Mystery Machine??!! Yep, something silly

[Steve H]

Ya…. this is gonna be quick. Keeping it REALLY simple on this one, but… it will be low!! 
I bought this many years ago to build with my daughter. We built a pink Hummer, but never got to Scooby and Shaggy’s ride. Time to remove it from the stash…
The plan is to keep it very cartoony looking. Slammer, with no interior. I have a handful of paint ideas to spoon test for this one. 
I probably shouldn’t waste your time doing a WIP on this one… here goes anyway.

As always comments are welcome…. not expecting many here tho!!! 

[1930fordpickup]

Subject matter does not make a difference when it turns out cool.  Not a waste of time at all. Post away. 

[Zippi]

That should be pretty kewl.  I like it.  Throw some big ole meats on the back and a straight axle under the front and let-er-eat☺

[cobraman]

Always fun to build something a bit strange or wacky.

[Rick L]

That thing has some possibilities. ? Keep us posted.

[KWT]

You were right, I didn't see this one coming... But I am intrigued to say the least.

[chris chabre]

I keep threatening myself that IM gonna buy one and do It laid out on big wheels haha

[Steve H]

23 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Subject matter does not make a difference when it turns out cool.  Not a waste of time at all. Post away. 

Thanks Andy, I’ll try to make it worth while. 

15 hours ago, Zippi said:

That should be pretty kewl.  I like it.  Throw some big ole meats on the back and a straight axle under the front and let-er-eat☺

Hi Bob! Good to see you back sir. Some decent size rubber on the back for sure, not huge tho. I’ve got tires and wheels sorted out.

13 hours ago, cobraman said:

Always fun to build something a bit strange or wacky.

I agree Ray. I like to do something totally goofy every once in a while. 

13 hours ago, Rick L said:

That thing has some possibilities. ? Keep us posted.

Hi Rick, I have had MANY ideas for this thing over the years. 

12 hours ago, KWT said:

You were right, I didn't see this one coming... But I am intrigued to say the least.

Haha!! I told you it would be a laugh. Just keep your expectations low, and you won’t be disappointed!

1 hour ago, chris chabre said:

I keep threatening myself that IM gonna buy one and do It laid out on big wheels haha

Oh I would love to see your take on this Chris. I double dare you! Maybe this silliness will “inspire” you…nah…. likely not much inspirational will happen here. Should be fun tho.

I gotta be honest guys, I wasn’t expecting ANY interest for this one. Thanks for having a look and commenting. I painted a bunch (12) spoons today, should have it narrowed down to 2-3 tomorrow.

 

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Steve!

I had a 1/1 flat-nose 64 Chevy van back then, and it was deemed "cool" when properly customized. I see no reason why you could not pull this one up the food chain... I'll be watching, with a smile!

CT

[mchook]

This should be very cool, it's in the right hands. I have one of these and I keep thinking of doing something crazy with it too. Maybe one day. There is a bunch of these out there maybe someone should start a Build your version of the Mystery Machine thread.

[Steve H]

On 2/21/2022 at 4:55 AM, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Steve!

I had a 1/1 flat-nose 64 Chevy van back then, and it was deemed "cool" when properly customized. I see no reason why you could not pull this one up the food chain... I'll be watching, with a smile!

CT

Hi Claude! Ya… sometimes I just like to bring it down a notch. It will be fun for sure, I have a vision…. Hopefully, it will indeed make you smile, that would make me smile!! 

On 2/21/2022 at 7:31 AM, mchook said:

This should be very cool, it's in the right hands. I have one of these and I keep thinking of doing something crazy with it too. Maybe one day. There is a bunch of these out there maybe someone should start a Build your version of the Mystery Machine thread.

Hi Mark, sorry for the delayed reply, it’s been a busy stretch. Man, I look forward to seeing your take on this kit, a rusty barn find of the long lost mystery machine… bring it on! It would be cool to see the different takes on this kit, I’ve seen a few that I really liked.
If anyone wants to join in here, it would be great. 
This will be a fairly quick build, I just need to actually get to my desk… I’m hoping for a small update tomorrow. I’ve had a few ideas pop into my head that might kick things up a notch. 
 

Thanks for checking in guys!

[Steve H]

Hi all, still haven’t had much desk time. Just enough done to throw a quick mock up together. This will give you a flavour of where this is going. I had a fun dive into the parts bins and decal box the other night. Saving some of my finds for later. 

Added the wing from “fast buck”

Colour will be Tamiya TS 24 purple, with Tamiya  “lame flake” for some sparkle. 

I plan on going heavy with the lame flake to keep it “cartoony”. Found some fun graphics in the decal box, they are really old though. I’m hoping a coat of decal bonder will keep them from falling apart. I spent some time today messing around with what will be one of the key features of the build. No photos yet, I have some more to do before I share. 
 

Thanks for having a look.

[Modlbldr]

Bring it on!! I like the "off the wall" builds from time to time. Helps.keep this hobby fun and interesting.

Later-

[crossfire 2004]

I carried out a fun build on this kit several years ago and ended with this.

[Tabbysdaddy]

I think a top chop would make it look so much better. 

[Steve H]

On 3/2/2022 at 10:36 AM, Modlbldr said:

Bring it on!! I like the "off the wall" builds from time to time. Helps.keep this hobby fun and interesting.

Later-

Hi Tom, thanks for the encouragement! We think alike, I really like to do these fun builds once in a while. I often try at least one new idea on the easy builds for possible use later on detailed builds. I have a done working headlights in the past, I have a new lighting idea to try on this one that I intend to do on a detailed build in the future.

On 3/2/2022 at 10:59 PM, crossfire 2004 said:

I carried out a fun build on this kit several years ago and ended with this.

