BUILDING BETTER MUSCLE CARS. Expert modelers Clay Kemp, Dave Thibodeau, and Mark Melchiori share their techniques A SUPPLEMENT TO SCALE AUTO MAGAZINE

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1 Expert modelers Clay Kemp, Dave Thibodeau, and Mark Melchiori share their techniques A SUPPLEMENT TO SCALE AUTO MAGAZINE BUILDING BETTER MUSCLE CARS

2 Build your first MUSCLE CAR Get started with Revell-Monogram s 1970 Challenger T/A kit by CLAY KEMP Iusually build race cars, so it doesn t take much for me to get inspired to build something after a trip to the local short-track races, or watching some racing on TV. But because I live in the Midwest, there usually isn t enough racing going on during the winter to help me stay motivated. But sometimes inspiration comes out of the blue: One weekend during the dead of winter, I was glued to the TV watching the live car auctions. Even though I m not normally into modeling street cars, I couldn t help but get swept away by some of the amazing cars that were being sold. I was so intrigued, I decided I had to build a muscle car! Even though I had almost no knowledge of muscle cars, I was so inspired I ran out to buy a kit. I picked up a Revell-Monogram 1970 Challenger T/A, a few supplies, and dove in. What follows is a street-car novice tackling his first muscle car. The first step was cleaning up the body in preparation for primer. The 1 Model Car Garage photoetch set replaces many of the exterior markings, so they were sanded down with a sanding stick. Mold lines were smoothed out at this step too. 2010, Kalmbach Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews. Published by Kalmbach Publishing Co., Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI Printed in U.S.A. Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

3 The Challenger T/A makes a good project for first-time muscle-car builders. Another benefit of the photoetch upgrade was the new grille. I used 2 a hobby knife and a panel scriber to remove the original kit grille area. After the old piece was removed, the edges were cleaned up with a sanding stick, and the new photoetched grill was test-fitted into the opening. 3 With the sanding done, the body was washed, air-dried, and then shot with a few coats of Plasti-kote primer to check for any areas that still needed attention. B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

4 The areas under the door handles and turn-signal indicators were 4 left in place. These will provide a guide to locate the the photoetched pieces after the painting is complete. With the bodywork complete, the body and bumpers were shot with 5 Kustom Kolors Pavo Purple. Although not a match for the real Plum Crazy, it s close, and sprayed out great. Don t forget the mirrors, as I did! After drying overnight, the body parts were sprayed with Omni two-part clear. At the same time that the bodywork was getting sprayed, the 6 undercarriage also recived a fogging along the edges to give it the factory overspray effect. With the clear cured, I polished the body using Meguiar s Scratch X. 7 When the polishing was complete, I washed the body and applied the kit decal stripes. The kit decals laid down well, but needed a bit of help in the door 8 jamb. When the decal was almost dry, I gently slit it along the jamb and applied a bit of MicroSol. That was all it needed to settle in just right. 9 The kit block, heads, valve covers, and intake were assembled and shot with primer. After the primer dried, the engine and air cleaner were shot with House of Kolor Molly Orange. This was as close to the factory Mopar color as I had, and worked out well. Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

5 To save time, I wanted to spray as many similar colors as I could. 10 After a quick scan of the instructions, all of the semigloss black parts were prepared for paint, and sprayed with Krylon Semiflat Black. Reproducing the factory woodgrain was a challenge. Starting with 11 Tamiya Desert Yellow, I hand-painted the woodgrain areas, then did a light drybrushing with Tamiya Bronze to simulate the grain. After a thin coat of Tamiya Clear Orange, I had the look I was after. The raised trim was painted Testor s Chrome Silver. With the woodgrain taken care of, the 12 floorboard was brush-painted with a thin coat of diluted white glue, and then flocked black. I dipped back into the Model Car Garage 13 photoetch sheet, and added a few pieces. New pedals, window cranks, and inner door emblems helped to break up the sea of black. The interior parts were now complete 14 and ready to be installed. The steering wheel was also treated to the same painting technique for wood grain, then covered with a coat of Tamiya Clear to give it some sheen. With the installation of the dash, inner door panels, and front 15 seats, the interior tub was ready to be installed. 16 The suspension was detail-painted using several shades of metallic paints, and mounted to the chassis. I sprayed the exhaust with various shades of Alclad, then installed it along with the engine. The floor pan got a few washes and a bit of drybrushing to give a worn look. B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

