Scale-Master

I mixed the light blue using old Testors Pla enamels; 1108 Light Blue and 1145 Gloss White. Shot it last night.

The light blue and dark green (Tamiya AS colors decanted) were airbrushed on and the yellow (Tamiya LP) was masked sprayed about 15 minutes later. These Tamiya lacquers are fantastic.

This is a 1/43rd resin kit by Starter from the early 90's. The body casting was pretty clean compared to the other variants of this casting I have. (Must have been a low mileage mold.) But it had an inordinate amount of holes that needed to be filled. I'll take that issue over a crusty worn out mold that can really mess up details. At this point the brass parts have been attached and the stance has been adjusted. It's ready for primer.

Tamiya 1/48 kit. The paint scheme is a composite of multiple aircraft I found partial reference for. But first I needed to build the trolley. Assuming the trolley is made of wood, maybe a pressed/ply/composite from what I can tell from photos, I went with AS-45 Tan as a base. Then I stippled and semi dry-brushed X-24 clear yellow with a little graphite powder before using the brown Panel Line Accent as wash. The aircraft was rescribed and the panel lines preshaded.

WIP Thread: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/188110-hardcastle-mccormick-coyote/

I shot the headlight covers with Tamiya Smoke and assumed the headlight detail in buckets might be visible so I painted and installed those parts. Maybe with a flashlight the headlights are visible… All the clear parts fit pretty well. The taillights were done with Tamiya acrylics and foil.

Thanks Steve, I could CAD up the wheels and since they are not supposed to be chrome 3D printing them would quite well. I used the kit decals for the stripes, but they had a matte sheen so I polished them while they were still on the sheet before applying them. When applied they responded to decal solvent well (to wrap around the front edges) but are somewhat fragile. I made new exhaust tips from aluminum.

After a polish and wax (no clear coat), it's time to add the other details to the body. These older enamels are still very good paints, they just need more dry & cure time compared to the newer lacquers.

No they aren't. The set of BFGs I have from them are bigger/smaller, not hollow, more rubber-like and have a better tread pattern.

That's a great story Steve! Thanks for sharing! Nice model of it too.

It's nice that the kit includes BFG Radial T/A tires and the tread is clearly identifiable as the second generation design. The sidewall detail however is bold and at the same time on the soft side and out of scale. (I still have a real set of BFG's to compare to.) I'm not too concerned if the tires are not the correct sizes for the car. I used Tamiya LP-4 Flat White to hand paint the lettering. It sticks amazingly well and flexes like an acrylic; I was even able to mount the tires to the rims after painting.

IMC kit with a few minor upgrades, machined parts and vintage enamel paint. My kit was missing the rear body panel and the rear window along with a few other minor parts. I made replacements for all of them. The wheels were damaged so I cast copies of the best one and supplemented them with machined aluminum outer sections. The tires were MIA too so I used some Tamiya Pirellis. I cast copies of Re5 Turbo windshield wipers to replace the molded in ones and added a license plate. I also created all the decals. WIP Thread:

The wipers, mirrors and door handles are installed. (The door handles came in the kit.) The Fiberfab badges that go behind the door windows still need to be painted and attached. There is supposed to be one for the hood, but it's a short shot in my kit and I like the cleaner look without it.

I cut vinyl for the flat black accents on the hood, quarter windows and side scoops. I machined an aluminum latch handle and made a license plate and decal for it.

Ken, my kit was missing the rear window so I made a new one from a Monte Carlo Nascar window that had inner and out outer details molded on to it. Your IMC window should be fine.

The windows have been installed. I decided to sand out the center support strap on the inside of the rear window.

Thanks Ken! Yes, the headlight buckets are flat black, not gloss. It's very probable that the molds for this body are long gone/lost. So if someone wants one they should grab it when they can. They are out there for under $100.00 if you look and wait. The taillight lenses have been installed and I made a bright silver panel for the interior so you can't see the engine when looking through them.

There is also this 1124 Green from Testors too. It 's a little less olive but shares the same characteristics and is very workable.

I let the body dry for the better part of two weeks in direct sunlight. The window frames have been foiled and the headlight buckets painted black. The headlights have been installed and the decal I made for the gas door has been applied. It looks like "that tire" had a light snack on one of the clear headlight covers too so I repaired the damage using the same process as I used on the windshield. The headlight covers fit OK, again especially considering the age of the kit.

I used some older Testors Model Master enamel Italian Red for the body; it's about the same age as the kit. It went on almost as well as the older green enamel I used on the Avenger, and it was also reduced with lacquer thinner. It will have to cure for a while more even though it's been drying for a few days now already.

That is a great overview and comparison. Thanks for sharing!

Next I built up the engine and suspension. Since the tub wasn't true, nothing related to the suspension was square or true and the wheels did not line up the same in any of the wheel wells; so that was fixed. The front to rear, height and track had to be set individually for each corner. Yes, it sits lower than the cars on T.V., but since it's not an accurate model why not improve the stance aesthetically? Now it's time to get back to the body prep for painting.

After I reshaped the rocker panels to follow the contour of the lower edges of the body, I fitted the rear scoops to the tub using magnets to make painting easier.

There were a few areas that were too low where the engine cover and body meet. Rather than sand the surrounding high parts down, I filled them with 0.015 sheet styrene and featheredged them.

Thanks Mike!! I reworked the mounting pylons on the side mirrors from the same '70 Mustang that provided the steering wheel to fit the Avenger body. The chrome mirror faces were not with them so I made new ones out of Mylar. I used Mylar for the interior VW mirror that came in the kit.