Don Nicholson's 1965 Comet Cyclone

[ModelcarJR]

I decided to build a straight-line racer so I bought the Moebius/Model King collaboration.  I don't know a lot about drag racing. I used to attend the Nationals in Indianapolis around Labor Day when I was growing up there in the 60s and 70s.  I also attended the inaugural race in Baytown (Houston) back in about 1990 with my 6-8 year old son. I think it was called Royal Purple Raceway at the time but it was a mistake to take my son and try to sit in seats near the starting line, even with ear plugs. We ended up near the finish line. 

Anyway, I have most everything painted except the body. I am waiting on a can of Tamiya Bright Red that I thought would look good on this kit. I assembled the eingine as a first step and added spark plug wires and a fuel log connected to the carbs and fuel pump. There was also a lot of paint detailing, including the valve covers and racing air cleaners. Thanks for looking! 😎

[Ian McLaren]

The engine is looking good, interested in seeing more.

[Dan Cooper]

That motor looks super John.  What brand of wired distributor did you use?  It looks so neat and tidy.  I'm looking forward to your progress.  How is the kit?  I've never seen one before but it looks great and I really love the subject.  Is it worth tracking down?

Dan

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Ian and Dan! I appreciate your comments! Dan, I don't really know what wire is on this engine. I normally use pre-wired distributors from Morgan Automotive Detail (MAD) but most of the photos I saw had orange wire so I found a non-descript package of orange wire in my drawer so I drilled out a distributor and used it.  As far as the kit goes, I think it is a good kit and they command a good price for it but it does have a few drawbacks that I will describe a little further as I explain my build-up of the interior that follows. 

I finished the interior but there were a few problems. First, the decals for the dash don't fit well and have poor color registration. I solved that problem by not using them except for the Tach decal. The tach sits on the top of the dash and the decal doesn't fit well because of the concave surface of the tach. I got it in place but I dare not touch it as it will probably cave in. In addition, the red indicator seems to be pegged at 7000 RPMs so watch out - this racer is on the move! I just used black paint for the rest and I left out the tri-gauges that should attach to the bottom of the dash but I thought it was too close to the shifter and therefore, distracting.  Oh, and I also cut off the radio knobs and put in a piece of plastic strip over the radio to delete it. 

Three other alterations seemed to be necessary. I removed the shifter top since it looked like a small mirror that was attached to a shifter. I replaced it with a ball from the head of a straight pin and used the bottom of the straight pin for the tach after drilling a small hole using a #75 drill bit in the bottom of the tach and the top of the dash. That way I don't have a glue blob on the dash to attach the tach. Finally, I couldn't get the very unusual combination of the steering column and the pedals to work for me. I guess I should have made the hole bigger in the pedal unit so that the column would go through or sanded down to column so it would pass through the hole or maybe both. I any even I just cut off the gas pedal, found a clutch and brake pedal in the parts box and glued everything to the floor. You can see that there is something black down there but you won't see much once everything is assembled anyway. So the interior is done and it is painted Testors Italian Red and I hope it will go with the exterior bright red color once I have received it.  Here are a few photos and thanks for looking! 

[slusher]

looks ready nice John….

[oldscool]

The interior looks great and I like the fact that the roll bar tubing doesn't look like it's 4'' in diameter like a lot of other models- much more to scale. Oh yeah, the engine looks good as well.

[Brutalform]

Looking fantastic so far. The engine detail is perfect. The improvements on the interior really work well. These Moebius shifter handles look like they would be larger than a softball in scale. 
The Tamiya Bright Red you plan on using always seems more like an “orange” shade to me. Maybe it might look more red with a darker primer under it? 

