Faust

Fantastic! I love these things, and I've never had a chance to see one built before! Wagons rock. T/As rock. Therefore, Kammaback (sp?) rocks! Well-built and well-finished!

Wow, thanks guys! I'm glad everybody likes it. I personally have always thought the SVOs were pretty cool. They were very different from everything else (at the time), mind you, but pretty cool nonetheless. I had a little pull-back-action toy of one years ago; it was actually 4wd! Went like scoot! Thanks for the compliments on the build and detailing. I did what I could, but some of the detailing does leave room for even further improvement. I wonder if the MPC SVO is any better? I have one, but I'd started this when I picked it up. Hmmm...

Well, since it’s the 50th anniversary of the Mustang this year, I got motivated to pull a ‘Stang out of the stash and have a go at it! Of course, I decided to pick the weirdest one I had; no ’68 Shelbys or ‘80s 5.0L cars would fill the bill. I wanted to do a Mustang that most people seem to have forgotten about. Clearly, the oft-derided SVO was a perfect candidate! I’d picked up the Monogram 1/24 kit a couple of years ago, and in researching it, I’d found that it didn’t come in many colours. However, I also stumbled across a couple in dark green. Doing more research, I found that this colour was for the Hertz rent-a-car ones only. I was immediately drawn to this rare version of a fairly obscure car, and, well, the rest is history! Check out my 4E Dark Sage SVO and tell me what you think! http://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/monogram-124-1985-5-mustang-svo-hertz-4e-special/

I don't know myself how you'd build a slider for the doors on this one. Doing a cargo version would be tough, too, because the interior bucket is all one piece. Of course, with a bit of imagination, some measuring and some cutting, I'm sure it's doable! I'm tempted to get another one because these were used as "Blue and White" (AboutTown, at the time) brand taxis around London, Ontario (where Iive) for quite some time. Of course, they were also used for Black and Yellow taxis, too. This is one of those kits that should be reissued, I think, to celebrate the anniversary of the Caravan. I'm not surprised that they didn't fly off the shelves the first time, either. I mean, most people seem to want to build muscle cars and customs; a plain-jane grocery getter isn't really going to turn them on. However, it's a neat kit of a real trendsetter, and I think that's why a lot of people here, who appreciate cars and modelling more deeply, think it's so cool.

My dad drove a 1976 Torino; It wasn't S&H, but it was a cool car. My brother LOVES those cars. He's already pumped about trying to convert one to Dad's car. I might do the same. Am I the only one who cares about the Rabbit? (Not Golf, but Rabbit - that's what those cars are to me!) LOSER HATCH ATTACK! Someone had to scream it, it might as well be me! I NEED a Rabbit to super-loser up my collection. With that weak styling, coal-oily bumper bits and those hubs that look rusty and welfare right from the factory, you KNOW I can hardly wait.

That is awesome! It's the flipside of the whole "ricer" phenomenon, where small cars are just, well, butchered but not improved in performance! This is one of those double-take kind of cars! Looking fantastic!

Thanks, Carl. The Colour is one I wish Ford had used more of. Clearly it's meant to evoke feelings of the "Bullit" 'Stang, and it works! I like having to mix up custom colours, and I'm always pleased when they come out right! The hardest part about working with my Dark Sage is that it dries nearly matte. There's going to be a lot of glossing in the future for this one! (No pun intended! Well, okay, a bit of a pun intended....)

What a weird phenomenon! Thanks for the compliments, Jeremey!

Wow, what the what happened there! I've fixed the link in my original post, too. Sorry about that. This board doesn't seem to like it if you do the <http://address> manual text entry. Once I did the link with the like tool, it worked! I apologize, and I appreciate your posting the correct link too! Say, what is "rickrolled"?

