Revell 1966 Pontiac GTO

[Justin Porter]

I have been meaning to build a GTO for some time. In truth, I'd started a build of the initial release of this kit in high school but it encountered terminal paint issues. 

In any case, the plan is a clean, modestly detailed build of what's arguably the finest GTO kit on the market. I've selected MCW Light Turquoise Metallic from their lacquer line for the paint job. I'm still debating on the interior as the reference cars I have looked at have had either a color matched or black interior, and neither of those have really suited my fancy. 

The engine went together with my usual selection of Mr Color and Tamiya paints. I did actually have a very old jar of Model Master Pontiac Engine Blue. I revived it with Leveling Thinner and it airbrushed quite nicely to really set off this classic 389. I have drilled the cylinder heads and inserted plug boots as well as replaced the kit distributor with one from Iceman as I will be adding ignition wire to this build.

[Trendsetta68]

very nice start of an awesome kit to build ... ??

[slusher]

Nice looking engine..

[espo]

Great looking engine details. Your color choice was a popular color of the day. 

[TransAmMike]

Aside from my beloved '66 Chevelle SS, the '66 GTO is next. My wife back in the day had a yellow convertable 4-speed  car. I built model of the '66 to match the one she had. Did black vinyl top on it since there is no convertable model of it. 

Looking forward to your build. Nice start on the engine. 

[Justin Porter]

After addressing a handful of mold lines, the GTO was primed in Mr Surfacer 1000 Gray, then shot with two coats of the MCW Light Turquoise. This was followed by using up a ton of Tamiya tape to mask and spray the frame and the engine bay. A little bit of wet sanding with a 4000 grit polishing pad and then down went the Cobra Motors 2K Clear. I'm really looking forward to wet sanding and polishing the clear because the tone really does pop for the GTO.

[Mr Dirt]

Very nice I own a real 1966 GTO in the most common combination sold red with black interior.  Your build is looking nice can’t wait to see it done.  I have taken the kit you used to start a creation of the 1967 GTO I owned when I was between 19 and 23. It was also red with black interior. Look forward to seeing how this turns out for you.

[Luis Ayala]

Beautiful color choice Justin!!!

Paint job looks great, congrats!!!

[Zippi]

Boy that's looking good.  Love that color.

[espo]

Rich looking color and shows the body lines well. 

[Justin Porter]

More progress on the GTO as it comes steadily along. Firstly I was able to get the suspension together and the exhaust in place. I used AK Xtreme Metal Stainless Steel for the pipes and mufflers and Xtreme Metal Chrome for the exhaust tips. I then got to work on the time consuming task of masking the chrome trim on the body to spray with the Xtreme Metal and I have to say I am unusually pleased with how the brightwork turned out this time.

[slusher]

Great trim work and exhaust system painting. I have one of these kits I need to build!

[Nacho Z]

She is looking great, Justin!

[DJMar]

The paint is amazing and the brightwork looks great. However, the louvered tail lights only have chrome on the edge of each individual slat, not the whole surround.

On the real cars it's pretty subtle, and in 1:25 scale, the areas that you have to chrome are very, very tiny.

 

[espo]

Great looking paint finishes and colors on the exhaust and chassis. The paint you're using for the chrome body trim holdup to handling ? 

[Justin Porter]

10 hours ago, DJMar said:

The paint is amazing and the brightwork looks great. However, the louvered tail lights only have chrome on the edge of each individual slat, not the whole surround.

On the real cars it's pretty subtle, and in 1:25 scale, the areas that you have to chrome are very, very tiny.

 

Thank you so much for pointing this out. I went back with a 10/0 brush and some paint and touched up the louvers a bit to better match.

28 minutes ago, espo said:

Great looking paint finishes and colors on the exhaust and chassis. The paint you're using for the chrome body trim holdup to handling ? 

The AK does hold up a lot better than Alclad or Vallejo Metal Color to handling. I believe that's down to it being enamel based rather than alcohol based. That being said, you still don't want to accidentally hit it with your polishing compound cloth. lol

[Kenmojr]

Coming along very nice...

[Justin Porter]

Just a quick update. The interior is together and I am fairly pleased with it. I decided to replicate a Parchment interior using AK Real Color Cream White and Tamiya NATO Black, and added flocking from Ken's Fuzzi Fur. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the dash decal cooperated with Mr Mark Setter and Mr Mark Softer to snuggle into the details of the HVAC and radio controls.

[MeatMan]

Very nice!

[Justin Porter]

Nearing the finish line with the GTO. One of the bigger projects left to tackle was the wheels. A bit of Abteilung 502 Liquid Mask was applied to mask the center cap and trim ring. I've found that Gunze C8 Silver is a good match to the Argent finish GM used on a lot of painted surfaces like the spokes on these wheels or the grille surrounds.

[slusher]

Very sharp!

[Andrew McD]

Very nice!  The color really suits this car.