early-70s mods you're doing to this Maserati. I'm looking forward to seeing it come together!
  3. I'm enjoying the detective story, and a great build of a kit I've never seen before. It looks good in red.
  4. Thanks for your encouragement and accuracy tips along the way. The finished pics are over in Under Glass.
  5. After posting my progress in On the Workbench, this Land Rover is finally complete! I made some detail compromises as I put this together, but I’m very happy with how it turned out. Best of all, I finished a long-abandoned Holy Grail kit that lay broken and partially built in a succession of attics for nearly 40 years. I’m still working on the hardtop with a factory-looking rear hatch to match this build’s tailgate – but that’s a low priority because I plan to display this Rover in open-top mode. Sitting assembled and on display is a better fate for this kit than resting in unbuilt pieces. I might never have gotten around to this build, but Revell’s new-tool kit inspired me to dig it out of my stash. My copy of the Revell kit now sits nearby ready to start. But first, I’ll tackle a different project or two before diving right back into another Land Rover. For now, I’m off to start on a Tamiya Nissan 370Z!
  6. The Rover is coming along. Here, the almost-finished truck sits with some touching-up and detailing yet to do. Decals scanned and copied from Revell’s new kit helped liven up the interior. I committed to an open-top build, and so I scratchbuilt a factory-looking tailgate. I’ve seen Land Rovers with pickup-style tailgates and others with gates that swing to the side. I went with the latter. I should have made in-progress pics, but the 1/1 example’s straight simplicity made this doable for my scratchbuild-greenhorn self. I used masking tape to copy the shape of the door handle opening from one of the side doors to the rear gate. Otherwise, I simply cut plastic stock to fit the kit opening. I opted for Italian plates. Land Rovers may be rare in Italy, but probably more common than in the US. Also, Italy’s climate makes for a plausible open-top vehicle, unlike many of the more northerly countries whose plates come included in Revell’s kit. My build process involves assembling and then cleaning up any sloppiness that I find along the way. Here the Rover sits 95% complete. I got a few details wrong, such as a some areas I represent as bare aluminum should be the body color. I didn’t accent the panel lines around the ventilation doors on the cowl: I got the folding-windshield panel wrong, and my many coats of Testors and Pledge clear softened the panel lines. It seemed better to leave the area as-is. Like the undercarriage, the engine compartment was treated to a light coat of simulated grime. I dropped the radiator hose as I was trying to attach it, and it fell into some dark, unseen recess under the hood (flashback to many a 1/1 auto repair project). Turning the model upside down and shaking gently did not dislodge the hose, and I did not want to shake more vigorously. I plan to display the model with the hood closed, and maybe the hose will drop eventually. For now, the hose rests somewhere invisible to the naked eye, my magifying lamp, and a jeweler’s loupe. Spottedlaurel pointed out that the headlights Monogram provided were too large – just as well, since my kit has one missing. The photo below shows my first attempt at replacements from an old Monogram 57 Chevy - still too large, and thick enough to exaggerate the edges that I normally blacken with marker to add detail. I later found better replacement lenses from a Revell 65 Impala. That about wraps up the WIP photos of this Land Rover. Next, I'll clean up some of the lingering sloppiness found in these photos and other areas of the model, and then I'll post finished pics in the Under Glass section.
