1/24 Pantera GTS

[marcod13]

Well here is the finished product, over time i may go back and fix certain things but this is how it will be on the shelf for a while. Over all this kit was pretty straight forward, the Pantera is such a beautiful car and i believe that however it is built it will come out stunning. Ive learned a lot of useful tips for my next builds from the members on AF, and i thank all who chimed in during the build, your help was much appreciated. Thanks again everyone!

I prefer wingless, looks much sexier




A portion of the decal fell off just before i took the picture, luckily i found it and put it back on now.




Love this angle




BEGINNING OF BUILD

Just bought this old Nichimo kit

Took some pictures to document what comes inside the box, it appears that the driver and passenger windows are missing, ill need to examine it tomorrow when i have more time.

The box


whats inside


instructions, very short, only 3 pages


decal sheet, in perfect condition



the Pantera body, a little scuffed up but no cracks or punctures, totally solid





interior, seats are pre-attached


tires are good year imprinted, soft urethane


motor, the kit is meant to be a slot car, so it did come with the motor, but i am curious if anyone knows, is there supposed to be any wiring? id imagine there should have been


more bits and pieces, most of the parts are off the trees


an authenticity sheet, german text



Thats all for now, I'm not sure where I'm going with the car, if I'm going to recreate the image on the box and use the decals or just create a modified version, without most of the decals.

Body colour options/combinations:

1) black or a medium blue, with all the decals and the rims will be painted tamiya bronze.

2) yellow or silver with semi-gloss black hood and bumper/trunk accents, PANTERA side panel decal will be used, rims will be tamiya bronze or tamiya chrome.

Let me know what you all think, and ill probably be starting the kit as soon as i make my decisions.

Thanks for looking

[RonCla]

That looks like a rare kit. I'm hoping Fujimi will release a version of their kit with the flared wheel arches

[nugundam93]

nice to see a nichimo kit here. methinks the missing windows might be by design - maybe they're trying to simulate a "windows down" kit?

[marcod13]

Originally Posted by nugundam93

nice to see a nichimo kit here. methinks the missing windows might be by design - maybe they're trying to simulate a "windows down" kit?

yeah i was wondering the same thing considering that it would have been a one piece mould for the windows including the in question driver and passenger sides. Since it is a slot car, perhaps they did this for better motor and battery cooling?

[nugundam93]

aha! never thought about that possibility.

anyway, i'm voting for #1, with a black scheme and the decals over it. oh okay, i am biased towards black. heheh.

[marcod13]

thanks for the vote lol I'm considering black over the others as well

[F1Tommy]

I have this kit also, and the body is not perfect. I sat it next to the Tokyo Marui kit wich is great and the body is shorter and cockpit taller. I am using the Testors kits wheels and this kits flares along with the Tokyo Marui main body to do a Lemans 1972 factory Pantera.

Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2013-Chicago March 2013

[marcod13]

Started primer-painting certain parts of the kit, body and chassis and rims.







i did about 3 coats of primer, then i sanded it using 320 then 400 grit sandpaper.






mock up of the front splitter, not sure if I'm going to put it...


the muffler on this tip is a solid piece so i cut out the tip to make it seem more realistic
before

after


the kit is motorized so i assembled the drivetrain, and it does work



video of motor working
http://s569.photobucket.com/albums/s...P1020723-1.mp4

does anyone have some spray painting tips they can share so i don't get too much of an orange peel, I've heard that i should spray the body over, start light than work my way up to a full coat, let it dry for a few days then wet sand with a 1000 grit and do another full coat, let it dry for a few days then wet sand it again with 1000, then do a final coat let it dry for an hour or to the touch and clear it.

Thanks ps, the car will be gloss black.

[ianc911]

Looking good. I think you're more or less in the ball park with your painting scheme, except I would wait much longer after the final paint coat before clearing it. Will you use enamel or acrylic paints?

I'm trying to think of a good way to paint those molded on rear emblems without going nutty and not coming up with much...

ianc

[marcod13]

Originally Posted by ianc911

Looking good. I think you're more or less in the ball park with your painting scheme, except I would wait much longer after the final paint coat before clearing it. Will you use enamel or acrylic paints?

I'm trying to think of a good way to paint those molded on rear emblems without going nutty and not coming up with much...

ianc

Thanks for the tip. Its Krylon gloss black spraypaint, i believe its enamel, and the clear coat being used will be Testors Laquer Wet-Look Clear.

As for the emblems, i was going to use an old fine point pen and dip it in the paint. Or i was thinking of laying out a thin piece of play-doh and paint the top chrome and gently press the emblems (attached to the body) in the paint, so the paint transfers over to the emblem.

[ianc911]

I only paint with acrylics myself, so this is not definitive, but I think since Lacquer is regarded as being 'hotter' than enamel, you may run into trouble trying to paint the one over the other. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in, but definitely be aware of that before you clear.

Not sure how well the Playdoh method will work, but I'm willing to watch.

ianc

[marcod13]

managed to get some more painting done today, did the interior and started painting the rims, the little imperfections on the interior have been mostly touched up. the rims are almost done, they'll get an additional colour then a clear coat.

interior





roll cage bar and steering wheel


rims


body with splitter and front and rear tail lights installed





i still need to putty the body here and there, fill in a few holes and smooth out some edges, then its onto the first coat

[marcod13]

hey everyone I'm justing finishing up the body before the last coat of primer and then first coat of paint, and i need to install the side view mirrors. I am playing around with the position of the mirrors and i have a few ideas of where to mount them; the first is obvious on the doors where they belong (option 1), the second is on the fenders , either in the middle as seen in the pic (option 2a) or perhaps a little more forwards (option 2b) and then lastly is on the hood but ill remove the mirror mounts and just glue down the mirrors on top of the hood in the similar area to where they sit now but more so towards the headlights and on top of the hood (option 3). What option is most suitable to you?

Feedback is most appreciated, thanks everyone.

(option 2a)

[marcod13]

oh and here are the rims and tires mocked up on the body

[nugundam93]

nice progress i'm going for the original position for the mirrors.