Volvo 760 GLE

[mrmike]

Another rebuild project and the return of McNally, Boston PI.  The story is called The Ex-partner.  Anyone in this story is not related to anyone living or deceased.

The Build

I built this Volvo so many years ago!  I don't remember when, but it was painted with Model Master Anthracite Grey Metallic through my Badger 200 airbrush.  A color that is no longer produced.  I'm thinking of a dark green metallic this time around.  The chassis will be rebuilt and lowered a bit since it is near 4X4 heights.  It should be fairly easy to accomplish.  The interior will be repainted and detailed.

The Story

In need of food for home, McNally Boston PI heads over to his favorite grocery store in Dorchester called Mannion's.  As he approaches the front of the store, a shopping cart rolls out between two cars and nearly hits him.  He grabs the runaway carriage and looks at the shopper who is trying to get her wiggling four year old child into her carseat and grab the errant carriage at the same time, without any success.  Jenny Carlysle, a woman he hasn't seen in years since they both had worked for the Boston Police Department at one time.  After securing four year old Annie into her carseat she give McNally a big hug and they start to chat a little bit.  

McNally asks about her husand Danny, who use to be his partner when he worked in Burglary/Robbery Division at BPD.  Jenny relunctantly says that they had been separated for over six months and that she was filing for divorce.  She doesn't know where he moved to other than to Chinatown and she is worried that she'll lose the house since Danny hasn't sent her any money to help pay bills and care for their two children.  McNally offers his home to her and her kids if she should need a place to stay and he will help get herself back on her feet again.  Jenny looks at her watch and says she has to get home to put groceries away and to get Annie to her Pediatrician's appointment and they both hug and she give him a kiss on the cheek.

McNally will return...

[Jonathan]

Cool!

We had a 1986 740 Turbo - "The Flying Brick".  It was a blast to drive, when it worked.   Looking forward to your build (wish this was reissued by someone ...)

[mrmike]

Thanks Jonathan!  This Volvo was made by Italeri many, many years ago.  This was back before I was concerned with adding detail and such.  My main focus is to lower the car a bit without compromising the chassis too much.

[kelson]

This should be nice redo,a tan color for the interior would look nice.

[mrmike]

Thanks Curtis!  I did think of using a tan interior and grey would be nice as well.

[mrmike]

The Story

     That afternoon finds McNally stopping at BPD Headquarters and Burglary/Robbery Division to visit with Lt. Ferris.

            “Well, well, well.  Look what the cat dragged in.”

            “Good to see you too, Lieutenant!  How’s it going?”

            “Busy as usual.  Been a long time since I’ve seen you, McNally.  How are you?”

            “Good.  I’m busy as well.  Where’s Danny Carlisle?”

            “Danny hasn’t worked here for over a year.  He’s transferred over to the Vice Squad and I’ve lost touch with him.”

            “Why did he transfer?”
            “Said he needed a fresh start.  Something new for him.  You’re looking for him?”

            “Yeah.  I ran into his wife this morning and it got me to thinking about him.  I thought I would reach out and get in touch with him.”

            “Well, after he left, I lost contact with him.  All I know is that he requested the transfer after I got a couple of new detectives and I approved it.  He left and I haven’t heard hide nor hair from him.”

            “Who’s running Vice now?”

            “That would be Captain Stirelli.  You know him?”

            “No, Can’t say that I do.  What’s he like?”

            “You won’t like him.  He’s tough and abusive.  Runs an extremely tight ship.”

            “Okay.  Thanks for the warning, Lieutenant.”

            “You’re welcome Mc.  Stop back sometime.  We’ll chat some more.”

            “Will do.  See you later!” and McNally walks out of the Squad Room and heading towards Vice.

     McNally walks into Vice and there is only one detective in the Squad Room.

            “I’m looking for Captain Stirelli,” says McNally.

      The lone detective looks up from his desk and says, “He’s not here right now.  I don’t know where he is.  Can I help you?”

            “The name’s McNally.  I’m a PI.  Any idea when he’ll be back?”

            “No, I don’t.  Something I can do for you?”

 

     McNally thinks for a moment and then says, “No thanks,” and he turns and walks out of the Squad Room.  He’ll go down to Human Resources and get Danny’s address from there.

