RancheroSteve

I'm back at this one after a while. Had to put it away when we moved (twice) in 2022, then when I finally pulled it out I discovered that the tissue paper I had wrapped the body in had stuck to the paint in a few spots, which required sanding and repainting the the body. More on that soon - meanwhile, I finished the interior and trunk. Figured I'd better get some photos because most of this won't be seen once the model is done. The chassis pan from the '40 Coupe was used with door panels, seat and dash from the '36. Paint was matched by eyeball. The alcohol tank in the trunk was scratchbuilt and will at least be visible as the trunk is hinged. As always, thanks for looking.

I'm curious - did they crack when you tried to apply them or could you tell they were cracked just by looking at them?

After finishing my “Winged Express” fuel altered build, I had the leftover decals from the Slixx sheet to do the Charger funny car that Willie Borsch drove in the early 70s. https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/189084-winged-express-aafa/ I thought I should do something with those decals, but the truth is I prefer the earlier Charger body style. After reading Tim Boyd’s glowing review of the new tool Revell Charger kits (issued in 2011), a plan began to form in my mind. https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/170101-are-these-the-best-ever-yet-most-unsung-funny-car-kits-of-all-time/ I procured a Chi-Town Hustler kit in a trade with a fellow Forum member and set to work. While I mostly try to build accurate replicas of vehicles that existed, I decided to have a little fun with this one. What if Willie had made the switch to funny cars a few years earlier? Of course, Willie’s fake arm is on board. The kit did not disappoint – great fit all around, it goes together with very minimal fuss, a real joy to build. I added some wiring and plumbing, a fire extinguisher, and scratchbuilt a master cylinder to fill the empty space on the firewall, but everything else (besides the decals and the arm) is out of the box. Paint is a fade of two different Tamiya rattle cans - yellow and orange - with some red lacquer airbrushed along the lower body. I toyed with idea of putting in a big block Chevy or early Hemi – Willie’s Charger ran both – but decided not to complicate my life unnecessarily so I just went with the kit engine, but still used the hood "rat vs. elephant" decal because it looks cool, right? Thanks for looking – hope you enjoy - comments & questions welcome.

Outstanding build of an iconic racing car!

Revell IMSA/TransAm Mustang or Camaro for the chassis (only the Camaro kits have the correct wheels for the car you're wanting to build); Competition Resins makes the body you'll need: https://ecsvr.com/cpr/shopexd.asp?id=13

I just measured the Merit Lotus IX I have here and it is in fact just over 5 1/2" long, so according to Bill's figures that makes it 1/24 scale.

PM sent

Mark - not sure if this fits in with your plans for these builds, but you can make the rear bodywork a lot more prototypically correct (and show off whatever detailing you do) with a few simple cuts. It stays on pretty well by itself, but a few magnets would help more. I built this one several years ago using the Slixx decals.

I would if I hadn't already built one, but my hunch is that the molds no longer exist.

Great, thanks a bunch! Just what I needed. Edit: Just checked again - it appears that the diagram and a few of those photos didn't make it into the PDF.

Excellent and very useful extensive reference! One small note: the text mentions an oil system schematic drawing, but I don't see it there. Maybe it never made it to publication due to space?

I've decanted paint from many cans and in my experience, it's rare that a can completely loses pressure - it's more likely that the tip or tube inside is clogged. Keep in mind that the propellant is actually dissolved in the paint, which is half the reason for shaking a spray can before painting. Just use caution if you decide to poke a hole in a spray can.

They seem to be at least implying that's it's the Mecom Sebring car. Too bad about that rollbar kind of spoiling the look of the car, but I guess if you're going to drive it in historic events it's required. MCW lists a color for the Mecom Scarab that's probably the same blue: "Mecom Scarab – 5817 it blue met."

D'oh! Totally read your question wrong (skimmed it too fast) - thought you were asking what year the Union kit was issued. The Lola T-70 debuted in March 1965 - first in England, then at Sebring. The IMC/Union kit represents it as it ran at Sebring under Mecom colors.

Scalemates says 1983. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/union-model-mc06-1500-lola-t-70--180667

I have these if they'll work for you:

I've long thought about trying to build that one!

Fremont Racing Specialties has some good decal sheets.

Yes, that Monogram NASCAR tooling dates back to the early 80s and hadn't really been changed to reflect some of the newer tech that the cars were using. The Lumina kits (and on up) are new tooling with updated practices, including the seat.

Hope this is helpful - from Road & Track January 1987. If I come across anything else I'll let you know.

Give me a day or so - I'll see what I can dig up.

Welded bare aluminum seat with black snap on padding in the photos I've seen. Pretty common practice for Cup cars in those days.

Indeed - I was fortunate enough to attend a few of the IMSA races in the late eighties when they ran at Del Mar. The dominance for the Porsche 962 was slowly ending and the Jaguars, Nissans, and Toyotas were in ascendancy with big factory sponsorship. Several other makes were competing as well, so there was a great diversity of machinery. Almost reminiscent of the original Can-Am period.

MCW lists it as #2052 https://mcwfinishes.com/

Simple Hasegawa curbside kit that still managed to fight me a little (purely my own fault). Indycals decals and a few added details; otherwise out of the box. Thanks for looking.