Trumpeter Ford GT40 with my twists

[Pierre Rivard]

Gorgeous detailing and mix of colors and finishes. I love how you simulated weld beads.

[MarkJ]

Excelent work as always, Ken. I was just sitting studying everything and wondered what is with the clear stack right above the carb and is the air cleaner made into the rear body or is it yet to come above the engine?

[kensar]

Thanks for posting, Pierre and Mark.

The weld bead was an experiment to see if it would work.  This was the only place I tried it with glue.  I also simulated weld beads on the aluminum coolant tank edges using a coarse file.  A little more refinement of the technique may give even better results.

There is no air filter on this engine.  The clear stack above the carb intake is to straighten out the air flow downward into the carb barrels.  This creates a smoother, less turbulent flow.  I don't know why they made them from a clear material - it doesn't have to be.  They can be made of aluminum as seen on some hot rod engines.

[Force]

8 hours ago, kensar said:

There is no air filter on this engine.  The clear stack above the carb intake is to straighten out the air flow downward into the carb barrels.  This creates a smoother, less turbulent flow.  I don't know why they made them from a clear material - it doesn't have to be.  They can be made of aluminum as seen on some hot rod engines.

All Mk II and Mk IIB's has the clear velocity stacks and even the Mk IV's had the clear stacks inside the air box wich was aluminum on some and clear plastic on some, the Mk II had one and the MK IIB and Mk IV had two for the dual carbs.

Edited July 19, 2024 by Force

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Ken. No air cleaner. Thats interesting. I guess they figure it's not needed for the life of these engines and the air flow has to be so much better without one.

[kensar]

progress continued

[Force]

Looks great.

[MarkJ]

Ken, you really know how to lay the paint down with I'm assuming an airbrush. This is one of the best silver paint jobs I have seen. Did the air to the carb just come from the inside air of the vehicle or is there some kind of ducting that goes to that clear stack from outside the car?

[kensar]

Hi Mark, thanks for looking in.

The aluminum paint is Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum.  I like this paint because it can be sprayed without the grainy look most silver paints give.  I decanted the spray paint into a jar and shot it through my airbrush, which gives more control over how much paint is being sprayed.  Too much paint gives the grainy look.

The GT40 MkII has two air scoops on each side of the engine cover.  The upper one splits into two - one going to the rear brakes and one into the back window area where the carb is.  The lower side scoops go to the oil coolers on each side of the engine inside the engine compartment.  The air scoops I omitted from the back of the car also go to the brakes, which were a weak point of the car.

[MarkJ]

Thanks for the info. Makes sense that you air brushed the Tamiya after decanting it. Much better results than using the spray nozzle on the can. I might try that myself someday.

[kensar]

A small update.

I have painted the front clip.

and the tire markings were painted on using a stencil.

[MarkJ]

Wow, Ken. That front clip looks flawless and that is by far the best tire stencil job I have ever seen. Looks like real tires shrunk down to scale.

[kensar]

Last in-progress picture.  Detailing on the front clip.

 

I have completed this project now and will post pics in the under glass thread soon with a link to it below.  Thanks to all that followed along and commented.  Hope it was worth it to you. 

Link to completed thread:

https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/193788-112-trumpeter-gt40-kensar-style/

 

Best Regards, Ken

 

 

Edited August 1, 2024 by kensar

[Bainford]

Very nice! Those tires look great, much better than decals. Very tidy, too. 

[MarkJ]

It's been a great journey. Can't wait to see the final photos in the under glass thread.

[Vinny G]

Excellent work!!! I am currently working on this kit and was wondering if you documented all the colors you used??? Along with all the other issues with this kit, the missing (or oddly worded) color tags are a pain. I am only going to build it box stock but color help would be appreciated.

[kensar]

Vinny, I didn't record all the paints I used as there are a lot of them, but I do know I used Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum for the main body color, with TS-53 Deep Metallic Blue for the stripe.  The wheels are gloss black.  I believe the interior blue is TS-15 Blue.  Other colors are from Alclad, AK Interactive, and Testors.  All paints were airbrushed.

[Vinny G]

Thanks Ken.