BigTallDad Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 My son recently sold his '85 so my reference source has dried up; I think I have enough photos to finish the job. My kit is the MPC version and its not a bad kit overall. It has those pre-scribed lines for a Tee Top and they are like the Grand Canyon. The body and hood have had several purple baths, so I'll show some of the components I've finished. Owing to the poor casting of the hood emblem, I had to scratch-build one. Some aluminum foil burnished over the trunk emblem then back-filled with epoxy worked pretty well. Then came the mirrors! The chrome tree had some really thick lenses for the outside mirrors and the coating came off by accident; the entire inside rear-view mirror was chrome, so it got a bath in oven cleaner. I used Brasso, Novus, and Meguiar's to polish a soda can, then cut the lenses to rough size (pediatric fingernail clippers work quite well) then sanded them to fit. The interior was straght-forward. I raised the driver's seat headrest up just for giggles, then used prismacolor silver pencil to do the edging. Got the engine ready to go; other than the scratch-built loom for the plug wires and washing the intercooler, there is nothing out of the ordinary. I really need to get a better photography set up! Cleaned all the flash from the coil springs, sprayed 'em flat black then highlighted the coils. Used a prismacolor silver pencil to highlight the brake and fuel lines. got the hood done, complete with functional scoop (this one is different, the scoop directs the air over the intercooler) and am applying some coats to the body.
BigTallDad Posted June 8, 2015 Author Posted June 8, 2015 Maybe I could have sub-titled this SVO project "Details without Dollars". Here are the rear lenses: I used automotive lens repair tape (amber) for the turn signals, and the backup areas of the lenses are painted off-white. Continuing in the "Details without Dollars", I also cleaned up the windshield wipers, which were cast as solid parts of the body. A before and after shot. The SVO hood has a scoop that directs fresh air over the intercooler; the kit didn't. I opened the hole in the top, then built up the tunnel underneath. That white streak you see is a strip of paper. You can also see the scratch built (foil casting) hood emblem in place. The interior tub is also assembled. In the cheap details category, I raised the headrest on the driver's seat and (although difficult to see from this angle) reclined the passenger's seat just a little. In '85, Ford introduced a half-year model; they changed the headlights to a slanted front cover (and a few other things) but it was a cosmetic change. This model is based on my youngest sons' early-year '85, hence the vertical headlight arrangement. This kit is a real pain, contrary to my other comments. I'm in the "Body meets chassis" stage and the stance is totally wrong. Oh well, I will overcome that. One thing I'll leave alone is the poor proportioning of the rear lenses; they are too short and don't join the body in that nifty cavity. More on that with the final pix.
BigTallDad Posted June 8, 2015 Author Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Once I had the stance correct, the rest of the engine bay was detailed. Owing to the severe angle of the heater hose coming out of the thermostat housing (yes, another nifty feature of theSVO), there were sections of bent steel pipe, to prevent the hose from kinking and being totally useless. Got that covered! My nemesis project is as done as its gonna get! Here's one with the hood on Here's the engine bay. I had some real problems with the stance, having to cut the side panels on the interior (as well as the side window "glass" to avoid having the rear end at the right height. The front end was too low and, rather than rebuild the incorrect front running gear, I basically made it level without regard to fit of the parts. Hopefully, the fluid level in the windshield washer (which is not in the correct location) will draw your eye from the fact that the fender wells don't meet the fenders. The interior is OK (after adding the correct pedals) but, once again, incorrect. The amber is, IMHO, too bright but what you see is what you get. The vacu-form sealed beams are hard to distinguish, but the scratch-built hood ornament looks good. A shot from the passenger side A shot from the other side. On this one, I put the BMF on before I painted it, then used lacquer thinner to remove the paint from the MUSTANG word. The kit-supplied SVO decal is lame at best. Here's a recap of "Detailing without Dollars" Wheel weights: free Valve stems: free Windshield wiper carve-out: free Antenna & base: free Functional hood scoop: free, using scrap plastic Washing the intercooler: cost of paint* Brake lines from master cylinder: free Fluid level in windhield washer reservoir: cost of paint* Interior chrome, brake/fuel line highlighting: cost of a Prismacolor pencil Tire lettering: cost of paint* Weathered tire tread: cost of paint* Plug wiring: minimal cost Coil wiring: minimal cost Battery wiring: minimal cost * You probably already have these colors A lot of these details, such as the functional hood scoop and fluid level in the windshield washer reservoir, can also be used when building "box stock" Edited June 8, 2015 by BigTallDad
Harry P. Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 I'm a big fan of "Detailing Without Dollars." I do it all the time. With a little ingenuity and some "out of the box" thinking, all sorts of common household items can be used to detail model cars. Your Mustang looks great, BTW.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now