MPC 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

[Nacho Z]

I masked the body and shot the inside the same light blue craft paint as the rest of the interior.  I let it dry and masked the inside and shot the body.

After the body cured for a while I couldn't help but test fit the interior.

Next up we'll decal the body and shoot some clear.

[AMT68]

14 minutes ago, Nacho Z said:

Yes, Sir!  Here is another example. This time it is the glass from the Monogram '55 Chevy Street Machine kit, an oldie but a goodie.  I am pretty sure I did nothing in the way of prep to the glass, I think I just dunked it.  Notice the distortion at the top of the first picture.  I have a dedicated little super cheap plastic dish that I use only for Future.

Wow! And thanks for the demonstration John I'm a believer in that product. 

It's interesting to hear 1972coronet mention the poor quality of these kits during the '70's and yet amazingly every time I see a '76 MPC Firebird (last year of the dual round lights and my favorite of that generation) they're selling for huge dollars.

[Nacho Z]

9 minutes ago, Timonator said:

What grit did you finish the glass in before dunking it in the future floor gloss ?

I've really tried to remember but I just have no idea...sorry.  I would have used the Micro Mesh clothes.  Knowing me I think I would have polished up to 12000 but I just don't remember.  And with using Future, I'm not sure I would have had to go that high.  Looking at the picture it sure doesn't look highly polished.

[1972coronet]

2 hours ago, AMT68 said:

It's interesting to hear 1972coronet mention the poor quality of these kits during the '70's and yet amazingly every time I see a '76 MPC Firebird (last year of the dual round lights and my favorite of that generation) they're selling for huge dollars.

I , too , prefer the 1976 & earlier design ( the square headlamps don't 'fit' with the rest of the car's design flow , IMO ) . The reason for the popularity of those MPC 1976 (and prior) Firebird-T/A annual kits is because they're the only ones available . From what I can remember , those 1970-1977 annuals still had crisp details ; however , the ad nauseam issues from 1977-onward were fraught with distorted details and misfitting parts . I believe that the later issues were worse-for-the-wear due to the popularity of Smokey & The Bandit , and MPC's capitalising on the movie's popularity ( can't fault them for that ) .

The earliest one I had was the 1976 annual (when I was 6 years old , when the kit was new) . My older next door neighbour helped me build it , as it was one of my first glue kits .

[AMT68]

Beautiful top coat John. I've done a couple models in this Icy Blue and personally found laying down an evenly colored coat a bit tricky at times. 

[Dragonhawk1066]

That's a great color for the interior, I wish I had that when I did mine. My wife custom mixed some Testors enamels for me to get the right color, this was before I started using craft paints myself. The interior tubs on these kits are atrocious as far as details go, and I might try some things when I do the Burgundy one. I have a bottle of Pledge because I use it as a clear on some things, but I still haven't taken the 30 seconds to fill a small container to dip windshields yet, lol. The Icy Blue is a great color and your paint job looks fantastic. Hopefully your final assembly goes smooth, that's where I almost threw mine back in the box, but I soldiered on, lol.

[Dann Tier]

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

[ModelcarJR]

That's a really nice build so far, John!  I recently purchased this kit in a 50 count lot of kits. Some were duplicates and about 5 had missing parts. The guy who sold me the kits threw in about 12 bagged kits that he said were complete to sweeten the deal. Unfortunately, only about 1/2 of them are complete but for what I paid, I can't complain.  This one happens to be one of the complete ones. Someone took the time to remove all the parts from the sprue, and put each part in a separately labelled bag, even the decals. I don't see the same kind of damage on the body or the seats as yours but I'm sure there will be some stress along the way as it is still an MPC kit. I'm inspired by your build and may build it next, in sympathy with you! ?

[Nacho Z]

Thanks, guys, for all the nice responses!  The whole purpose of this thread was just to show what I ran into during the build.  I am of the belief that any model kit can be turned into a nice model if you put the effort into it.  I did not want to put the effort into this one...?

