'68 Firebird - a 'clear the bench' build

[IJ001]

Following all the anticipation and 'prep' for the Cambridge Show which took place over Armistice weekend (same as the UK Nationals) and last week simultaneously 'instructing' & taking a SAR course, that part of my brain that deals with modelling is really working only at 'tick-over'. That in mind, I decided to clear the bench, drag-out a relatively straightforward kit and simply build it from start to finish. So here t'is.

Revells 1968 Firebird 400 in it's original 2004 boxing. The roof lining has been sprayed Tamiya acrylic 'Buff' and the chassis & firewalls Tamiya 'Satin Black' enamel. The body has been primered with Tamiya grey just this morning and will be left alone for a day or so to fully cure before rubbing back and polishing ready for the first coat of glossy black.

Not certain whether in 1968 the red interior was available as an option with the black body colour, but even if it wasn't for overall effect, black with a red interior is really hard to beat and in my opinion, so classy. The bonus is that the red graphic stripes are in the kit, so it's sort of a 'no brainer' for me.  Hopefully at the end of the process it will look something like this:

Stay tuned & let's see !!   

Ian.

[StevenGuthmiller]

My guess would be that red interior would have been available with the black body if red was available at all.

By special order if nothing else.

A red interior would only go well with red, black, white & possibly silver.

Back in these days you could get virtually any color interior available in the brochure with black or white paint.

 

Steve

[Jonathan]

Sweet!

[talon63]

Looks like cool project. The first thing I thought about that interior was some very thin, fine grained cork, slightly darkened, to replicate that center console and dash inserts. Looking forward to seeing more of this one.

[Greg K]

i think red is a great choice to go with black exterior. as you said, "classy". my brother had a green 68 with white interior. that was nice too. 

[IJ001]

 my brother had a green 68 with white interior. that was nice too. 

Thanks Greg. Never thought of a white interior for a green car, but I could see that working. I have the MPC '69 442 W30, one of Top 3 favourite muscle cars, that combo with white rallye stripes would work really well on that car.

AFN

Ian.

[slusher]

Looking forward to the build. Red interior sounds great...

[DeeCee]

Red interior sounds perfect for a black car i think, done a few that way, and very satisfying result.

[IJ001]

 

Not worth posting a photo, but last night I polished the primer with 6K & 8K grit Micro-Mesh, so it's smooth as a mirror now. Today I'll shoot the first coat of Tamiya glossy black. I'm anticipating I'll get the depth I want with three coats, but that may change !!

Pics this evening I hope.

Ian.

[IJ001]

Results of this mornings' effort. Surprisingly the paint has dried satin (any ideas ??), but not to worry as I'll be rubbing it back with Micro-Mesh and lots of water tomorrow. Still got a glassy smooth finish but no depth at all... yet !!

Ian.

[IJ001]

Rubbed back the first paint with 4K Micro-Mesh this morning and shot a second coat. Looks deeper now so I'm a wee bit happier with it.

Ian.

[espo]

If your finish is really smooth you might start with a couple coats of clear and do your final polishing on that finish. I have used Tamiya TS-14 Black before and have always been happy with it, but it really needs a couple of clear coats to make it shine.   

[Jantrix]

Very likely the satin finish is a result of humidity. Looking good though. And I agree with David about polishing the clear.

[Greg K]

Ian, have you had any trouble with the masking tape leaving residue behind?

Edited November 20, 2015 by Greg K

[Twi5t3d]

Looks good I need a body for this kit,Any ideas where to get one?

[IJ001]

Ian, have you had any trouble with the masking tape leaving residue behind?

Never, I use Tamiya  and a local low-tac auto finishers tape.

So as this is written, I've rubbed the paintwork back with 6, 8 & 12K Micro-Mesh, then auto-polish, rubbed & buffed. No clear coat as yet, not certain I'll need it, but please tell me what you guys think...

Ian.

Edited November 21, 2015 by IJ001

[moparfarmer]

The paint looks awsome, you have a "sand through" on the tip of the hood but can't see anywhere else..Touch up the hood then shoot two to three coats of clear on it..If you're using Tamiya stick with that brand, then wetsand and polish out the clear..Should look killer when you are done..

[charlie8575]

Nice gloss.

And yes, red was an available color choice in '68 for the interiors. Most cars offered it. 

Charlie Larkin

[Greg K]

looks nice.

[IJ001]

Quick phone-pic of the block in situ. Obviously not wired or plumbed yet. Have to say I'm really impressed with the simplified but very positive locating tabs for the engine assembly on this kit. Much, much better than the old 1970's era Monogram kits !!

 

Ian.

[TFchronos]

Very nice work!

[IJ001]

Thanks for all your replies folks, really appreciate you taking the time to do that.

So I took a very deep breath and shot two coats of Tamiya clear. Got relatively light days of work both today and tomorrow so will be spending some time again with the Micro-Mesh cloths, pads and polishing compound.

Photos when I'm done.

Ian.

[IJ001]

Progress; But I may go back and re-do some of the foil, it's a lot more difficult to get it right than I recall from years ago !!

 

Ian.

[Mustang Madness]

Cool...  paint looks great, interested to see it completed.

[Mattsteel85]

Good looking build I LOVE BLACK