RoR Step-by-Step Review * 68 Dodge Dart Hemi 1:25 Scale Revell Kit #

Transcription

1 RoR Step-by-Step Review * 68 Dodge Dart Hemi 1:25 Scale Revell Kit # Click the Buy Now link below to purchase the Step-by-Step review by Pat Ackerson It s hard to believe that you could buy a near strip-ready car from the factory but there were some buyers that didn t care that there was no warranty they just wanted one that was HOT and the 68 Dodge Dart Hemi was it! These new Darts were termed senior compacts by Dodge and were extremely popular. In addition to the Dart being extremely popular, drag racing was too. So, in the mid-60 s Dodge started offering ultra high performance versions of the Dart intended for competitive use in the NHRA. These cars were radically tweaked with performance parts and eventually in 1968, Dodge contracted Hurst Performance to build a limited number of 426 Hemi-powered Darts to compete in the NHRA s SS/B class. This was done by shipping the Dart body shell to Hurst Performance who would then modify the engine compartment using a sledge hammer in order to fit the magnesium cross ram-inducted 426 Hemi. Hurst would then modify the front shock towers and the rear wheel well arches to fit larger rear drag racing slicks. Other modifications included 7 X 14 steel wheels, a fiberglass nose, fenders and hood, lightened bumpers, no side view mirrors, no radio or heater, no soundproofing in the floor or firewall, no back seat, and a trunk mounted battery among a host of other modifications to lessen weight. When completed these bad boys were delivered to the customer without any type of manufacture warranty and a disclaimer; intended for use in supervised acceleration trials and not intended for general highway use (Insert a Tim Taylor mangrowl here). Ultimately the 68 Hemi powered Dart would successfully cover the quarter mile with elapsed times in the ten second range. For the Modeler: This is one of the Revell Special Edition Series kits, model # , with new tooling, extra details, and a host of optional parts. Revel has done an outstanding job recreating the 68 Dodge Dart in 1/25 th scale. Marketed for model builders with a Skill level 3 building ability, this newly tooled 2 N1 special edition kit consists of 163 injection-molded white plastic pieces and chrome plated parts. The parts

2 are crisply molded and some thought definitely went into the sprue placement in relation to the part. Happy Modeling - Pat Covered in this Review: If you want to perfect your build; basic construction; preparing parts for better finishing; seam and gap identification and repair; adhesive selection and application; an altered construction sequence; advanced engine detailing with scratch built and aftermarket parts; interior detailing; making realistic gauges and dash panels; version considerations and alterations; removing version emblems; modifying the wheel wells for drag slicks; foiling the chrome trim; using decal setting solutions for fit; realistic tire prep; alternate suspension assembly for fit; using black washes for a realistic grill and taillights; and waxing the finish are all fully examined in this 13 page, full-color Step-by-Step review. FIG 1) Revel has done an outstanding job recreating the 68 Dodge Dart in 1/25 th scale. Marketed for model builders with a Skill level 2 building ability, this newly tooled 2-n-1 special edition kit consists of 163 injection molded white plastic pieces and chrome plated parts. The parts are crisply molded and some thought definitely went into the sprue placement in relation to the part. Because of this new tooling, parts require little to no clean up. The kit instructions are well done, nicely illustrated and easy to follow. A very colorful set of water slide decals is included that provides racing decals for the 426 Hemi or the stock 440 Magnum. A huge bonus is decals for the dashboard and gauges are as well as decals for detailing hard to paint items like the fire extinguisher label, among others. Clear parts are provided for the windows and headlights in addition to red colored clear parts for the taillights. Finally, two sets of tires and rims are provided as well as a host of other optional parts enabling the builder to build either version of the Dart.

