mustang1989 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) I came to this site about a year or so ago after chasing a 1990 Mustang LX build that I found searching through Yahoo, ended up looking around a bit and liking the good folks here, and decided to stay. I build primarily 1/48 scale aircraft and some of you have seen me "holing up" in the All the Rest section of this forum for a while. To wrap things up for the year and while I still have idle bench time in between builds I've decided to take on a car project. I have a Monogram Challenger that I built 30 years ago when I was about 14 or so that is in the middle of repairs. I built it for my little brother back then and then as years went by and he moved from home, got married and had his own family it stayed at my parents house. I took it from my parents house years later and cleaned it up a bit and glued some parts that fell off over the years back on and gave it back to my brother around 5 years ago as a Christmas present. Long story short it ended up in the bedroom closet covered up by clothes and other stuff and got knocked off of the top shelf by my nephew. We ended up finding the hood and a wheel/tire assy that was lost for a little bit out of the fall and I pieced it back together. It's still missing the hood scoop from the hood and the rear spoiler but I managed to glue everything back on and repair everything else that was damaged during the fall. Now before I turn this into a "brother bashing session" let me tell you that my brother is a top notch guy. Its just that models aint his thing. Hes got a wife and two kids and he so busy he looks like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest. With that said, I took the model home and I bought another kit in which to replace the missing parts with. I am going to put this thing back to its unmodified original condition but here she sits proudly once again. Anyways I didn't paint it with anything more than a gloss coat when I originally built it and aside from the decals wrinkling a little the finish came out PERFECT! The gloss coat was applied from a can for cryin' out loud! One of my only regrets is how the decals all came out. The interior was detailed great for a 14 year old. All you have to do is put a visor on and you can read the gauges. Of course I didn't need glasses or a dang visor when I originally built it. LOL. Anyhow here's the pic of what I'm working with as of now. I took this pic last year and really it's not in that bad of condition for being as old as it is. I've decided to retain all the parts due to the fact that this model is molded in the red you see here. I may ask for some help along the way because I don't know how all you guys get this "mirror " finish that I keep seeing and I haven't built a car model in YEARS. It'll be an OOB build....er.....rebuild, so I'm not going crazy on the budget. Edited March 14, 2015 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Mopar rebuild, I am all in for it. Not a bad car to rebuild... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Thanks Carl! I hated doing to it what I'm going to show next but man, the decals! I couldn't stand it any longer . Sooooo..................................... Here we go.............................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 That and those wheels need a dark wash to get rid of that red hue in the wheel "holes" and to bring out some of the detail. Also the white lettering effect on the tires needs to happen. Looks like we're in for the long haul on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) I'm not going to mess with the interior much as I built it using 14 year old eyes and I could paint detail fairly well back then. I'll just be dusting this all off. and then there's the IP. I'll need to re-glue the upper dash pad to the lower carrier assy and re-paint some of the areas where the red is bleeding through like on the steering wheel. Again all detail is through a 14 year old set of eyes...............without the visors that I need today. lol Edited November 19, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 and it all starts......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 I continued on with the decal removal this morning and spotted some runs that I hadn't ever seen in the clear coat at the door handle areas and on the lower areas of the body. I'll be smoothing all of this out as I go. and finally, decals are removed............and ALOT of sanding and clean up to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjracing Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Cool start! Keep it coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Looking good. Aside from some wear and tear on the steering wheel, that interior looks pretty good too. For "shiny" I think Novus plastic polish is great for enamels. Laquers and such benefit from the many 1:1 polishes readily available. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Thanks Jose! Man thanks for the suggestion Wayne! Good seeing you around dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) I was searching around in my stash totes last night because I just knew I bought something that would help out with what I'm dong here. Yup , I found it! So this is what I started with using the 3200 grit sanding pad : and what I ended up with all the way through to the 12000 grit pad. That's more like it! A nice starting point. Edited November 21, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefropas Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'm building the same kit myself right now, great start! Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 Thanks Jeff. It's pretty much a re-start. Got pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1/24DragAndStreetCars Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 I'm rebuilding a revell rebox into a prostreet monster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 Lookin' forward to seeing that one Joseph! