Jump to content

Revell 1/24 Plymouth GTX (Fast and Furious)


Recommended Posts

With 3 aircraft builds on the go I felt it was time to spice up my workbench with some wheely goodness, so I'll be building this...

spacer.png

The kit has its origins in a Monogram 1971 Plymouth Satellite kit (first released in 1984).

 

I'm not exactly a big officionado on US muscle cars but apparently the kit isn't a great representation of the movie car (I think the actual car in the movie had different rear bumper sections from a later model, and the side skirt detail removed, etc.), I'm not planning on going overboard with the accuracy though - just going to pretty much do an OOB build, with the addition of the resin bloke as hopefully a fun build.

 

Here's what greets you inside the side opening box...

spacer.png

So the body section is heat sealed into a sub compartment thankfull to stop it getting box-rash, but the other half contains another poly bag? Inside that there are sub-bags for various parts - chrome tree, clears and wheels (though they may have been stuffed into the body shell).

Here's all the bit laid out...

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

Kit instructions are the new style Revell colour booklet and the decals seem reasonable, nothing too intense to worry about other than those bonnet stripes.

spacer.png

 

 

Here's the contents of the aftermarket figure, just some scant instructions on how to form the shotgun trigger from the PE, I might leave that out, the resin looks fine for me.

spacer.png

 

Nothing too stressful looking in terms of the kit parts count, though I need to figure out how much of the bodywork I can assemble pre-paint. I had a bit of a test fit of the body and chassis rails and it's tight without the interior tub and engine getting in the way. I might be able to get the rear sections attached and front grill but the front lower bumper would need to be added separately which is a bit annoying (looks like there'll be a seam line). Maybe I can 'cut and shut' the lower chassis later then drop the engine in through the hood opening? Something to ponder as I cleanup the parts. I'm also wondering about the chrome parts - I'll need to de-chrome with some bleach but I wonder if I could put a bit of liquid mask into the light openings to keep those bits chrome?

 

 

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yay, Mopar.  😍   I built the Satellite back when it came out and I'm pretty sure you can fit the valences and still get the chassis in afterwards.   I still have it somewhere in the loft, so if I get a minute I'll dig it out and confirm.   I also have this F&F GTX, which I might chip in with if I get my other two finished.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Welcome along with a good looking car. I wasn't sure about its age but did some digging. Even though Scalemates says new in the mid-1990’s. I found more than one article online discussing its original form in the mid 1980’s. 

 

Yes, it was originally released as the Satellite (presume they couldn't get the Road Runner licensing) in 1984.   The GTX version came later, with an Air Grabber hood, different grille, steering wheel etc.   This F&F version has the same hood as the Satellite release.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, this ´71 kit comes with the Air Grabber hood seal and flap actuator for an oval, six-barrel air cleaner (in sprue pic 3, below the deck spoiler) but has a flat hood and a single four barrel with a round air cleaner. That underhood piece is something that I have been missing from the ´70 GTX/Road Runner kits that DO have the power bulge hood with Air Grabber and a six-barrel setup, but nothing to seal them together! V-P

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/08/2022 at 11:51, vppelt68 said:

So, this ´71 kit comes with the Air Grabber hood seal and flap actuator for an oval, six-barrel air cleaner (in sprue pic 3, below the deck spoiler) but has a flat hood and a single four barrel with a round air cleaner. That underhood piece is something that I have been missing from the ´70 GTX/Road Runner kits that DO have the power bulge hood with Air Grabber and a six-barrel setup, but nothing to seal them together! V-P

The bit that looks like a toilet seat? Seems surplus to my requirements looking in the instructions, you're welcome to it for free if you DM me your address.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I've made a start on the kit, cleaned up the body and attached the wing mirrors (they seemed quite small, so no space to easily drill a pin hole and I want to save myself making a gluey mess post paint).

I dechromed the front and rear sections but liquid masked the light sections, which seemed to have worked well. It still has that horrible yellow stuff on them though (what is it primer?) that seems to resist glue!

spacer.png

 

Then onto paint - I've decided I'm going to try a single coat, so it's Alclad Gloss Black Base - which they say can be used direct on plastic as a primer...

 

spacer.png

 

Other than the texture (orange peel / ridges?) and rather a lot of dust I managed to get stuck in it the paint's not looking too bad, very nice and glossy. This stuff does take a while to dry (can be a little tacky the next day) but I'm off on my holidays for a week, it will be more than fully cured by then and I'll give it some sanding back with Micromesh, though I'm never too sure what kind of grit level to start at with colour sanding and I always worry about going too deep!