3 FIG 2) I begin every model I build by washing all the parts in warm soapy water. This is to remove any mold release residue left over from the manufacturing process. After soaking the parts I used an old soft bristle tooth brush to gently scrub all the parts. Not only does this clean off any residue it will help the paint better adhere to the plastic surfaces. Once the parts were clean I rinsed them off and let them air dry. FIG 3-4) I decided to build the 426 Hemi version, so after carefully reviewing the kit instructions and identifying the parts used I began construction. The assembly process used in Step #1 (Engine Assembly) was used throughout the entire build. First, parts were cut from the sprue using a sprue cutter and then using a sharp hobby knife I would carefully trim any excess sprue or plastic from the part. FIG 5) Parts were then assembled using super glue.

4 FIG 6 & 7) Any minor seams or gaps were filled with super glue and then coated with Mr. Surfacer I then would sand the area smooth using successively finer grits of sand paper. Finally, parts were then painted as directed, generally prior to installation. FIG 8) I decided to add wiring and plumbing detail to the engine, so I began by studying several pictures of a real 426 Hemi that I found on-line. After locating the parts that would receive wires and lines I used a pin vise to carefully drill holes for the wiring. Once drilled, I painted the engine and then carefully installed all the wiring and lines. FIG 9) Overall the engine went together nicely and would ve looked great even without the additional detailing. The additional details consisted of wire, fuel lines and carburetor linkage from Detail Master and a prewired distributor from Preston s Car Parts. Wire looms were made from scrap styrene and size #0 crimp beads, available at craft stores, were used to simulate hose fittings.

5 FIG 10) Step #2 (Interior Assembly) consists of assembling the Hemi interior, adding the roll bar, seats and dashboard. Here I carefully paint the interior door detail on parts #29 & 30 using a fine brush and Model Master Chrome silver prior to attaching to part #113. The fire extinguisher is molded on to the roll bar (part #115), so I masked it prior to painting the roll bar Krylon satin black. FIG 11) Masking the white plastic will make it much easier to paint the fire extinguisher with gloss red paint. I then painted the roll bar padding Model Master flat black and then went back and painted the fire extinguisher and added the label decal. FIG 12) Noted earlier are the detail decals for the dash board and radio. These were applied then coated with MICRO Sol setting solution. Once dry they were covered with Model Master clear gloss and then I picked out the button detail with a fine brush and chrome silver. FIG 14) Prior to painting part #43 (chassis) I needed to remove the two exhaust locators used for the 440 Magnum version. Using my rotary power tool I easily removed the locators and then sanded the areas smooth with sand paper. Of note: removal of the two exhaust locators isn t covered in the kit instructions until step #7 (Exhaust Assembly). Additionally, this is a perfect example of why builders always need to carefully review the kit instructions prior to assembly or you may run the risk of possible assembly problems later.

6 FIG 13) Completed assembly of the Hemi interior. Here I ve added some simple to make seat belts using masking tape colored black and small pieces of scrap plastic painted silver to represent the buckles. At this point I deviated from the kit instructions and skipped ahead to Step #5 (Body/Chassis Sub Assembly) and saved steps #3 and #4 for later. FIG 15) Completed assembly of the chassis sub assembly minus the completed body. No fit problems were encountered while fitting these parts together.

7 FIG 16) Next I turned my attention back to steps #3 (Body Work Assembly) and #4 (Body Assembly). Body assembly for the Hemi version began by locating and removing all the GTS logos. FIG 17) Remove the hood GTS badge and front turn signals FIG 19) Using a modeler s chisel I carefully remove the GTS logos and front turn signals. These areas were then filled with Mr. Surfacer 1000 and sanded smooth.

8 FIG 18 & 20) Open up the rear fenders to make room for the drag slicks. Next using my rotary grinding tool I enlarged the fender openings FIG 21) Then sand the fenders smooth using sand paper. FIG 22) Finally, prior to painting the body I installed part #114 (Hemi firewall) and part #24 (Core support) as these parts will be painted the same color as the body.

