Ghostbusters Ecto-1 by Polar Lights: WIP

[FLHCAHZ]

Impressive Detailing.   Really looks great! 

[David G.]

22 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Impressive Detailing.   Really looks great! 

Thank you Chaz.

David G.

[gotnitro?]

Excellent work 

[David G.]

17 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Excellent work 

Thank you for saying so Jeff, I appreciate your comment.

David G.

[slusher]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:06 AM, David G. said:

Hello Everybody!

The interior is done!

I finished the gurney for the Proton Packs. It me several attempts and it didn't turn out exactly as I wanted but it's good enough.

 

I also added a scratch-built panel of toggle switches to the top of the equipment stack.

 

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

David G.

Very realistic detail painting, David…

[David G.]

6 hours ago, slusher said:

Very realistic detail painting, David…

Thank you Carl. Detail painting is probably my most favorite part of building.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Now that the interior is finished, it's time to focus on the body.

Ecto-1 just wouldn't be Ecto-1 without the iconic red and white paint scheme. Though the kit provides both decals and stickers, those only cover the outside of the fins and the stripes on the doors.

 

On the real Ecto-1, the insides of the fins are also painted red which then continues down along beside the rear door to the bumper.

 

This was the trickiest part of the masking job. Though it's not perfect, I am rather pleased with the results.

 

And last but not least, a quick mock-up. 

 

Yeah, I've been busy working on the roof rack too.

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

David G.

 

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

As I was building all those the detail items for inside the car, I began to think that it was a shame that most of it would never be seen once final assembly took place. So I decided to light the interior. I wanted just enough to make the interior bits visible, like if the dome lights on the car were on. That way all my hard work could be better appreciated. 

I did some research and self-education and came up with a plan for building my first lighted model kit and ordered the parts.

My light kit arrived the other day and I can't wait to crack into it. I ordered two Chip Nano Pico LEDs, a battery holder and battery from Evan Design at https://evandesigns.com/. I placed the order on Friday and received delivery on the following Monday. That's pretty quick.

 

Here's the first mockup, planning wire routing and locations for installation. I'm really looking forward to this!

 

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

David G.

[FLHCAHZ]

The paint and mock up look great,  the light will really show off all of the stellar scratch-building you did on the interior 

[David G.]

23 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

The paint and mock up look great,  the light will really show off all of the stellar scratch-building you did on the interior 

Thank you Chaz, I appreciate your comment.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I got the lighting kit installed and just had to take a couple of test shots.

 

I was going for a "dome lights on" effect. I think using two Chip Nano Pico LEDs in warm white was the right choice.

 

The next step is to work out the window tint.

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

David G.

Edited January 28, 2022 by David G.
typo

[slusher]

The lighting will show off your detail work. Are you going to do the blue lights also?

[David G.]

5 hours ago, slusher said:

The lighting will show off your detail work. Are you going to do the blue lights also?

No, one step at a time. Maybe someday I'll get to where I can do lighting like that but for now I need to start simply.

Thanks for your comment Carl, it's nice to know that someone's watching.  

David G.

[Steve H]

Hi David, awesome idea to light up the inside. I have dealt with Evan’s twice in the past and found them quick and very helpful. Everything is coming together nicely sir, and the interior lights really give it that added interest.

Cheers, Steve

[Tabbysdaddy]

I've been watching, very cool. I had started one of these a while ago but solvent glue won't work on it so I put it back in the box. 

[David G.]

18 hours ago, Steve H said:

Hi David, awesome idea to light up the inside. I have dealt with Evan’s twice in the past and found them quick and very helpful. Everything is coming together nicely sir, and the interior lights really give it that added interest.

Cheers, Steve

Thank you very much for your kind words Steve. I thought it would be a shame to build all that cool detail and never really see it again. 

And yes, Evan Designs will certainly be my source for all my future lighting projects.

18 hours ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

I've been watching, very cool. I had started one of these a while ago but solvent glue won't work on it so I put it back in the box. 

Thank you for watching Sean and thanks for your comment. It's rather strange that you couldn't get solvent cement to work with yours. I'm currently using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement on this one, what brand did you use on yours?

David G.

[Tabbysdaddy]

3 hours ago, David G. said:

Thank you for watching Sean and thanks for your comment. It's rather strange that you couldn't get solvent cement to work with yours. I'm currently using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement on this one, what brand did you use on yours?

David G.

I used Testors. I got the kit when it was first released so I thought maybe it was made with different plastic back then. 

[espo]

Great idea lighting the interior. 

[David G.]

20 hours ago, espo said:

Great idea lighting the interior. 

Thank you David.

David G.

[bisc63]

Lights are a real nice touch, and definitely help show off the interior details. Very cool, and not over-done and too bright like a lot of LED add-ons tend to be.

[David G.]

12 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Lights are a real nice touch, and definitely help show off the interior details. Very cool, and not over-done and too bright like a lot of LED add-ons tend to be.

Thanks Rusty, I appreciate your comment. Getting that overly bright look was one of my main concerns, I'm glad I was able to avoid that.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I took a week off building to work on one of my other hobbies but now I'm back.

The next phase in this build is tinting the windows to resemble those in the movie car. On the original car, the gap between the tint strips looks like it is only about 4" to 6".  I decided to widen that gap by quite a bit so that the interior contents would be more visible.

Photo source: https://www.ocregister.com/

 

I thought about painting the window tint, I even did some testing with Tamiya X-19 Smoke with mixed results. While in some ways painting would give me more control, I felt that I lacked the skill and experience to produce satisfactory results. So instead I decided to go with a more prototypical method and use actual window tint film.

 

The side and rear windows were rather straight forward, just a matter of cutting strips and positioning them. The corners however were a bit of a challenge. I made templates using masking tape by fitting tape to the outside of the windows. I sketched the tint locations onto the tape with a mechanical pencil then carefully removed the tape. I then stuck the tape to an index card and trimmed it down to size. To reduce the possibility of errors, I only made templates for one side and reversed them for the other side.

Now I just have to figure out how I want to handle the interior appearance regarding the window pillars. Right now with the tint on them, the windows look like a plastic shell inserted into the body, which is what they are. I want to find a way to disguise that fact.

 

Using a couple of small flashlights, I decided to do a bit of a light test to see how the tint looked when backlit.

 

It turned out pretty good, even the tricky bits laid down nicely. I did fail to anticipate and account for the way the curvature of the rear window bent the upper strip. But it's something I can live with.

 

So of course, I just had to do a fully lit mockup test... just to check for light leaks.  

 

I think I can be satisfied with this. Next I want to see if I can work out some of the air bubbles in the tint, then it's on to some of the more "normal" parts of the build.

 

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

David G.

Edited February 7, 2022 by David G.
Added photo credit

[slusher]

Looks fantastic, David..

[Joe Handley]

This looks pretty good David! 

One thing I'm curious about thought, what's your thoughts on this kit vs the AMT kit?

[Mr. Metallic]

On 2/7/2022 at 6:23 AM, David G. said:

.

Now I just have to figure out how I want to handle the interior appearance regarding the window pillars. Right now with the tint on them, the windows look like a plastic shell inserted into the body, which is what they are. I want to find a way to disguise that fact.

Why not treat them as what they really are, posts. Paint them white just like the outside and it will make them look more like individual panes of glass.

Loving what you're doing on this. it's getting close to the finish line.