AutoModeler's current Group Build is: Blue Oval - Ford Motor Company Vehicles, which I'm a signed up member. As I've always done is also post my build in a blog in the Car forum, which makes it easier to follow as the official GB thread can get a little confusing in following a build. As well as to share my build with those list members that don't checkout the GB build thread.

Back in the early 1990's Revell molded the 1986-1989 Roush Mustang, that was driven in both the IMSA GTO series as well as the SCCA Trans AM series with different drivers for different sponsored cars. This kit started out as the Black JPS Mustang, but I decided that I wanted to do the Folger's IMSA GTO sponsored car. Bill Elliot and Ricky Rudd drove this Roush Ford Mustang to a 5th place finish at the 1986 12-Hours of Sebring. What makes this even more interesting is that both drivers are Nascar stock drivers, and were excellent road racing drivers as well who dominated the then 2 road races per season.

The Mustang is what is commonly known as a Silhouette car, where only the body shell looks like the actual street car, and is bolted to a custom tube chassis.



Revell has chosen to mold the shell in two parts: the front clip and the rest of the body. This makes sense if you want to build and add a little detail to the engine/transmission/front suspension. The rear clip is molded to the center section, but the rear window gives the viewer a pretty good view. I've decided to build the kit with the front clip separate for this reason.

Revell has done a very nice job in reproducing the tube chassis. They've also used the same exact chassis and suspension for their Camaro series cars, which just a different engine/transmission. Fortunately for me, I've got one of them also in my stash with Slixx decals for it.

I've decided not to follow the kit instructions, and instead opted to paint, decal, detail paint, and gloss coat the body shells 1st.

I bought the kit on ebay and it was opened and tinkered with, but it looks like all the parts are there. The body shells were really scratched up, so I had to spend considerable time sanding & polishing them to get ready for primer.

The primer coats are with my favorite primer: Mr. Hobby's #1500 thinned with their #400 leveling thinner.







I gave the primer a full day to cure, then a easy rub down with Tamiya 's #3,000 sponge wet.

Next up was the color coats. My usual go to paint companies: Gravity and Zero really have nothing listed for American road racing, so I found and tried MCW paints that has the Folger's Red after talking to the owner, Mike. The paint needs to be applied over a gray primer, so that's another reason I went the primer route I did. MCW paints are true auto Lacquers and are pre-thinned to the nth degree. The paint comes in a 2 oz bottle, and I used more then 80% of it for the two shells and the sides of the chassis pan. But the coverage is what counts.





Next up is the prep work to start decaling.

Joel

That deep red looks amazing Joel.

Jesper,
Thanks for the thumbs up on the paint. Right now I'm struggling with the Indy Cal decals. I've got dozens of pictures of the car from different races, and the markings are somewhat different for each race. Guess that the boys in the shop just put them where they thought that they looked good.

Joel

Looking good. Love that you got that great red over a gray primer.

Hi Joel

Good move starting a separate thread for your Blue Oval build - much easier to follow individual progress this way. I'll do likewise for my Ford Coupe - although I don't expect it'll be in quite the same league as your build.

It's fascinating following your car-painting tips. I realise I've got a LOT to learn. I'm looking at using some absolutely ancient Precision Paints for my Ford that I bought about 25 years ago when a LHS closed down. I've never opened the pots and they sound good when I shake them.

I think we've probably all been in a similar situation: cheap paints, colours which I don't use - but I may do one day...

Well, I guess, now's the day - because they do look pretty darned close to the 1940 Ford paint charts!

All the best

Rowan

Mark,
Thanks for stopping by, and liking how the paint turned out so far. Believe me, it's the MCW paint, not my ability to AB it on that created that base finish. Still need to rub it out so I can start the decaling.

Joel

Rowan,
I've always had an open Build blog for whatever GB or Campaign I was in. I've found that for the most part hard core campaigners don't spend much time on the open forums, and open forum members don't really check the Campaign/GB threads. So by also running a open build blog, everyone gets to see what I'm up to.

I've seen your painting, and you're work is certainly the equal to the best of my efforts. Just not so sure about 25 year old paint. Better be prepared to really mix them up or you'll be shooting mostly thinner.

looking forward to your 1st build blog post.

And BTW, for those who are in the current Ford GB, you should also think about starting an open Build Blog so everyone can enjoy and follow your build.

