Mustang Boss 429 Funny Car

[Bernard Kron]

Over on Vintage Drag Models there's a strictly box-stock challenge going on. The only exceptions are paint, decals and wheels and tires ('cause the wheels tires in a lot of kits suck...). They've even banned detailing!

Strictly OOB per the challenge, this is my entry, the MPC Blue Max Mustang funny car. It will be 100% out of the box except for paint and decals (and I'll probably wire the ignition 'cause I just can't stop myself...).

As you all know decals are my thing and this one will be no exception. I scanned the kit decals to use them as a basis for my design. I don't know the name of the car yet but it'll go on the white panel on the side of the car. Trade decals will go either behind the front wheel or on the rocker panel under the door. Paint colors will be Wimbledon White (a cream off-white solid) on the side panels and the hood scoop, and candy red upper doors and fenders with a gold top, hood and rear panel. I'll be making my own fogged panel decals as per the mockup below. The white areas in the panels will actually be clear and show up as gold with candy red fogging. The car name will be in red.

I opened up the filled rear window area and the side areas and rear window will be transparent red acrylic.

I'll strip most of the chrome parts and go for a more utilitarian looking chassis and motor. The interior will be finished in bare aluminum and the body underside in Wimbledon White.

Thanx for lookin',
B.

Here are preliminary decal mockups and art.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Bernard Kron

[bytownshaker]

Looks good so far, interesting artwork

Edgar

[caine440]

This is going to be a cool one.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks guys.

Here’s a quick update. I’m about half way through the painting and masking process. While there’s been some pre-planning on this project, modeling for me is pretty much an interactive, improvisational thing so final decal design will be determined by how the colors come out and the overall look of the car.

Below is a composite photo showing the steps so far. After cutting out the rear window and doing any body prep and cleanup I shot the car in Duplicolor White Primer and two coats of Duplicolor Wimbledon White (A). Next step was to mask off the hood area and side panels that would remain Wimbledon White in the final paint scheme (B). This was followed by shooting the entire body in Testors #1846 Pure Gold One-Step lacquer. It got two coats. Once the paint had dried hard it was time to begin masking off the areas that would remain gold. Picture (C) shows the first bit of masking tape applied. There was a whole lot more to go! Finally all the gold areas were masked off, consisting of the greenhouse, hood, lower body valence, grill area and lower half of the rear end below the air flap (D & E). Even the inside is completely masked since it’s finished in Wimbledon White and will show when the body is raised to display the chassis(F).

Next up is to shoot another coat of Pure Gold in order to seal off the masking edges and prevent bleed through. It will also touch up any nicks or chips that resulted during the masking process. After that will come a coat of Duplicolor Metalcast transparent red to create a Candy Red effect. It will cover the upper body sides. Once the Moment Of Truth comes and I remover the masking tape layers, the result will be a tri-tone paint scheme of candy red, gold and cream white. After the decals are designed, printed and applied the whole shebang will be sealed under 3 coasts of Duplicolor Clear and rubbed out.

While the paint cures I’ll work on the motor and chassis. I have most of the parts painted so hopefully that part will be pretty straightforward.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Bernard Kron

[GaryR]

Nice paint work, I really wish I had better painting skills.

Keep going!

[Bernard Kron]

Nice paint work, I really wish I had better painting skills.

Keep going!

Thanx Gary. I wish I had better painting skills, myself. These things are always so high risk. I never know how they'll come out!

[Bernard Kron]

Hot sunny weather isn’t something we take for granted here in the Pacific Northwest where it rains 8 months out of the year. It’s perfect rattle can weather so I’m painting while I can. Got the candy red (Duplicolor Metalcast transparent Red) down and the masking tape removed. The color combo is what I had in mind and the cleanup shouldn’t be too bad. Now on to the graphics design!

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[Bernard Kron]

I completed the artwork and got a lot of the decals applied. Now to build out the chassis and motor…

Here is final the art work I created for this project. The scallops are based on the kit decals but were modified to fit the paint scheme I put together. The front and rear panels are modified versions of the kit decals. I added the Boss 429 to the rear panel area. I also made Boss 429 logos to go on the hood scoop.

Here are the decals applied to the paint work. Once the final decals, including trade decals, are applied the whole shebang will get clear coated and polished.

Unfortunately I ran out of decal paper before I could apply the grill and rear taillight area panels and Boss 429 logos so the last 2 pictures are Photoshopped mockups of what thatll look like, the other 2 shots are real.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[Chris in Berwyn]

Nice decals!   I am sure you know this, but I believe that kit has a hemi and not a Boss 429.  

[Bernard Kron]

Nice decals!   I am sure you know this, but I believe that kit has a hemi and not a Boss 429.  

Thanks Chris. Actually, the kit comes with quite a number of parts for other Funny Cars MPC put out, including a set of Big Block Chevy heads and valve covers to fit the Hemi block and a set of Boss 429 valve covers that fit the Hemi heads. So I'm running the Boss 429 setup in this car to go with the decals. I'm in the middle of the chassis and engine build up right now and I'll post pics in the next few days.

[caine440]

Very cool!

[Bernard Kron]

Thank you, Roger!

