Revell Shelby Cobra

[andybmw7272]

It has been a long time (2 years maybe?) since I have been working on models. The only model I really ever finished was the Ferrari FXX motorcycle.
Google "Ferrari FXX Motorcycle" and you can find some pics of that.
All other models (3 total!) I made a little too complicated and got over my head. I have decided to get back on the board with a little Cobra, potentially twin turbo on this guy (but not too complicated!). We will see. The main goal is to have a clean model that kicks a$$ and people can appreciate when FINISHED.

I started off with this Revell Cobra. I scratched some side louvers and left the body alone outside of a lot of clean up of mold lines.

The body was completely cleaned, "gills" made, and then sprayed with some gray primer.
Wetsand the primer, and a coat of white Tamiya primer out of the can. Man, that stuff is great.
Another wetsand, and another coat of primer, followed by one more wetsand and one more primer and a final sand.

Then I shot color, Model Master Anthracite Gray Metallic, which was wetsanded and shot again for a total of four coats.
A few years ago, my wife got me a dehydrator which helps with the multiple coats and wetsanding.

When I did the Ferarri bike and showed it in Atlanta in 2007, David Morton suggested I mask stripes with Bare Metal Foil. I have used that advice on this car. I made special effort to wetsand the area where the stripes were going to go to ensure I had a nice level surface for the BMF to adhere to and yield nice stripes.

Actual Cobra stripes taper in by 1.25 inches from windshield to nose, so I replicated that as well. At the windshield on the car they are 7.5 inches each and get to 6.25 at the nose.



The stripes came out 100% perfect. I want this paint to make people say WOW! and it is well on its way.
I am making sure there is a lot of wetsanding to level everything out and eliminate the buildup where you normally see paint want to "hang out" and not be level.








The side louvers will be masked and painted with some Alclad Aluminum after the clear has been laid down and polished.




Thanks for looking!
Andy

[andybmw7272]

The clear is coming out pretty good. There has been learning as always, but I am pretty happy with the outcome so far.

This should be the final coat, now I just need to wetsand and buff and it will look awesome I think.

I have 4 coats of clear with a sand in between each.

Sorry for the poor photos, I was too excited to get these up and did not take them in the photo booth.










Thank you for looking!

[luchoteam]

WOW! great color choice...the clear give it a lot of shine!


Suscribed....i wanna see how it finishes

[Drift F.C]

The paint is awesome!

[andybmw7272]

Here it is all sanded and polished.
I need to work on my photography strategy and get some better pics as well.

Polishing was done with Tamiya Course, Fine, and Finish polishes and then a little Meguiars cleaner wax.









Next is chassis and suspension!!!!

Thanks again for looking!
Andy

[Adam Baker]

Wow, absolutely gorgeous.

Did you use a 2 part clear or something else? Looks deep enough to swim in.

[quadzero]

Fantastic finish. Nice work on the stripes too.

[klutz_100]

Lovely colour and finish.

Interesting to learn that clear coat will work well over BMF. Thanks for sharing that

[andybmw7272]

Thanks guys!

The clear is a 2 part urethane automotive clear.

Just for clarity, the BMF was used to mask for the stripes, the stripes were painted, and the BMF was removed, so there is none on the car in these pics.

Thanks again for the great comments!!!
Andy

[endac]

Looks amazing so far, great paintwork

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by andybmw7272

Just for clarity, the BMF was used to mask for the stripes, the stripes were painted, and the BMF was removed, so there is none on the car in these pics.

my bad! Must learn to read with understanding and look at the pictures

I guess I was also a little bit thrown by you painting the lighter stripes over the darker body color.

[pharr7226]

The paint work looks great. Nice job masking with the bare metal foil. It looks like there was no buildup on the edges.

[andybmw7272]

Klutz, I painted the stripes because I knew the silver would cover in one coat. Doing it the normal way, and having to paint 2 perfect coats, first silver and then gray, would have increased my odds of messing something up! I can see how that makes things a little confusing as it goes against logic.

Pharr, you are right, there was little buildup on the edges because the testors silver seems to cover so well, I only needed a mist coat and then a regular coat, all within 2 minutes.

Thanks again guys!

Chassis is painted and ready to be detailed and then some suspension to be added. I hope to have some pics up for this Sunday morning.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by andybmw7272

Chassis is painted and ready to be detailed and then some suspension to be added. I hope to have some pics up for this Sunday morning.

Looking great so far

FWIW, Sunday Morning is "Caffeine & Octane", the best monthly car show in Atlanta, by far (one of our ACME members often takes his 1:1 1965 Cobra 289 to the show, but it might be a bit cold this weekend, though there should be several 427 replicas as usual). And Sunday afternoon at 2 PM is the ACME meeting, if by chance you or phar7226 can make it.

[Khier]

I am not a fan of the Cobra... but your excellent work made me think of a diorama based on the final scene in bad boys.... I do not remember, however, if the kit represents this specific car. Can any one here tell?