Tommy Ivo front engine dragster

[Turbotoll]

I like the late front-engined dragsters just before they went to rear mounted engines, and this Tommy Ivo one is a fine example. This AMT kit is flawed in some areas in the relation to the original car and the pictures I could find of it on the web, but it’s still a great kit. The decal red striping seems of a different pattern, the nose cross section is less rounded and nearly not as long. Probably for production reasons You only notice when you hold it next to the original though. At one time it seems to have worn those fat tires that come with the kit all be it on some different wheels.

Not many parts fill the box. The parts are all small and fragile. It’s more like building an airplane fuselage than building a car. Oh, those Airfix times of years gone bye… I like working with this plastic though that seems of a harder quality than Revell / Monogramm kits.

As the body parts have to be parted after applying decals they have to perfectly line up again. So I made some tabs and made a threaded boss on the upper body with a small screw through the lower part.

I know most paint the body orange like on the box. But it isn’t. At all. It’s a pastel shade pink like “ old salmon pink” or the color you can end up with mixing some left over paints in a paint shop… I think Tamiya XF15 could work, a flat paint, but I found a household spray can in a hardware store marked as “Antwerp pink”. Whatever. I think common spray-cans can work just as fine as modelers paint.

Edited November 7, 2013 by Turbotoll

[Turbotoll]

The body after applying the decals and before a clear coat. A new sharp blade was used to cut the decals before parting. I touched the engine bay, damaged edges and the parting faces near the red sections up with some red paint before clear coating. The inside was painted aluminum to stop light bleeding through. The decals are of a great quality and were cut up in some places to avoid any lettering ending up on the body seam. Some long decals were also cut in two pieces to help applying them straight.

[Turbotoll]

The clear coat applied. I used the same household clear I have used for many years that takes about four days to cure, but leaves a though glass like finish that last for decades. I cut the front engine mounts back about 2mm to bring the nose of the engine down and make the rear of the engine line up properly to the bell housing bulkhead.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks really good so far.

[PappyD340]

Looking good!!

[slusher]

Great looking paint and decals..