First off, I need some advice, or at least confirmation that I’m right in my assumptions. While the clear coats cure (see below) I can’t handle the body so I mocked up the interior panels to the chassis as best I could. From what I can tell the motor fits behind the front wheel well panels of the interior tin work. The motor also needs to be set back enough so the oil pan clears a cross member behind the fuel tank area. Given these facts it appears that I will need to trim the drive shaft somewhat to get proper placement. I get the impression that many of the parts in these MPC flopper kits are meant to serve for several fairly different cars so this doesn’t surprise me. But I’m a real rookie when it comes to these kits. So I need some advice from some of you more experienced builders. Am I right in my conclusion? (Please refer to the circled areas in the picture below.)

Since my last update, I got the remaining decals printed out and applied and got three coats of Duplicolor Clear laid down over them. The trade decals are mainly from Slixx Nostalgia Drag decal sheets while the grill and tail light area decals are made from scans I took of the kit sheets, adding the “Boss 429” to the back. I scanned and made my own decals as insurance in case I messed them up. The Boss 429 decals on the hood were homemade – they’re slightly smaller than the mockup I showed the other day. The clear needs to cure for a few days and then I’ll rub it out. Those extra layers really add depth to the paint and I’m fairly pleased with the results so far. The fogged panels, in particular, really pop now.

The chassis is assembled, finished in Krylon Grey enamel with details in various shades of Testors Metalizer for a utilitarian look. That same no-nonsense theme is carried over to the motor and wheels. The rear wheels are finished in Testors Jet Exhaust enamel for a pseudo-Dow 7 finish. The front wheels are finished in Testors Metalizer Magnesium. The engine block is Testors Ford Engine Blue with various shades of Metalizers on the engine parts. The valve covers are actually from the kit, Boss 429 parts designed to kit the standard  MPC Hemi heads. The kit also comes with some Chevy Big Block style  heads and valve covers to create a mock-BBC look.

Thanx for lookin’, and for any advice on the motor placement issue.
B.

[Chris in Berwyn]

Aren't there some little l-shaped panels to put in ahead of trapezoid shaped side panels,  also I thought the drive shaft slipped into the the mission.   If you can zoom in on picture it might help. http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtqsdwkkkqkqkrdxdffsrgttqwqd,vi/wgqbrtkbkxskwfgrttsxwrqfwtgqb/0/997090/13556979/Side-vi.jpg

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks for the picture, Chris. It will help a lot. It shows where the firewall and clutch can should line up, and where the front of the engine block is in relation to the cross member I mentioned. The rear axle is already glued in place and the driveshaft won't slip easily into the transmission because of the angle imposed on it. I'm think I'll probably remove the drive shaft at the rear end and then insert it in the transmission, hoping t it will slide to an accurate fit. Anyway, the picture is what I needed to get my head around this issue. And yes, there are little L-shaped bits yet to be glued in place.

[Bernard Kron]

Built for the Out-Of-The Box Challenge on the Vintage Drag Models forum, this was the first funny car project I’ve ever taken on. I’m afraid if you look carefully you’ll see some rookie mistakes. For one thing I just couldn't get the motor to fit without cutting down the front of the oil pan. Is this something unique to the Mustang body or is there something I just don't understand about fitting the motor?

But overall the finished product has the brutish, purposeful look I remember from seeing these cars race. Even though the OOB challenge allowed free choice of decals and wheels and tires it was otherwise very strict, including banning detailing of any kind, including basic engine wiring and plumbing. I’m afraid I got carried away and, besides going whole hog on the paint and decal scheme, I wired and plumbed the engine and cut out the rear window and installed transparent red  acetate  – big time no’no’s which meant an instant DQ. But I enjoyed participating, working on a new subject for me, and have been very impressed with the many fine builds which have resulted.

These are great kits and very enjoyable to work with. I'm sure I'll be building more of them.

Thanx for looking,
B.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Bernard Kron

['70 Grande]

Nicely, nicely done!  Your paint scheme and decals are awesome!  They look perfect for a early-1970's era flopper!

[Marlowe]

This is superb!  The decals are great and the paint is off the charts!  You managed to capture the look of an early '70s funny car quite well.  Very well done.  

[DrKerry]

Looks great Bernard!!!!

[fairlane1320]

Thanks Chris. Actually, the kit comes with quite a number of parts for other Funny Cars MPC put out, including a set of Big Block Chevy heads and valve covers to fit the Hemi block and a set of Boss 429 valve covers that fit the Hemi heads. So I'm running the Boss 429 setup in this car to go with the decals. I'm in the middle of the chassis and engine build up right now and I'll post pics in the next few days.

Beautiful work! But why does it have a rear-mounted distributor?

[Bernard Kron]

Beautiful work! But why does it have a rear-mounted distributor?

Thanks everyone. I'm glad you all dig it.

Ron, the rear mounted distributor is left over from the kit's Hemi block. It's not a real Boss 429 - as I noted above, the kit merely comes with a set of Boss 429 valve covers to fit the kit's hemi heads. When I researched Boss 429s I forgot to note the typically Ford front mounted distributor. Given that the kit manifold is designed for the Hemi block I'm not sure there would have been room for it in any case. As it was I had originally mounted the coil at the front of the block but it interfered with the bodywork and I had to move it to the rear.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Bernard Kron

[slusher]

Beautiful paint and decals Bernard.  Killer model...

[10thumbs]

Great job Bernard, well planned, executed and carried out.  Again, your research has paid off.  I did have a smile too, about the DQ.  You just had to do it didn't you.

Well done.

[Bernard Kron]

A belated Thanx! to you both. And yes, Michael, I'm congenitally incapable of doing a box build!

[Bernard Kron]

Broken Photobucket links repaired. For now I'm only updating completed model pics. Updating w.i.p. links is just too huge a task! I'll update them on request...