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impcon Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 This is a project that I appreciate and seems familiar and will make a nice display piece when done. The history is what makes some projects really special and you and this model obviously go back a lot of years. I, for one, am glad that it has found it's way back into your life and it is really cool to see it getting the love and appreciation that it deserves. The '70 Challenger is definitely one of Chrysler's crown jewels and I have liked them since they were new. I recently unearthed a '70 Challenger convertible that I started and almost completed almost twenty years ago and I want to do basically what you are doing. Mine is painted in automotive urethane in Panther Pink with a white interior and it is a replica of a built kit that I lost when our home was destroyed by fire in 1988. I was side tracked from building for many years and only recently have I found my way back to the hobby and rediscovered the relaxation and peace of mind that creating something brings. I want to get another decal set for it, remove the old ones and get rid of several specks of dust in the paint which means sanding and polishing, just like you. I'll be watching your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 Now THAT'S a story you got there Gary. I'll be looking for the re-build of yours and thanks for the good word on mine. I'm like you and alot of others on that relaxation bit. My wife thinks I'm half crazy sometimes as I deal mostly in 48th scale builds but I've got some idle time on my hands until Jan 1st and got "the bug" to work with a car........................finally. I have a 90 Mustang LX coupe I want to build but that's going to involve alot of resin and PE parts and would take longer than the time I have right now. I just got finished with a Corsair in the "All the Rest" section and will be moving on to two Bf109 builds on the 1st of January so I've got just enough time to go a little slow and do a decent job on it. I, like you, was gone from the model building scene for a long while and found my way back to it in 2012 only this time I got in with the forums and find myself at home in them amongst "birds of a feather". Alot of folks just dont get how rewarding this hobby really is and it's nice to be able to come to places like this and converse with others who share the interest and get better at building along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Real nice work and progress Joe. Looking good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefropas Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 I still have to take some pics, I'll try later today... Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 (edited) Thank you Carl! Bring em on Jeff. I'm lookin' forward to those. Ok gang! I got this thing decaled yesterday and glossed this morning. The roof is not as good as I wanted to to be but I think I'm going to get one of those polishing kits that folks keep talking about and see if I can work any magic there. Other than that it turned out ok. I still have to pick out details like door handles, the Mopar medallion and side marker lights. I also can't forget stuff like the drip railing , front chrome trim, rear chrome trim and window trim thats gonna get the ol' BMF treatment. One of the things that's cool about building cars is that there's no shortage of reference pics and this car is no exception. I found a slew of pics on this car. I just had to weed out some of the more non O.E.M looks and get fairly close to stock. That means this: Has to be changed up somewhat. So................................ We start fresh. Edited November 22, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1/24DragAndStreetCars Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Nice paint! I'm more of a rusty worn down rat rod kinda person because paint gives me such a struggle (at least in big proportions like the body and interior) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 (edited) Thanks Joe! It took me a long while to get used to painting large areas but after some time it I tended to get a little braver as well as more curious in pushing new boundaries. Anxious to see your work. Good ol' Monogram engine blocks with the oil pan molded in. Ah well it just modeling. Got a gap to take care of on the bottom side. Edited November 22, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) Alright. I filled the gaps on this jewel and primed it in black to bring out the shadows in the nooks and crannys and to dull the effect of the orange MM acrylic paint I bought the other day at HL that I thought was entirely too bright once I opened the bottle. Oh well, we'll deal with it. Primered black engine.............. Another reason for the darker color is that I'm building this one with a few miles on it and I remembered after all of my real life engine builds had some mileage on it , the paint finish seemed to darken a bit from oils and heat. The valve covers will be a tad brighter and the air cleaner a little more bright. Still got some touch up to do on that oil pan looks like. The benefit of close up pics.............they never lie. and the comparison pics from before and after. Man the original engine is almost florescent in color. What was cool through 14 year old eyes: A near chrome oil pan, exhaust manifolds and gearbox. Hey, I was having fun. I went with a little more realistic look for this build. I've gotta watch it because I've seen this color on Chevy engines a time or two. lol Seems like with each new pic I find something else I missed. That seam line at the front of the oil pan is sticking out like a sore thumb The gaps on the front of the engine I can live with as those are getting covered up but that oil pan. Welp! It looks like its back to the drawing board to take care of that. lol Edited November 23, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1/24DragAndStreetCars Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 It you need another stock motor for this in case something break I've got one, and also all the other stock parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy D Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Hi Joe, The joys of maco photography Like your idea for the different shades on the engine parts, looking forward to more on this one. Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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