plasticprime

This is one of those models where the real accomplishment is just in finishing it, especially true in this case since I started it more than 40 years ago. I bought this kit at a hobby shop out west when I was in college. I had no car, no TV, and just an 8-track player and headphones for entertainment, so building a model seemed like a good stress reliever. I had barely started this when school got in the way and back in the box it went. When it was time to head for home after graduation, I had to cut the box in half to get it in a suitcase. Then it sat in an attic for 15 years or so and finally made a cross country move with me…until…I finally finished it. Talk about delayed gratification. I scratch built some of the parts that been lost or broken, drilled out the grenade launchers, and made a simple base from an old picture frame, which I stained. I added a few accessory items to add a little more interest. The tracks are the kit’s rubber band ones and someday I’ll get around to fixing the sag…say in 40 years or so.

I can only echo what has already been said - fantastic build!

Top notch work! Excellent in every detail!

Love it!

Thanks to everyone for the nice feedback!

Beautiful build! Terrific job! And the film's been playing lately on some of the over-the-air movie channels. (Speaking of car chases, the one in "The Seven-Ups" ain't bad either - and the director of that particular film was also the producer on "Bullitt" and "The French Connection.")

Love it! Great job!

This is the Revell snap-together 2015 Mustang kit. This was my first try with aftermarket parts: wheels, tires, and disc brakes & calipers; photo-etched radio dial, speaker grills, and various Mustang emblems; military lenses for the front lights positioned under the grill; and acetate instrument panel dials. The rear-view and side mirrors are from an unbuilt ’69 Mustang kit. I drilled holes in the side mirrors and receiving holes in the body and used thin pieces of wire to act as pegs for mounting. I fabricated exhaust pipes from aluminum tubing. I found some photos of the real headlights, printed them out and cut them to size for the body openings. For the back license plate, I used photo-etched Mustang and GT emblems on the plate holder from the unbuilt ’69 kit. The paint is Testors Mystic Emerald green.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words on this build!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thanks!

Thank you!

Thanks! Is the HobbyBoss Pilot #1 kit still in production? (The packaging looks kind of old.) FYI: Your comment piqued my interest so I browsed through the reference library. There's an illustration on pg. 26 of the Osprey M26/M46 book (author: Zaloga) that's very similar to the HobbyBoss Pilot #1 box art. There's also a photo of Pilot #2 on pg. 22 of the Squadron Pershing/Patton In Action book (#40). Thanks again!

This was my first funny car kit and proved to be quite a challenge. Parts fit was poor, and in my kit there was so much flash it was hard to tell where the flash ended and the parts started. I scratch built the butterfly valves on the blower; used a black wash on the rear wheels; drilled out the exhaust pipes; scraped the chrome from the blower belt and added a yellow decal from an armor kit (.50 cal ammo box - it looks cool anyway); drilled and built mounting pegs for the parachute and fire extinguisher; scraped off the chrome from the front axle nubs and painted them clear blue; and painted the rear brakes red. Body paint was Tamiya Metallic Blue with two coats of Tamiya clear. I didn’t like the decal design on the box art, so I cut the decals and arranged them in a different layout.

Excellent, flawless work! You give us something to aspire to!

Since I didn't really apply the decals/unit markings in a historically correct manner, it could be debatable, but I believe this particular unit is meant to represent a post-WWII one.

Except for the turret .50, straight from the box. I have no real weathering skills as yet, so this one's seen little action.

I'm definitely in the learning stage, so I appreciate your advice. Thanks! By the way, your work looks great!

The cans are all fairly new - certainly no more than a year or so.

I'm new to this, so I guess it reinforces the old adage that experience is the best teacher. I'm viewing this build as a test case, and if I have to strip it back down to bare plastic, so be it. Thanks!

Yup - a problem, especially on the hood. Thanks!

Thanks! The consensus seems to be that, among other things, I didn't sand enough.

I appreciate your advice! Where do you obtain the Tamiya polishing compounds? My local hobby shop guy said they haven't been available in the US for years, and every online place I've tried to date says "out of stock." Are the Novus products good?

Thanks! I'll take your advice and test a small one before diving all the way in.