93' Ford Mustang GT

[phil-east]

hi all i'm new to model building, (about 5 months experience) so go easy on me. this is my mustang, it was a very basic kit with no engine details. i'm just looking for a bit of feedback and constructive criticism.

[jeffs396]

Welcome to the most elite model car building club on planet earth Phil!!!

Your Mustang looks pretty good from what I can see...your pics are the biggest problem. More lighting would help (try outside if possible) and a digital camera with at least a 5-6 megapixel sensor. The Macro feature helps sometimes, depending on the distance away you are. Place you settings on the finest (takes up the most space) so you can crop the pic (without the graininess) before posting. Tripod helps also. Practice, practice, practice!

[trogdor]

I think you did just fine given the time you've been in the hobby. The only criticism I could add would be maybe next time mask off the headlight lenses and you'll get a cleaner look to the black you painted. But seriously I think you did good.

[Keef]

looks pretty good but it isnt a 93

looks more like a 94-99

[phil-east]

thanks a lot guys, i never even considered the photo quality and lighting, I'll look into improving that. I noticed the headlights but was unsure of the technique used i'll mask them off for my next build. Do you guys use tape or a masking fluid ?

Thanks for clearing that up Keef i thought it was a 95' but when i did a quick google image search i found the box cover with 93' in the picture description.

[crazyjim]

Yo Phil - welcome to forum. Great place! Your paint looks SHINY :) but there seems to be orange peal. I always use flat paint of use dull coat on my interiors. Not many vehicles have gloss interiors.

[phil-east]

thanks crazyjim, how do i avoid the orange peal effect ? i usually use a flatter paint on the interiors but i thought i'd try the shiny to see if it gave a more leather effect. I think i need to find a happy medium if i'm going for that in the future. thanks for the feedback.

[crazyjim]

Check out this site, Phil. http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/visitor/s/trouble/PDSG_OrangePeel.html

Are you rattle canning or airbrushing? Probaby too late now that you put the car together. I would have said shoot a couple coats of clear and sand it out otherwise.

Testors also makes a semi-gloss that might give you a leather look. I like using the Testors Model Master flats and then sometimes rubbing my nose or forehead to get some body oil and rubbing the interior with my finger. That usually adds a slight luster but not shiny. Does that make sense?

There's a York, Pennsylvania over here. They have a Harley-Davidson plant there.

[phil-east]

thats awesome cheers, i can't get the testors paint over here unfortunately,

i use a rattle can where possible,airbrushing is a last resort as i have a beginners airbrush and don't have the money free for a compressor right now, the mustang was done with tamiya spray, the finger rubbing method makes sense,i'll have to give it a go.

i've heard of York Pennsylvania before but had no idea about a harley plant, I wonder if there is a connection to my little city. New York was named after the duke of York so anything is possible !

[whale392]

That is a 94 Mustang GT from Tamiya. I am somewhat of a FOX guy (1979-93 Mustang for this particular instance) and can tell you this is NOT a 1993. This is the first of the SN95 cars (1994-2004).

Good looking build from what I can see though.

Edited April 1, 2012 by whale392

[geetee66]

Hi Phil, glad to see more builds coming from our rainy little island.

I use rattle can paint from Halfords, colour and clear.

Build up the colour coats slowly with thin coats. Don't expect to cover it with the first two coats. Give it a light spray, wait ten minutes, then give it another coat, wait again, then another coat. (I usually do about 4 or 5 colour coats and about the same for the clear) This helps the paint build up gradually and prevents runs. Do the same for the clear.

I have found that if I let the colour coat 'gas-out' for a week before I bung on the clear coat, it works well. Especially if I'm using a metallic paint. If you put the clear onto a metallic paint before the colour is dry, the meatlflake dissolves into the clear and you get pooling of metallic particles in the recesses and low-spots.

Build up the clear with thin coats. Don't get impatient or get too heavy with it. Wait about ten minutes between coats, depending on atmospheric conditions, then after you've put about 4 or 5 light coats of clear on it, hit it with about 2 fairly wet coats. Don't get too close with the can, but not too far, either. You don't want the clear to start drying on its way from the nozzle to the paint surface.

IMPORTANT TIP: warm the paint can in a jug of warm (not boiling) water. Keep it warm as it flows better and stops the metallic paints from having a rough finish.

Same with the clear. Keep it warm and shake your rattle cans hard, for 2 minutes, minimum. After spraying every coat, invert the aerosol and give the nozzle a couple of paint-free blasts to clear the nozzle. This will help the next coat from spluttering or gobbing drops of paint onto the model.

To finish the paint, after it has dried and hardened for a week or so, I use Maguires Scratch X, followed by some good quality auto polish. I used to wet-sand the clear, but I don't need to now I have adopted this technique.

If I want the interior/exterior colour to match, I simply hold the spray can further away from the interior parts. The added distance allows the paint to dry slightly on its way from the nozzle to the surface. If you want to simulate leather with a slight sheen to it, either give it a little rub with a cloth, or touch your face with your finger and then wipe your finger over the leather surface. I have found that the natural oil in my skin is perfect for adding a tiny bit of shine. It's also easy to wipe off again if you don't like the look of it.

