In Progress - Revell Shelby Cobra 427 S/C

[white97ex]

looking good

[gionc]

great job so far: can't wai to see finished

[klutz_100]

Whoah Mick!

Almost missed this! Great job so far (as usual).

This thread of yours brings back fond memories
FYI things I remeber about this kit are:
1. the radiator posiioning was pretty hard at the time for me to get right so that the body could easily be fixed to the chasis - I recommend continuous test fitting !!
2. I replaced the plastic radiator hose with some insulation as it was "easier" to thread through the engine bay at final assembly and I used thin silver wire for hose clamps.
3. You're right that the damper springs are pretty poor. What I did was to optically "cheat" a bit. I painted the whole spring flat black and then wound some metal wire down the moulded spring. The final result really looked as if there was in fact a metal spring there. Try it out on a spare damper even, I think you'll be surprised at the result.
4. For some reason I never figured out (apart form the fact that it was my second model ), I couldnt get all the darn wheels to fix well to the axles and eneded up having to CA them in place

Maybe the above will be useful to you but for sure yours is going to be HUGE and I'm glad I caught the thread.

[mickbench]

Klutz many thanks, and yes I remember your Cobra Build, was very impressive at the time - heck still is an impressive build. I've looked at the radiator already, and it looks a total PITA to fit. The hose does appear to go up and under the front (fixed) steering rod. Odd, if I have no luck I'll make one out of tape like you did.

I've test fitted my wheels, and all along I was going to CA glue them on. They are a loose fit on the axel hubs. I see no other option, anyhow it's not a toy so will be static.

The springs were a joke. I tried to paint them, but it looked all wrong. I can normally paint most things, dry brushing, washes etc always yeld a good result if done correctly but this time around it failed..!!

I've done some work last night, mainly cleared the hood and test fitted, apppears a little springy at the moment but fits just fine, painted nearly all the parts now, engine is done, chassis just needs the wheels attaching, just got the last bit of re-chrome to do now and Just need to make some seatbelts, and then interior is done so I'll post some more pictures later on.

Then I'll re-clear the body and pack away for three weeks, as I'll have to allow time for the clear to dry. Not planned this model totally correct, as I should have had the body cleared a few weeks back, but never mind I'll just find another project to start as the cobra body is drying in the boiler room in the house - Lovely and warm in there..!!

Oh - and the rear decal stripe was a total arse - I see why you applied lots of micro set /sol as I had little choice but to do the same, and created a crease in one area, that also made in end a small crack. I've had to paint the crack with white paint. Great, hope the clear levels it off a little.

[Lurchio]

Mick - 3 weeks for clear coat to dry!!!! Do you leave it in the fridge?
Surely 1 week max is all you need, especially as you say you leave it in the bolier room.
All my paint jobs are dried in my airing cupboard and are all very hard within 3-4 days but I leave for a week max! Seems excessive.

Also - hood? - have you developed an American accent?

Sorry, lovely build though - from strength to strength!

[mickbench]

Argh... Too many posts on here mention hood and not bonnet. Just like we all dial 911 and not 999 in the Uk due to too many US TV shows..!! Ha ha..!!

I'll leave it to dry for 3 weeks as I'm going to be using X22 Acrylic clear. I thought this was how long I had to leave it to harden. I did the same for my honda build, but TBH I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm a "wing" it and see type of builder.. My engine wires were more "guess" then "correct" type of work.

[Lurchio]

He he,

Glad you didn't take it too seriously! Just remember the bit at the back is called a boot not a trunk and the hood is the roof!
Yee ha y'all!

[mickbench]

New update to the Shelby Cobra, and this is now progressing nicely and it’s not a bad kit just has a few faults that can be fixed or largely worked around.

I’ve now finished adding all the decals. The “bonnet” decals were a bitch to lay down. Not only was the main stripe decal in one piece the bonnet scoop was another small decal that was not big enough to cover the area. After countless applications of micro set to get the decals to conform I cut the decal on the body using a very sharp knife and added more micro set to bend the decal around the edges. Unfortunately this wasn’t the end of this, as the bonnet scoop decal being 1mm all round to small left a noticeable blue /black line. Also the cut of the decal at the top of the bonnet didn’t go as well as I’d hoped for, and resulted in a jagged cut.

White paint has therefore been used to hide the problem areas. I’m hoping the clear coat will level most of this off.

The body doesn’t have a super shine yet, as I only applied enough clear to allow easy movement of decals, I’ll clear tomorrow with enough coats to get a good shine and allow me to polish it all up.





Picture of more parts, and you can see I’ve carefully picked out the radiator grill with black and silver. Exhausts have burnt metal towards the manifold areas and some small detailing work has been done.