6 The rear suspension was also detail-painted and installed. The 17 kit s molded-in gas tank was brush-painted with a mix of Humbrol jar paints to give it a more factory-correct appearance. The undercarriage is complete. The exhaust tips are wrapped with 18 Bare-Metal foil, and the openings have been brush-painted flat black so they appear hollow. The orange 340 engine really stands out. The window trim is Bare-Metal foil. At this point, I test-fitted the 19 interior tub one last time before final assembly. Now comes the fun part! With the three subassemblies 20 complete, final assembly can begin. The glass is installed, and the main elements are ready to be assembled. 21 Final touches include installing the tires and wheels, adding the photoetched pieces to the body, and installing the bumpers. I drilled the antenna base with a pin vise, and made an antenna from a thin guitar string. After a final waxing, my first muscle car was complete! Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

7 If the Pony Wars were reborn, do you think the Penske Camaro would look like this? Build a retro Camaro racer The Camaro Concept Car gets a 1969 Sunoco Penske look by DAVE THIBODEAU Remember the Pony Wars of the 1960s and 1970s? Imagine if the Trans Am series was reborn today. When I heard that AMT/Ertl was releasing a kit of the Camaro Concept Car, I was instantly inspired to build it into a modern-day Trans Am race car. The most well-known Camaro from the 1960s Trans Am racing series is the 1969 Sunoco Roger Penske Z-28. I felt that special attention needed to be focused on painting and detailing of the model to really capture the retro racer theme. Here is how I did it. 1 2 The body and hood were cleaned up using 320- and 600-grit wet-ordry sandpaper, paying special attention to removing all mold seams and flash. When I was satisfied with the body cleanup, I sprayed the body and hood with Dupli-Color gray filler primer, straight from the can. I set the pieces aside for a few days to gas out, so the finishing coats of color and clear stay nice and smooth. I lightly wet-sanded the primer with 800-grit paper for a smooth finish. Tamiya TS-15 Blue spray lacquer was applied directly from the can in 2-3 light coats, focused on coverage only, and allowed to dry for 30 minutes, followed by two generous coats of DuPont Chromaclear two-part urethane clearcoat. B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

8 3 4 Two-part clears are quite volatile, but provide a consistent finish over most paints. Two coats of urethane can be polished in as little as 24 hours, speeding up the finishing process immensely. These clears can be purchased at any good auto-body-supply store. Always wear a respirator when spraying urethane automotive clears. After two days of curing, it is time to polish the body grit sandpaper, 3M Perfect-It III polishing compound, and Meguiar s Scratch X polish are what I use to achieve beautiful results. An LMG polishing kit can also be used, but I find the one-grit paper, combined with these products, is all that is need cutting polishing time in half. 5 6 Wet-sand the body with the 2000-grit sandpaper wrapped around a foam block to keep even pressure on the surface. Do not apply hard pressure; let the sandpaper do the work. When wet-sanding clear, always sand in a side- to-side direction. Never polish in a circular direction with the sandpaper. Dry the area you are focused on to check your progress. When the surface is a dull uniform finish, it s ready for polish. I usually go in a crisscross pattern until the surface is flat and smooth. Time to get rid of all the scratches. Apply a dime-size drop of 3M polishing compound on a soft T-shirt or polishing cloth. Polish in a circular motion, applying a good amount of pressure. Don t be surprised if you need to repeat this step several times. 7 8 When I am satisfied with the results from the compound, I apply a coat of Meguiar s Scratch X polish to eliminate any microscopic scratches. The results should be impressive. Repeat these steps for the other panels. The decals will go on a smooth paint job with ease, and a little coaxing from Microsol decal solvent. A smooth paint job will also prevent silvering of the decal, where the clear decal carrier film does not adhere in certain areas. Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

9 9 10 After the decals dried overnight, I cleaned off the decal residue with a damp cloth and brushed a coat of Microscale gloss clear over each one, for an extra bit of protection. I did not like the fuel filler that was supplied in the kit, so I made a new one from styrene rod. Detail was added using Pro Tech.030" photoetched bolts and various pieces from my spares box The body is complete, except for headlight, taillight, and grille detail. The kit provides side glass, but I left it out to give an undistorted view of the interior, as well as a vintage look. I wanted to make this model look as close to the original race car as possible, so I used brake fluid to strip the chrome from the wheels to prep them for yellow paint. Wheels were primed with Dupli-Color white primer and airbrushed with a mixture of automotive yellow neon basecoat, followed by one coat of two-part clear. I inserted the wheels in the tires and applied Goodyear decals to complete the Penske race car look The engine is quite plain; I tried to spice it up by removing the chrome from the intake and valve covers and painting the engine Tamiya TS-30 silver. The block was washed in black with The Detailer from Long Enterprises. I added Pro Tech photoetched bolts for more detail. I modified the kit exhaust to exit the sides of the car, as on the 1969 race car. Plumber s solder and aluminum tubing were used to do the modification. The tubes were polished; the rest of the exhaust was painted Tamiya TS-30 and detailed with washes and pastels for a heatcycled look. B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