Joel

Ok guys, I have to confess that I really screwed up this time but good. My official build for this GB was the Roush Ford Folger's GTO Mustang. The Revell kit that I was able to buy was the Roush JPS Mustang. I just assumed that it was the same body style for the run of Mustangs that Roush Racing fielded. Well, the body isn't the
SAME



look very closely at the front clip and notice that there is a opening between the two headlights. Now carefully look at the rear wing, it's what they called the Whale Tail as it's a huge scoop.



Now here's the JPS Mustang. There's no vent between the headlights, and the tail is just a straight spoiler. There are a few other differences, but enough so that one can't be modeled from the other with just paint and decals. There's also some differences in the pit as well.

So I spent a full week priming, then painting the two shells, and I actually started to decal them. Then one of my friends whose an expert on these cars pointed out my mistake.

I had a decsion to make. Do I just keep on going with what is now a fantacy build, or suck it up, strip the shells back down, and start over again? I just couldn't go on with what I knew was plain wrong. So today I stripped all the paint off, which was some job with the MCW paints, and will build the JPS Mustang instead for my official GB build. I do have the correct decals from Indy Cal for the car, but I'm going to have to order paint from Gravity of Spain as I don't have enough Black in an opened bottle.

Ok, so I wasted almost two weeks. My tough luck. But now here comes build #2 hopefully. My buddy is sending me the full body for the correct car that was cast by Fox, who I honestly never heard of. I still need the Whale Tail, and that's coming from hiim as well when he gets it, hopefully sooner then later.

So now I'm officially back to the start of the build. Still, I have plenty of time for hopefully both.

As for my build thread, I'm going to basically copy and paste this from the GB thread, and change the title of this build blog.

Oh, one other little detail, the Fox shell only has the basic chassis. the rest I have to come up with from another Revell kit.

Joel

Damn Joel, that just plain sucks, and it can happen to anyone too.

I've got at least one NASCAR T-bird with the wrong decals on it due to me not noticing I had the years mixed up between the car and sponsor.

Just noticed that the rear side window opening is larger on the JPS as well.

Hi Joel,

Sorry to hear the news! On the upside tho, now you’ll have two clearly unique builds - with each clearly reflecting different teams and years. Does each car roll on a similar chassis and engine? Or, will you get the “opportunity” to change them too? I’m looking forward to your new dual build!

Cheers
Nick

Hi Joel

That is a real pain! With your dedication to accuracy, though, I totally understand how you feel you can't carry on with something that would be fantasy as a build. I suppose the only (albeit, small) saving grace is that you caught the error before you went even further.

One point I noticed looking at your photos of the front of the model vs. the full-sized JPS version is that the "headlamps" don't seem to be recessed on the real thing (just outlined). Unless the kit provides inserts, that could be worth checking when you get back underway.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Thanks buddy, you nailed how I felt to a tee.

the Folgers car was run a few years early at the 24 hours of Daytona and the 12 hours of Sebring. Both races require the cars to run through the night, so there are actually head lamps behind those plates. The JPS car was run in the SCCA Trans Am series, which basically were sprint type races. No pit stops for tires nor fuel needed, and always in the daylight. So there aren't any lights behind those fake lenses which are just for show.

I should be posting by tomorrow the pictures of the shells striped of the Red paint and all those decals , and then the new coat of primer. Of course I've already found areas that I need to further sand and polish.

I think that D should nominate me for Dumb Ass of the GB for sure.

Joel

That's too bad about the shells, Joel!

Looking forward to seeing how you proceed from here

I'm going to save the nominations for the end of the Group Build, I'm sure you won't be alone mate!

As Rowan said, better to catch the error now and work back a couple of steps than to get to the end and have the agony of an incorrect finished build, especially when you are going for historical accuracy. We are only 2 weeks in to the Group Build, plenty of time to take a deep breath and dive back in!

Cheers, D

Russell,
Actually, the big loss was the Indy Cal decal sheet as it wasn't exactly cheap.

As for proceeding, well, I sucked it up, took a break, and then headed out to Home Depot and bought a Qt. of Denatured Alcohol, my favorite model paint stripper. Works fast, no smell, and it's not just Alcohol. What surprised me is that it works just as well on Acrylic Lacquers.

Will be posting an update later today with where I'm at now.

Joel

D,
Yep. I've moved on and moving forward. A full update this afternoon is coming your way.

