mrmike

Thanks Jonelle! Nothing to be afraid of here. Easy kit to put together. Just be careful handling the decals as they are old and they don't really need any setting solution.

I applied the decals this morning and it took me a while to do it. Some of the color stripes came off which could be attributed to the age of the decals or the decals are that fragile. I'll see if I have any gold decals that I can use or I'll get a gold gel pen. Now to let this dry for a day or two before I add any clearcoat. More Lotus to come...

I foiled the window frames, added the metal lettering and the mesh to the front grille and the hood openings. Then I added the lower body panels. More Lotus to come...

I had to move the Lotus body out of the way for another pressing project and I had placed the body on top of the chassis and it reminded me of an episode of "For The Love Of Cars" where the host, Philip Glenister interviewed a man who has a stockpile of Delorean parts and several unfinshed projects including a Delorean on a 4X4 chassis. Sort of like a monster truck-like vehicle. More Lotus to come...

I rebuilt this kit recently and I replaced the turbo 4-banger with a Boss 429 from the Revell '70 Boss 429 Mustang.

I did the P/E grille about 10 years ago along with a complete WIP. Those pictures are long gone, but I still have the model and I took some new pictures of the front nose piece. Carefully remove the grille backing with a knife or a Dremel at slow speed. Once removed, cut your P/E to fit and paint it on both sides. Using some C/A or Superglue, adhere the P/E to the nose piece and let it set for a while.

Ben, may I suggest that you remove the backing from the grille and use some photoetch as a grille insert. This helps the look substantially.

Of all the stock '67/'68 Mustangs that I have seen, they seem to be just a little nose high, but not too much. Maybe this was a design idea using a sort of "gasser" approach to help the back of the car "squat" under acceleration.

Thanks Sonny! Yes, I did use the Tamiya TS-46 Light Sand Spray Can Paint for the seats and the rear panel. The console was painted by hand over the black plastic which resulted in a darker shade of Light Sand. This provided a contrast to the other colors used in the interior.

Thanks Tom! I had never really thought about what the body was made of until I had watched that episode of Overhaulin", too! I suppose I thought it was steel like many others. I suppose that if you want light weight and fast performance, fiberglass is one way to go...

Thanks Peter! I have used this color on a '13 Mustang Boss 302 and it can out great. I had to use it again on the Lotus! Tamiya sprays are a very forgiving paint and they have some great colors!

I have finished the Lotus Europa chassis. The interior is complete with the dash decaled and wood trim painted with a combination of Tamiya XF-10 Flat Brown and Tamiya X-26 Clear Orange. The engine compartment was finished with a scratch-built ignition coil glued to the engine compartment sidewall and a wired engine. More Lotus to come...

Thanks David and Atin! David, you might be right. Writing is something I enjoy doing, but my stories are always on the short side. Probably comes from watching too much TV and my stories are read in an hour like watching a TV show.

Thanks David! Don't worry...when the build ends, the story will come to a conclusion as I have timed them that way. And, I have plenty of stories and builds to go with them.

The Story McNally is sitting in Lt. Det. Adam Troy's office finishing his statement on the arrest at his house of Whelton Police Sergeant Bricker when Chief Richard Alden walks to Adam's door and knocks on the door frame. He asks about the arrest and tells of the possible implications this could have on relations between the two Departments. The State District Attorney will want to know the facts of the case and there is the possibility of lawsuits from both sides. The Chief is informed of the evidence found including the unregistered .22 caliber revolver that was found inside of Bricker's boot and the lack of a warrant for McNally's arrest. The evidence points to an assassination attempt of the Boston PI. Chief Alden asks how Lt. Troy just happened to be at McNally's house. Adam cites that he was on his day off and he was invited to lunch at McNally's house. He had two small pulls on a bottle of beer, lots of potato chips and celery and carrots before he started eating his sandwich. He was far from being considered drunk or the least bit intoxicated and he will take a breathalyzer test if needed. McNally and Troy are then informed that the Massachusetts State Police had arrested most of the Whelton Police Department with a couple of Whelton PD officers remaining on the job since they were cleared of any wrong doing. But, the Police Chief is missing. The Build The decals have been applied and I will clearcoat the body the a day or two. I have polished the rear deck spoiler and the side view mirrors. The mirrors will need to be detailed with Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black paint. McNally will return...