  7. I dropped a small bottle onto the body, and the build took an unwelcome turn. Fortunately, the support structure made this an easier fix than before. The challenge lies in keeping everything intact through the build process. The broken area was small, straight, accessible, and separated by a panel line convenient for masking - advantages that got me quickly through the repair stages. The pictures below skip a lot of sanding, but the fix took less than a day, and most of that time was to allow for substances to dry. In retrospect, I probably should have strengthened my initial repair by drilling holes and using metal reinforcements at the joints. As it is, this Rover requires handling with the delicacy of late-stage building tasks after the body has joined the frame. The task of polishing an easily breakable body led me to consider alternatives to my usual regimen of sanding. I bought some Pledge Restore-It Floor Polish (aka Future) recently. Others on this forum have explained that Future is self-leveling and can be applied with a brush. I was skeptical, and I tried it out on a scrap body. I did nothing to the model below except yank it out of a big box of scrap parts and give it a cursory dusting. Pleased with the test, I brushed Pledge onto the Land Rover’s rocker panels and several touched-up areas. The material’s self-leveling impressed me so much that I eventually brushed the rest of the body. I’ll try airbrushing Pledge on my next build. I don’t have any pictures of how the Rover looked right after I brushed the Pledge because I got caught up in the polishing process. Initially, it had a wavy surface like old-fashioned window glass (but subtler than the usual rattle-can orange peel). It didn’t take long to get satisfactory results. At this point, I’ve gone as far with polishing as I intend to go. Imperfections remain in some of the crevices, but most of the body now has a scale smoothness. Further polishing leads to a glossier surface than I want, even as it exposes more areas of bare plastic for touch-up. The main thing is, I’m happy with the results and look forward to a good-looking Rover on the shelf. Next time, I’ll show some assembly pics as this build gets closer to sitting Under Glass.
  8. Clean, impressive detailing - especially the foiled badges and the black detailing on the rear quarter panel's simulated vent. The fender flares and those camera angles make the car look a little like a Renault A310. I remember seeing the Datsun F-10 on the road, and I thought the wagon had a quirky appeal. This non-USA precursor is better looking than the F-10 fastback.
  9. That finish looks great! It's smooth but not too shiny. I can't wait to see how this one turns out.
  10. Sub-assemblies got some attention while I worked on the body in stages. Several missing parts kept me scrounging the parts box. The kit’s instructions and 1/1 photos show a disk at the back of the transmission. I have no idea what the disk is for, but I fashioned a replacement from a wheel backing. My kit was missing the carburetor, and I cobbled together something resembling reference photos, using a cut-down exhaust manifold and half a custom carb from an AMT 57 Chevy. In the 1980s, the frame and suspension were painted a single shade of black while the engine was painted silver. In recent years, I’ve started using different shades to pick out details on the chassis and under the hood. The engine is a rusty-metallic color like reference photos, using a mix of three craft paint colors. I tried to make the mechanical bits look used but not worn-out. The wheels and tires, as with most everything in the photos below, have a light-tan wash. Each of the Land Rover’s four (!) shifters has a different colored knob. The shift boots are painted with Viejo Paint’s “Black Grey,” which looks like rubber when painted against the standard gloss black of the shift lever. One of the rear jump seats was broken, and my repair using straight pins came out just as I hoped, and apparently stronger than the original part. Here sit all four in their custom-mixed semi-gloss black, and I can’t tell which one is the repaired piece.
  11. Great start! I love the "trail-tested" look of the undercarriage, and I can't wait to see your progress. This is my favorite post-CJ body style, and the orange sets it off nicely. I didn't realize Revell reissued this kit with the stock parts. I want one!
  12. This build is looking fantastic, and it gets me looking forward to starting mine. I appreciate your efforts to create a smooth, realistic finish that's not too shiny. I'm finding that's hard to do!