Joel

Yesterday was the end of feeling sorry for my screw up. Totally my fault as I should I have researched the Revell kits more thoroughly. With that in mind, it was time to take action.

As I said, I would change this build over to the Roush JPS Mustang that Finland's super saloon driver Robert Lappalainen drove to the 1989 SCCA Trans AM championship. So the subject for this blog will be changed to reflect that. Also, the Folgers IMSA GTO car will be built as I now have that kit on the way, and my buddy Bill has sent me the correct Revell body parts, chassis, etc. I originally thought that the body was resin and done by Fox, but I couldn't find a Fox co. anywhere. The answer for a Dum Ass like myself is to step back and remember that Ford called this version of the Mustang for racing The Fox . So now I'll have not 1 but 2 Whale Tail Fox bodied Mustangs to build, or I just might once again turn to the world of Resin castings for the 1997 Mustang campaigned by Tommy Kendall. Only time will tell.

1st step was to strip off the decals and paint. For this I always use Denatured Alcohol. Works great, and it works quite fast with no chance of damaging the body. So from here:





I went to this:





then a complete rub down with Tamiya's 3,000 sponge, and then into the paint booth for primer which is of course Mr. hobby's #1,500 Gray primer thinned with their #400 leveling thinner. The resulting shells now look like this:





Up next is the Black Color Coat.

Joel

Making slow but steady progress trying to get back to where I was before the big DISCOVERY.

Yesterday I was ready to apply the Black color coat. so I Decided to open the last bottle I have of Gravity's standard racing Black: GC 101 Anthracite Black. Then I discovered that I have already opened it, and used about 1/4+ of the bottle. Just couldn't remember when. Oh well, I thought that I still have enough for the job at hand. But it's going to be close.

Heard a little voice reminding me that many moons ago when I 1st got back into modeling and tried my hand at cars, I bought a good dozen or so bottles of Zero paints. And Black was one of those colors. Sure enough the bottle was still in its section, but it was opened as well. Zero paints use the same plastic sealing plug under the cap as Mr. Hobby does, and the metal cap also has a sealing ring. The bottles are twice as large as Gravity's which is a good thing as it was half empty. Still, more then enough for the task at hand.

Setup up my spray booth, reached for my Grex .5mm AB, and then shook up the paint & loaded the color up. Set the compressor to 18 psi, and moved to the spray booth.

Couldn't tell the difference between the Zero paint and the Gravity paints I now use. A few tack coats, then at least 4 wet coats. A quick check to see if I missed or screwed up. But everything looked pretty good, so all three parts went into my drying bin. I kept on opening the lid every few hours to let the gas escape, and the smell was way stronger then Gravity's aroma. The gassing seemed to take quite a bit longer, but by the next afternoon that stage of the drying process was over.

I'd wait a good 3 more days for the Acrylic Lacquer to cure, then it's time to prepare the parts for decaling.







Thanks to all for stopping by and checking out my progress to date. It's always greatly appreciated.

Joel

Joel, the paint looks smooth and uniform.
Your described technique really makes the difference between our methods pop!
I find 18psi very low for .5mm setup, but is not unheard of. All depends on the paint viscosity and the actual pressure of the air at the nozzle. For comparison, I use 20-22psi with 0.4mm setup on my H&S Evolution. I'll be very curious how Grex and H&S compare with one another.
The number of coats it is also different. I use the tac coat as well (or I shall say a 60% coverage first coat?), then a single wet coat (really wet, to the edge of running). Completely unusual for me is to apply a second wet coat, and this occurs mostly when I have a weak pigmented paint or the first solid coat needs serious sanding.
I never worked with Gravity or Zero paints, but I have worked with acrylic lacquers and, in my experience, they are based on strong solvents (acetone for TCP, lacquer thinner for Tamiya) and I even brewed my own from Liquitex acrylics + acetone + MLT and all dry very fast. The only ones that need three days to fully dry are the enamels, which are oil based.

Gabriel

Gabriel,
Just got home from another exhausting day with the Elder Care Attorneys, my special needs brother in law that I had to pick up this morning, and my wife. Tons to still do for the state aid for my mother in law, and with lawyers, need I say that everything has a price tag.

