sflam123 Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 I received my Green Elephant kit almost exactly 6 months ago. Building this kit has simultaneously been one of the most satisfying builds and one of the most frustrating. I put more effort in to getting as much as I could historically correct and adding that extra level of detail in to this one. The paint on the body is Tamiya TS52 Candy Lime Green over grey primer. The tins are painted with Tamiya TS 20 Metallic Green. Pro-Tech braided lines were used on the engine for fuel and oil lines, and Pro-Tech spark plugs wires were used in place of the plastic lines supplied with the kit. The engine injectors and injector hat are resin parts from LPH 1320 Model Parts, and are some of the most detailed parts I've ever found. Overall the kit built up pretty much like any Revell 1/16 kit. I know Atlantis made some modifications to adjust the stance, and I made additional modifications to lower the back end and get the nose down. The use of the LPH parts necessitated modifying the interior tin in the blower area, as I raised the blower cover 5mm (approx.). From what I can find, the real car always ran two parachutes, so I built up a new mount for the parachutes and "stole" a parachute pack from another 1/16 kit. A word of caution to anyone building this kit in the future. When I received the kit, the front windshield was in two pieces, although the box was pristine and sealed. I contacted Atlantis and they immediately sent out a new windshield. HOWEVER....the new windshield cracked when I glued it in place with Testors clear plastic glue. The curvature of the windshield does not match the curvature of the body and the windshield is very thin, so it fractures with very little stress. The decals were probably the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with. The completed model is actually a combination of two separate decal sheets, both from Atlantis. The first attempt at decaling the car was an unqualified failure! The hood and roof decals WOULD NOT lay flat (despite going through a half bottle of MicroScale MicroSol!) and bubbled up as they dried. Both the white side stripes also bubbled badly. After removing the bubbled decals, I again attempted to get the decals to lay down, (using the rest of the bottle of MicroSol) and a new technique. I heated the body up with a hair dryer as the decals soaked in water. I then slid the decal on the warm-up body and applied MicroSol and with a very wet cloth continued to smooth and apply pressure to get them to lay down. I still got a small wrinkle on the hood decal, but although I'm not happy, I'm not buying another set of decals! I have been building models for just over 60 years, and at almost 68 years of age, this is probably the best I can do on detailing and assembling a model. I hope you all like it. Questions and comments welcome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Love the engine details. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4mula1fan Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Nice job! The plumbing is great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Looks great ! I had the same problems with the decals. We are about the same age and have been building just as long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills72sj Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Nice job! All the work you put into shows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Your finished model looks great. The body and decals look good too as I don't see any imperfections. I have this model and now you've scared me with your experience building it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 2 hours ago, TonyK said: Your finished model looks great. The body and decals look good too as I don't see any imperfections. I have this model and now you've scared me with your experience building it. There isn't any need to be scared! FOR THE MOST PART, the kit assembles just like any of the Revell 1/16 Funny Car kits. My suggestions to make your experience more enjoyable are: 1. Replace the kit supplied spark plug wires (which are stiff plastic) with aftermarket spark plug wires and boots. My personal preference is Pro-Tech, but there are several that make them. 2. Test fit EVERYTHING. I've built LOTS of the Revell 1/16 kits. I know what does and doesn't need checking. Even though this is just an updated "Jungle Jim Vega" kit, there were some parts that I didn't check, that I expected to fit, that didn't without some minor adjustments, and that caused some of my frustrations. This is totally on me and has nothing to do with the kit. 3. Don't use the rear window decal!! Either leave the rear window clear glass or do what I did, paint the rear window silver/aluminum. The decal is just a little too large and it interferes with the the roof and trunk decals from seating at the ends and IMO, contributed to the "Bubbling" I experienced with the first set of decals. 4. If you use the kit supplied tubing, become friends with your wife's hair dryer. Even though I didn't use much of the tubing supplied, choosing to use Pro-Tech braided line for most of the plumbing, I did use some. The tubing supplied with the kit is fairly stiff and it made getting the bends required somewhat difficult. Heating the tubing before using it made it more pliable. I certainly hope you have fun building up your kit. I'll gladly answer any question you may have as you progress on it. Just message me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Thanks for the tips. Don't believe I've built a 1/16th funny car since the Revellution. I always test fit everything on models except I try not to on Tamiya kits because they're flawless. LOL I'll look into the aftermarket tubes and wires as past experience with supplied ones are usually some kind of cheap hard vinyl-like BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Looks great!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hmann68 Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Very nice work, your efforts paid off! Love the engine detail too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Looks fantastic! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8tiger Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 This looks amazing to me. I'm doing the same model and was wondering hat size braided line did you use? This is the first time I've worked with this scale.. thank you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, V8tiger said: This looks amazing to me. I'm doing the same model and was wondering hat size braided line did you use? This is the first time I've worked with this scale.. thank you At the recommendation of Charles at Pro-Tech Model Parts, I used 045" braided line for the oil lines and .035" braided line for the fuel lines. I think Charles' recommendations were perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B. Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 I'm old enough to remember when The Green Elephant ran The Snake's Army Monza in the first round of the Winternationals on ABC Wide World of Sports back in 1975 and I remember how cool both cars looked. Your car, sir, looks just as cool as the originals - very well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8tiger Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Thanks for the info sflam! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afxawb2 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 How do I contact LPH 1320 model parts for injector? { can not locate LPH anywhere...thank you,Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatMan Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Nice build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 7 hours ago, afxawb2 said: How do I contact LPH 1320 model parts for injector? { can not locate LPH anywhere...thank you,Larry They do not have a website (yet). You have to contact them through Facebook. Go to Facebook, then search LPH 1320 Model Products. Once on their FB site, go to media and select pictures. One of the photos is an inventory list that lists their products and costs. You message them to place an order. They accept PayPal money transfer. I am not affiliated with them, but their parts are first rate and incredibly detailed, they are VERY helpful if you have questions, and they shipped very promptly after I ordered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afxawb2 Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 I tried what you said but when the fb page comes up there is not a media or picture listed-have tried many times but cannot find right combination...thank you for the info,maybe will be able to figure it out....Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) On 1/11/2022 at 10:26 AM, sflam123 said: 1. Replace the kit supplied spark plug wires (which are stiff plastic) I'm looking at the plug wire from my 1/16 Atlantis kit right now and the material is definitely not stiff plastic, but rather more like the consistency of fishing line, if that makes sense. Curves easily and does a good job of replicating spark plug wires, which would never allow for sharp bends like coated wire would. That said, I would still prefer the coated wire from the Revell issues, but considering the description of your spark plug wire and the brittleness of the windshield (mine was fine, with no damage), maybe your kit got very hot at some point during shipping? Your kit was sealed, correct? I didn't see any way the flat decals would lay down over that hood bulge, either, when I first looked at the decal sheet Probably better to paint in this case. Edited February 1, 2022 by Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 2:11 PM, Casey said: I'm looking at the plug wire from my 1/16 Atlantis kit right now and the material is definitely not stiff plastic, but rather more like the consistency of fishing line, if that makes sense. Curves easily and does a good job of replicating spark plug wires, which would never allow for sharp bends like coated wire would. That said, I would still prefer the coated wire from the Revell issues, but considering the description of your spark plug wire and the brittleness of the windshield (mine was fine, with no damage), maybe your kit got very hot at some point during shipping? Your kit was sealed, correct? I didn't see any way the flat decals would lay down over that hood bulge, either, when I first looked at the decal sheet Probably better to paint in this case. I believe you will find that if you use the kit supplied spark plug wires that they are still stiff enough the body will not set down low enough to be realistic. The plastic spark plug wires coming out of the distributor will "prop" the body pretty high up and give it a "tilt" as well. I think you will find that the alternatives you have are to use the Revell wires, aftermarket wires or modify the distributor to get it lower in order for the body to set down in a more realistic position. At least that was the situation on my kit. Yes, my kit was sealed. I got it in late June/early July so there is a possibility it got hot, but it was also a very early kit (I had "preordered" it from a hobby supplier) so I think there were some modifications made to later kits. The windshield that Atlantis sent to me to replace the broken one was thinner and had some different dimensions than the original windshield. I am a lifelong freshwater fisherman, and I've used up to 100lb. test monofilament fishing line, so your comparison makes sense. The spark plug wires in my kit were larger dia. than any fishing line I've used and stiffer too. I realize that Atlantis is a new company working to get their feet on the ground. Lord knows we need them to be successful. I am not bashing their effort on this. Just trying to make others that might be building this kit aware of some deficiencies and work arounds so they don't struggle like I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew McD Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Despite the windshield and decal issues you have produced a most impressive scale model! The engine detailing is a mind blower. Wow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 On 1/10/2022 at 4:24 PM, crazyjim said: Love the engine details. On 1/10/2022 at 5:26 PM, 4mula1fan said: Nice job! The plumbing is great! On 1/10/2022 at 5:54 PM, cobraman said: Looks great ! I had the same problems with the decals. We are about the same age and have been building just as long. THANK YOU crazyjim, 4mula1fan and cobraman for the compliments and kind words. Much appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 On 1/11/2022 at 12:24 AM, Bills72sj said: Nice job! All the work you put into shows. On 1/11/2022 at 2:45 AM, ChrisR said: Looks great! On 1/12/2022 at 5:12 PM, PappyD340 said: Looks great!! THANK YOU Bills72sj, ChrisR, and PappD340 for your compliments and kind words. I appreciate your comments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.