Moebius 71 Ford Ranger: WIP

[David G.]

Here's my shot at the 1971 Ford Ranger by Moebius.

 

 

This kit is excellent! Everything fits as it should with little or no adjustment. The chassis looks like a model in its own right. I painted the whitewall lines with acrylic paint. They're going to need a little more work.

 

 

Some minor detail work included drilling out the lug holes in the spare wheel and painting "labels" on the shocks.

 

 

 

 

It usually takes me about ten hours to get to this point- this took about four hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Test fitting the body.

 

 

 

Or maybe the Racer's Wedge from Model King. I think I'd have to make it a dualie though.

 

 

As Always, Thanks for looking and feel free to comment.

David G.

Edited January 16, 2022 by David G.
typo

[DrKerry]

Lookin good so far, can't wait for more!!!!!!

[donb]

Looking good! 

[David G.]

Here's a little bit of an update.

One thing Moebius didn't provide in this kit was an alternator bracket. Since I don't like "floating alternators", I decided to make one myself.

 

I fashioned this from a scrap of styrene. I made the slot using a panel line scribe and file.

 

 

 

To secure the bracket on the alternator end, I drilled a hole in the alternator to accommodate a "bolt" to hold them together.  

 

Here's the bracket installed. It's glued to the block with a spacer in between to properly align it with the alternator and held in place on the alternator with a wire "bolt" which will be trimmed and painted later.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and feel free to comment.

David G.

[espo]

Great looking bracket. Might it stand out a little more in semi gloss black or is that the way Ford paints them ??  

[David G.]

Great looking bracket. Might it stand out a little more in semi gloss black or is that the way Ford paints them ??  

Thank you David. I thought about painting it black but all the images I found online showed it in the same blue as the rest of the block.

David G.

[David G.]

I hereby proclaim the chassis done!

 

 

There is some interference between the frame cross member and the transmission pan that doesn't allow the engine to sit as low as I believe it should. 

 

 

So far, this kit builds up nicely

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[martinfan5]

Looks good so far.

[David G.]

I've chosen the colors Tamiya Chrome Yellow and Racing White. After two weekends of masking and painting, here is the result.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[Mercuryman54]

Looking great!!

[afx]

Love the color scheme.

[PARTS GUY]

great two tone

[David G.]

Thanks for all the kind comments. 

Most of the heavy lifting is done on this one, I'm just working on the little fiddly bits.

Here's a test fit of the major body structures to check the need for any final adjustments before starting the finish work.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by David G.
Cropped Photo

[carman1]

That truck is gonna be awesome,  I love the color combo.

[leafsprings]

Looks great! Glad you went for the deluxe two tone paint job, a majority were built that way!  IMO, these trucks look better with a higher rear stance, the rear suspension of the kit seems too low, almost as if there was a built in 800lb load on the springs.

[Mercuryman54]

I know it’s probably too late, but I’ve worked on a lot of 60’s and 70’s Fords. I believe the stamped steel brackets on the front of the engine were painted satin black. I’ve helped in the restoration of the engine compartments of 60’s and 70’s Shelby and Boss Mustangs. They are all satin black. 

Dennis

[mikemodeler]

Nice job on the paint and your details look great! One thing on these kits that bugs me is the lack of rocker trim behind the rear wheel opening, not sure why it was missed.

[Mercuryman54]

Yes that moulding behind the rear wheel openings should be there!! But it's not a hard fix, even after paint. Just make a mould of the existing trim then cast it in resin, trim to proper length, attach and foil.

Dennis

[leafsprings]

 One thing on these kits that bugs me is the lack of rocker trim behind the rear wheel opening, not sure why it was missed.

The '71 Ranger XLT trim level in 1:1 did not come with rear  molding, The Sport Custom trim  level in 1:1 did come with this molding.

[David G.]

I know it’s probably too late, but I’ve worked on a lot of 60’s and 70’s Fords. I believe the stamped steel brackets on the front of the engine were painted satin black. I’ve helped in the restoration of the engine compartments of 60’s and 70’s Shelby and Boss Mustangs. They are all satin black. 

Dennis

Yeah it's a little too late for that, but thanks for the tip. Besides, all the images I found online for Ford V8s from that era had the brackets painted the same color as the block.

No biggie.

David G.

[David G.]

Thanks for all the comments and observations.

Sorry it's been so long since the last update but my computer crashed on October 30th and I'm just now starting to get things back to normal.

 

So here's the updates:

Got the interior finished.

 

Splendid XLT luxury-

 

-in warm 70's earth tones.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and always feel free to comment.

David G.

Edited January 16, 2022 by David G.
typo

[David G.]

For those of you who are still watching, here's another update.

 

The bed is mostly done.

 

 

On any vehicle more than a few days old, there's gonna be dirt. I also could have taken care of the ejector pin marks, but I chose not to.

 

 

The wood-grain on the tailgate is a decal. There are also decals for the badges on the sides that I have yet to apply. It looks like I need to do a bit of touch-up work too.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[Janne Herajärvi]

Looking good so far.. I like that color combo alot.. 

[bill lanfear]

Well done, love the color choice, great details!

[David G.]

Thanks Janne and Bill- I'm glad you like it.

David G.