We're actually not that far apart when I shoot Mr. Color or Tamiya Gloss colors. I thin them 40% paint/60% for most colors. White, yellow, Bright Red and Bright Green are 1:1. Mr. Hobby's leveling Thinner & Tamiya's Yellow cap are exactly the same except Tamiya's Yellow Cap doesn't have any retarder in it, so I add a good 4-6 drops to a nearly full bowl depending on the humidity, the dryer the house is, the more retarder I added.

I use a .5mm setup for broad coverage, while everything else is with my .3mm setup, both are Grex Genesis AB's. Both of my hoses (my compressor with tank is a duel AB unit so I don't have to switch out the ABs as a general rule), and both hoses are 6 ft. So my flow psi is even slightly lower.

For the Mr. color & Tamiya Acrylic lacquers I will increase the psi to 20-22 again depending on the humidity in the house. So we're even on that count.

Gravity, Zero, and MCW paints all claim to be made with the same paint,thinners, and formulas as used in the real world. The paints are literally as thin as water, so I'm guessing that the mix ratio must be 70% auto lacquer thinner to true lacquer paint. It doesn't take much to get these paints to run, so the going procedure from guys like Paul at International Scale Modeler, and a few Japanese modelers I follow is lite, even coats, and just build up the paint. it actually works for me.

The Red had a fair amount of Orange peel, but the Black was almost perfect. I just used 6,000, 8,000, & 12,000 to prepare the paint surface for decaling. That's a whole other story coming your ways shortly. Just need to actually find enough time to at least finish the front clip.

Joel

Well, it's been a while since I've last updated my Roush JPS Mustang build blog, but I've finally completed enough work for a decent update.

After striping off the old Red paint, and repainting the body sections Matt Black, next up was a wet sanding with Micro Mesh Emerycloth. I started with 6,000, then 8,000, and finished up with 12,000. The surfaces were now smooth enough for decaling as I don't use a clear gloss coat, it's decals right on top of the painted surface.

The kit decals were printed way back in 1991, and were in fairly good physical shape, but the gold color was a pale Yellow, so no matter what they were filed in my circular file. I had bought from Indy Cal's their decal sheet for the JPS Roush Mustang which has it's own slight issue with the Gold color. It's more of a Goldish Bisque, as Mike can't print true Gold nor Silver. But the color does look pretty good, and should work just fine.

The other issue with these decals is that all the gold on every decal is outlined in Matt Black. There's just no way that I can trim away all of the black without damaging the "Gold" color, especially on the long stripes. I've seen these decals used on other builds, and the Matt Black does seem to disappear once a good gloss finish is applied. So that's my plan of attack. You'll easily see the Matt Black trim in the pictures at this stage of the body work. Also as usual, the decal sheet is just one big decal, so I had to cut out each decal separately. And the stripes wasn't the easiest thing for me to accomplish. Also for some strange reason, the decals seems a lot thicker then on past sheets I've used.

My decaling procedure is still Microscale Set under and over the decal, then Microscale Sol, and finally Solvaset. From start to finish it took 16 hours over 5 work days. One of my longer decaling jobs for sure.

And just to make it a little more interesting there are several decals including the side numbers that had to be cut as they spanned across two body sections, and then correctly aligned.

Here's some pictures of the body after the decaling has been completed. just keep in mind that there is no clear gloss as yet.

Joel

Hi Joel,

Nice (if not what sounds like tedious) progress! Looks the part. I don’t like installing decals that are split by doors etc - it appears you handled that challenge with ease.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of this project

Cheers
Nick

Nick,
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my progress to date.

Like you, I'm not fond of having to cut decals that span separate body sections. Getting those decals aligned has always been a issue for me. I can't tell you how many times I had to re-soak a decal and hope that I loosened it up enough to reposition it as it moved during the Solvaset stage.

As for going over the doors, they're just panel lines on this kit. I opted to cut the long body stripes at a door panel line as I was really concerned that I'd screw up the long stripe as it got twisted or worse; ripped.

I like to give the decals a few days to really dry, then I'll start the clearcoat process. In the mean time I'll actually get to start the build phase in earnest, although I've done a little work on it previously.

Joel

Very nice work so far on the decals Joel, such a complex scheme but very elegant with the black/gold combination.

This will look superb with that gloss finish when the time comes!

Cheers, D

D,
Thanks for your thumbs up, it's always greatly appreciated. I'm just hoping that I can this one done without running into any major issues.

Joel