Starsky’s Gran Torino - FINISHED

[Mark4700]

Well this is a bit of a departure for me. I usually build 1/72 planes, but recently got into the old Starsky and Hutch series on the Sony channel and got bought the Revell 1:25 scale kit of the famous car. I have built cars in the past, but this is my first one for about 30 years! So please bare with.

 

First some photos of the box and contents.

 

I like the box art.

 

and it contains plenty of parts.

The clear parts are nice and, err, clear. 

The shiny chrome parts are very, very shiny.

 

The wheels are too shiny. The car in the TV series has dull wheels, so this will have to be rectified.

The underneath and oily bits. Normally won’t be seen when it’s on display, but I want to be as accurate as my skills will allow. On first observations, nothing to worry about too much here. 

Chasis and body shell. Quite impressed on first inspection. 

The body shell is actually quite impressive, and quite big. I can see now why it was never very good at getting around the corners. 

I’ve been looking forward to this build for a while, 🤪 but I also know I’m not used to building cars. In that respect, any advice would be greatly appreciated, particularly from those that have gone before on this particular build. Zebra three over and out. 😎

Edited July 28, 2020 by Mark4700

[mustang1989]

This'll be a good build. I grew up watching this show and have always liked the car. Say.....are those tires staggered in size? If I'm not mistaken those are the ones that used to get used in the Monogram 66 Mustang GT 350-R kit.

[Mark4700]

56 minutes ago, mustang1989 said:

This'll be a good build. I grew up watching this show and have always liked the car. Say.....are those tires staggered in size? If I'm not mistaken those are the ones that used to get used in the Monogram 66 Mustang GT 350-R kit.

Pressure’s on now. I hope it’s a good build 🤞🏼  I loved watching the show too, every Saturday night. Watching the re runs again now on Sony channel. Usually when you go back to your old favourite shows and watch them again, you’re left wondering what you saw in them. In my opinion Starsky and Hutch is as good and watchable now, as it was when it first went out. 
 

in relation to the tyres, yes they are different sizes for the front and back. Fronts are on the left, rears on the right. 

 

[Mark4700]

Well I couldn’t wait and I’ve made a start. Washed all the parts first in warm soapy water.

 

And then I’ve put the engine parts together. 

Very early days, but so far, so good. 

[mustang1989]

57 minutes ago, Mark4700 said:

Pressure’s on now. I hope it’s a good build 🤞🏼  I loved watching the show too, every Saturday night. Watching the re runs again now on Sony channel. Usually when you go back to your old favourite shows and watch them again, you’re left wondering what you saw in them. In my opinion Starsky and Hutch is as good and watchable now, as it was when it first went out. 
 

in relation to the tyres, yes they are different sizes for the front and back. Fronts are on the left, rears on the right. 

 

Thanks! That's what I was after. I've gotta get another set of these tires for another project. 

Edited April 8, 2020 by mustang1989

[Spiny]

Looks like you've got that engine together nicely, I just have one question on it which I hope won't prove a problem but... are all the parts to be painted the same colour? Usually, I would glue the two halves of the engine block together before painting (including any filling which may be reuqired, but if any parts are a different colour it's often easier to paint them separately and, being separate parts, it's fine to have join-lines.

 

The only other thing you may want to consider (and this is where car builds often differ significantly from aircraft models) is to get some paint onto the body at the start of the project. It's often the case that you'll want to leave a few days between primer, colour and any clear coat not to mention any polishing (and if you're like me repairs where you've polished through the paint!) so that is a good job to get out of the way early. It should also mean the paint has hardened properly by the time you're handling it a lot.

 

Keep up the good work.

[Mark4700]

2 hours ago, Spiny said:

Looks like you've got that engine together nicely, I just have one question on it which I hope won't prove a problem but... are all the parts to be painted the same colour? Usually, I would glue the two halves of the engine block together before painting (including any filling which may be reuqired, but if any parts are a different colour it's often easier to paint them separately and, being separate parts, it's fine to have join-lines.

 

The only other thing you may want to consider (and this is where car builds often differ significantly from aircraft models) is to get some paint onto the body at the start of the project. It's often the case that you'll want to leave a few days between primer, colour and any clear coat not to mention any polishing (and if you're like me repairs where you've polished through the paint!) so that is a good job to get out of the way early. It should also mean the paint has hardened properly by the time you're handling it a lot.

 

Keep up the good work.

In relation to the engine, all the parts I’ve stuck together at the moment are the same colour, except the distributor cap which was attached in any case.

 

Your tip on the bodywork is a real time saver. I’d never thought of that, but now you’ve mentioned it it’s obvious 🤦🏼‍♂️ I’ll get an undercoat on the body at the same time as the engine block, then keep adding to it while the rest of the build is going along. 

[chrisrope]

I agree, get the body on the go early, even just to get the main colours sorted and let it rest while you do the other bits.  Personally, I use car primer aerosols as it has a bit of flex in it, something you might need when putting the body on later. 
Chrome plating strips off in oven cleaner so you can repaint bare plastic, much easier than painting over the chrome  

 

Nice choice of kit by the way

[Mark4700]

2 hours ago, chrisrope said:

I agree, get the body on the go early, even just to get the main colours sorted and let it rest while you do the other bits.  Personally, I use car primer aerosols as it has a bit of flex in it, something you might need when putting the body on later. 
Chrome plating strips off in oven cleaner so you can repaint bare plastic, much easier than painting over the chrome  

 

Nice choice of kit by the way

Thanks for the advice. I was going to ask about removing the chrome off the wheels. Might leave it on the bumpers though 🤔

[Mark4700]

Just managed to get another hour in on the build. As per advice body and bonnet have been sprayed with Halfords plastic primer. 

