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Rushin' Hippie: a slightly modernized 68 Cougar Nostalgia Funny-Car


Claude Thibodeau

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HI!

I'm totally partial to the era of Funny Cars that looked like distinctive creations, not vinyl-wrapped  sponsor's rolling logos. So... when I found this Model King 68 Cougar, I decided to create an imaginary late 60's "groovy" funny-car!

The kit had a standard Logghe Stamping chassis (the norm for the era), but to my eyes, this very chassis was always "crude". So, from my stash, I mashed the MPC Wild Willy Borsch altered chassis/powertrain, modified and extended to match the Cougar wheelbase, while providing a more "digger style" chassis.. Throw in scratchbuild inner panels, headers, injector, linkage, fuel pump, rear body stanchions, and a few other items. Wired and plumbed.

Home made decals, and a paint job that matches the flavor of the era (special effects panels, marbleizer-like textures, purple and lime green tints, etc. Revell clear lacquer, fully polished. 

Close your eyes, and think of the OCIR Cavalcade of Stars Coca-Cola funny-car events. That was the goal. 

Hope you like it!

CT 

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That “marblized/ psychedelic” paint work is amazing! How did you do that? Paint mask? Skillful manual brush splatter? I’m also impressed with your homemade “Rushin’ Hippie” decals, they look “store-bought”! When I first looked at your pics, I just assumed that this car actually existed it’s so appropriate looking for the period. Great job!
 

I think a lot of us modelers here like building these older drag subjects because we all miss those wonderful years of innovation, craftsmanship, creativity, variety. It’s understandable to me why most forms of auto racing (NHRA, NASCAR, Indy, F1) are fading in popularity. 

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On 6/1/2022 at 7:24 AM, David G. said:

Fabulous paintjob, excellent detail work, everything looks great!

A fabulous phantom funny car.

David G.

Thank you David! I always liked the styling of the firt generation Cougar, and it became the canvas for a painting experiment... 

CT

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On 6/1/2022 at 8:35 AM, TarheelRick said:

Excellent build. I also am a fan of that period of funny cars, also a fan of that period of NASCAR - company logos meant something.  That is a really wild paint scheme.

Thank you Ricky!

Indeed, back then, car owners wanted their team to look distinctive and unique... Whereas today, sponsors want the team to look "uniquely theirs". Oh well...

CT

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On 6/1/2022 at 11:22 AM, Vintage AMT said:

That paint work is stunning, could you share your how you did it? Thanks

Hi Big Drag!

Tamya's white primer, Testor's white lightning pearl white + 1 coat of clear.

The purple effect is Model Master acrylic Purple Pearl, appllied with a plastic "tampon", made from a 1X 8 inches strip of common plastic bag, rolled on itself, and tied tightly in the middle with a rope. (You get an hourglass shaped plastic tampon). Gently tap the end of the roll on a puddle of thinned Purple paint, and randomly cover the zone. Don't overdo it, and don't allow the tampon surface to be too loaded with thicker paint, because it will create large dark gobs that will be difficult to sand or level later. 

The stipes smaller sprinkle effect was made by the same technique, but with Tamya's clear red, blue, green and some Model Master purple on top. Only, this time, I used shredded scuff pad "balls", for the finer paint carrying surface. Two coats of clear to seal the surface. 

Then, the metallic green  and metallic silver pinstripes to edge panels were done with gel pens. Be carefull, they smear easily. Let dry 2 days, clear. 

Total: about 15 coats of Revell Clear, 3 per session, sanded between applications, to "level" the whole thing. 

Voilà!

CT 

PS: see pic below- same gel pens used to create a cobweb effect. You can create many techniques with those...

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