Revell/Monogram Shelby Mustang GT350H
10/10/10 - Progress as of today: sprayed seats and dash semi-gloss black, need to paint the molded-in rear seat bottoms similarly... basic engine completed, exhaust installed w/Bare Metal Foil for mufflers, also gas tank, rear shocks painted red as-per photos...
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10/13/10 - Progress as of today: painted molded-in rear seat bottom semi-gloss black to match front seats.  Installed front seats.  Detailed dash.  Painted steering wheel and added home made COBRA horn logo.  Added wash to engine valve covers.  Etc...
10/18/10 - So far, the car has one coat of Tamiya gray primer and three coats of gloss black.  I sprayed the first two coats with the hood and side scoops seperate, then glued on the scoops and put the hood on for coat three.  I think this one will need at least 2 more coats.  
10/20/10 - Yesterday I applied a wash to the grille, painted the tail, reverse, and blinker lights, and started on the wheels.  I was going through some old kits to see what I could sell/toss, and found a nice set of Goodyear Blue Streak tires that were a direct replacement for the kit ones.  Turns out, these Goodyears were standard equipment on the actual car!  Thing is, I REALLY don't want to paint the white letters... I found some images of the HERTZ wheel center caps, but I don't think I can print them well enough to make my own decals.  I may putter around and see if it is possible... I added the black paint to the chrome wheels, but the light from my desk lamp really made it hard to see if I missed a spot.  Once I put the wheels into the chassis, and changed rooms, I saw that I missed a FEW spots.  More work to come...  Did a light, cheap polish on the body and sprayed another black coat, too.


11/1/10 - Things were going well with the Mustang until it was decal time.  I applied the kit decals, trimmed as close as possible, and some decal-set.  I managed to get them all looking OK, until the hood scoop bit me.  At left you can see the decal the next day, with wrinkles and dark spots from a second application of decal set.

I was so disgusted, I tried soaking the body in warm water to get the decals off.  I was happy to see they did float off, but there was a faint "etching" where they had been.  I decided to try painting the stripes on, since I already had a can of Testor's gold paint.  I found my old roll of Pactra masking tape, and make the edges straight by using a hobby knife and ruler on a glass table.  Following the etch marks, I got everything ready for paint.  

I sprayed a light coat of gold first so the tape wouldn't get soaked.  Then I added a couple more light, wetter coats.  Once they were dry, I sprayed two coats of Duplicolor clear to seal the gold.  I learned years ago not to get finger oils on the gold, or you will get permanant marks later.  

After I removed all the masking, I found the stripes came out very well, with almost no bleeding at all.  Only a little where the tape had to stick to some tough contours.  But there was one issue I wasn't happy about...

There was gold overspray on the top of the doors.  I can see now how it got there.  I didn't know if I'd be able to get it off without ruining the black paint.  I took my polishing cloths, and lightly "sanded" the mess off.  Seeing how the body looked after that, I realized there would have to be a clear coat to hide a few polishing marks.  

It was then that I decided to get the foil on the silver trim.  I decided to use my old sheet of Bare Metal Foil aluminum trim.  I never had issues with that sheet, only with the chrome ones I had.  I used a new little tool to burnish the foil: a makeup swab-thing.  Being a girl, I should know what they are called, but I don't wear makeup!  Basically it is a little foam tip on a plastic stick.  The foam didn't tear, and things went a lot better than expected.  Once everything was ready, I sprayed that one clear coat.

I am letting the body sit and cure while I wait for a sheet of Keith Marks decals to arrive.  I will use the side stripes from it.  It also has a decal for the air cleaner, which I was planning to make myself.  

In the meantime, I will also have to touch up the silver trim with paint, and hide the small gold bleeding with gloss black paint.  I still need to finish painting the car's wheels, too.

There is one upcoming issue I am not looking foward to.  The body is straight, but the chassis has a warp up front that I didn't notice until it was too late.  I am hoping that once the two are mated together, things will flatten out.  But until then, that warp will be hanging over me... 
11/8/10 - The Hertz Mustang is finished!  Last week I installed the windows and waited for the Keith Marks decals to arrive, which they did today.  The side stripe is a different shade of gold than the paint I used, but it isn't too obvious.  The decal sheet, to my happy suprise, also had the HERTZ center cap decals for the wheels!  I applied one COBRA decal to the rear chrome bit (which I think was the gas filler cap).  They can also be used for the horn button.  I highly recommend the decal sheet, though I don't know how the gold stripes would have worked.  I made a custom license plate using the ACME plate maker.  Can you figure out why it says what it says?

That chassis warp did cause some minor issues.  I expected things to be a lot worse.  You almost can't see anything wrong at a glance.  The front shocks didn't get installed because I couldn't figure out how to get them glued in place without some long tweezers.  The front & rear bumpers had some flash on them, which stinks.  But again, it isn't too-too noticeble.  I had to scrape the chrome off the backs to get them to glue on properly.  I left the tires black as I just didn't want to make a mess.  I am glad I found them in my parts stash, as they are the correct tires for the car.

All in all, I am happy with this model.  It isn't perfect, but it's no slouch, either.  I don't usually build muscle cars, but this one has grown on me.