I also gave the engine, rear axel and front sub assembly the same undercoat treatment. 

When the body work has dried I’ll give it a wet sand. Also a bit of work to do on the rear axel to get rid of the joining seams. 

[Spiny]

On 09/04/2020 at 14:11, Mark4700 said:

Thanks for the advice. I was going to ask about removing the chrome off the wheels. Might leave it on the bumpers though 🤔

You should also be able to get rid of the chrome with bleach too which can be cheaper - I just use the Sainsbury's Basics stuff which is dirt cheap and gets rid of the chrome too - just might want an old toothbrush for the stubborn crevices.

 

EDIT - After the Basics bleach failed to fully dislodge the chrome on my Challenger wheels, I would suggest going for the mainline supermarket or branded bleach rather than the supercheap stuff!

[mustang1989]

Looking good so far! 

[Mark4700]

After Spiny said I can use household bleach to remove the chrome coating I've been itching to have a go. Not that I wasn't trusting what he was saying, but instead of jumping in and removing the chrome from a wheel, I tried it on a piece of sprue first, and....

 

 

It worked a treat. Used household bleach and a toothbrush (obviously an old one that is no longer used) 

[Mark4700]

I've also been sanding the bodywork. I must say that I'm loving building a car for a change. 

 

Very happy with the look of it so far.

 

 

One thing for other builders to be aware of. Theres a raised edge from the moulding. You can see where they were as there's now a red stripe left where they've been sanded down.

 

Ready for another undercoat I think.

[Cooper645]

On 4/8/2020 at 6:46 PM, Mark4700 said:

In that respect, any advice would be greatly appreciated, particularly from those that have gone before on this particular build.

Great start so far.

 

I recall one of these being done recently here : WIP   &   RFI

 

I look forward to seeing what you can achieve with this kit.

 

Coops

[Mark4700]

After sanding the body and sorting out the joints on the rear axel etc, it was time for another coat of undercoat, lots of undercoat. 
 

 

 

The body work is looking better now, there’s only a couple of areas that still need attention. 
 

 

[Mark4700]

I have been working on the bodywork quite a bit, but to be honest it’s just sanding and undercoat, sanding and undercoat, so didn’t want to bore you with numerous pictures similar to the ones above. 
 

However. One area that I wanted to improve on as soon as I saw it was the radio in the car. 
 

This one........

I hated the solid thick wire, which scaled up would have been about a 1/2 inch thick, inflexible, and too short to use. Poor Hutch would have had to be leaning forward with his head on the dash to use it. So I had an idea  involving this stuff....

I wound a length of 5amp wire around some 15amp wire, then slid off the curled wire. Cut off the original thick wire, drilled appropriate holes, and glued the ends of the curled wire into the holes. This is the result. 

Now, I must say I’m over the moon with the result. 

 

A process that was very easy and can highly recommend. It should look fantastic when it’s all painted.

[JeroenS]

Yep, that was absolutely a necessary step. Looks way better. 

[JCH]

Mark - How will you be applying the signature white strip, decal or paint?  Please say paint, please say paint!  Great work so far, keep it up!

JCH

[Mark4700]

20 hours ago, JCH said:

Mark - How will you be applying the signature white strip, decal or paint?  Please say paint, please say paint!  Great work so far, keep it up!

JCH

Paint. No decal, no paint, decal, paint, decal. I don’t know. Was going to go the decal route to be honest, not sure how I’d do the black border around the stripe, or get the same result on both sides.  

[JCH]

18 hours ago, Mark4700 said:

not sure how I’d do the black border

Mark - I didn't remember, being old enough to have watched first runs of the show (poor, very poor), the black outline.  The scale size for that would be difficult indeed.  I was just watched a car restoration show where they were building a tribute.  The strip was very difficult for the professional car painters and I don't think they laid down the black border.  Best of luck either way!

JCH

[mustang1989]

Progress looks great and that was a fantastic move with that CB mic cord. Nice touch.

[Mark4700]

4 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

Progress looks great and that was a fantastic move with that CB mic cord. Nice touch.

Thank you. I think I’ll do the same for the red light on the roof. It was a mag mount and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have wireless in the 1970’s. Besides, I’m sure it had a black curly cord anyhow. 

[Mark4700]

Got some colour on the body. It’s a colour I’ve mixed by trial and error. It does look nearer in the ‘flesh’. I’m using Vallejo Model Air paints. I think I’ll take a pic in daylight tomorrow and post, see what people think. 
 

Here’s what it looks like now. 

Over all I’m pleased with the colour. I’m intending to wet sand and do at least another coat. Anyone any advice on how many colour coats it will need as this is my first car model with an air brush? These pictures are after one coat. 

[JeroenS]

The colour looks nice. I think you should try to wet sand the paint on a scrap piece first. My guess is that the Vallejo paint will not respond too well to it. I use Vallejo paint too but not on car bodies as the paint is not very sturdy, if you wish to sand and polish the best thing to use is laquer paint (like the Tamiya rattle cans, Tamiya LP range, or Zero Paints). But, as I said, this is my guess and you should just try it out yourself.