The Build

I started to modify the suspensions of the Volvo to lower it some.  It's a little lower, but not a lot.  More modification is needed.  I got the rear suspension apart.  I can cut a coil off of the springs, but I'll have to figure out what to do with the structure next to the differential.

McNally will return...

[mrmike]

The Story

As the sun sets, all is quiet on Chagness St. in Chinatown this evening as McNally stops his Challenger SRT8 at the curb in front of Danny's apartment building.  At the front door, he looks at the call panel and finds D. Carlisle 2B.  He pushes the button several times before he decides to open the front door and walk in where he is immediately assualted by variety of smells, some of them not too pleasant.  He knocks on 2B and he hears movement inside and the door opens and Danny is standing there, his stomach hanging over his belt, his hairline is receding, his badge clipped to his belt could use a good polishing and he probably could use a shower.  "McNally!" he says grabbing the Boston PI and giving him a big hug.

"Danny, long time!  How are you?"  Danny tells him he is well and working for Vice Squad.  McNally says to get his coat on and to go grab a cup of coffee with him.  Danny says that he has booze in his apartment, so why go out?  McNally insists they go for a coffee and Danny relunctantly agrees to go.  Then a skinny woman walks out of the bedroom and she takes a cigarette from a pack on the kitchen table, lights it and goes back into the bedroom.  "Who's that," ask McNally and Danny only says that she's a friend and he goes to put on a clean, but wrinkled shirt and his jacket to hide his gun and clip-on holster. 

The Build

I have modified the front and rear suspensions to lower the Volvo 760 GLE and the result is much better!

McNally will return...

Edited June 29, 2019 by mrmike

[mrmike]

The Story

As McNally and Danny walk away from a nearby diner with their cups of coffee, Danny pauses to pour out some coffee and pour in some whiskey from a hip flask into the cup.  They talk and laugh about old times at Boston Police Dept.  McNally finally tells Danny that he saw Jenny at the grocery store today.  He tell him the fears that Jenny has about losing the house and needing a place to stay and the welfare of his children.  Danny gets mad that McNally had brought this part of his life that wants to forget about.

"Just who do you think you are, Dr. Phil?  You gonna make everything ok so Jenny and I can be a couple again?  Mind your own business," Danny yells as he throws his coffee and cup into the gutter and storms up the steps of his apartment building.  McNally stands there at the bottom of the steps, takes a sip of coffee, gets into his car and drives on home.

The Build

I took apart the engine and repainted it.  I changed the color of some parts for the better.  I repainted the exhaust system and buffed it and installed the exhaust and the suspensions into the chassis.  I've been thinking about how I am going to fix the right front fender.  I may cut a sliver from the fender and match a piece of sheet styrene to fill the hole.

McNally will return...

[Cpt Tuttle]

Interesting to see where this story will lead.....

[mrmike]

Keep watching, Mattias!

The Story

Jenny calls McNally the following afternoon and says that Danny had called her and he wanted to meet her near his apartment in Chinatown around 9 PM and give her some money for the house and kids.  Jenny doesn't like this part of Boston and asks if McNally could accompany her and the Boston PI says yes.  At 8:55 PM, they arrive near Danny's apartment in Jenny's Volvo and at 9 PM Danny comes walking up the street from his apartment bulding.  As they stand in front of the diner, McNally sees a broken couple with Jenny holding her sweater closed with her arms crossed in front of her and Danny with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets.  

Sitting in the Volvo with the window down, McNally hears an engine roaring and he sees a pair of headlights racing up the street.  Getting out of the car, he pulls his SIG Sauer P227 from his holster and aims it at the racing SUV and yells at Danny and Jenny to take cover just as bullets start ringing out from the SUV.  McNally and Danny return fire and the SUV hits a telephone pole and stops and the lights in the neighborhood go out.  McNally runs over to the SUV and finds two young hoodlums inside dead, then Jenny yells for McNally.  Danny has been hit several times and is bleeding with Jenny trying to stop the bleeding with her sweater.

The Build

I squared off the hole on the fender and glued in a patch made from a piece of sheet styrene.  I applied a coating of Mr. Dissolved Putty and did a quick sanding when it was dry.  When this has dried completely, I'll coat this with some primer and check my work.

McNally will return...

[espo]

I like the fender repair, and McNally's latest adventure sounds better than ever.  

