Son of Troublemaker WIP

[atomicholiday]

Four builds going and it seems like I’m waiting for something on every one of them.  Or maybe I’m just bored and ready for something to clear my mind.  Or possibly I have the attention span of a squirrel.  Whatever the reason, I’ve decided it’s time for me to dig into this kit.  If nothing else, just to get the parts cleaned up and ready for paint.

I’ve wanted to build a Troublemaker kit for a long time now.  Long before the Atlantis kit existed.  When I saw it got reissued, I had to have it.  Old Monogram kits are by far my favorite and this is just classic Monogram to me.

 I will say though, I’m not a fan of the color scheme or stripes of this reissue.  To my eyes it’s a little gaudy.  To that end, I’m changing the colors.  I do want to use the “troublemaker” decal though.  Thinking it might look good with something like a metallic orange or maybe go with the original concept and make it red.  As I get close, I’ll probably be asking for opinions on that.

Nothings done yet.  But for anyone not familiar with this kit, here it is.

You all know the drill.  Questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome!  Thanks for playing along!

[OldNYJim]

I’ve got one of these in the queue myself…I’ll be watching!

[atomicholiday]

Been thinking about the way the instructions say to build the frame for this.  They say to build up the front half of the frame around the seat in step 2, and the back half around the engine in step 3.  Not excited about that because it would make painting more difficult if you want to paint the seat and engine different colors than the frame.  I did a bit of test fitting, and it looks like you can assemble everything on the frame except for the rear cross beam section.  Getting the seat into position will require a bit of finagling, but I think it will go in okay.  But there’s no way to get the engine in with the rear cross brace glued in place.  Still, this is a better solution I think.  At least now I can paint things any color I want.  Got things glued up to this point.  That’s as far as I plan to go with the frame until I decide on a color for the body.  Then I’ll paint the frame to complement.

[atomicholiday]

Time for a quick mock up.  To my eyes, the front wheels look just a touch too far forward.  I don’t think it will be a big deal to correct.  maybe shave a little off the back of the front axle.  Notice the body filler on the side.  There are two ribs on each side inside the body that create sink marks.

Also, the instructions say to sand down the bottom of the oil pan.  They aren’t kidding.  You could build it without doing that, but the oil pan would almost certainly drag.

Side note.  This is a little weird.  When I was cleaning the parts and filling sink marks, I noticed the body had a little twist to it.  I was all set to correct that today before the mock up, but when I put it on a flat surface, no more twist!?

Definitely not complaining.  Just interesting.  But I’ll take all the breaks I can get!?

Edited July 16, 2023 by atomicholiday

[atomicholiday]

Got this one in primer today.  Now I just need to nail down a color for it. 

[atomicholiday]

I decided to go to Tamiya TS-98 pure orange for the body.  I think it will match the decals nicely (I hope).  Got the color coats finished today.

[Shark]

Been following along and like what you did color wise. It's rare if I make any suggestions, but I think it would look nice to put some transparent gold on the chrome wheels. Goes along with the decals.

[atomicholiday]

10 hours ago, Shark said:

Been following along and like what you did color wise. It's rare if I make any suggestions, but I think it would look nice to put some transparent gold on the chrome wheels. Goes along with the decals.

That would look pretty cool.   Kind of like anodized gold. 

[atomicholiday]

Over the past two days, I got the engine, frame, and a bunch of other components in primer.  
I’m thinking of shooting the frame red, and the engine the same orange as the body.  

 

[Tortuga Kustomz]

looking forward for more updates

[slusher]

I like the color choice!,

[Larry Rose]

I discovered a couple of old TM kits recently. With your build I'm watching for any tips.

[atomicholiday]

Wow, can’t believe I haven’t touched this one since last August.  Better late than never?

I shot the frame parts and fire extinguishers this past week and forgot to post updates.  These were the first real parts I painted with the new airbrush booth.  It’s great to have an airbrush in my hands again after so many years.

Paint is all Testors square bottle enamels.  I’ve always had pretty good luck with airbrushing this stuff.

Still needs detail painting on these parts.  It’s got a long way to go, but at least it’s not totally forgotten.?

[Tony Coomer]

Great project, looking good so far…

[atomicholiday]

…and here we are, five months later.?

My ‘40 Ford is on hold until the new airbrush shows up (Thursday?).  So in the meantime I’m doing odds and ends for other kits.

 I saw a video by Barbados Rex about making heat-stained exhaust pipes, and I wanted to give it a shot on this kit.  Here’s how it worked out.

He used Mr. Color paints for his video.  I had Tamiya on hand and so used it instead.

 

Also, the body is currently getting stripped.  When I painted it originally, I really wanted a metallic orange, but hadn’t gotten back into airbrushing yet, so I took what I could get.  Now I’m going for the color I really want. 

[atomicholiday]

Got the seat painted today.  I’ve been putting this off for a long time now, because I’m not very good at masking.  I was pretty sure this would get botched, but I’m happy with the results.?

[atomicholiday]

Got the distributor finished yesterday.  The kit distributor cap was shaved off and replaced with a 3D printed replacement.