mustang1989

Thanks for the comments Michael and Ray. Good notes about the CMK Type 82. I've heard a lot about it and that it can be built up into a great kit with all the upgrades. Would be cool to see a thread on that one.

Thanks Rusty. Prior to posting the OP I'd been working on the chassis pretty much all week and I've gotta say that I am thoroughly impressed at all the detail in 1/35 scale. I managed to get all the rear suspension and exhaust work done (except for the tail pipe that I'll install later on to keep from snapping it off). I've also got the weathering done in the way of chipping and dirt effects. I tried as hard as I could to achieve the right balance but then again I'm no expert in the military vehicle field as far as WWII is concerned.

I’ve really been tied up with my Ford Maverick build over in the Drag Cars Section. Never before have I had to do so much in the way of plan out and precise fit to get a model to “work” convincingly before. It seems like it’s been one step forward and two steps back for over a half of a year now. Right now I'm stuck with trying to get an AMT '67 Mustang engine bay to work with the Jo-Han '70 Maverick body and all line up with the frame at the same time. The last few months I’ve needed distractions to keep me motivated in building so that I’m at least getting something accomplished at the bench. With this latest snag with the Mav I again…..need something to keep me motivated. I thought long and hard about either another OOB auto build or something else. I pondered my options and thought to myself, “What if I combined the best of two worlds and satisfied my auto craving while at the same time doing something militaristic in nature?”. What I came up with was something that’s a little outside of my scale preference but something that I’ve been wanting to build since late last year. Ya see…..I’ve got this 1/35 scale Ryefield Type 82E VW Beetle in my collection and right of the box it’s one helluva kit. It’s got an engine and full interior as well as lotsa details under the “hood” where the spare tire and all that stuff is. I’m going to order some 1/35 scale small arms and equipment to kind of set it off a little bit but it’s going to be an OOB build with some teeny mods done to it to enhance what is already there. And with that……we’ll be starting with this……

Interesting!

WOW!!! That finish looks amazing and the weathering looks spot on!!!!

I've gotta hand it to ya.....you nailed a good camo pattern on this bad boy and did right by the weathering. Beautiful Tiger.

I've built/ painted the one on the far left and would like to gather the other ones up as well. Turned out great!!!!! Now I'm gonna go get my Coke for the day.....and after seeing this I'll smile as well. lol

Saw this one over at LSP and still am in amazement at how this turned out Simon. Just one heckuva great build. Everything just "clicks".

WOW!!! Gotta love a good armor build!! Very well done!!!

1/144 is about as small as it gets before you start getting into 1/350 aircraft on ship models. These tiny kits are tough.....really tough and I've gotta give you kudos for finishing this one off. Good work James.

SHAWWEEEET!!! Very well done!!

Coming together nicely so far. Nice modeling area as well. I started back into the hobby with a set up similar to this a few years back.

Still keepin' an eye on this beauty Mike.

Looking really good Tom!! Nice touch on the rocker covers.

I do appreciate your input Chris. Man I'll tell ya...historically accurate drag cars are definitely NOT my specialty. There's a reason I stay within the realm of pro street or modified street machines.....lots of imagination and therefore no real adherence to accuracy. lol. For this car I've depended largely on reference shots and while there are plenty of those floating around for the outside of the resto, there aren't that many on the undersides or interior of the car as well as some of the nick nacks like the fuel pressure gauge out there on the cowl. There are certain parts of the car that I have definitely strayed from but tried to keep some of those changes in good taste and still not go overboard. I think I'm going to be alright with the engine to shock tower fit but knowing my luck I'll probably do one more fit check. Again, I appreciate your feedback and am glad to have you along for the ride bud. Great to see you as well Dan. Thanks man.

Man that thing looks GREAT!!! Very good fab work to get this all turned into a Firenza. Just an all around good build Danny.

I found a tach face decal in a decal sheet for the Revell Pro Stock Thunderbird kit. Also managed to get the correct style tachometer mounted in the correct place on the car.

Thanks for the vote Dann. Just helpin' a fellow modeler out man.

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about Mike!!! Glad to see you fired up a thread.

Thanks Dan. That sounds halfway doable if the Covid Monster aint still hangin' over us. lol

Thanks Dan. I'm glad to see you hanging around again man. One o' deez days we may actually even make it back to another show together. I'm a Chevy guy as well Dick so I know what you're saying. I've always had an eye for these old Mavericks. The shifter.....man....the shifter. I thought I was going to go stark ravin' nuts putting that one together. This week has been slow and it usually seems to be that way towards the end of alot of my builds. All the planning that I've been doing for the last 4 months all comes together at the last part it seems. Sometimes I'm hesitant to move too fast as a screw up at this point would mean alot of re-work. I've been working on the firewall area, removing the already installed transmission mount and moving it to the rear a little more so that the engine and transmission will set into place properly. That meant popping the mount loose, sanding and repainting the chassis (which I had to separate the front subframe from the main part of the chassis to gain access to the areas for sanding and the repaint) and reassembly of the whole chassis again. I also worked on the rear part of the chassis so that I could get the proper rear tire alignment with the body (in other words...suck those big fat rear tires inwards a little bit towards the center of the car to keep 'em from sticking out too far from the wheel openings). I received my tachometer from Ted's Modeling Marketplace and while it is the perfect size and diameter, the tachometer decals that came with it were NOT. Really frustrating why a manufacturer (Detail Master) would put a smaller tach in a package and then throw decals for a MUCH larger tach in the same bag. Really PO'd about that but I'll make something work. Most of the efforts moving forward will center around the engine bay and all the parts fit as well as the engine detailing. I was really surprised when I actually thought about it that I'm around 80% complete with this bad boy. I've been on it since late December/ January so it's been a long road but I'm well pleased with how it's turning out so far. Thanks go out to all who continue to follow this build, give input and encourage me along the way. She's been a tough kit to work with folks.

Off the charts man! This thing is electric.

Un.....believable! That's some really good work Donn!

Looks like a great paint job from here. Great work!

Now that's not a bad idea. Dang it Keith....I'll be PM ing you pretty quick. During all of what's going on I forgot about that Barracuda.