9 FIG 23) The first step in painting the body was to paint the body interior Krylon satin black. This was allowed to sit and dry for a day and then I masked off the interior with masking tape. I then sprayed the outside of the body with Testors primer gray and again set the body aside for a day to dry. FIG 24) After that, I sanded the entire body with a 3200 grit sanding cloth to remove any imperfections in the primer before applying several coats of the body color, Tamiya orange. Again, the body was set aside for a day in order for the Tamiya orange to dry before lightly sanding with successively finer grades of sanding clothes. Finally, I finished up the paint work by applying several coats of Tamiya clear gloss prior to applying the decals and Chrome foil to the window frames. FIG 25) Here I apply the large side decals first and then coat them with MICRO Set and Micro Sol decal setting solutions using a paint brush. Use of these setting solutions will give the decals a realistic painted on appearance when dry. Once the large side decals were dry I gave the body a couple more coats of Tamiya clear gloss prior to adding the Chrome foil window trim.

10 FIG 26) Here I ve added Chrome foil to the front and back window frames. Application consisted of basically cutting the foil to size then using a Q-tip to smooth it down around the window frames. Then using a sharp hobby knife, carefully trim around the window frames and removed the excess foil with a pair of tweezers. Once this was complete I sprayed the body with a couple more coats of Tamiya clear gloss to seal the foil in place and allowed it to dry for a couple more days before finishing up the installation of the remaining interior parts, windshields, radiator parts and finally attaching the body to the chassis. FIG 27) Completed assembly of the Body and Chassis sub assembly. No fit problems were encountered during the installation of the chassis into the body. With the upper half of the Hemi basically completed I flipped the model over and started working on step #7 (Exhaust assembly) and step #8 (Suspension assembly).

11 FIG 28) This phase of assembly began by sanding the rear tires with 120 grit sand paper in order to remove the large molding seam line from the middle of the tire. Once this seam was removed I then I sprayed the sidewall of the tire with Krylon clear gloss. This creates a nice smooth base for a manufacturer decal to adhere to. Using a set of spare decals I had on hand, the decal is applied and allowed to completely dry before coating the sidewall with Testors dull coat. This will hide the gloss finish and any visible edges of the decal. Then while the tire was drying I added a flat black wash to the rim to bring out the detail in the rim. Finally, when the tire and rim were both dry I scuffed the tire up one more time to remove any overspray before assembling the entire wheel. I repeated this process for the other rear wheel then moved on to the front wheels. FIG 29) The finished raced drag slick compared to a unfinished slick. FIG 30) Next, I completed the assembly of the front and rear suspension. I deviated from the kit instructions at this point by attaching the rear half of the rims to the rear axle before attaching the axle to the leaf springs. I did this for two reasons. The first being that the rims fit very tightly on to the axle and would probably break the axle away from the leaf springs when attempting to install the wheels. The second reason was that the drive shaft probably wouldn t fit into the transmission if the axle were already in place. In the end leaving these parts unattached was the right decision making the final assembly of the axle and drive shaft a snap. Ultimately, the key to success was to test fit these parts as much as possible prior to final assembly.

12 FIG 31) Here is the completed assembly of the Exhaust and Suspension with the wheels installed. FIG 32) Step #9 (Final assembly) consisted of assembling the hood and installing the front and rear bumpers. Here I use a wash of semi-gloss black to darken in the front grill prior to installing the clear headlights and turn signals. I used the same method for darkening in the rear taillight frames as well before installation of the taillight lenses. FIG 33 & 34) Here are the completed hood and front and rear bumpers. Lastly, with the bumpers installed I waxed the entire body several times using Mothers Carnauba car wax before applying the smaller racing decals. Finally, I completed the model by attaching the chrome door handles.

13 FIG 999) In closing, I m pretty happy with the way my 68 Hemi Dart turned out. This kit was a pure pleasure to build with very little clean up or resurfacing needing to be done with the exception of the body work. The kit fit together well and the decals were easy to apply. Overall this kit took me approximately 90 hours to complete with one entire weekend spent detailing the engine. Finally, the skill level 3 rating is warranted due to some of the more complicated building techniques needed to build the 426 Hemi and I would only recommend it to intermediately skilled modelers if building that version. However, I would recommend the kit to anyone wanting to build the 440 Magnum regardless of building ability as this version would be a fairly straightforward model to build.