I laid down the decals and let them dry for a day or three.  Once again, I had not started airbrushing until this model and then it was only the interior.  That meant that I used Testors Wet Look spray bomb for my clear.......and I got greedy.  It was laying down so nice and I wanted to bury those decals so I kept on applying more coats.  I know better.  It was beautiful.  Until it cured.  It bubbled.  I cried.  Not really but I sure wanted to.  Anyhow, here are a few photos of the progress.

Before I shot the clear I took this picture of the body, interior and chassis.

 

Hood, pre-clear.

And post-clear.

 

[peteski]

Tough break!

What to me makes it even tougher is that screaming eagle in 1:1 car is a sticker, so it has some thickness. No need to try to hide the decal line. I know that decal has extra clear film surround, but I think that  even if that was visible, it would not have been all that unrealistic (for a model).  I suppose trimming the clear film as close to the image (before applying decal) might have been possible for maximum realism.

As an "official" model photographer for my model club, there is something that bugs me about the paint: the out of scale (too large) metal flakes.  I also realize that what sticks out in closeup photos, doesn't look bad in-person (having photographed many models with out of scale metallic flakes).  Personally I try to select paints which have smaller flake  sizes, but yours is such a beautiful color . . .

[Nacho Z]

7 minutes ago, peteski said:

Tough break!

What to me makes it even tougher is that screaming eagle in 1:1 car is a sticker, so it has some thickness. No need to try to hide the decal line. I know that decal has extra clear film surround, but I think that  even if that was visible, it would not have been all that unrealistic (for a model).  I suppose trimming the clear film as close to the image (before applying decal) might have been possible for maximum realism.

As an "official" model photographer for my model club, there is something that bugs me about the paint: the out of scale (too large) metal flakes.  I also realize that what sticks out in closeup photos, doesn't look bad in-person (having photographed many models with out of scale metallic flakes).  Personally I try to select paints which have smaller flake  sizes, but yours is such a beautiful color . . .

Peter, you are absolutely correct on both counts; sticker/decal and flake size.  I actually did not post a couple of pictures because the “sparkle” was just too much.  Since this model I began to use my airbrush more and more.  I am currently building a 1:350 Arleigh Burke class ship and it is 99% airbrushed.  I’ve shot Zero, Gravity and Splash and plan to use them and others for my car models from now on.

[peteski]

I hope that you didn't mind my critique. Sounds like your are advancing in your modeling techniques.   Your paint finish is excellent, even with spray cans.

[beeRS]

You’re doing a great job on this kit. I don’t think the large flake size of the metallic looks too bad. 
I’ve always loved the TA with its screaming eagle. Simply iconic. Thanks for sharing this build. 

[doorsovdoon]

Looks stunning, that blue is gorgeous. I love the heavy flake, personally. 

[Nacho Z]

16 hours ago, peteski said:

I hope that you didn't mind my critique. Sounds like your are advancing in your modeling techniques.   Your paint finish is excellent, even with spray cans.

Peter, no worries at all.  I enjoy the dialogue.  It is the lack of choice in spray cans that really prompted me to get out my airbrush.  So many choices.  Also, I have a secret love for 1:350 battleships with all of the PE sets and you just can’t spray bomb those.

16 hours ago, beeRS said:

You’re doing a great job on this kit. I don’t think the large flake size of the metallic looks too bad. 
I’ve always loved the TA with its screaming eagle. Simply iconic. Thanks for sharing this build. 

Thank you, Sonny.  The photos somewhat exaggerate the flake effect.  It is not so dramatic to the naked eye.

6 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

Looks stunning, that blue is gorgeous. I love the heavy flake, personally. 

Gareth, thanks for checking in on the build.  The blue is a little darker than I had wanted but it still is a pretty color.

[AMT68]

When I built mine a couple years ago I was also concerned about the  clear film around the perimeter of the screaming eagle But it really doesn't show. As for the metallic flake I used Deja-Blue in the same Testors line and they look much larger in the  pictures.

