MPC 1979 Pontiac Firebird T/A.

[Dragonhawk1066]

        Calling build #8 done. MPC 1979 Pontiac Firebird T/A. Admittedly not my best work and I will surely revisit it in the future, but I feel the need to call it done for now. It fought me pretty much all the way with a warped body and chassis, a too thick windshield that I had to replace with a self made one for my very first time, and a lot of Murphy showing up, lol. Since it's the old 10th Anniversary kit with 3 color options for the decals instead of the Anniversary decals, there was a lot of flash and the same problems that were present, as memory now recalls, when I did said Anniversary kit some 30-35 years ago as a teen.

        Anyways, the color is Testors One Coat Lacquer Icy Blue and the interior is done in a custom shade expertly mixed by my wife. Rustolem Satin Black was sprayed on the chassis and the usual Steel and Aluminum to round out the details. I decided to paint over the basic blue that I had painted the engine with using Pontiac Engine Blue that is rather thin, so not the best job there. The interior mold is not very well detailed, but I did what I could with it and I think it turned out ok. The wheels are from my Revell '67 Chevelle kit and I had a little trouble getting those to work with the kit parts. I also added plug wires for the engine. When I revisit this one, I will concentrate on adjusting the windshield, fixing the stance and center the wheels in the wheelwell, and a couple of more details that I overlooked like the front emblem and door handles. Well, that pretty much sums up this one. Thanks for looking.

[Can-Con]

It turned out really nice Craig.

[Curt]

Nice work on a difficult kit.  How did you make the windshield?

[BKF]

Turned out really nice. I've got a couple of these kits from a HL clearance that I'll tackle when i get more practice in.

[espo]

Great looking build and I like how you did the interior. 

[bbowser]

Great color, the wheels look good on this.

[donb]

Great looking colors! Nice work on a tough kit. 

[cobraman]

Looks great ! I really like those wheels.

[Dragonhawk1066]

9 hours ago, Can-Con said:

It turned out really nice Craig.

Thanks Steve.

 

9 hours ago, BKF said:

Turned out really nice. I've got a couple of these kits from a HL clearance that I'll tackle when i get more practice in.

Thanks Brian. I have another one to do but will probably be a while before I decide to go after it.

 

4 hours ago, espo said:

Great looking build and I like how you did the interior. 

Thanks David.

 

2 hours ago, bbowser said:

Great color, the wheels look good on this.

Thank you Bruce.

[Dragonhawk1066]

2 hours ago, donb said:

Great looking colors! Nice work on a tough kit. 

Thanks Donald.

 

1 hour ago, cobraman said:

Looks great ! I really like those wheels.

Thank you Ray.

[Dragonhawk1066]

On 12/1/2018 at 10:10 AM, Curt said:

Nice work on a difficult kit.  How did you make the windshield?

Thanks Curt. There's probably a lot of folks on this forum that have better ways to do it and can explain it better than me, but I'll try. I'm pretty sure I got the basic idea from someone on this forum anyways. First, I found an empty toy package still lying around the house that had a thin and hard, yet flexible piece of clear plastic big enough to cut the windshield out of. Any clam shell case or even a danish or donut case from your local grocer will probably do. I then put the kit windshield on the plastic and traced around it a little wider than the actual windshield and then cut it out. I then test fit into the frame and eyeballed where to keep trimming to get a good fit and then glued it in. In hindsight I probably should have heated it to get a bit of a bend or curve to it to make it fit better. I had never done this before and it was actually quite easy to do, as even I could do  it. It did take me 2 tries as I trimmed too much off the first one, and I also made two extras because I have another of these kits to do and already know I'm going to need a thinner windshield. Hope this helps.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Dragonhawk1066