mrm

So, I decided to reenter this. I have about six or seven projects that I am trying to complete for the ACME show, so what's one more? LOL. I love me a good challenge, so I decided to see what I can do in two weeks. I am going to use the body I chopped when this thread started. It will sit on a Phantom Vicky chassis, which will most likely have independent suspension on all four corners. The interior is from back then too. The engine is going to be the SBF from the Tudor kit, but with the manual transmission from the Phantom Vicky kit, topped with some trick cross ram intake with four carbs. The quick change in the picture is plan B to the IRS. This is not going to be "traditional rod" by any means. I want a nasty, aggressive "show-me-what-you've-got" attitude. Evidenced by my choice of wheels.

Ready for a different finish black.

BITCHIN'!!!

I have not commented until now, but I've been following this build. The color is absolutely perfect for this car. It's outside the norm of what Mercs are usually painted and is drop dead gorgeous. The engine work is great too. I love those valve covers and I would like to know where they came from. The interior is complimenting the exterior color perfectly and is very subtle and classy. I love everything about your build.

I managed to sand and buff out the body this morning. It was then washed really good with dishwasher soap and is now drying, so the body can be masked off and the fenders painted semi-gloss black. On the first picture you can see Duplicolor can of what I use to prep surfaces to be painted. It is a nice foam that removes any unwanted contaminants. The MAXTANG script on the back looking good. It is mirror like and there is no transition edge between the stripes and the rest of the paint. That took three coats of 2K clear with sanding in-between. And my tires perfectly printed from rubber. This is how they look straight out of the printer, with no prep whatsoever. That took two failed prints and going to bed at 4am, but well worth it. Now comes lots of masking...

Thank you Stuart. I'm just now trying some new resin for making realistic tires. Dialing the setting in is a nightmare, but we'll see how it goes. There may be few tricks left up my sleeve that may surprise some folk. I guess we'll have to wait and see... Thank you Carl. I am surprised you are saying this about black. I've seen '69/'70/'71 Mustangs on here in every color of the rainbow, but black.

I just want to add any of the modern day Alfa Romeos. The C8, C4 and the Giulia Quadrafoglio. Especially the the GTA.

Where I always start with an engine is the distributor. This is the single most impactful detail that could be added to any engine model. I didn't feel like drilling micro holes in my fingertips, so I decided to use a cheap prewired distributor from Gofer. It comes with some material for the sparkplug boots, but it is overall lacking any detail. Next I drilled the vacuum advance on the original kit part, before I cut it off. And then I drilled the Gofer distributor where the cut off part from the original would go. I used the wire going through the kit's par as an attachment pin and glued it on the aftermarket part, together with a piece of the wire, to create some kind of detail. The new distributor was painted flat black and glued in place and some boots were cut long, for those iconic 429 valve covers, which were painted completely gloss black to match the theme of the car. The valve covers on the real car have breathers. I took round stock styrene and drilled a couple of holes, which will receive the tube for the breathers. Then they were cut as thin pucks right on each side of the holes. This was not supposed to be a very detailed build, but rather a fun "what if" project, but as it often happens it went it's own way. So I thought why not make that dip stick... At this point I was thinking I just had to add the fuel line and the heater hoses. Painted belts with the dip stick. The original air filter assembly has this foam looking seal around it. I scratched my head a little to figure out how to replicate it. I end up using old Detail Master flat black enamel and dabbing it with the side of an old ide brush while it was drying. I'm very happy with the result. As I said, this was not supposed to be very detailed and once the air filter is installed you barely see anything on top of the engine, so I didn't bother with any carb detail. Engine in a day! I am more than happy with it. Now I gotta sand and polish that body. Ugh... Stay tuned...

Thank you Steve. The idea was to have a ery subtle body color and an interior that just "glows" from within it. The stripe was more or less an afterthought, which made the body not so subtle anymore. Not that there is anything subtle about this 'Stang...

I would love see some of the modern exotics made into a very well detailed models. Like Tamiya or Aoshima. I love Revell, but their LaFerrari can not even begin to compare with Tamiya's. Anyway... How about some Koenigseggs? I don't know why nobody has made any. They have so many variations that One basic kit could be marketed as at least 5 different kits with just different aero accessories. Some Bugatti's would also be nice. Veyrons and Chirons. Again, Veyrons could be marketed as many different kits with minimal mods between them. There is a complete lack of modern Ferrari models. Latest models made are the F12 by Fujimi and the LaFerrari FXXK by Tamiya. And those are ten year old models. I would love to see the Monza SP1 and SP2 in model form and also the Daytona SP3. There is SEVEN generations of V8 Ferraris missing and Fujimi is missing the opportunity to make at least two more models based on the F12. Last, but not least, what I think is the elephant in the room is the total lack of models of Audis and Benzes. Especially the lucrative proposition of making a base model that all the tuned up upgrades could be added to in subsequent kit variants. Make an E-class (W212) and then the Wagon and the convertible and then add the AMG versions and then the Brabus versions and you end up with 9 kits that will share 80% of the parts in them. Aoshima did it with the Lambos and they have been a great success. And these are kits that would definitely bring some fresh blood to the hobby.

