Matt Bacon Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 A quick holiday build, starting with the Polar Lights 1/25 Ford GT snap kit. The main visible difference between the super-tuned 720 Mirage and the "basic" Ford GT is the lack of a rear bumper, which leaves the back end rather more open. And lots of cool black detailing... The dash responds well to a bit of detail painting I took most of the chrome off everything, leaving only the supercharger body (which, although it is more powerful on the Mirage, is also chrome plated like the original equipment) The wheels end up like this. If I was even more shortsighted than I am, and had a steadier hand, the orange bar in the middle would resolve into "Mirage", but I'm not, so it doesn't. The brakes are moulded in to the back of the wheel, and so rotate with the front, which is the only major compromise to simplify the kit. They are also not handed, which only matters on the rears which have the main calliper and a secondary thingy (I'd love to know what it is -- you get them on most supercar brakes, on one pair of wheels). I'll just have to set the wheels carefully to put the callipers in the right position before taking pics! The plain black plastic cockpit is much improved by a lick of paint. The seats are nicely thought-through, with inserts for the "breather" holes, but they are even better if you strip the chrome and repaint, and touch in the "holes" with a paint pen. So that's the chassis together. Depending on what you can see (the body is one-piece and doesn't open) I might add a few pipes and cables around the engine. I've no idea whether the colours of the bits in the nose section are right, but since I can't find ANY pictures, and you can't see them after it's built, I'm not going to worry too much. Elapsed time to this stage about 4 hours. Now for the cool black detailing! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george 53 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Matt, what is a Mirage?I've never heard of one as a Ford. Are they only in Europe/UK? over here Ford GT's are pretty bad, I can't imagine them getting any meaner and still be streetable.Are they race cars? Edited January 1, 2014 by george 53 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldscool Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Thanks for showing this. It's looking great and this is the first WIP I have ever seen on this kit. It will be a big help if I ever build mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris02719 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Found this short article about the car. Hope it helps out anyone who hasn't heard of or seen one. http://www.supercars.net/cars/4096.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 The Mirage was certainly made in the UK, based on a "mint" GT imported from the US. There's a complicated corporate backstory, but it's basically the successor to the Roush 600, another tuned GT. If you really felt that your 550BHP was a little lacking in grunt, you could have it fettled up to 600BHP with a more powerful blower. But the guy who did the Mirage reckoned that the chassis was brilliant and could easily handle even more power, so he upped the supercharger from 10psi boost to 17 psi, and now the engine is good for 750BHP, and 630lbft of torque. It'll spin the rear wheels in first, second and third gear, in the dry, if you're not careful. There's no traction control... This is another review: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/220638/avro_720_mirage.html bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lower99 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Really nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Cullinan Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Look great. Doesn't even need a body. Lol. But I can't wait to see it dropped on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Thanks! And now for the shiny... ...did I mention that it's quite orange? ;-P bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) The body is now on! I removed the silencer box (the big square lump at the extreme rear behind the engine, because that's one way the 720 Mirage saves weight over the original GT. I've cut out the ring through which the exhausts emerge from the rear bumper part, and glued it in place on the body instead. The instructions have you add the rear bumper last, when the body and chassis are together. However, with the Mirage, the body with the mesh won't drop over the exhausts, so I had to cut them off the engine and insert pins so I could plug them in from the outside after it was all together. Just the last few details and decals to add now... bestest, M. Edited January 3, 2014 by Matt Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimKustom Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looks cool. One of my favorite cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donb Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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