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Scargsy said:

So I've made a start on the kit, cleaned up the body and attached the wing mirrors (they seemed quite small, so no space to easily drill a pin hole and I want to save myself making a gluey mess post paint).

I dechromed the front and rear sections but liquid masked the light sections, which seemed to have worked well. It still has that horrible yellow stuff on them though (what is it primer?) that seems to resist glue!

spacer.png

 

Then onto paint - I've decided I'm going to try a single coat, so it's Alclad Gloss Black Base - which they say can be used direct on plastic as a primer...

 

spacer.png

 

Other than the texture (orange peel / ridges?) and rather a lot of dust I managed to get stuck in it the paint's not looking too bad, very nice and glossy. This stuff does take a while to dry (can be a little tacky the next day) but I'm off on my holidays for a week, it will be more than fully cured by then and I'll give it some sanding back with Micromesh, though I'm never too sure what kind of grit level to start at with colour sanding and I always worry about going too deep!

 

Well if doing colorsanding Id recommend starting at about 1000 or 1500 grit. Wet-sand in circles and reapply the color. Repeat until the paint looks wet when dry. Thats what real auto body shops do on custom paint-jobs. Sometimes up to 10 coats. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

So after starting sanding back at 2000 grit it was all going well...

spacer.png

until I inevitability burnt through the paint (on the arches). I attempted a little brush touch up and sand back but in the end elected to give it a second coat of gloss black (this time Mr Color), again getting bits of dust and stuff in it...

spacer.png

Another bit of light sanding and I decided to put the decals on which didn't go too badly (though it was a pain trying to line up the stripes on the hood and front wings. There are some tiny decals for the door and boot (trunk) locks which is a nice touch, the non-reflective decals for the side indicators though are a bit nasty, there are similar ones for the rear lights - I might just paint them and try and use some clear to make lenses.

spacer.png

I've then since added a couple of coats of gloss clear - I'm waiting for it to harden, then I'll try and cut it back with some car polish, though I think I've got some water marks stuck under the clear (oh I do hate doing shiny road car paint)!

Fingers crossed once it's hardened I can get a nice smooth glossy coat from the clear.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

It's been a while so thought I'd best try finish this before the deadline!

The figure parts didn't fit together brilliantly, so I decided to glue and fill them before painting (which is annoying since they break down the arm/head/tank top parts where they will be painted different colours.

spacer.png

A coat of grey primer then I started on the colours - some thinned coats of Citadel flesh tones to start with and some Vallejo air colours for the jeans. It's all quite thin but I prefer to build it up in layers.

 

For the car I fitted the window then whilst the glue was still fairly wet the interior to help line it up, though there were only a couple of locator points on the rear shelf area, so I decided to put the chassis part in too, ensuring everything was lined up whilst the glue was drying.

spacer.png

That all went together fairly well without much faff, however I then hit a snag. With the body/chassis parts together I couldn't fit the engine block in!

The solution was to (as neatly as I could manage) chop out the gearbox/transmission support, place the engine in, then reattach the support.

It was a bit of a faff, holding it all together and lining it all up but it came out OK in the end.

spacer.png

Not my best work - that seam down the block/oil pan, I can see the radiator isn't straight either and I needed to chop a bit off the front of that lower sub-frame to fit it in, but the support is in.

 

Here's the start of the engine from above, I removed the bonnet/hood (hopefully I can get it back in without scratching the paint too much, but it didn't open up enough to do any engine bay surgery).

spacer.png

I put the disk brakes on then just about managed to squeeze the wheels on under the arches.

spacer.png

Almost there, a few more decals to add in the engine bay etc.

spacer.png

The figure has had a few more coats on the skin - some dry-brushing of a light colour followed by a reddish flesh wash which left him looking a bit blotchy, especially on the top of his head, so I dry brushed over that again with some of the original flesh tone. The jeans have had a couple of coats of lighter blue too. I've no idea if my hand will be steady enough to attempt to do some eyes on him! The tank top has had one coat of Vallejo white primer, which is a bit thin and washy still.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fitment of the engine gave me some trouble as well, on my Revell Torino build, had to chop some material off the chassis front near the gearbox like you did. I like how the figure is coming together.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...