Sorry to see you had a bad break with the clearcoat as you're doing a great job with this kit. 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by AMT68

[ModelcarJR]

Sorry to hear about your bad break, John. But it happens to all of us. If you plan on re-painting blue and need the blue decals I would be glad to send them to you. I don't know if you can send a private message on this board as I haven't been on it long but if you send me your address I'll put them in the mail. I painted mine orange and will be starting a WIP today.  ?

[Dragonhawk1066]

Sorry to hear about the clear bubbling on you☹️. That hood looks beautiful though!

[Can-Con]

John, I don't think it's all that bad. 

Just let it gas out for a couple days, wet sand it with finishing paper ,, maybe 4000 or 6000 grit to carefully get rid of most of the bubbles and shoot another coat or two of clear.

I think you can save that paint, no problem. ?

[Nacho Z]

On 12/22/2020 at 7:14 PM, ModelcarJR said:

Sorry to hear about your bad break, John. But it happens to all of us. If you plan on re-painting blue and need the blue decals I would be glad to send them to you. I don't know if you can send a private message on this board as I haven't been on it long but if you send me your address I'll put them in the mail. I painted mine orange and will be starting a WIP today.  ?

John, that is very nice of you to offer the decals!  I am good however.  Actually I gave the two unused sets of colors to a hobby friend for something he had in the works.

On 12/22/2020 at 8:15 PM, Dragonhawk1066 said:

Sorry to hear about the clear bubbling on you☹️. That hood looks beautiful though!

Thanks, Craig!  All issues were caused by my impatience...sigh.

On 12/22/2020 at 8:21 PM, Can-Con said:

John, I don't think it's all that bad. 

Just let it gas out for a couple days, wet sand it with finishing paper ,, maybe 4000 or 6000 grit to carefully get rid of most of the bubbles and shoot another coat or two of clear.

I think you can save that paint, no problem. ?

I appreciate the advice.  Thank you!  With all of the issues with this build I decided to leave her as is and put her in the display case.  Make sure to check out the Under Glass section as I will post this model there.  I should do that in the next week or two.  It is a nice 3 footer...lol.

[1972coronet]

You've done a GREAT job with that Sabre Tooth Tigre kit ! 

The way that you blended the front fascia and rear bumper into the body is so clean ! 

Honestly , I can't see the bubbles in the clear-coat that you're mentioning --- all that I see is a gorgeous shade of metallic blue and miles-deep clear !  It looks GREAT ! 

Keep on keepin' on !

[Nacho Z]

I'm sure I'm not alone here, I always love to do a quick mockup of a model, especially when you have a lot of sub-assemblies complete.  I couldn't help myself and temporarily put her together before starting to do some detail painting.

I masked off the window trim and painted it.

I often use close up pics to see my work and to see what needs to be tidied up.  The grill is passable to the naked eye, at least for a shelf model.

I think that will wrap up this WIP thread.  I'll post in Under Glass in the next week or two.  Thanks to all who took the time to offer advice and comments.  That is what makes this model car board such a great place!

[Nacho Z]

12 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

You've done a GREAT job with that Sabre Tooth Tigre kit ! 

The way that you blended the front fascia and rear bumper into the body is so clean ! 

Honestly , I can't see the bubbles in the clear-coat that you're mentioning --- all that I see is a gorgeous shade of metallic blue and miles-deep clear !  It looks GREAT ! 

Keep on keepin' on !

Stop, John, I'm blushing...lol.  All kidding aside, thanks for the nice words.  If you look at my last post you will be able to see some of the bubbles.  It was the worst around the wheel flares.  There is even a little on the nose.  I probably could have eliminated some of them but in the end it was never going to be anything more than a shelf model and I just wanted to finish it up.

[1972coronet]

9 minutes ago, Nacho Z said:

If you look at my last post you will be able to see some of the bubbles.  It was the worst around the wheel flares.  There is even a little on the nose. 

Ah ! I see them now --- they don't appear to be too bad , at least in the photos (which always bring-out flaws... I know that my builds look bad in photos !) . Still better than a factory paint job from the Van Nuys or Norwood plants ! Ha !

Still a beauty !