10 16 17 To keep the Penske race theme in the interior, I decided to add Pro Tech seat belt kits. They are easy to build and install. Cut the kit-supplied paper belts and color them with a Sharpie. I decided to go with black belts The photoetch tree provides all buckles, straps and adjusters. Paint the raised areas the same color as the belts, and it s a convincing look! The interior was airbrushed Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey, and the belts were installed on the seats and glued to the interior floor. I added a few decals to the shoulder belts to complete the details. The rear seat was omitted, to keep with the race theme The entire chassis was airbrushed with Tamiya XF-19, to keep the retro racing theme on the rest of the car. The 1969 Sunoco Camaro was gray inside the interior, as well as the chassis. Chassis components were painted with Tamiya TS-29 Semigloss Black, and Tamiya TS-30 Silver Leaf, then installed, along with the exhaust system. 10 Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

11 Mark s model depicts the car as raced at Sebring in Build a 1966 Classic racer from the Revell-Monogram kit by MARK MELCHIORI Penske Corvette By the mid-1960s, the Corvette was established as America s premier mass-produced sports car. With its relatively small size, good handling, and available horsepower, the Vette was the choice of many racers who were looking to go fast right now. In early 1966, after the Corvette Grand Sport project ended, Chevrolet was looking for a way to get its brand-new L88 big-block engine onto the track. The subject of this kit review is the result of that effort. Revell-Monogram has issued a kit of this important piece of automotive history. The basis for this kit is Monogram s 1965 Corvette, which was originally the Black Rat. There are many new parts included to turn the street car into the race car: a new hood, wheels, and exhaust system. R-M has also updated the body of the kit to 1966 specs, mostly by removing the vents on the B-pillars. The scripts have also been removed. However, upon inspection, you can see where these scripts used to be; these areas should be sanded down prior to painting. Because of the complex shape of the Corvette body, there are several mold lines that need some attention especially at the top of the side windows. The chassis is fairly typical of a Monogram kit from the mid-1980s: the details are there, but they are simplified. For example, the front suspension has only three parts. The rear suspension has a few more parts, but not many. Careful use of color, and detail-painting, will do wonders here. Fewer individual pieces makes assembly a breeze, and my car sat level, with no tweaking required. The tires are R-M s Sports Car Specials that have had the lettering removed from their sidewalls. The wheels are very nice American Torq-Thrusts that required delicate masking before I painted their centers Bright Yellow. Decals are included for the Firestone markings on the tires, and these went on without a hitch. Engine detail is also typical for the mid-80s: the block is molded in halves, which is not so bad, but the oil pan is molded with them. This results in an unsightly seam, if not addressed. I had no problems with the assembly of the engine. The only nit that I have is that the headers are not wide enough where they meet the heads. This would be less noticeable if the headers were not painted yellow. Reference photos of the 1:1 car show that the engine is mostly light gray, which makes the detail-painting stand out. The interior is virtually unchanged from the previous iterations of this kit. Revell-Monogram has tooled up a new racing seat and a roll bar; that doesn t sound like much, but that is essentially how the car was raced. B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S 11

12 Monogram had a habit of molding the oil pans integrally with the engine halves. This helps eliminate the possibility of putting a separate oil pan on backwards, but brings up other issues, as you can see by the seam running down the middle. To help eliminate this seam, sand the mating surfaces of the engine halves, getting rid of the molded-in mounting pins. Be careful when joining the halves to ensure proper alignment. I prefer to use good old Testor s model cement for this step, then clamp the pieces together. After leaving the engine to dry overnight, remove the clamps. Close inspection should reveal what looks like a weld joint running down the center of the engine. To get rid of the joint, I use a four-sided sanding stick that can be found at beauty supply stores. The bottom of the interior bucket is home to copyright engraving, and a large ejector-pin mark. I filed this area to remove the marks, then hit it with the sanding stick to smooth it out. Attention to areas such as this can determine a model s success at a contest or show. The complex shape of the body makes for some interesting mold lines. There is one like this on the upper part of the window opening on both sides of the body. Studying reference photos will help you keep the shape correct while you remove the mold line and reshape the area with a sanding stick. To turn the last issue of this kit (the 65) into a 66, R-M needed to remove the vents from the pillars. They also removed the molded-in Corvette script and the antenna base. A quick coat of primer revealed that these areas were not as smooth as they looked. After some block sanding and a little more primer, these areas were ready for paint (foreground). The hood is attached to the sprue with a wide runner that helps to keep it from being accidentally ripped off, causing damage. A fine-tooth razor saw and a steady hand were used to separate the pieces; using a knife could have caused part of the hood to break off. The tire markings consist of the Firestone lettering and gold stripe around the tire. I cleaned up the mold lines, and wiped the tires with lacquer thinner to get rid of any oils. I then applied the decals, using some Solvaset to get them to follow the tires curvature. After this dried overnight, I gave them a coat of Dullcote to bring down the shine. With the mold lines removed from the body, I scuffed it with some fine-grit sandpaper, then primed it with Tamiya s Fine White Surfacing Primer. I wet-sanded the primer before the color was applied. Tamiya s TS-15 Blue is close to the Sunoco Blue used on the 1:1 car. 12 Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S

