mrmike

Once again, my painting prowess (or lack thereof) has struck again. I wetsanded a flaw on the hood down and then repainted with one light coat which ran down to the edge of the hood and bubbled up while drying. And now, the hood is in the purple pond taking a bath. I was hoping to have completed this one by now for the next Classic Plastic Model Club meeting, but fatigue and the lack of time to work on this build is starting to frustrate me. At work, my boss is finally starting to get the idea that our current set-up and schedule is not working and change is in the wind. It had better land on earth sooner than later! More to come...

I got the hood out of the purple pond this morning and gave it a good scrubbing with Dawn and warm water. A little light sanding and some paint is next. I started up the paintbooth and gave the front grille and bumper, rear bumper, and valve covers a good coating of gloss black enamel in preparation for Alclad II Chrome paint. I am not happy with the color I have chosen. When just painted, the paint has a good shade of blue to it, but when it dries...it is more silver than blue. I decided to experiment with Tamiya TS-58 Pearl Light Blue over the Model Master Silver Blue Metallic to see what it would look like. I think I am going to paint the body and hood this color over the Silver Blue Metallic. The Tamiya paint is on the right side of the interior bucket bottom. More to come...

I had built one back when they first came out and rebuilt it a few years ago. The body is not 100% correct with the covered headlight. The actual Miami Vice Daytona Spyder had smoke plexiglass covers over the headlights as well as the Covette windshield frame.

No, I did mean 2009! I used a 2009 Bullitt Mustang as reference and built my model accordingly. There really is no difference between the two model years and Ford did produce a 2009 Bullitt Mustang, although it didn't have any publicity and was also produced in much smaller numbers than the 2008. I believe the '09 was just an extension of the '08, just being built into the '09 model year.

After seeing all these Bullitt Mustangs, I thought I would post a couple pictures of the Bullitt Mustangs that I have built. The first is one I made from the 2006 Mustang GT kit as the version that Ford should have built, looking more like a '68 Mustang GT. This is the 2009 Bullitt Mustang built box stock as Ford built it except for changing the tires. A picture of both.

I got the chassis, exhaust, and front suspension painted, but the front suspension needs another coat. The front and rear bumpers and the valve covers are out of the purple pond and will get a coat of gloss black enamel when dry and then a coat of Alclad II Chrome paint.. I had noticed a speck of dirt on the hood and when I tried to lightly flick it off, my dog came up and nudged my arm and I gouged the hood with my fingernail. Into the purple pond it went! More to come...

I am also concerned about the clear as well. I can apply several mist coats until I am happy with the coverage and then polish the clear afterwards. But, I can be flexible with my processes and will use whatever works best for me at any given moment. I kept thinking that I was having bleed-through problems while I was painting until I realized that I was wearing a bright red sweatshirt and the color was reflecting off the freshly painted body. It's painted! I didn't like the looks of the chrome as it appeared to have faded. These will be taking a bath in the purple pond, painted gloss black, and then coated with Alclad II Chrome Paint. More to come...

I had just painted the body so the paint does look a little thick. Also, I had to compensate for the bright light in the paintbooth with the camera settings so the paint wouldn't look orange.

This morning I pulled the GTO body and hood from the purple pond and washed them to remove the Kilz primer. After a good scrubbing with an old toothbrush, the body looks pretty good and lighter, too. I think that now I may not need a primer/sealer and will apply the paint over the red plastic without any bleed-through problems. Some minor cleanup and rescribing of the panel lines and it's off to the paintbooth and a coat of Model Master Silver Blue Metallic. More to come...

I got a chance to paint the body and hood again. It is looking really good! More to come...

Thanks guys! I got a chance to paint the body and hood again. It is looking really good! More to come...

Currently, the GTO body and hood are in the purple pond. I want to see how much of this primer I can get off before I move ahead. I did a test on the inside of the chassis with the body color and it covered the red plastic quite well. I am encouraged by no bleed-through at this point. I decided to forge ahead with painting other parts including the partially assembled engine. The color is Model Master Pontiac Engine Blue Metallic. The chassis, interior bucket, and dash are painted. More to come...

Thanks guys! Still a ways to go on this. Stay tuned!

No, I haven't clear coated yet, I sanded down the flaws and will repaint it soon. The suspension is sitting on top of the wheels...not attached to anything. I needed to make a few changes to the engine blower and valve covers as I have painted them the wrong color. The blower should be black and the valve covers are black and silver. A mock up of the extended air tube with a repainted air filter. More to come...

I need to make a few changes to the engine blower and valve covers as I have painted them the wrong color. The blower should be black and the valve covers are black and silver. A mock up of the extended air tube with a repainted air filter. More to come...

I could be the lighting and the camera angle. Trust me...these tires will look great on your GT500KR! Sorry to hear about the paint job on your KITT. Clean the body really good and here's to looking forward to a better paint job! Good Luck!

No, they are not the kit tires. They are Pegasus 225/45-18s that I got from Scale Dreams. They are much better than the kit tires!

I decided to wetsand the body as I found way too many flaws in the paint. After washing the body and letting it air-dry, I mock up the body, interior, and chassis to check for fit and then added the wheels and tires under the fenders to get an idea of what's it going to look like. Using some sheet styrene, I made the airbox. I will cut out a hole in the corner for the air tube. The Shelby GT500 has an open element air filter and with the kit air box removed, the tube wasn't long enough. I added a short piece of tube from the '06 Mustang air intake tube. More to come...

Thanks Rick and Bradley! I decided to wetsand the body as I found way too many flaws in the paint. After washing the body and letting it air-dry, I mock up the body, interior, and chassis to check for fit and then added the wheels and tires under the fenders to get an idea of what's it going to look like. Using some sheet styrene, I made the airbox. I will cut out a hole in the corner for the air tube. The Shelby GT500 has an open element air filter and with the kit air box removed, the tube wasn't long enough. I added a short piece of tube from the '06 Mustang air intake tube. More to come...

Harry, didn't you feel the Earth go off axis when I built my '67 Impala SS some months back? I thought I was going to fall off the Earth when I built that model. And, I have two more Chevys to build and a '72 Olds as well! Yes, this Mopar guy is branching out into more unfamiliar territory. Wait a minute...I have always built Mustangs!!! What?!!

Thanks Stephen! This one is coming along as I have hoped for. I haven't done anything on the body and with the chassis nearly finished, it's time to get going on the body again. I have found a couple of flaws in the paint after the last coat so i will need to take care of those and then sot the body again. I had to look at the IMCDB for the Mustang that was in I Am Legend and that is a red Mustang! I'll be looking forward to seeing your WIP.

A little progress this afternoon. I finished detailing the K & N air filter. Mounted it to the air tube. A mockup on the engine. I'll start on the airbox next. More to come...

A little progress this afternoon. I finished detailing the K & N air filter. Mounted it to the air tube. A mockup on the engine. I'll start on the airbox next. More to come...

] Here is how I lower my '05 and up Mustangs. I take the rotors and remove part of the mounting ring from the back where it mounts to the suspension. Determine how low you want to lower your Mustang by placing a few index or business cards under the chassis. When you decide where your height will be, mount the rotors to the suspension. Then you can mount the wheels to the rotors with plastic rod or drill into the rotor center with a drill bit slightly smaller than the wheel mounting pins. If you have done everytthing correctly, your model will sit level. Keep in mind that lowering is limited to how wide a tire you use and how low you want to go.

A little more progress. I replaced the shifter with a better one. And, the interior is done. I started working on the air filter and airtube. I still need to make an open airbox. More to come...