Well, with the interior done and the chassis finished, it’s on to the body for the SVO. Unfortunately, the body needed a bit of work. There’s the usual flash and stuff, but that’s not as big a deal as the not-so-bright way they mould-makers thought of for attaching the spoiler. The rest of the car seems fine, but that end of it needs some work. Check out the progress on my ’85 SVO below! It’s starting to come together now! http://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/spoiler-alert/

Yes indeed, good sir! It is the 4E Dark Sage that you could only get from Hertz! It reminds me a lot of a new take on the Bullit Mustang in that green. I'm assuming that's what they were going for, eh? Thanks for being willing to help me out, Fred! Say, does that colour description you gave above also hold for the later Fox Mustangs, like the '92 convertible I have? Also, if I do that one in the blue/silver two-tone, is the overspray blue or Silver? In other words, is just the cladding silver, and bolted of after, or is it actually painted silver that would overspray. Actually, would there be some of each colour? One other thing: I have a Turbo Capri ('79), so would the same colouring hold there, too? Thanks!

Thanks Fred! That does help a lot! I'm just going to leave the chassis as is for this one. I think only hardcore Mustang guys will know that anyway, and it looks fine to my eyes (not to mention that I rarely look at the chassis when the car's done). However, I have another SVO, plus the '90s convertible (I'm assuming it's the same: am I right?), so that description is going to save me a lot of problems then. Do you have an SVO? I tried to find pics of the underside "factory fresh", but couldn't. So, I just did what I could based on some other cars I've seen. I thank you very much for the time it took for you to write that all down. Next time, I'll be right on the money!

Thanks for the compliments, guys. Joe: I'm sorry that the site isn't easy to use. Can you tell me what's not working for you? I want people to be able to come to the site and look at stuff easily, not to be bogged down. I laid it out according my my own logic, but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. Let me know what works and doesn't and I'll see if I can make it a bit easier to navigate. I do apologize; it is the first website I've ever really done, and there are limits to what I know and what Wordpress can do, but that doesn't mean I don't want to improve! Everybody else, too; let me know what you think and would like to see!

The SVO is getting closer! While the first coats of paint on the body are drying, I have had some time to work on the bottom end of the SVO. I’m not really impressed with the chassis on this kit, though. It’s okay, and the pan is fine, but the suspension and drivetrain aren’t exactly world-beaters. What’s even more interesting, is that this chassis and suspension is the same as that used on the ’92 convertible ‘Stang I have, as well! I guess if real car makers can do it, model companies can stretch the use of a platform too, eh? The engine isn’t as detailed as it could be, but it’s not bad. As always, I’ve just built up what’s in the kit, since I prefer to do the best I can with what I have. Take a look and let me know what you think about it! http://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/from-the-bottom-up/

That's too bad... I take it your friend drove one? That's one reason I'm looking forward to this one. I've ridden in and test driven these things, so it'll be a rush to build one. If only they did a kit of the earlier, squarer ones. Did anyone ever do that?

That's not my engine, sadly! However, I agree that that engine also looks great. I'm sure that mine will not be anywhere near as good!

Man, with your skills, you could really make this engine come alive! I'd love to see you build a 301T like in my Trans Am! Do you have the old MPC SVO as well? I do, but because it's all still bagged up, I haven't been able to get to the engine bits to see if the turbo is better or worse. Usually MPC engines are pretty good, but turbos usually seem to be an afterthought.

Thanks, Ken! I must admit, that I hadn't thought of upgrading the Turbo, although that engine above sure looks nice! My personal approach is almost always just to work with what's in the kit. I may have to make a rad hose once in a while, but I like the challenge of trying to make the kit parts look half decent. I like to compare it to those cooking shows where the guys are given specific ingredients, and then have to make something edible. Sure, some of the ingredients aren't that great, but the fun of trying to make them gourmet is the part I like! I'm just starting the engine now, but I have a Gundam and a Plane on the go, too. Looking at it, the Turbo doesn't seem as bad as I've seen on some other cars.