Thank you Brian. I wanted the interior to look as stock as possible, while not being stock. The gauges for example have the speedometer and rev counter from a Ferrari Enzo and the outer two faces are from a Ford Model A decal sheet. All of them came yellow, but different shade, so I painted them with Tamiya clear orange to make them the same and to colormatch them to the rest of the interior.

I wanted to finish the interior today, so I could move to the engine. First I addressed some of the small details. The pedals came from the other Mustang I'm building - the '71 Boss. The steering wheel received a little chrome trim and a photo etched emblem set in clear resin. The seatbelts are Model Car Garage photo etched parts and seatbelt material. I got an ignition key, a lock and a Mustang keychain from MCG too. And my interior is done! The key in the ignition with a key fob dangling... Quick mockup of the interior in the body Engine's next. Stay tuned.

No. Straight from the can. The only downside of that is a little more waste of paint. And that depends on what you're painting.

I have never used any AK products, but I hear good things about them.

Thank you Greg.

Thank you Brian. Thank you Stuart. The Revell chrome was something that I was contemplating for a while. Two things were stopping me from trying it for quite some time. First off, I was skeptical about the results, as I expected it to be as good as the Mollotow or Alclad product at best. The second was the price and availability. It’s a $30 can which you would have to order online (if it’s available). Add sales tax and shipping and you are at $40 minimum. Until I went to the only not so local hobby shop for something, I don’t remember what and they did not have it. So having budgeted for it and having made the hour trip, I didn’t want to go home empty handed. And that’s when I saw it on their shelf. So I decided to give it a try. What really sold me on it was that it was available and it came in a spray can. I was still skeptical, but now I don’t want to use anything else. The results are better than anything else I have ever tried and it is also easier to use than anything else I’ve tried. No undercoats, no prep, no primer… just point the can and shoot. Me being me, I still prime and spray gloss black underneath, but these wheels here were shot straight from the can right over the printed resin with no prep whatsoever. There is a reason for that, which I will reveal later. It still does not like to be clear coated and it still takes a long time to cure. But it is still the best option out there. At least for me.

Sounds like primer time.

I like the storyline and I like Chevelles. But long sleek coke bottle styling and Chevelle should not be mentioned in the same sentence.

This past weekend I broke a tooth, which wrecked havoc to my plans. Visit at the dentist on Tuesday, all but killed that day and today I received my temporary crown until they, hold on - 3D PRINT my permanent one. Technology is a wonderful thing. I am sure that my machines at home are nothing compared to what they use, but I am still taking full advantage of the tech I have at my disposal. Since I am trying to complete the interior, I made myself a cool steering wheel, inspired by the original (on the right). Also I made me some window cranks, which are so poorly engraved on the kit, that they are almost nonexistent. And the window cranks were painted chrome and installed on the door panels. I made myself a cool shifter, which is still staying in character with the original, but punches up the attitude with some brass knuckles detail. It is sitting on carbon fiber center console insert Also the arm rests were installed on the doors. Of course I did not miss the opportunity to add some flocking too. The dash also received some carbon fiber (I just can't stay away from the stuff), a photoetched "Mustang" emblem on the passengers side and a nice set of orange gauges. While working on the interior, I am slowly starting to work on the suspension too. The wheel barrels were painted Revell Chrome while the centers received the orange treatment. They are still missing the center detail. I did prints the centers, but have not painted them yet. I got files for a detailed rear shocks for Revell's "32 Fords. However, I took those and resized them to fit my application and then detailed with chrome and THE orange LOL That's it for now. Thanks for looking and stay tuned...

Thank you Steve. The color combo is a long story, but in a nutshell the inspiration started from some exotic cars. The MAXTANG lettering, believe it or not, was just an afterthought.

OK. So nobody feels cheated - some folks took the deadline to heart, let'sextend it to 13th of November. This would give everyone an extra month, while still having a dedline, which in my opinion always helps with the motivation. That is my birthday and I would be very happy to see bunch of long roof Deuces completed on my Birthday. Then we can make a "under glass thread" for the completed models. I would still love to meet any and all of you at the ACME show if you are going.

Thank you Brian. I appreciate your kind words. The Maxtang name was given by my wife and pretty soon it will became apparent why.

Uhhhh... been there, done that. Maybe I'll meet you half way on that deal. LOL

Oh, I sure will, sir. I can definitely learn a thing or two both about models and hot rods from you I'm sure.

That's fine with me. I'll go ahead and admit the my evil plan, muahhahahaha.... I put a deadline October 15th, so everyone's model would be ready for the ACME show, which I plan on attending for the first time ever. For those in this build-off going to the show would have been really cool to actually display all the models together. I just thought it would be a great way of meeting new people, learning some new stuff and perhaps make some new friends. That was the only reason for the imposed deadline.