[mrmike]

Thanks David!  The repair does look good, but I still hate doing bodywork!

[mrmike]

The Story

Jenny took the news badly.  Danny was dead.  As the Police and ambulance arrives, Lt. Det. Troy gets out of his Dodge Charger Detectives car and starts directing his people on what to do-gather evidence, talk to witnesses, find out who the occupants of the SUV are.  McNally and Jenny both gave statements to Det. Darvell who will probably misplace them in his pockets.  McNally and Lt. Troy are standing together silently when Adam looks behind him and sees Jenny standing next to her Volvo 760 GLE looking for McNally.

Adam nudges McNally who turns around and sees Jenny looking for him.  He goes over to the Volvo and asks Jenny if she needs anything.  She says, "I need to be with my kids right now.  Can we go?"  McNally says yes and has Jenny sit in the passenger seat of the Volvo and he goes over to Lt. Troy and tells him that Jenny needs to leave to be with her kids.  Adam agrees and allows them to leave.

The Build

I wanted to see what the color was going to look like on the Volvo and I painted the underside of the hood to get an idea of what it'll look like.  I posed the hood with the body for a comparison.  Fathom Green Metallic.  Should look good!  The interior will get a coat of Tamiya AS-158 Tan (USAF)

McNally will return...

[mrmike]

The Story

After spending the night sleeping on the couch at Jenny's, McNally drives back into Boston and stops at Boston Police Department Headquarters and visits with Lt. Det. Adam Troy.  Adam tells Mc that Vice wanted lead on the investigation, but Homicide and IAB took lead anyway with the backing of the Chief of Detectives who controls all the detective units.  Capt. Spirelli of Vice wasn't too happy and he relunctantly gave in.  McNally wants another look at Danny's apartment to search for clues.  Adam says he'll let the Crime Scene Unit know of his return to the area and to let him into the apartment.

McNally arrives at Danny's apartment building, but he sits and watches the goings on.  He sees the Crime Scene Techs loading their truck with evidence and he notices a black Cadillac CTS parked behind the truck.  He sees two people coming out with what appears to be a laptop computer under the arm of one person who gets into the Caddy and they drive away.  McNally wants to find out who the skinny woman was and he decides to wait and see if she comes back to the apartment.  While he is waiting, he calls Lt. Troy and tells him about the laptop and who are the two people in the black Caddy.

The Build

This is round 3 with Mr. Dissolved Putty.  The bottom of the patch is covered and sanded nice, but the top of the patch doesn't want to cooperate with me.  I painted the interior parts with Tamiya AS-15 Tan (USAF).  Then I painted the bumpers and the hood with Model Master Fathom Green Metallic.

McNally will return...

[Luc Janssens]

If the body isn't yet prepped for paint, maybe consider modifying the panel between the taillights, its vertical on the model but needs to be at an angle top to bottom.

[mrmike]

I had to Google Image a Volvo 760 to see just what you were referring to and you are correct.  There is an angle between the taillights where the license plate is mounted.  I'll consider it, but it sounds like extra work that I may not want to do.    

[peteski]

Mike, I lover to see unusual  models like this being built.  A pedestrian factory-stock Volvo - nice!  I knew that Tamiya had a model of a Volvo (or two), but I never seen the Italeri kit before.

You mentioned the 4X4 look.  While the high-sitting suspension would create that look, the kit tires with the very aggressive thread (especially on the sidewalls) also add quite a bit to that 4X4 look.  I think that replacing the tires with ones which look more like "normal" tires would make this model look like a typical "grocery getter".

[iamsuperdan]

Awesome! I have this kit and have been wondering how it builds up. The pic on the instructions did not inspire confidence. Good to know ahead of time that right height will need to be adjusted.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the story!

[mrmike]

9 hours ago, peteski said:

Mike, I lover to see unusual  models like this being built.  A pedestrian factory-stock Volvo - nice!  I knew that Tamiya had a model of a Volvo (or two), but I never seen the Italeri kit before.

You mentioned the 4X4 look.  While the high-sitting suspension would create that look, the kit tires with the very aggressive thread (especially on the sidewalls) also add quite a bit to that 4X4 look.  I think that replacing the tires with ones which look more like "normal" tires would make this model look like a typical "grocery getter".

