1978 Pontiac Firebird - Not quite a Bandit Car

[Mr Mansfield]

Thanks for all the kind comments on my last build, I'm fully motivated to try something new now. After looking through my stash, I decided to start my Revell 1/24 78 Pontiac Firebird. 

 

There are 2 main things I want to try with this build

1. My first attempt at applying a large decal
2. Have a go at adding a gold stripe with masking & airbrush

 

Any tips or help will be greatly appreciated!

 

To start with, all the parts out of the box:

 

The kit has 2 bonnet options (with air scoop or carbs sticking out drag race style) and 3 wheel options, Steel race wheels, drag race wheels and the proper 'snowflake' alloys. I want to use the snowflakes, but the quality is awful. I've hunted around for any aftermarket wheels, but they seem impossible to find

 

A basic test fitting to start with, has shown up a few areas that will need filler as well as a lot of sanding

 

Thanks for looking. I know there's not much here yet, but comments & criticism are greatly appreciated

 

Cheers,

Paul

Edited June 4, 2020 by Mr Mansfield

[Hamden]

 

You may find the wheels are alot better if you strip the crome off and then respray with a metal based paint of choice.

 

  Stay safe            Roger

[Mr Mansfield]

31 minutes ago, Hamden said:

 

You may find the wheels are alot better if you strip the crome off and then respray with a metal based paint of choice.

 

  Stay safe            Roger

Thanks for the tip. Problem is, these wheels are gold, with a silver front, and a lot more depth

 

I'm considering drilling out the gaps, painting enamel silver & then acrylic gold, so I can scrape off the front to reveal the silver. It may be my best option

[chrisrope]

If you opened the gaps in the wheels and masked off the entire wheel face, could you paint the gold from the back of the wheel maybe?

[Pete in Lincs]

Strip the chrome with bleach. Paint the gold, then use a chrome pen over the outer surfaces?

[Spiny]

For the decal, the best advice I can give is not to fret too much over it. The curves you're putting it over are quite simple (i.e not compound), so just make sure it's lined up correctly then press down with a soft cloth. You can add softening solution for the final effect, but this one ought not to present you with too many problems. Just watch for air bubbles and I think you'll be ok.

[Mr Mansfield]

3 hours ago, chrisrope said:

If you opened the gaps in the wheels and masked off the entire wheel face, could you paint the gold from the back of the wheel maybe?

I was considering this way, the masking will be fun!

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Strip the chrome with bleach. Paint the gold, then use a chrome pen over the outer surfaces?

I’m definitely strippping the chrome, then I may have t9 experiment a bit

[Mr Mansfield]

1 hour ago, Spiny said:

For the decal, the best advice I can give is not to fret too much over it. The curves you're putting it over are quite simple (i.e not compound), so just make sure it's lined up correctly then press down with a soft cloth. You can add softening solution for the final effect, but this one ought not to present you with too many problems. Just watch for air bubbles and I think you'll be ok.

Thanks @Spiny useful advice. I’ve never tried large decals & mostly worried it’ll break to pieces as soon as it hits water

[Spiny]

If it's a fresh kit (as opposed to one which has been sitting around for a couple of decades), in my experience the main issue you'll have with a decal like that will be getting it to conform and making sure there's no air bubbles. Not if it was a long, thin one that would be a different story - they're always the ones I dread most. From your builds I've seen so far, I'm sure you'll do fine with it.

[Hamden]

 

If your worried about the state of your decals you can always coat them with something like Microscale Liquid Decal Film, some people also use varnish for the same purpose.

It adds another layer to the decal sheet varnish and holds the decals together, it's also used if you print your own decals for the same purpose. HTH

 

  Stay safe          Roger 

[Mr Mansfield]

Thanks for all the advice. But before I can get to the wheels or decals, I need to fix the body & get it ready for paint.

 

I'm really not a fan of the molded side grills

 

So, I drilled & cut them out

I broke 2 micro-drills doing this, so either I'm too heavy handed, or the plastic is nice & strong

 

Now I have to decide whether to use some wire mesh I had from a previous build,

or some window netting, which I think might work well once it's got a bit of paint on it

 

Thanks for looking, comments & advice are greatly appreciated

 

Cheers,

Paul

[CrazyCrank]

36 minutes ago, Mr Mansfield said:

Thanks for all the advice. But before I can get to the wheels or decals, I need to fix the body & get it ready for paint.

 

I'm really not a fan of the molded side grills

 

So, I drilled & cut them out

I broke 2 micro-drills doing this, so either I'm too heavy handed, or the plastic is nice & strong

 

Now I have to decide whether to use some wire mesh I had from a previous build,

or some window netting, which I think might work well once it's got a bit of paint on it

 

Thanks for looking, comments & advice are greatly appreciated

 

Cheers,

Paul

I think both are out of scale 

[Mr Mansfield]

54 minutes ago, CrazyCrank said:

I think both are out of scale 

Thanks. I may whack a bit of paint on them & compare. Next up, could be cutting a whole in my wife's sieve 

[Alan R]

I think that the netting looks better, but with a finer mesh.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

[busnproplinerfan]

I think those the mesh was black plastic on all those cars, been years since I saw one. What about black pantyhose glued in after it's painted?