Wild Willie Borsch Tribute/What If? Charger Funny Car

[RancheroSteve]

After finishing my “Winged Express” fuel altered build, I had the leftover decals from the Slixx sheet to do the Charger funny car that Willie Borsch drove in the early 70s.

https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/189084-winged-express-aafa/

I thought I should do something with those decals, but the truth is I prefer the earlier Charger body style. After reading Tim Boyd’s glowing review of the new tool Revell Charger kits (issued in 2011), a plan began to form in my mind.

https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/170101-are-these-the-best-ever-yet-most-unsung-funny-car-kits-of-all-time/

I procured a Chi-Town Hustler kit in a trade with a fellow Forum member and set to work. While I mostly try to build accurate replicas of vehicles that existed, I decided to have a little fun with this one. What if Willie had made the switch to funny cars a few years earlier?

Of course, Willie’s fake arm is on board.

The kit did not disappoint – great fit all around, it goes together with very minimal fuss, a real joy to build. I added some wiring and plumbing, a fire extinguisher, and scratchbuilt a master cylinder to fill the empty space on the firewall, but everything else (besides the decals and the arm) is out of the box. Paint is a fade of two different Tamiya rattle cans - yellow and orange - with some red lacquer airbrushed along the lower body. I toyed with idea of putting in a big block Chevy or early Hemi – Willie’s Charger ran both – but decided not to complicate my life unnecessarily so I just went with the kit engine, but still used the hood "rat vs. elephant" decal because it looks cool, right?

Thanks for looking – hope you enjoy - comments & questions welcome.

[Dave Armstrong]

Beautiful build! Well done, great idea! I'm a big fan of "what if..." builds- stretches the imagination.

[ChrisR]

Looking great.

[M W Elky]

That’s a really nice job the fade paint looks amazing and it looks like the decals were made for that body 

[TarheelRick]

Excellent build, especially like the fade paint and with rattlecans no less. Overall, beautiful build and attention to details. 

[rv1963]

Wow that paint and those decals are amazing.

[bondo bill]

Great build

[PappyD340]

Outstanding build!

[Nitro330]

Awesome build Steve!  The arm out the window is a great tribute to Wild Willie.

[MeatMan]

Killer!!!

[Tim W. SoCal]

Bitchen build, Steve!

[Rattlecan Dan]

Bodacious! Wild-looking, and nicely done. Great detailing work.

[Model Guy]

Really cool !

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Really good looking model, nicely done. 

[deuces wild]

??

[tim boyd]

Missed this one when you first posted it, Steve.  Really sharp and very creative.  And glad you found my old kit review to be of value.  Very best...TIM 

[slusher]

Beautifully done!