Here is an example of Halford's paint and clear (which I painted at night, in my back yard, holding the model at arms length)

I hope you find this helpful.

keep building and showing us your work.

[Linetex]

Hi Phil, glad to see more builds coming from our rainy little island.

I use rattle can paint from Halfords, colour and clear.

Build up the colour coats slowly with thin coats. Don't expect to cover it with the first two coats. Give it a light spray, wait ten minutes, then give it another coat, wait again, then another coat. (I usually do about 4 or 5 colour coats and about the same for the clear) This helps the paint build up gradually and prevents runs. Do the same for the clear.

I have found that if I let the colour coat 'gas-out' for a week before I bung on the clear coat, it works well. Especially if I'm using a metallic paint. If you put the clear onto a metallic paint before the colour is dry, the meatlflake dissolves into the clear and you get pooling of metallic particles in the recesses and low-spots.

Build up the clear with thin coats. Don't get impatient or get too heavy with it. Wait about ten minutes between coats, depending on atmospheric conditions, then after you've put about 4 or 5 light coats of clear on it, hit it with about 2 fairly wet coats. Don't get too close with the can, but not too far, either. You don't want the clear to start drying on its way from the nozzle to the paint surface.

IMPORTANT TIP: warm the paint can in a jug of warm (not boiling) water. Keep it warm as it flows better and stops the metallic paints from having a rough finish.

Same with the clear. Keep it warm and shake your rattle cans hard, for 2 minutes, minimum. After spraying every coat, invert the aerosol and give the nozzle a couple of paint-free blasts to clear the nozzle. This will help the next coat from spluttering or gobbing drops of paint onto the model.

To finish the paint, after it has dried and hardened for a week or so, I use Maguires Scratch X, followed by some good quality auto polish. I used to wet-sand the clear, but I don't need to now I have adopted this technique.

If I want the interior/exterior colour to match, I simply hold the spray can further away from the interior parts. The added distance allows the paint to dry slightly on its way from the nozzle to the surface. If you want to simulate leather with a slight sheen to it, either give it a little rub with a cloth, or touch your face with your finger and then wipe your finger over the leather surface. I have found that the natural oil in my skin is perfect for adding a tiny bit of shine. It's also easy to wipe off again if you don't like the look of it.

Here is an example of Halford's paint and clear (which I painted at night, in my back yard, holding the model at arms length)

I hope you find this helpful.

keep building and showing us your work.

This grill mesh with FORD mark is WOW

[phil-east]

thanks a lot geetee66 that is indeed very helpful, i was a complete novice with a spray can untill a few months ago and everything i have learnt up until yesterday was pretty much self taught through trial and error.

I've been signed up to this forum for under 24 hours and have already doubled my model making knowledge, massive thanks to all of you guys for giving me the tips and instructions.

I recently got myself an Italian police Lamborghini Gallardo kit and was a bit scared to get started on it, with all the helpfull comments here i can finally think about getting on with it as this community seems very willing to help out and it's always nice to have a bit of a safety net to fall back on for advise.

[Olskoolrodder]

That is a 94 Mustang GT from Tamiya. I am somewhat of a FOX guy (1979-93 Mustang for this particular instance) and can tell you this is NOT a 1993. This is the first of the SN95 cars (1994-2004).

Good looking build from what I can see though.

Yep,that's the kit,DEFINATELY a '94-95 even if that hadn't been the kit,here's my 1:1 '94 for referance (ok,not mine anymore,sold it last month...)

I think you did an AWESOME job on it,especially from that short time's worth of experince! Looks great,paint's smooth,and the headlights are a great first effort,MUCH better than I would have done,probably even now as long as I've built,LOL! Very nicely done,my friend,and welcome to the forums

[Scuderia]

on such short experience you did a real good job. A great starting point skill wise and you had good detailing ideas already, like in the headlights. keep it up, especially if you fancy mustangs

[TheCat]

Very nice for your first build Phil. Every little detail would make the model look even better. Always do your research on the model in mind. I always search for lots of pictures of the car that I'm planning to build. Front, Sides, Rear, Chassis, Interior and close-up pictures of the engine compartment.

I agree with Jeff. You just need to work on the Photos. To take good photos, you don't need to have a big area. But lighting and background is very important. Should have a background that will not take away from the subject (model). It should actually make it center of attention.

Here's a sample of what I mean.. These were taken on top of my dinning room table with a background that I printed out on my computer and placed it on a semi-circle in the background. Also, think of investing in a good camera that can take Macro pictures. NOTE: not my best build. It was one of my earlier builds (9 years ago).

Edited April 2, 2012 by TheCat

[phil-east]

thanks a lot guys, i have done a couple of models since the mustang in order to try new things out and i think i'm improving with every build, i'm currently messing about with a chevy SSR just trying out new things with the paint and detailing. I'm going to spend a bit of time on the photography soon and i'm going to look into getting myself a nice enough camera. I currently only have my mobile phone which is what i used for the mustang photos.

I have just bought myself some really appealing kits in the last few weeks so i think when i start building them, i'll do a work in progress thread for them. I think getting the feedback from the people on here as i build them will be a great way to learn and improve.

Once again thanks a lot for the kind words and feedback, it's given me a real appetite to build and a bit more confidence that i'm going in the right direction.