The next picture isn’t so good. I just couldn’t get a decent picture of the dashboard. The steering wheel is spray X11 chrome, and then painted X10 brown to give a wood finish. The bolts on the steering wheel were picked out with silver but the picture is not good, and looks blurry.

I’ll try and get a better picture as in life this looks 1000% better.



And that is it for tonight.

[mickbench]

I’ve now clear coated the main body, think I’ve gone a little overkill…!! Ooops..!! I applied three coats of clear 2 of which were mists before I applied the decals, and then after the decals I applied three mists to seal the decals, and then a heavy coat. It looked good, but I thought, one more for good luck and applied a really heavy coat of thinned down X22 clear.

It’s like a mirror, but now it looks – well a bit wet and this is now dry. It’s been baking in the airing room for about an hour… What do you all think? Too much clear this time?

Anyhow it’s done now.. I scribed the panel lines down a lot, and then washed before the clear, so that’s a job done and the lines look very clean. With the amount of paint I’d applied if I hadn’t scribed them out, they would have been buried by now in paint. So anyone looking to copy my build please scribe the panel lines out.





I’ll leave it now to dry and work on the rest of the model, although there isn’t a lot left to do now, so will have to leave it for a few weeks and start another project as this one is hardening off.

[Captain Mark]

Rather than looking too wet, you might find once it all dries properly you're left with a perfect or near perfect finish. It's looking great from the pics so far!

[JTRACING]

Looks Awesome!!!

[WasteGas]

Looking good! that x22 went on nicely. I'm considering using that on my opel astra too.

[mickbench]

X22 is a slightly weird paint to apply. Normally I'd use TS-13 but when decals are being cleared I stay with paints that aren't as hot, X22 is not hot and does go on well but I think there are a few guidelines you need to follow. As follows -

Thin the paint well. Rule of thumb is get it to be almost like milk. And only use Tamiya thinner, do not use water.

The first few coats need to be a low pressure mist so as to give the wet coats something to bite into. As X22 will not fuse like TS-13 does into the base coat, you apply a wet coat without mists it's likely to run very badly. So mists help give it something to get a hold off and prevent runs. Apply the mists at around 10 - 15 minutes apart as the paint layer is so thin it will dry a little faster then normal.

Now, after three mists, the coverage and X22 clear will be building up and this is when you can start your wet coats, however this is when it all starts to go a little odd. Your mists will have been applied with a lot less pressure from your airbrush. But to get the gloss up you need a little more pressure and lot of paint coming out the airbrush, with more pressure and more paint being appplied work slowly but steady over the entire body.

It will look REALLY wet, and if you get a run don't panic just move the body around and try and form the run into the layer of clear you just laid down, as this paint dries slower, you have time to move the paint around. It does work, and runs can be formed into the wet coat and will dry down almost flat.

Now after you are happy you need to leave it to dry. But this will take around 30 minutes, and it will go a little cloudly. Again do not panic it looks weird but dries down perfectly clear.

Now after three mists and a wet coat and waiting an hour for the last wet coat to dry we are ready for the final wet coat. This coat needs to have as little orange peel as possible. Paint does dry with a small texture, but to combat the orange peel thin the clear down some more and use a little less pressure then before (only slightly). Now this time move slower but steady, and start away from the model. Nice single easy passes, all over. From one end to the other keep a steady pace and cover the body. You will see easily where you have been, it's hard not to see it, just go over the lot. Front and rear and underneath the sills first, sides /doors second, trunk /hood and then the roof (if there is one). Job done.

That's it. Stand back and watch it dry.. And afterwards in around an hour think "is it still wet?".

Hope this helps.

I checked my model this morning after drying all night, and it still looks wet, and has a finish like a mirror. Impressive stuff X22 if applied correctly.

[Lurchio]

Mick, are you still using spray cans or do you have a compressor now?

[mickbench]

Originally Posted by Lurchio

Mick, are you still using spray cans or do you have a compressor now?

No, I'm still using a mix of rattle cans and canned air with my airbrush. I've worked out that if I jam masking tape around the can connector on my airbrush I can control the pressure somewhat, but it's not great. But it does mean I can mist with my airbrush by not increasing the distance, and hence I can reduce orange peel a little.

I'm saving up for a quiet hobby compressor. I need something almost noiseless as my dog will goe nuts with the normal compressors. I've got £200 already saved. End of this month and I get my final overtime payment I'll get a IAWATA compressor.

someone did recommend a trye and water trap etc, was thinking of giving it a go, but I'll just get the IAWATA. I'm not quiting this hobby so may as well invest and save longterm.