Opening
This picture is the finished product. It's not too bad, to pat myself on the back, for the first build in more than 50-year. I used Gimp to place the car in a picture of a garage that I found online.
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I started this project by painting the engine parts. Thanks to YouTube I learned that many builders stick small parts to tape for spraying. It works great. I'm still learning how to use an airbrush, so this was a good lesson in the spray pattern and how the brush and the objects need to be moved around to get fully coated. I also did some traditional paint brush painting on the engine.
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More engine parts being painted.
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More engine parts being painted.
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I started assembling the engine. Being from the "Old School" I scrapped the paint from the gluing surfaces before applying the glue using Testors liquid glue. I see so many modeler online that do not remove paint from the gluing surfaces and using plastic cement. I'm not sure how that glue holds the parts together because the glue actually melts the styrene together, and it won't do that if the surface is painted. I also see modelers using super glue, but I'm not sold on that glue for model parts because it, in my opinion, is more permenant than the model cement. This is currently my view on gluing. It might change as I get further into the hobby.
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Scrapping paint, gluing and doing some hand brush detailing and touching-up.
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Assembling the engine.
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Assembling the engine.
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Assembling the engine.
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Added the altenator and the distributor cap. I'm not going to wire the engine on this build. I just want to get back in the grove. Looking back, I should have stripped the chrome from the alternator and painted it...hind thought is 20-20.
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Added the altenator and the distributor cap. I'm not going to wire the engine on this build. I just want to get back in the grove. Looking back, I should have stripped the chrome from the alternator and painted it...hind sight is 20-20.
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Added the valve covers and oil breathers.
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Added valve covers and oil breathers. The chrome on the heat shield, on the left side of the engine was wrinkled from the box. I was trying to figure out how to fix it, but then I thought no...I'll leave it like that because it shows that it was very hot at one time.
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Installed the air cleaner.
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Installed the air cleaner. Finished engine.
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Installed the air cleaner. Finished engine.
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Installed the air cleaner. Finished engine.
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I airbrushed the chassis in Testors Model Master Black. Hind-sight tells me I wish I would have done it in Flat or Semi Gloss Black. The seat was mounted and detailed to show safety belts and buckles, (I guess I should not have drank two cups of coffee before trying to do detail painting). The shifter and fuel cell were also detailed and mounted.
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I airbrushed the chassis in Testors Model Master Black. Hind-sight tells me I wish I would have done it in Flat or Semi Gloss Black. The seat was mounted and detailed to show safety belts and buckles, (I guess I should not have drank two cups of coffee before trying to do detail painting). The shifter and fuel cell were also detailed and mounted.
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The fire extinguisher was detailed and installed.
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The fire extinguisher was detailed and installed.
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I did the radiator in Tamiya Flat Aluminum XF-16 and used Tamiya Black panel line wash to show some depth. There was a deep scratch on the radiator out of the box. I wasn't sure how to fix it, so I decided to keep it that way and highlight it to show use or possible track damage.
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View of engine from the interior tub.
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The radiator hose was installed. I did it in Tamiya Flat Aluminum XF-16. I didn't know about 3rd market radiator hoses at the time of this build or I would have used one.
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Decal was installed on the air cleaner.
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Another view of the installed engine. As stated earlier, the chrome on the heat shield was wrinkled out of the box. I was not sure how to fix it, and then it came to me to leave it be and to depict it as heat damage. I might get some clear blue, clear yellow and clear red and make it show heat.
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Starting to install the roll cage.
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Starting to install the roll cage.
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Starting to install the roll cage.
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The rod of sprew sticking throw the roll cage was inserted to support the upper portion of the cage while the glue set-up.
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I had problems with rear support pipes and had to do one at a time and then clamp.
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I had problems with rear support pipes and had to do one at a time and then clamp.
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I had problems with rear support pipes and had to do one at a time and then clamp.
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I had problems with rear support pipes and had to do one at a time and then clamp.
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Roll cage is finished.
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Roll cage is finished.
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Roll cage is finished and front & rear decks were painted and installed.
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Cooler added
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The dash was detailed, steering wheel and the rear view mirror was installed.
