Ford GT Build

M M
Build started tonight while the kiddos are at my moms. I thought I would get some preliminary parts together and some painting. Hopefully when my son gets back we can get 2-3 steps put together. My initial thoughts are that its a nice kit with little flash and the ejector marks are well hidden. I am not 100% happy with the ENTIRE kit being in Gulf Blue only because I don't have an airbrush (yet!) and foresee a lot of hand painting. Anything that is black will be hit with a spray can, everything else will be painted by brush. I just have to keep telling myself not to go over the parts I have already painted.

Fit on the engine block/transmission was a little tight. I had to sand down some of the pegs and then after adding cement I filled some small gaps with CA+kicker. I sanded back the lines and after hitting it with base paint it looks good. The instructions call out that it should be chrome, I have a can or chrome from ages ago but also X-11. Not sure if I should hand paint it or try my old spray can, thoughts? Thanks for following along!

M M
Just some more notes from my captions for posterity. I saw someone on a YouTube video use a piece of string around the inner part of the coils and paint over it. It's quite a bit fiddley but if you get it right it looks nice. One of them looked better than the other. As for the block/transmission combo I hand painted it so the tones match the other parts better.

I found out that it's easy to flood using a spray can. I am using a large krylon flat black and the spray pattern is larger than the Tamiya Cans I have been using. I think I just need to spray from a little farther back. I will strip a few parts and start over with them.

M M
Had kind of a stressful day today so I decided to do some detail painting. Let's get something strait to start; I suck at brush painting but I really enjoy it. It's very difficult (to look good), it takes a long time but it makes a model look so much better. I also find it relaxing. Anyways I decided to paint the door trim in flat aluminum. The reference photos I am using look like a flat brushed aluminum. I also painted up the dash. I used a silver paint pen for the air vents and then wiped the excess away with a 000 brush to bring back the detail. I also attempted to get the outside of the dials colored silver. That was hard and I got some on the inside but there are decals that go on the inside so hopefully it will be covered up. I also added the red Start/Stop button and the black cigarette lighter plug. As for the seats I put in the insert to see how it looks. It's...OK. I don't like that the top portion is solid chrome, I think it would have looked better to just hit it with my silver paint pen but I'm not sure what I want to do. The center console on my reference photo looks brushed aluminum too with some chrome dials and a black leather arm rest. I put down the flat aluminum color tonight and will detail it up tomorrow. Finally I did a little test fit to see a little progress. My son has been super exited to start putting parts together but we just haven't had a good time yet. As for painting all I have left are a few little odds and ends and then the bottom of the chassis and the shell. I will probably get some parts put together in the coming days and add a few decals to the interior parts. Then the car will be put on hold till the weekend while I work a trip away from home.

M M
Finally got my kid to start putting plastic together! It was great! It started off hard, I had to get him to settle down because he was so excited. So after some initial hiccups we were under way. After spending days diligently painting I somehow overlooked the exhaust. My kid was bummed because we didn't get to finish the engine today. We had everything ready to go but that and unfortunately it is an integral part of the construction. It goes right in the middle. :? To make it up to him I let him "paint" the exhaust 😄.

Once we were done with that I decided to put the decals on the dash and the engine. My kid got a kick watching me put the "stickers" in the water and then put them where they belong. I will be honest this was the first time I ever remember successfully putting on decals. Mind you the last time I did any decals was more than 20 years ago. I used Micro Sol&Set to help me out. I think they came out pretty nice. I JUST NOTICED IN THE PHOTO MY SPEEDO DECAL IS COCK-EYED GRR.

Now the model will be put on hold for a few days while I work out of town. When I come back my goal is to finish the engine, interior and get the body sprayed up. While the body is drying we will have to work on the rest of the running gear, brakes, wheels, ect. I did find a reference photo of the bottom of the chassis so I will have to do some simple detail painting.

Tom ...
Coming along really nicely. Very cool that the little man is helping! What's the flickr link?

M M
@Tom it's a photo of the underneath of a '06 Ford GT. For some reason the BB code won't display it like the supercharger.

Thanks for the words! It's turning into a family build as my 3yr old is interested too. When it's finished I have plans for a reveal. Just wait and see. 🙂

Bob Hall
Bravo ! Looking Great !

M M
I got a little overspray using the included mask. I didn't realize that the Tamiya Tape for curves doesn't stick well to paper. I will post a photo later tonight but should I try and sand it away or use a little Tamiya Thinner and elbow greese?

Bob Hall
Q-tip dipped in thinner.

M M
Thanks Robert. I wanna wait for the paint to finish drying and will try that

M M
Photo update. I had been quietly working on detail paint and this morning after breakfast we put some parts together. I still have to detail up the steering wheel before the cockpit is finished and then work on the front suspension and the brakes and all of the dress up painting will be finished. I am slowly working on the exterior. There are a lot of decals I have to put on and I had an issue with overspray. Robert, I tried the thinner, it was too slow on the TS paints so I used 92% Rubbing alcohol, this seems to do the trick but it takes a lot of elbow grease. I found some decals on the engine I was missing so I put those on and then the kids got to work. My youngest son was interested but for just a minute. He installed the pedals. He is only 3 after all. The oldest was there with me the whole time. There were a few parts where I had to get the parts to snap together but he was on the rest of it. I would say this is turning out to be pretty nice! If I can recover the outside of the frame I will be really happy.

I really like the way the underside turned out. I laid down some flat aluminum and then chrome over it to get the nice color. I also used a little panel line paint on the underside of the A-arms. I imagine this will be finished in the coming weekends.

M M
Started another project while finishing this one up. Album to follow shortly. While my primer on the other car was drying I knocked out some detail paint on brakes and rotors. I put in all the intake covers and glued them in. I also touched up the steering wheel. I have to throw down some decals and then put on the clear. Then just wait for my kids to get home so they can finish putting it together. It's really starting to look good with all the tidbits on the body. The only "hard" part I am going to run into is clear coating the back "bumper" with out flooding it. I don't think i should install it before I clear the body because there are a few crevices that won't get clear.

Tom ...
Got'a keep the pipeline going!

M M
I got the decals laid and the clear coat on. I used the Microscale Industries products to get them to lay down nice. I think i put down at least 25+ and that wasn't all of them. The 1:1 car that I am modeling it on didn't have the "Gulf" logos on there so I left them off. Then after three coats of Tamiya TS-13 she is waiting to cure. I did spy two little dust motes so it will get a light sanding and polishing once it's cured. When my little ones get home I will have them put it all together and then take photos for our reveal.

Bob Hall
That is Gorgeous ! I'm jealous ! Great job on an awesome Ford !!!!!!

M M
Thanks Robert. I am really happy with how this is turning out.

Bob Hall
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