I am using these 2 pro mod kits to give myself a lesson in the basics. Remember back in high school coach screaming over and over, BASICS! BASICS!
I don't build nearly as detailed as a lot of you do, but I very seldomly build one 100% straight out of the box either. I'm going to try to be very detailed in this post hoping it will help someone. It will probably be boring to many of you but hopefully help someone and maybe I'll even learn something.
Feel free to comment, question or anything else short of cussing me! There are many ways of building a model so if you have an idea that works for you tell us about it please!
I am using this kit as a test pig so some things may work and some may not. Welcome to the ZONE! The Building Zone !
After deciding which kit to build. I try to spend a little time trying to figure out exactly what I want to accomplish with it. Actually a lot of the time you have been thinking about it for weeks. But now is the time, changes are a lot easier in your head than on the model after you've finished it.
So I am building an early 90's pro mod designed right after pro mod became a class in IHRA. As usual NHRA wouldn't have anything to do with them at this point. Remember the 10 years (exaggeration) that it took to get a funny car class? This one is not a replica but a what if car. What if Glidden & Allen got back together and built a pro mod??
At this point I would normally do a lot of very specific research but on this one I'm going to grab a few pictures from this era and go for it. Easy Peasy !!
Next I study the kit and instructions how it goes together and what and where all the parts are. OK now throw the instructions away! No, I'm just kidding. They are actually going to come in handy.
We are going to go thru the instructions and decide what color each part is going to be and note it on the instruction sheet . I also make notes of anything that is questionable or not totally clear. This is a basic list. I probably use 10 or 12 different metallic finishes, on here they are all aluminum. Don't sweat the details at this point!
Going thru the parts some of the assemblys will just look better painted as one piece. The engine block , headers and oil tank for instance on this kit. So I assemble them at this point.
This kit has way to much chrome – dump the tree in the bleach – My favorite- you could use Purple Power or oven cleaner . Any of these will remove the chrome. One thing I have questioned about builders for years is that most of them take great pains to make sure that they get all of the clear undercoating off when they strip plating. Why? It's always a very light coat and usually a very smooth coat, in most cases. If it's not really bad I don't worry about it and I can't tell the difference.
I gently wash all the parts with a little bit of Dawn dish detergent and the wife's toothbrush (just kiddin Honey), rinse very well and let them air dry. Be careful to have some way of catching any stray parts before they go down the drain. I use a large wire strainer with a very small mesh.
Normally I take all the parts off of the trees and then prime them, but I've noticed that a lot of the better modelers around prime most of the parts on the trees – So I'm gonna try it and see if it saves any time – I will prime this kit with Zinnser B I N Shellac Base Primer ( available at Lowes) decanted and sprayed thru my old airbrush – I keep an inexpensive air brush just for primer. It gets dirty and stopped up very quickly. Let me state at this point that I air brush everything. I do because I spray in the house and want to keep smells and overspray to a minimum. As a side benefit I have much more control but I used spray cans for years and they will do the job.
I do have a homemade spray booth – DO NOT build one like this – the booth fine but the FAN IS NOT SAFE. But it's all I could afford at the time so I'm taking my chances. I will replace it with a safe fan very soon.
After putting a couple of coats of primer on all of the parts and body I'm not sure I'm going to like this primer. It went on very dry, almost grainy. I used this because it was suppose to do a great job of sealing the dark color. It does that but I don't know it just doesn't feel right to me. This could very well be my technique and not have anything to do with the product. We'll see in the next step.
After giving the primer a few minutes to dry to the touch – I put all the parts in my dehydrator overnight – I try to keep the dehydrator at about 110 degrees. If you have any specific questions about this process let me know and I'll try to go into a little more detail.
I got up today and took the parts out of the dehydrator. I started sanding the body and the primer did not appear to be adhered well to the body. This is what I was afraid of – It was almost pealing off – into the Purple Pond – All the primer came off in about 5 minutes – Oh well lets try again – this time with a Dupont grey primer and maybe a light coat of automotive sealer on top of that after all the body work.
photos of good primer soon I hope!
HAD, that exact dehydrator. I stopped using it a few years back so when we moved into the new house I decided to just throw it away. Just figures.