Thanks Pete!  I would like to find a kit of the Tamiya 850 Turbo Estate.  I want to replace the aggressive looking tires, but I may damage the wheels in the process, so they will remain mounted as they are.  Lowering the suspension will take away from that look .  I hope to see you at the next Club meeting!  

 

7 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Awesome! I have this kit and have been wondering how it builds up. The pic on the instructions did not inspire confidence. Good to know ahead of time that right height will need to be adjusted.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the story!

I can''t remember what the box art looks like, it has been that long since I have built the kit.  I even did a rather good job airbrushing the body and parts, but I wonder if it was the product or the skill of the builder.  At any rate, this should look great when I finish the rebuild!

[mrmike]

The Story

Lt. Det. Troy and Capt. Spirelli are summoned to the office of the Chief of Detectives for a meeting.  The Chief of Detectives tells the two detectives that Homicide and Internal Affairs Bureau are running the murder investigation of Det. Daniel Carlyle.  Capt. Spirelli tries to argue his case, but the Chief of D's tells him that Vice Squad does not investigate murders and that is that.  If he has any additional information, then he is to forward that info to Homicide immediately.  If the Vice Captain doesn't like the situation, he can quit BPD and go work somewhere else.

McNally waits for the skinny woman he saw at Danny's the other night to show up at Danny's apartment.  She does show up and goes into Danny"s apartment and after she leaves a couple of hours later, she goes to "work" on a corner nearby.  McNally enters Danny's apartment to search it and he finds a used needle and spoon and a small baggie on the kitchen table. She came in to shoot up and mellow out during that two hours.  He follows her to find out more about her and what she knows, which may not be much.

The Build

I assembled the interior this morning.  Not a lot of paint detailing since interiors back then were pretty much one or two colors combined.  Since thepaintbooth was up and running, I painted the body with Model Master Fathom Green Metallic.  There's a lot of flake in this paint!  When the paint dries, I'll clearcoat it with Model Master Ultra Gloss Clearcoat.

McNally will return...

[iamsuperdan]

On 7/4/2019 at 6:14 AM, mrmike said:

 

I can''t remember what the box art looks like, it has been that long since I have built the kit.  I even did a rather good job airbrushing the body and parts, but I wonder if it was the product or the skill of the builder.  At any rate, this should look great when I finish the rebuild!

 

Here's the box art!

 

Your original build looked better than the images on the instructions! 

[mrmike]

The more I look at the box art, the more I don't think that was the kit box that I had.  I think it might have been the Italeri/Testors kit.  Dan, you are correct as the build on the instructioin manual look horrible!  The model looks much more square than what I have!   This is, I think, the box art of the kit that I had. 

[oldcarfan]

I built the Testor's release of this last year and then promptly dropped it while putting it in a case. I'm still finding parts of it occasionally.

[mrmike]

Sorry to hear of your "oops" Gary!  Once, I knocked a Jeep CJ5 off one of my bookcase shelves and I'm still finding parts to it every now and then.

[mrmike]

The Story

Tailing the skinny woman wasn't too hard until she got into a customer's car and he lost them in traffic.  McNally heads over to BPD Headquarters to drop off the needle and baggie that he found at Danny's apartment.  DNA testing might tell who the skinny woman is and where the drugs came from.  Lt. Det. Troy tell McNally that the two hitters in the SUV worked for "Packy" Delroy, a mean and terribly angry mobster who is looking to take over Chinatown to sell drugs and prostitution.  "Packy" hates all cops and PIs and he demands total loyalty from his employees.

McNally visits "Packy" in a storefront he owns and "Packy" admits to killing Det. Carlylse and refers to him as collateral damage since BPD Vice is in the way of his acquisition of Chinatown.  Suddenly a flash bang grenade breaks the store window and the store is taken over by Vice and "Packy" runs out the back with McNally on his tail.  As "Packy" tries to pull out his Colt Model 1911 from his holster, he is tackled by the Boston PI and arrested by Vice cops dressed in masks and bulletproof armor.

The Build

I have finally finished foiling the Volvo!  I used a bit of Foil for this build, but not as much as the Revell '59 Caddy I once built.  The most difficult part was around the upper door frames with a sliver of Foil.  I was tempted to use my Molotow Liquid Chrome pen, but I nixed that idea. 

McNally will return...