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Carl, Gerald, and Tom. I appreciate your comments! Tom, I have the same concerns as you do about the bright red. I have another color using an Ironlak paint called Fluroro Red.  Its a acrylic resin according to the can and is used for outdoor street artists or as I call them, "taggers". I used it on the Mustang in the photo and it does darken down a bit with clear lacquer but I think I might have gotten lucky and I'm concerned about the multiple darts and crevices on the Comet body. If the Tamiya I bought is too orange I might just get another can of Italian Red and use it. Thanks for looking! 😎 

[ModelcarJR]

Update: I just received my paint and painted the stone guard to test it out. Looks like a brighter red color to me, just a little brighter than the Italian Red but not orange. The spark plug wire is orange and the stone guard is red. Now, unfortunately, I have to wait on the weather as it is much too humid to paint. Just that little bit of paint on the stone guard already orange-peeled and will have to be rubbed out.  Maybe it will become less humid with a tropical storm moving in. Ha! 😜

[ModelcarJR]

I haven't been able to paint yet but I have completed the interior, engine and chassis and have everything assembled. I mocked up the body on the assembly and I am glad I did. I found that the windshield wouldn't fit over the tach and the steering wheel was too high. So I drilled a new hole in the dash closer to the edge and in the gulley in the dash and even had to move the dash back (not using the pins on the dash in the doors but just gluing it in and using a clamp). I dabbed some paint in the old drilled hole so I don't have a glue blob on the dash just a paint blob.  I also adjusted the steering column by shortening it and gluing it in at a better angle. After doing all that, the windshield can be fitted to the body even though it still touches the tach. Other than that the body fits over the chassis/interior/engine assembly pretty well, the stance looks good and the engine compartment will be tight once the front fenders are glued down. The hood fits but is touching the distributor that I added and it may be pushing the hood up just a bit but I can't see under the hood.  Thanks for looking!😎

 

[slusher]

John, if the engine pushes the hood up can you trim the ais cleaners some?

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Carl. No, its the distributor that is too tall. I may cut the stem down but that will be tricky trying to re-attach the distributor. 

I got paint on it today but it was a struggle due to the humidity. I had to paint on the back patio, then run inside with the body still wet, wait 5-10 minutes and give it a second coat the same way. Same for the stone shield and hood. 3 coats of paint, 3 coats of clear. I got a good bright red finish but it is still a little flat. I'll have to rub everything out and shine it up good with some Scratch-X and some Meguiar's wax. Once that is done I can get it foiled and finished! Thanks for looking! 😎

 

Started rubbing out the top this afternoon. 

[slusher]

nice shade of red,John..

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Carl!  Its all shined up and ready for foil and decals!

[ModelcarJR]

Its on wheels! Only a few more pieces and decals. The front bumper and stone guard were a complete fail on this kit. I decided to mount them my own way by gluing the bumper ends to the body with super glue. The front and rear bumpers were also dullcoted to look like aluminum although you may not be able to tell. Hood doesn't fit well but I am undecided about shortening the distributor stem to fix it. There's still time to fix it even after everything is done. Thanks for looking! 😎

[oldscool]

Looking good!

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Looking good man

[slusher]

Looking sharp John!

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Gerald, Marcus and Carl! I appreciate the comments!

Its done! Lots of little problems in the interior and bumpers. The body looks good, good stance and nice engine. I fixed the distributor by cutting down the stem and now the hood fits better. Not sure I like the windows that mount from the outside. I probably should have installed them first and then foiled them.  Its an OK kit but I'm glad I didn't pay retail plus sales tax for it!

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by ModelcarJR
copy to Under Glass

[papajohn97]

That’s coming out really nice John. Beautiful foil job and I like the black-out you did on the front grill. I love this Moebius kit and had fun building a white Hayden Proffitt version of it a few years ago before I was able to post on here. These ‘65 Comets look like they’re screaming down the strip when they’re standing still. And that 427 cammer is one of the coolest looking drag engines of all time. I bought a second one of these kits to build this same red Dyno Don version, an iconic car raced by a legend!

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, John! I appreciate your comment!

[Tortuga Kustomz]

i like it, the engine bay looks great, and the paint too John

[Zippi]

Pretty kewl looking Comet John.  

[Deuces ll]

🙂👍