IMC Ford Cougar II Concept 1:25 - the model of dreams and nightmares!

[ea0863]

Hello All,

This build was truly the best of times and the worst of times. So many sayings sprung to my mind at various stages - most of which cannot be repeated on this wonderful forum . But, I can share with you one from philosopher Harry Callahan, who said, "a man's got to know his limitations". I certainly discovered mine on this model!

I have loved this concept car ever since seeing photos of it in the 1970's, and have had two Lindberg models in my stash for some time. I mean who wouldn't love a Shelby Cobra underneath mated to a sexy Italian looking GT body up top (although this one was designed and built totally in house at Ford)? However, it wasn't until seeing @MrObsessive 's version on this forum that I was moved to try my hand at it (I thank him for the inspiration, if not the perspiration  and have developed all kinds of respect for his abilities!) He incorporated some beautiful PE Borrani rims from Detail Master in his build, and had a bunch of opening parts. To be fair, he also did give fair warning as to the difficulty of this kit, but I thought I was up to the challenge. WRONG. 

To begin with, I did not know IMC originally made this kit in burgundy metal flake molded into the body. Photos of it in the bare looked great, so I left my white styrene Lindbergs aside, and sprung for one of these IMC originals in an open but unstarted box.

Of course we all know though that these old kits are never "like new", even coming out of a sealed box. Mine had all the usual issues; rubber tires had etched themselves on the hood, fender, and a particularly interesting etching right in the middle of the windshield.

Lots of sanding, buffing, and polishing later, evidence of these had all but disappeared. Both A pillars were broken in multiple places, there was some warpage of the frame, the chrome was flaking off on some parts - the most major being brightwork on the rocker panels - and a few pieces were missing, most notably from hinges and rear red light lenses. So each were addressed in turn to the best of my limited ability.

Then came body assembly, and I learned humility all over again! I spent a good week on trying to get the door panels to sort of line up with their openings, but try as I might, the car looked like it came back from the crusher. I don't know if it was warpage, or just an inherent design flaw, but not one single "opening" piece would cooperate. So, after a lot of soul searching, and Harry Callahan on my mind, I decided to skip the opening parts (except hood), and concentrate on making the body as straight as possible. To that end, I heated parts under a hair dryer, glued them in place, used filler to seal gaps in the shut lines, and sanded assembled panels with a block. Once the body was assembled - which was a relatively straightforward affair - I decided to polish it and shoot the roof with Tamiya Mica Silver. 

The interior was downright stunning to my eyes, looking like a perfect throwback to the 60's idea of luxury and sportiness. I replicated the interior as close to original photos as possible, and used chrome fingernail tape in some spots (BTW; these tapes come in all colors, are cheap, and are great to work with).

Next up was the rims. After scouring the internet, the closest I could come to MrObsessive's Borranis were some 1:24 Ferrari GTO rims from Hobby Design.

OMG! These things are a pain to put together! Eight layers of tiny parts, some of which have to intertwine their tiny little spokes, all assembled in a beautiful aluminum rim - taking care to line up the itty bitty witness holes, all while NOT gluing your fingers to the part you are trying to build.  I would say I exaggerate here for effect, but sadly I am not exaggerating. Oh, and by the way, did I mention it comes with these infinitesimal valve stems as well? First, you're supposed to drill the aluminum rim with some drill bit tenth the size of a human hair, then insert the stem under an electron microscope. Suffice it to say, that's one week of my life I'll never get back, and the valve stems went in the parts bin. 

The good and the bad of the rims upon completion are this; they look great (although not as great as the Borranis), and the larger diameter shod with wider tires from Testors Aluma Coupe look fantastic on the car - giving it the sportiness and stance one would expect from a Cobra. Having said all this, I present to you my best attempt at the gorgeous Ford Cougar II:

 

Now that it is complete, I have to say this model will feature front and center in my display case. Overall, I'm happy with the decision I made to weld the "opening" parts shut as the alternative was just not going to look as good with my limited abilities. Just taking these photos, I did notice a few flaws I still need to address; exhaust tips, roof touch-up, Molotow on the Ford emblems, etc. The part that bothers me most is the hood closure. It was virtually perfect before assembly, but now wants to sit proud of the fenders. I have a bunch of tiny magnets, so I think I'll try my hand at Doug Whyte's technique on this one part (check out the link below for his wonderful tutorial)

 

Next up for me; the Bordinat Cobra...

 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by ea0863

[thatz4u]

Emre, turned out very nice, well worth the effort...

[Mittagskind]

Wow, cool car and a very neat built model. The wheels are absolutely great.

[dave branson]

nice build

 

[ea0863]

1 hour ago, thatz4u said:

Emre, turned out very nice, well worth the effort...

Thank you Al. It's always a trick with this forum to get inspired by all the wonderful talent, without feeling disheartened by my lack thereof.  

[ea0863]

1 hour ago, Mittagskind said:

Wow, cool car and a very neat built model. The wheels are absolutely great.

Thank you Hanjo. I had to order them from Hiroboy.com in the UK as it was the only place I could find any. They have great stuff, but shipping obviously added a bit to the cost.

[Classicgas]

Simply stunning.

[ea0863]

1 minute ago, Classicgas said:

Simply stunning.

Thank you Lee. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if Ford had gone through with it (as well as its roadster brethren called the Bordinat Cobra?)

[Classicgas]

Yep.

[MrObsessive]

That turned out great! ❤️

Thanks for the nice words!

Yes, I had to re-engineer practically every body panel on that kit to get it to cooperate. Hard to believe that model's almost 15 years old now. Time sure does fly!

[Mittagskind]

29 minutes ago, ea0863 said:

but shipping obviously added a bit to the cost

Yes, and since UK left the European Union we have to pay customs duty too.?

[H.A.K]

WoW!!!! tat looks great.

 

[ea0863]

49 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

That turned out great! ❤️

Thanks for the nice words!

Yes, I had to re-engineer practically every body panel on that kit to get it to cooperate. Hard to believe that model's almost 15 years old now. Time sure does fly!

I was thrilled your old thread was resuscitated recently, and I had a chance to see your build. Still looks beautiful!

[ea0863]

6 minutes ago, H.A.K said:

WoW!!!! tat looks great.

 

Thank you much Samuel

[spencer1984]

I'd say it was worth the effort, beautiful job on this!

[michelle]

Amazing job looks great can’t wait to see the next one finished 

[atomicholiday]

That looks great!  Excellent workmanship.?

[Bainford]

Beautiful Cougar II. I have always been a fan of this car, too. Your build has captured all of the elegance and coolness of the 1:1. Lovely work. 

[ea0863]

1 hour ago, spencer1984 said:

I'd say it was worth the effort, beautiful job on this!

Thank you Bill. I'm already putting the pieces together on the Bordinat roadster...  Apparently I'm a slow learner!  

[ea0863]

59 minutes ago, michelle said:

Amazing job looks great can’t wait to see the next one finished 

Thank you Michelle!

[ea0863]

43 minutes ago, atomicholiday said:

That looks great!  Excellent workmanship.?

Thanks Jeremy!

[ea0863]

38 minutes ago, Bainford said:

Beautiful Cougar II. I have always been a fan of this car, too. Your build has captured all of the elegance and coolness of the 1:1. Lovely work. 

Thank you Trevor!

[Oliver77]

Fine work on this kit. Remarkable detailing on all parts of this beautiful car.

[cobraman]

Great job on a tough kit. I actually modified one to make the Bordinat Cobra Photos are around here somewhere. 

[cobraman]

Here’s the one I built using that kit . Bad pics but you get the idea . Good luck with your project !