Scale-Master

Resin kit by Starter in 1/43rd scale. I built it straight out of the box with just the addition of the metal antenna, and I made the decals. I also made the vinyl top by brush painting/texturing it with acrylic black. The windows were sun-bleached to minimize the yellowing due to age. WIP Thread: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/185456-1970-superbird/

I thought I'd use the kit decals for the black panels on the nose because they were printed in flat black. Unfortunately one of them broke into a few pieces when I went to apply them. So I had to make new ones.

One of the first things I did when I started this kit was to deal with the windows. They were yellowed quite a bit, (like most of these kits are now). After I cut the individual windows out I put them in the sun for a couple weeks to try to get them a little clearer. I planned to not use the door windows so I did not put them in the sun so I could compare later. The contrast between the yellow tone on them to the others that have been sun-bleached is quite noticeable.

The chassis cleaned up well; it wasn't even very dusty. One inner fender well had to be reattached along with one wheel and the rear trunk bay. It had/has working suspension and rack & pinion steering, but the plastic is so brittle I broke a part on the front when I lightly compressed the suspension for fun; the tie rod end was already broken on that side too so those parts are now fixed (in both meanings of the word). The rear suspension still works, but I'm not going to test its limits.

I have been making my vinyl tops by spraying on the texture since the early 80's; even done some with tape. But this time I did it by freehand brushing with acrylic black paint. Very easy and no masking needed.

The clear is modern Valspar two-part urethane. Here is how that looked after it kicked off. Now it has to fully dry, and this heat is working in my favor.

Yes, we lost Dale two years this coming January. I was lucky to have known him since 1980. Incredible model maker and artist.

Ooops. I put this in WIP instead of finished.

Thanks! The repair isn't done yet, it still needs the clear coat.

I did a customized four car set from the 1999 Hot Wheels Hot Haulers Set back in 2000. I put them back in the original box and on a shelf in my office over 20 years ago and kind of forgot about them until the other day. This one is a Surf Crate. Custom paint and decals; pearl yellow with an orange fade.

The cracks were filled and feather edge sanded to 1500 and the Testors Black was blended in. This is how it dried.

Nothing too special about the interior. I added woodgrain to the console.

I noticed the magenta color was not printed in the Road Runner bird decals so I printed a new set from the art I designed for the Revell/Monogram Superbird. I also made the other badging and used the same license plate. The decals are on the body and the trim & details are painted. After they dry for a while I'll add the vinyl top texture and color. I'll apply the black panels on the nose after the top is done. I also removed the Pentastar from the driver's side.

Then I went back and airbrushed white over all the panel lines except the nose seal to balance the contrast.

The seal on the nose is very prominent on these cars, and making it the only black panel line looked wrong. So I blacked out the hood, cowl, trunk and door lines too.

I'm seriously considering doing one in mostly red...

The main body cleaned up surprisingly well too. The rockers had something react to the paint were it was sitting all this time. That was sanded out and the cracks around the gas caps were chiseled out & filled. This is after the first sanding. The undersides of the cracked areas were reinforced too.

Thank you Rich! Mine appears to be complete. I bagged everything before I put it away back then and even filed the instructions with it. Surprisingly even the decals I didn't apply to it look useable.

This looks promising. A good wash then a deep cleaning and wax job. There was just one scuff on a part that needed to be polished out. Fortunately the clear is now hard enough to take a decent buffing to do that repair; no need to repaint.

I went with Tamiya Pure White even though the correct Alpine White color is not as clean. Sometimes smaller scales need a little boost in contrast.

Not at all. This was intended to be a purely box stock build from its inception. That has not changed. This has about 6 months of simple work invested in it. It shouldn't take more than one more to button it up. (The Lola was 4 years of comprehensive design and fabrication for comparison.)

Yes, another Lotus... Nichimo 1/12 scale from the original 1976 issue. I started this in 1994 with the intent of building it out of the box as nicely detailed as possible even though it was essentially a glorified motorized toy in many ways. I was happy with the progress until the body broke in two places during the near final phase of assembly. I was using a urethane clear and at time it wasn't a material that responded well to blending and buffing. (Now that type of repair with more modern materials is not an issue.) Frustrated, I put it in storage in 1995. Apparently it was not a totally dust free environment and this is what it looked like after about 28 years of being parked in its own drawer in a closet. Being that this was done well before digital cameras and social media, I have no record of what was done other than my memory and I remember quite a bit of what I had done just by looking at it now. My goal is to just clean it up, repair the cracks, blend the paint and clear and make a presentable model. Even back then the BMF under paint technique was a commonly used trick for some of us… The black paint is Testors Classic Black enamel. However, the clear is a product made by Mar-Hyde and was never intended to be color sanded or buffed out. (It was for panel repair and stayed somewhat pliable when fully dry.) Hopefully the quarter of a century of curing it has had will work in my favor. Hand painted woodgrain dash, shifter ball and steering wheel…

I drilled out the stub for the antenna and filled the hole for the passenger side mirror.

The kit provides decals for the Goodyear lettering, but they are the wrong size and style. I made new era-correct ones and added the Polyglas lettering too.

The rear wing is a thin strip of brass cemented to the resin fins. It is very delicate.