Haha !!! I saw this build. Stuart, this thing is awesome! It made me laugh when I saw it, Shaggy’s eyes tell the whole story. I actually considered doing a  VERY similar build, but have decided to take an easier route. Thanks for sharing that

14 hours ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

I think a top chop would make it look so much better. 

Hi Sean, I had also considered a top chop. I agree it would look cool, and likely better, with a chop. There is a chance I will still do it, but…. I want to make sure it keeps the “cartoon” look, the chop might look too “normal?” I also want room for some graphics on the side, still playing with that. I very much appreciate the input.

 

 Thanks for the feedback guys, unfortunately I’ve had no bench time lately. I have a big project on the go at home, still about 3 weeks to go on that. 
Cheers, Steve

[espo]

Fun looking build. 

[Steve H]

On 3/4/2022 at 9:46 AM, espo said:

Fun looking build. 

Oooooops! Sorry David, I have been off the board for a bit and missed your comment. As you know, I always appreciate hearing from you. 

[Steve H]

Well, I finally had a bit of bench time. I know, I said this was going to be quick… 

Here we go…. To get the ride height I want, (low), I’m tucking the chassis up in the body a bit. I needed to add some length and width to the chassis for a better fit.

chassis painted, obviously I did not spend much time here… I spayed some of the Tamiya “lame flake” on the chassis, then a bit of brush painting. The 2 channels running between the front and rear axles with holes near the rear axle will make sense in a minute. 

On the top side of the chassis, I added a fairly crude, but functional battery holder complete with Velcro strap.

So the channels on the underside have some BMF for reflectivity. The holes are for lights. The plan is to make some “tubes”. I’m not sure how many of you remember the neon tube trend from 20-25 years ago. The tubes gave an illusion of the car “floating. Evans Designs makes a product called side glow fibre optics.

If anyone here has interest in doing lights on a car, or diorama, I highly recommend this company. I have no affiliation with them other than being a happy customer. Great products, website, service, and fast shipping.  So after tinting a couple of lights with clear purple and attaching them to the tubes, you get this…

Not the best photo, but hopefully you get the idea. They look pretty good!! 

I will have another update in a day or 2.

As always, thanks for having a look and all comments welcome. More silliness to come!!

Cheers, Steve

 

 

[slusher]

That looks Awesome!

[misterNNL]

"Ruhhrow"

[Steve H]

3 hours ago, slusher said:

That looks Awesome!

Hi Carl !  I’ve been away from the forum for a bit, great to have you cheering me on here. 
 

 

1 hour ago, misterNNL said:

"Ruhhrow"

HA!!! Tom, you took the words right out of Scoobs mouth!  Shaggy has been messing with the Mystery Machine…. Thanks for taking the time to comment on this silliness. 

[Steve H]

Initially the plan was to leave the back doors “hinged” as they came in the kit so I could access the battery. However, the doors were a fairly poor fit, so I decided to glue them shut. There was a large gap between the doors which I filled with styrene strips. The “belt line” in the middle of the doors did not line up, so that was filled after photo was taken.

The front needed “something”, so after playing with several options, I decided on the Peterbuilt grill. This keeps with the cartoony look 

You may have noticed a bunch of holes in the body, here a few of the items to fill those. Airhorn from the parts bin was hollowed out for “realism”

Here we have roof rack hoops made from wire, search light, ornament for grill, air horn, antennae made from wire with ball from a pin, the alligator clip is holding the base of the antennae which is some styrene rod and aluminum tube, the big “bolt” will be the gas cap. 

And here’s the Mystery Machine in purple.

More soon….

Thanks for having a look!

[Steve H]

Ok…. Moving along.

So with the Tamiya TS 24 purple dry, it was time for the Tamiya “lame flake” (I would call it speed boat metallic). The pictures don’t really capture the prism effect of the paint. There is a fairly dramatic rainbow sparkle to it. Maybe I’ll try a video when it’s done. 

The good news is the paint creates look I want, the bad news is the finish is like sandpaper due to the size of the flakes. After that it was time to start applying the decals. I had fun digging thru the decal box for this one. The multi coloured graphics are OLD, my guess is 35 years, just a guess tho. They were fragile, and there is a couple of places the decals came apart, but the decal binder seemed to hold them together fairly well. 

The roof rack will have a surf board, so I used a bunch of surf related decals. Scooby’s door has K-9 unit decals, Shaggy has Dare unit.  The idea here was just to have some fun. After the decals “cured” I applied a mist coat of Mr Hobby clear, then 2 light coats of Tamiya pearl clear, then 2 medium coats of Mr Hobby clear. I was optimistic that after all that, the “sand paper” finish would be something I could polish. It’s still a bit “chunky”, ya… chunky. Not exactly what I wanted. So I’m on the fence, I could add another few coats of clear so I can shine it up,  or just call it good. 
As I was doing my parts box dive for bits, I came across some old running lights (I think from the 1/20 scale Highjacker van). They were a bit rough, but definitely usable for this. The lenses came out in one piece, so I cleaned up the glue schmeeb on the back of the lenses. Sanded the styrene post off, then made longer posts from aluminum tube, they intentionally too long to keep things cartoon like. Paint is Tamiya pearl light red, molotow chrome reflector, Lenses got a coat of clear yellow on the back.

That’s it for now. 
I must say, as this progressed I kept coming up with more ideas. I could have gone about 20 directions with this kit. It is refreshing sometimes to just play around and not take a build too serious. The license plate will pay homage to the crime fighting prowess of Scooby and Shaggy, along with the door decals. That got me thinking… man, I should have done a paddy wagon, then there was a thought about a Scooby snack truck… If you’ve got one these kits, bust it out and have fun with it. I hope this one puts a smile on your face.

Thanks for looking,

Cheers, Steve

[slusher]

Looks fantastic! Very creative!   I am really enjoying this fun build.