Oh my gosh, Tom! How could I miss the "50 shades of grey" connection??? That would have been an awesome post title! Well, next time I do an all-grey interior (like on my copy of the Caravan) I may Just steal that line! It's shocking, eh, how much the auto industry puts into creating different greys. I'm used to it on the military aircraft side of things, but cars are even worse! I hear you about not being able to see it once it's in the car; I don't know how the interior will work out and look once it's in the SVO, and that's why I wanted to showcase it separately. I mean, I love doing the interiors on cars (probably my favourite part), but they don't always show up. It was the same with the red interior on my GTA. http://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/monogram-124-1987-pontiac-trans-am-gta/ I also love that there's a Samurai kit. AWESOME. Now, if only someone would make a G8-GT kit, we'd be set. Thanks, Carl, for the compliment as well. Glad you guys like it!

Man, "Decepticons, Roll Out!" is all I can say! One of my favourite Mopars, and my favourite colour! Nice work. Incidentally, that colour scheme is the same as the university where I got my degrees, too. The University of Western Ontario (now just "Western") has purple and white as it's school colours. They look good together, and better on your Daytona! Nice engine work, too!

I decided to work from the inside out on my 1/24 Mustang SVO, and have now finished the interior! I wish that the kit had better detailed door panels, but other than that, it’s not a bad “bucket” for a model car; it’s definitely worlds better that most Tamiya 1/24 cars. One thing I loved was that even though there is nothing but grey in the interior (it was the 80’s after all!), the shots that I could find on the ‘net of these things showed a lot of different tones of grey, especially in the cloth interior. The kit is starting to roll along now, so check out the interior below! Feel free to give me any feedback, too, as always! http://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/svo-update-1-the-front-office/

Nicely done! I have that kit as well, and like a few others here love to build cars that I see (saw) out on the streets, vs. supercars or classics I never got to see rolling around. You did a great job on it, and I like the idea of ribbon for seatbelts! You made that kit look like a lot more than a knocked-down promo (which it is) for sure!

Wow, so they didn't fix it, eh? That's pretty lame. Actually, that's terribly lame. I'm not impressed at all. I was thinking they'd be able to get things back to the proper setup, especially since I've seen the kit on the shelves and it shows the proper extractors on the side. I do like the clear windows/tops, though; that would be nice to have. Well, I guess I don't have to bother buying the reissue, then. I effectively HAVE it save for those windows.

Sorry to say, but I've had this happen, although not to THIS extent. I have found that a thick (like, turning white it's so thick) coat of Future can take weeks to dry to the point you can sand it without it pulling and ruining everything. However, usually it's dry to the touch in a half-day at most, usually 12 hours and you can pick it up, move it around, etc, without fear. I've never seen it be tacky for days. What did you thin it with when you shot it? What kind of paint is it over, and how long did it have to dry? What are your climactic conditions? Dankness really slows down the drying time. That's why I have two 60W gooseneck lamps that I use to powerheat my car bodies. Not as good as a dehydrator (going to get in on that action soon) but better than ambient! Just leave lots of room for the heat to escape; otherwise, you're looking at melted styrene! Future can get DARNED hot!

Hey Everybody! I generally use Testors Model Master Acrylics for my models. I like them, generally, and have almost always used them. I don't like Tamiya or Gunze, and I don't like to use lacquers at all. However, there is one thing about Testors MMAs that bothers me. Some colours are NOT flat, that I think should be. I mean, military greens and browns should be flat, but they're not; they're semigloss or worse. I prefer using flat/matte colours, especially for interiors of cars and for mecha (robots - another passion of mine) or anything else that I want to paint by hand. I find that hand painting with matte colours goes better, faster and easier. The semigloss colours all seem to be thick, sticky and no matter what I do to them, they don't seem to work all that well, drying lumpy and taking more time to dry than their matte cousins. Does anyone know what to add to Testors MM Acrylics in order make them matte. I mean really, really matte? I've tried Tamiya Flat Base and Golden Fluid Matte Medium, both to little effect. I find both make the Testors even stickier and more prone to tearing itself. Now, oddly, they also make some colours that are almost TOO matte, but some Future fixes this easily. It's driving me crazy, so if anyone has any solutions, i'd appreciate it! Thanks!