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The dash was detailed, steering wheel and the rear view mirror was installed.
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The dash was detailed, steering wheel and the rear view mirror was installed.
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Painted the disk brakes.
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Painted and installed the front springs.
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Detailed the front brake rotors.
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Installed the steering box.
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Airbrushed the body with Model Master Chrome Yellow. This yellow is the closest to the Kodak yellow I could find without making a custom mix.
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Airbrushed the body with Model Master Chrome Yellow. This yellow is the closest to the Kodak yellow I could find without making a custom mix.
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Next, the trunk lid, hood and rear bumper were airbrushed
with Model Master Chrome Yellow. I had a run along one
edge of the trunk lid, and I noticed some orange peeling.
I was devastated over the run and orange peeling, but I
used it to my benefit to learn why the paint ran and why
it orange peeled, and then how to fix it.
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I had, from the beginning, decided to make a show car version, therefore I painted the wheels black. I didn't think I was steady enough to white letter the Good Year on the tires.
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The front suspension is installed.
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The front brake rotors and shocks are installed.
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The front brake rotors and shocks are installed.
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The rear coil springs are installed, but not glued. I found the installation of the rear suspension to be difficult, expecially to get the shocks put in place.
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Assembling the rear axle and suspension.
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Assembling the rear axle and suspension.
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Assembling the rear axle and suspension.
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Rear suspension is installed.
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Chassis is finished.
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With the chassis finished, the body is ready to be put in place.
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The body has some chips and orange peeling, but I learned some methods to fix both.
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I did some touchup on the chipped areas of the body
because they were in area's that would not be seen. I then
lightly wet sanded the body in an attempt to remove the
orange peeling. It did not remove all of it. I stopped
the sanding because I was afraid of burning through to
the primer.
I'm sure the organge peeling was caused by:
- Not thinning the paint.
- Holding the airbrush too far away from the model and having the paint dry before reaching the surface of the model.
- Moving the airbrush a-bit to fast
I'm not sure about that last one.
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I did some touchup on the chipped areas of the body
because they were in area's that would not be seen. I then
lightly wet sanded the body in an attempt to remove the
orange peeling. It did not remove all of it. I stopped
the sanding because I was afraid of burning through to
the primer.
I'm sure the organge peeling was caused by:
- Not thinning the paint.
- Holding the airbrush too far away from the model and having the paint dry before reaching the surface of the model.
- Moving the airbrush a-bit to fast
I'm not sure about that last one.
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Installed the fuel filler tube and the fuel cell vent.
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Next, I installed the glass. I used a black sharpie to color the support bars on the glass.
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Next, I installed the glass. I used a black sharpie to color the support bars on the glass.
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Next, I installed the glass. I used a black sharpie to color the support bars on the glass.
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Installed the exhaust pipes.
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I took this photo from the driver window looking into the interior. I just thought it was a neat shot.
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I took this photo from the driver window looking into the interior. I just thought it was a neat shot.
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After the body was installed, I started installing the decals. It had been a long time since I did decals and had never used Micro Sol and Micro Set, but I found it quite easy; easier than I remember it being.
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Installing decals.
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Installing decals
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Installing decals
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Installing decals. The 'L' on the Lumina tore, but later I fixed it with a-bit of black paint.
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After all the decals were installed, I put a coat of Krylon Crystal Clear on the entire body, the hood and the trunk lid.
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After all the decals were installed, I put a coat of Krylon Crystal Clear on the entire body, the hood and the trunk lid.
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After all the decals were installed, I put a coat of Krylon Crystal Clear on the entire body, the hood and the trunk lid.
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The car is finished and setting on the bench. Years ago I had slid something on the bench that left a black mark. I didn't really notice until after taking the picture, but I think it looks like a tire mark.
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Here is the Ernie Irvin Kodak Lumina on the track. I found
a picture of a track with grand stands in the distance
on the web in an area licensed under Creative Commons for
reuse and modification.
The image you see was done using Gimp. Gimp is an
open source free photo editor similar to Photoshop.
Here is a link to their website:
Gimp Download