  13. The build really takes off when it changes color! Most Land Rovers I’ve seen have the color palette of an L.L. Bean t-shirt display, and I’ll probably paint my 4-door the same way. Anticipating my future 4-door build led me to a different color for the Rover at hand. A half bottle of Nissan Safari Gold left over from a recent Skyline build looks close to 1970s Rover Bahama Gold. At this distance (Internet, space and time, etc.) whether Nissan Safari Gold is a close match to Rover Bahama Gold depends on the photo. It's close enough for me and helps me put some leftover paint to good use. British Leyland offered Bahama Gold through the heart of Series III production years. This was an undesirable color when my friends and I eyed “obtainable” used sports cars in the 1980s (240Z, MGB, Triumph Spitfire). Now, it looks like a fantastic expression of a particular era – right up there with avocado-colored refrigerators and harvest gold telephones.. After the color coat, it was time to mask areas for black and silver. Every stock Series III I found online has black upholstery. Monogram’s kit has no chrome parts. The trim on 1/1 Rovers looks to be either painted silver or bare aluminum. Model Master Aluminum Plate looks the part. My temporary body reinforcements weren’t up to it: too fragile and easy to snag when prepping the body for clear. I broke the body again while masking the engine compartment. After yet another repair, I altered my building plan. I assembled the major body components so the doors and firewall could give structural support. This required detailing the interior up to a point prior to body assembly, sanding some previously unseen glitches, and repairing areas where the supports once attached. Only after painting the interior firewall did I discover that my reference LR was unusual. Most photos show body color there. My reference vehicle evidently has a black insulation blanket installed. Still, I’ve noticed a lot of variation in Land Rover interiors. I can’t tell what is and isn’t stock, but my build remains plausible either way. The Scalefinishes color anticipates a clear-coat and comes out dead flat (SF offers different options). This clear was shot with Testors Extreme Clear Laquer. I’m not sure if it’s the same as One Coat Clear, but my trouble with it was probably operator error. After all these years, I still can’t manage to apply a consistent clear finish. When it goes right, I’m unsure why and have trouble repeating my success. Other times, like now, it dries with a mist texture that would be great for simulating a vinyl top. Fortunately, what I lack in rattle-can skills I can often make up with polishing in gradually finer grits of sandpaper.
  14. That was the place! I bought a "Kenmeri" Skyline there. Alas, one kit was all that would fit in my carrry-on. I didn't notice the country decals until you mentioned them. I'll make my 4-door a UK version. The 2-door will be from an LHD country. The molded-in license plate frame is wrong for a US vehicle, and I don't think my chosen color was available on a LR over here.
  15. Before painting, I went over the body not with a fine-toothed comb, but a toothpick to remove stubborn bits of old paint from the exterior and other areas likely visible on the completed build. I also scraped underneath to point of diminishing returns. On the underside, the remaining grayish-turquoise from a long-forgotten 1980s source will get painted over and lend to the weathering texture for the “well-preserved daily driver” look I’m going for. In the meantime, my first painting step was the black mat molded into the rear passenger area. A single coat of DupiColor black primer did the job without adding texture to the floor’s ribbed detail. I use DupliColor primer of various colors most of the time, and it dries quickly so I can mask it at length for all the priming, painting, and clearing to come for the rest of the body. Tamiya Racing White seems to approximate the off-white color of Land Rover roof and wheels. I have good luck with Tamiya spray paint when it works, but I’ve had enough paint-crazing mishaps with it to make me wary. If I’m going to use Tamiya, I go Tamiya all the way from primer to clear coat. In this case, the white came out smooth and shiny enough to make clear unnecessary – especially for a Land Rover that sees lots of time on dirt roads. When my copy of Revell’s new Land Rover arrived, I went through it in search of potential leftovers I could use on my Monogram build. I figured I could make my 4-door right-hand drive and use Revell’s left-drive goodies on my current build. In many cases, the kits’ designs differ enough to discourage that kind of sharing. For example, why adapt the new-tool dash of vastly different kit design when the 1980s dash has good detail for what is a simple piece on the 1/1 vehicle? (But that’s no different from any other subject: how many parts can I share between, say, old and new tools of the 57 Chevy? Or 62 Corvette? Et cetera.) The only thing wrong with my Monogram dash was the thick, black paint applied ages ago, and that came off easily. Nevertheless, the new kit has excellent decals that I scanned and copied several times over. Can’t have too many European license plates. On that note, I haven’t a clue what countries many of these plates represent. I’ll check on that when I reach that point in the build. Here the main body sits in DupliColor white primer, with engine room accessories masked off prior to color coat. In this pic, I had to do a little sanding and massaging to my rocker panel repair before moving ahead.
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