I got Airwolf out of its one week bath and I have noticed that some of the enamel paint has come off. Interesting! This was only a bath in water and Dawn Dish Detergent. I'll let this dry and then give it a good soaking with Easy Off. More Airwolf to come...

I was trimming a part with my knife and the knife was being held loosely in my hand. The blade got caught in the plastic and the knife with a fresh new blade popped out of my fingers, hit my leg and then landed on my shoe. I got up to get a bandage for my bleeding finger and when I got to the bathroom, my left pants leg was soaked with blood. I called my wife to get me a new pair of jeans while I sat on the toilet and applied a paper towel to my leg with pressure. My wife saw all the blood on my jeans and called for an ambulance. By the time they had arrived a few minutes later, the bleeding had stopped. I had followed my first aid training and everything was fine. The blade had entered the top of my thigh and went in 1/4 inch deep into my thigh, through my jeans and missed any arteries. Afterwards, I grabbed a bottle of water and rested for the afternoon away from the modeling bench.

Thanks Steve! Ron, I used a piece of P/E that I had gotten from a fellow Classic Plastic Model Club member. He got the P/E from the Model Car Garage. The Story It's Adam's day off from work and he stops by McNally's house for lunch with the Boston PI. They are sitting out on the back deck enjoying sandwiches and a beer when McNally hears the doorbell ring on the front door. He looks through the slider to the open front door and he sees a cop standing there in a uniform that is not of the Boston Police Department. Adam watches as McNally goes to the front door. "I'm Sgt. Bricker of the Whelton Police. Are you Mr. McNally?" McNally calls Adam to the front door as Sgt. Bricker says for him to come outside as he has a warrant for McNally's arrest. Adam ID's himself and asks to see the warrant, which Sgt. Bricker doesn't have on him and he wants McNally to step outside. Adam tells Sgt. Bricker that he is not following procedure for an out-of-town arrest and he has no BPD backup. Bricker goes for his sidearm and Adam goes for his Glock and McNally forces the screen door into the Whelton cop and tackles him on the front porch and he and Adam get the Whelton cop cuffed. Adam calls for backup and McNally searches the cop finding a small unlicensed .22 pistol tucked in Bricker's boot. This wasn't an arrest, it was an assassination attempt! The Build I went to apply the decals to the rear truck lid and noticed that the decal covers the entire lid, plus I tore the decal. I looked the the box and and saw the correct blackout for the trunk lid which I reproduced with Tamiya Masking Tape and Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black paint. I cut out the Charger and the SRT8 scripts from the Charger decal and applied them to the trunk lid along with a Dodge Ram decal from the decal sheet. So far, there is no silvering around the decals which is a good thing. McNally will return...

Thanks Gaute! I think that once this model has been cleaned and dried, I'll strip the paint and repaint it. I would like to build a more accurate interior, but who'll see it the rear compartment.

The Story Almost a month has gone by as McNally has stopped by at the Law Office of Charlotte Rothmann, Esq. Charlie's assistant Mandi lets him in to Charlie's office as she is sitting at her desk typing a closing argument on her computer. He hand Charlie the background check on her client and he turns to walk out of her office. Charlie says, "You're not going to say hi to me? You mad at me about something?" McNally replies, "I could say the same about you. You have said anything to me in about a month." Charlie gets up from her desk and goes over to the Boston PI and says, "I'm sorry. I thought that maybe you were mad at me. Maybe we have mixed signals or something here." McNally says, "Since you got me out of that jam with the Judge, we haven't spoken to each other. I'm sorry, too if I did anything wrong to you." Charlie says, "We are good. Now get outta here, I've got a lot of work to do." Charlie hugs McNally and shoos him away as she sits back down at her desk and continues typing her closing argument. The Build I have completed the interior, complete with some paint detailing. McNally will return...

Thanks David! The PE grille is one of those simple little things you can do to spice up a build!

Thanks David! I tried to get them all straight and one had shifted slightly on me. By the time I had noticed, it was too late to fix it.

Thanks John! I really like building these Tamiya kits when I can find them. I find them to be 99% accurate and any detail I need to add can be done rather easily.

Great looking Land Rover, Jonathan! I think you did a really good job on it!

Thanks Jeff! What the Military has now is very simular, but doesn't look like Airwolf. Airwolf is taking a bath in hot soapy water. A good soaking will help! These will get a good scrubbing and rinse later. More Airwolf to come...