Ford GT 2006 Polar Lights Snap Kit: WIP

[David G.]

Hello All!

This from the "There's always something" department: Once I securely glued the chassis together, I discovered that these two frame members were not quite long enough to remain in their provided slots. This snap kit, like others I've worked on has a "float factor" built into the parts fit.

Sorry for the crummy cell phone pics but this was "bench time" photography and setting up my little desktop studio just wasn't practical.

 

My solution is to cut a couple thin pieces of styrene to extend the frame members so they are kept in place within the slots.

 

Here they are glued in place on top of the frame members and slotted in.

 

After some trimming, sanding and painting they look almost as good as new. Well, they're a little rough but all of the repairs will be hidden beneath the body after assembly.

I'm still working on prepping and polishing the body but that's all for now.

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

David G.

 

[slusher]

David, really nice painting and detailing the interior and engine compartment real nice personal touch…

[David G.]

1 hour ago, slusher said:

David, really nice painting and detailing the interior and engine compartment real nice personal touch…

Thanks Carl, I appreciate that.

David G.

[David G.]

On 5/1/2021 at 12:11 PM, Mark IV said:

Here are the original "Gulf" colors: https://www.gt40s.com/threads/mark-i-gulf-livery-specs-and-details.53208/post-538488

That kit looks pretty good save for the "off road" tires!

 

Hey Rick, I was thinking about your comment regarding the "off-road" tires and I thought "Hey, why not a lift kit too?"

 

 

Just kidding, here it is with the body snapped completely down over the chassis.  

And some headlights too.

 

Cheers,

David G.

Edited May 14, 2021 by David G.

[Railroad]

Very nice. ??Watching your WIP has inspired me to pick one up.??

[FLHCAHZ]

Looking good!  What did you to make tires look so realistic?

[David G.]

10 hours ago, Railroad said:

Very nice. ??Watching your WIP has inspired me to pick one up.??

Thanks Randy. It's a fun kit to build, I hope you enjoy it.

10 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Looking good!  What did you to make tires look so realistic?

Thank you Chaz. The only thing I did with the tires was to sand the tread a little with a coarse emery board. Sometimes the tires are too shiny, when they are, I'll spray them with a little Dulcote. I got lucky with these as they had a good sheen out of the box. The rims I  sprayed with Dulcote to make them look more like polished aluminum than kit chrome.

Regards,

David G.

[Sport Suburban]

This is looking good! I have two of the earlier versions but have not built them.

[David G.]

20 hours ago, Sport Suburban said:

This is looking good! I have two of the earlier versions but have not built them.

Thanks Raoul, I'm glad you like it.

David G.

[Beamerman]

Really good job on that Kit...nice

[David G.]

3 hours ago, Beamerman said:

Really good job on that Kit...nice

Thank you, I appreciate your comment.

David G.

[slusher]

David,, watching  you build I picked one up also. I really think I will enjoy it…

[David G.]

20 hours ago, slusher said:

David,, watching  you build I picked one up also. I really think I will enjoy it…

Awesome! It's a fun kit, simple yet satisfying.

Polar Lights is generous with the decals, they supply black, silver and white rocker panel stripes so you wouldn't be limited to building the blue Gulf Heritage Edition.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody, it's time for a minor update.

I decided that I wanted to stencil the windshield and rear window with a black border like most cars currently have.

 

Here's how it came out. It looks a little thick when installed but overall not bad for a first attempt

 

Here is a test fit with the stenciled glass installed. The excessive doesn't show too badly against the black interior.

 

The molding flaws have been cleaned up and the body has been polished. Stenciling the glass was the last thing I wanted to do before painting the orange stripe. I have no more excuses.

 

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

David G.

 

[mrmike]

I have been watching this build silently.  Your mods look great and I really like the black border to the glass.  I built a Polar Lights version (same as yours) in dark blue many moons ago!  Maybe it's time for a rebuild.

Edited May 23, 2021 by mrmike

[David G.]

22 hours ago, mrmike said:

I have been watching this build silently.  Your mods loook great and I really like the black border to the glass.  I built a Polar Lights version (same as yours) in dark blue many moons ago!  Maybe it's time for a rebuild.

Thanks Michael, I appreciate your kind comments.

Feel free to post a photo of yours to this thread, if you have one. I'd love to see it.

David G.

[ewetwo]

This is coming along nicely.

 

[FLHCAHZ]

Coming together very nice. The glass looks great!

[mrmike]

Thanks David!  Here's my '06 Ford GT.

[David G.]

14 hours ago, ewetwo said:

This is coming along nicely.

 

Thanks David.

10 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Coming together very nice. The glass looks great!

Thank you Chaz, I'm glad I went through the trouble of doing it. I think it's a little too thick but it's like I say,  "Each kit I build is really only practice for the next one!"

9 hours ago, mrmike said:

Thanks David!  Here's my '06 Ford GT.

That came out great, thanks for posting some pics. I always enjoy seeing what other builders do with a kit.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello All, here's the next update.

Polar lights thoughtfully provided a mask template for the complicated paint scheme on the hood and nose.

 

Knowing that it would probably take me a couple of attempts to figure out, I made a couple of copies to fiddle with.

 

This is obviously going to take some work to get sorted. If I can get the radii symmetrical and properly positioned, the rest will fall into place.

If anyone has experience with this type of masking and painting and can offer tips or suggestions, I would certainly appreciate the help.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to offer comments, tips and suggestions.

David G. 

 

[slusher]

Does the kit have decals? I have not opened mine.

[peteski]

It was mentioned earlier in the thread.

On 5/18/2021 at 6:44 AM, David G. said:

Polar Lights is generous with the decals, they supply black, silver and white rocker panel stripes so you wouldn't be limited to building the blue Gulf Heritage Edition.

 

[David G.]

Polar Lights includes a number of detailing decals too, quite generous.

 

David G.

[slusher]

19 hours ago, peteski said:

It was mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

I missed it and I have been following the build and reading…