13 The wheels were the trickiest part of the kit to get to look right. I brushed Magic Masker on the parts of the wheels that I wanted to remain chrome, then primed and painted the yellow portions. I used a sharp hobby knife blade to score the edge of the mask, so the paint wouldn t lift off when I removed the mask. Sharp tweezers and a steady hand were used to remove the masks from the wheels. After some detail-painting, I think the wheels turned out nicely. I decided to try a trick that I learned at a club meeting, when a member suggested using Prismacolor pencils as a detailing tool. After I used a silver pencil to detail the front springs, I was happy with the results. Because of the exhaust headers complex shape, some fairly major mold lines must be removed. There are also large ejector-pin marks on the collector ends, which are visible from the top of the model. I used a sanding stick to remove the mold lines from the headers. I paid close attention to keeping the tubes round, by following the curve of the tubes with the stick. The ejectorpin marks were deep enough that they had to be filled with spots of putty. The stock seats are still in the kit. I only installed the racing seat in my model, but I cannot confirm or deny if this is correct. I have had sources tell me differing things about whether or not From Daytona to Sebring Roger Penske was chosen by Chevrolet to receive the first Corvette with the L88 engine installed. The car was also delivered with a competition race package which included, among other things, larger brakes, beefier suspension, and a 36- gallon fuel tank. When the car got to Penske s shop in January 1966, it was immediately prepared for the annual 24-hour race at Daytona. The red Corvette was one of the fastest cars there, until an accident caused heavy damage to the front end. After borrowing a radiator from a Corvette in the parking lot, the team taped flashlights to what was left of the front fenders and sent the #6 car back onto the track. The team s effort was rewarded with a victory in its class and eleventh place overall. Penske s sponsor, Sunoco, wanted the car painted blue before the next race (at Sebring). Sporting its new color and the number 9, the Penske L88 again won its class and finished ninth overall. Mark Melchiori there was a second seat in the car when it was raced. One thing that has remained constant through the different versions of this kit is the parts fit; I had absolutely no fit issues with any part of the kit. Not only do the parts fit well, they fit securely, making for a solid-feeling model. This kit will also lend itself to building a few different cars. For instance, one could paint it red and build the Daytona car. By bashing it with the earlier 65 kit, a good start on a stock 66 is there, as well. The following photos will take you through some of the building process of this model, along with some of the materials used. As a review model, this model was built out of the box, so the ideas shown might be helpful for beginners and experienced builders alike. This is the first in a series of expanded reviews that will feature up-close looks at new kits and selected reissues. The buildups will be box-stock, as are the reviews in our Showroom section; but we ll be able to show details of the model as it s being built, in addition to the finished product. Jim Haught B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S 13

14 The interior bucket has prominent ejector-pin marks, too. I didn t think that they would be all that noticeable, so I didn t do too much to hide them but they are visible. I d fix them next time for sure. The steering wheel in the kit is good, but the spokes are molded with the holes filled in. I drilled holes at each end of the molded indentation, then used a hobby knife to carefully slice open the spoke area. I could not get the gauge decals to settle over the molded details, and I ruined them by using too much Solvaset. I used a white colored pencil on the gauges, and picked out the needles with orange paint. This license plate is included on the decal sheet, and there s a license-plate frame on the chrome tree. I thought that the frame was too thick, so I cut the plate from the decal sheet and used white glue to apply it directly to the model. The three-piece independent rear suspension was sprayed with Testor s Magnesium Metalizer. After sealing it, I carefully brushpainted the details with various silvers and blacks for contrast. Black paint, in varying shades and levels of gloss, along with some metallic colors, goes a long way to bring a gray engine to life. Plug wires and other wiring would improve the detail level, but careful paint application can turn an ordinary build into a real head-turner. Looks great from any angle, doesn t it? 14 Scale Auto B U I L D I N G B E T T E R M U SCLE CA R S