Lunajammer

I've had this as a bagged kit for a few years (sample box from web). I also have a ton of part boxes handed down to me so I want to use some of those for a project. With the week off I have time to zone-in for hours on end. The first place to start is to remove the parts that identify it as a T-Bird, beginning with the fins. Same goes for the bug eye tail lights. It can stand to have some length cut too, especially if I'm going to rebuild it with something else. With the tail lights gone, we don't need character lines forming into them. With the body smoothed and basically slab sided, I can do anything I want and most things will still line up. One of the reasons I selected this car is because there are few character lines to argue with my creative choices, especially since I'm doing this without a real plan and am changing my mind as I go. This is the piece I think I want to use. It's so... not Thunderbird. But the body needs to be trimmed to fit so I'll take a wedge out to slope down the corners. The new tail piece has been paint stripped and is in place. To match the width of the new piece the fenders were pulled apart and plastic has been added to complete the body shape. You can see that the length of the rear quarters has returned. More fine shaping and bondo to come.

For those who have been following the Cannonball Run CBP, it's time to vote who you think is the top finisher of the coast to coast trophy dash in their movie themed car. All members are welcome to vote. CLICK HERE to follow the instructions. The poll is off-site in order to accommodate all the entries. Be sure to click "VOTE" at the bottom of the page after you've made your selection.

Welcome to the poll that decides who wins the coast-to-coast Cannonball Run in their movie/TV cars. Step 1) Review the Completed Racers thread HERE to take a look at all the beauty shots of the finishers and read what they have to say about their projects. Step 2) • CLICK HERE TO VOTE • Select your choice then finalize your vote by clicking "VOTE" at the bottom of the polling page.

I'm as impressed as I am bewildered. "Lacks strength, smoothness and is difficult to tool." So is money savings the only benefit? Don't get me wrong, I love the innovative thinking and what you've done with it. I like that you're trying to dial in a unique and fascinating process. It's just kind of a head scratcher for me.

I really like what you've done already. Looking forward to what you do next.

Sorry to hear that Pat but life has a way of being, well, life. Your Cannonball entries are always strong and interesting competitors. With mere hours to go it's pretty quiet around here.

Not just great execution but an excellent display of your knowledge of the subject. Thanks for sharing.

I like this a lot. A treatment you don't often see.

Wow, what a beauty. Classic all the way.

Hope you nailed it? I can't find anything that says you didn't. So, set down the hammer and have a beer. Nice work.

Thanks Jerry, appreciate it. I'm not a big fan of dents in plastic because they are not usually very realistic unless you're really good and experienced. But the movie car dent is a simple one and I knew I could probably replicate it by carefully heating the spot over a flame and sort of sculpting the shape with a blade handle or small tools. The plastic also wants to shrink so overheating is bad. For such an isolated spot I thought I could get away with it.

Unless it's Ford Prefect.

Wheels turned out excellent. Getting popcorn for the rest of that engine bay.

Thanks Roger. Near as I can tell the kit has the whole shebang; three sets of wheels, at least two sets of printed tires, custom parts, mini TV, phone, etc. I've got a sandwich bag of unused parts.

Wow. Good one. I had to research that because I've only seen the flick on basic cable (read that to mean "edited for time and content.")

Thanks for the good vibes everybody, much appreciated. When COVID hit early in the year and there was fear and uncertainty and I was working from home, I lost all interest in modeling. When we settled into the new normal and I returned to the project I was ready to get back at it, so the bench time was a pleasure at both ends and the kit was most forgiving.

This is the kind of stuff that really turns my crank. I'm just too dumb to come up with it myself. Coincidentally, I'm working on a mash-up right now, the details of which shall remain silent until I'm confident it will gain any momentum. Keep going, I'll be watching.

This was probably the most relaxing model I've built in years. Fitting the LT5 into it was an easy upgrade that any novice could enjoy. At the back of the tranny, the chassis needs to be ground away from a crossmember to get the transmission to settle down, but it's a scar that isn't visible. Otherwise, the engine fits itself, sits level and doesn't interfere with the hood on the top side. There's a little fuss with the plumbing at the front but it's nothing a couple simple cuts can't fix. Steel rims were home cast resin and I found suitable tires from my parts box. The selection of beautifully pad printed white wall tires that come with the kit were too nice for this project. Some light wash in select areas and a little pastel dusting on the body, chassis and engine brings it all to life. Edited 19 hours ago by Lunajammer

In the movie, a sign ends up through the windshield, but that didn't seem practical for a cross country race. But at this point in the film the rally rims have been replaced and the steel rims are apparent.

Body painted. I'd like to see a tick more brown but despite the lighting here, this Rustoleum color is pretty close. I added the dent in the front fender as seen in the screenshot below. This is the paint I used. Slow to dry, but in a can, this was the closest I could find. The spray can color looks more accurate than the screenshots imply. Here the interior is mostly done. The movie clearly shows a filthy dusty interior, so I grunged it up with pastels. Printing wood paneling on white decal paper is troublesome as the printing always chips at the edges when trimming. The way to go is decal printed on clear over a painted light surface. Clear epoxy was added to the gauge faces. The kit shifter is a chrome blob so I'll add something later.

As a matter of record I'm compiling this WIP thread of the build I did for this years Cannonball Run CBP to spare viewers from pooling through 22-pages of mixed projects. The theme is movie cars, but prepared as coast to coast trophy dashers. Early in the film, Dalton (Patrick Swazye) buys the car off a lot, then loads up on spare wheels, which we later learn is because they are prone to getting slashed by roughnecks trying to intimidate him. Only it won't be running a "4BRL." But the kit V-8 is being replaced by this Corvette LT5 that I picked up from a vendor at NNL North a few years ago and has been clunking around looking for a project. I've got to hand it to Round 2, they've really cleaned up these old kits. Parting lines are minimal and fit is very good. So after an evening of clean up, I started dry fitting. It all fit so well I just kept going until all the major parts were in place. Chassis was primed with rust colored primer then given a liberal wash of Vallejo black model wash straight from the bottle with a thick brush. I started using the wrong wash product at the back of the chassis, that's why it's pretty dense. Using reference pics from the net, I used Adobe Illustrator to help make detail decals for the dash. Rather than redraw the console radio, vent and air controls, I just cut and pasted photos of the faces into the space. The gauges are vector drawn. Not accurate but I made them bold so when shrunk down you can still make them out a little. Side trim panels are redrawn and vector.

Dalton's 1965 Riviera from the movie Road House. Early in the movie it has typical Buick rally wheels, but after getting slashed Dalton runs on replacement tires with steel rims. That's the version I've built here. Rustoleum Dark Cherry paint. Home cast resin rims on parts box tires. Corvette LT5 engine. BMF. Interior trim and gauges designed in Adobe Illustrator, laser printed decals. Weathered and dusted with washes and pastels.

I just came across this Gareth while I was researching my next project. You did such a great job it sort of humbles me about my project. Thanks for the tips about the fit issues. While dry fitting I was kind discovering some incongruities around the dash and windscreen so I'll refer to your notes when I get there.

Jeff Healy played at our city blues fest twice and for as many years as I've attended I managed to miss those dates.

The nice thing is it lets a cool looking camera be out where people can see it and still serve a utilitarian purpose.