Holly Shi...eetas, I'm building a Mustang!!!

[mrm]

OK, so this is attempt number two at this thread. 

First off, I would like to apologize to everyone for the first one. I made a political joke (and it was meant just as that - a joke) in the opening post of the thread, which apparently was against the forum rules. Honestly God, I had no idea, which is no excuse, as I am the first one to advocate that one's ignorance of the rules is no excuse for braking them. Anyway, lesson learned. I got my 30 ban served and now I know better. I'll keep it clean from anything associated with politics from now on.

    So, I have never ever build a model of a Mustang before in my life. Well... sort of. But I am not counting the two or three diecast models I've done on commission long time ago. For a 1/25 scale plastic kit, this is definitely the very first for me. And to be honest, I have to admit that I know Jack about Mustangs, other than they have a cult following and that their latest small block Coyotee engines make a really cool noise when equipped with the proper exhaust. Here is a little bit of a back story on this build, which happened just because "the planets aligned" as they say:

    I am an exotics lover and not much out there gets more exotic than a Pagani. Aoshima is the only manufacturer that makes a Pagani in 1/24. They make the Zonda S and Zonda F, which are the second and third generation of the Zonda model. There were 5 cars build of the Zonda Cinque and the only way to get that in 1/24 scale is to either scratch build 50% of the car based on the Aoshima Zonda F or to get all the necessary parts 3D printed. Since I have been thinking about getting a 3D printer for the longest time, I chose the second option. This led to me exploring the available 3D files online. A big presence in the scale is Black Box, who make a bunch of really cool stuff, some of which has been shown by some here on the forum. They also make at least three or four Mustang body kits. Add to that the raving reviews of Revell's new '71 Mustang kits and that one of the themes for this year's ACME show (which I am determined to attend) is Mustangs and You would understand what I mean by the planets aligning. 

   This is what I am starting with.

 

And in a rather unconventional way. I am going to show you what I a NOT going to use from the kit. Which is most of it. 

 

So, basically I am going to use just the body and this from the interior:

  

 

For some reason I love the box art and I decided that my model would be in the same color combo as a nod to it. AKA Storm Trooper spec. Plain white with black. Except this is going to be a very modern, current vibe, resto-mod kind of build, so most of the black will probably end up in carbon fiber. And staying in character the car would need a new chassis, because the dinosaur '70 set up would just not cut it between the cones on a modern auto cross track as the ones seen on Good Guys events. Well, who would have thought that A Revell Of Germany 1/24 scale Ferrari California would have the exact same wheel base as a 1/25 scale '70 Mustang? This gives an instant solution for a modern independent suspension on all four corners. But it is a lot wider, some would say! Yes, it is. But not if you put on the body a freshly 3D printed Black Box wide body kit. 

 

Stay tuned and thanks for looking.

Edited July 7, 2024 by mrm

[thatz4u]

what are you going to do with the unused stuff?

[mrm]

10 minutes ago, thatz4u said:

what are you going to do with the unused stuff?

It would probably go in the piles of other unused stuff in random boxes, until one day I find use for some of it. Or you can have it. Maybe you have some similar stuff that is useless to you you can trade. 

[mrm]

I am having some issues uploading my pictures to my usual Imageshack location, so I'll try putting some up directly. 

The Body.

 

[mrm]

It was a lot of body work, but definitely happy with the outlandinsh widebody look. Molding in that custom engine compartment was no joke.

[mrm]

The California's underbody/chassis was greatly modified, including cutting down and reshaping all the wheelwells, narrowing it, cutting both front and rear ends, reshaping them and engineering them to attach to the body, while fitting the somewhat stock (dimension wise) interior or rather what is left of it. A whole new diffuser was molded in at the rear. The result is a very factory looking underside, which was the goal from the beginning. 

 

[TNT]

Nice work. Looks to be a cool build.

[mrm]

I was not happy with the look of the lights. They are very nice if you are building a stock version of the car, but for my build I needed something more in tune with today's trends. So I drilled them out and made myself some nice custom HID projector lights. I only feel a little bit of guilt, as the more I change, the cooler the car looks, but it gets less and less recognizable as the Mustang it started as. 

[stavanzer]

Looks sinister.

I'll be watching.

[mrm]

3 minutes ago, TNT said:

Nice work. Looks to be a cool build.

Thank you. This build just gets my creative juices flowing and I keep adding new ideas to it. At this point I have a general idea what I want it to look like but not a clear plan or vision what it would end up like. 

[JimmyRiggins]

I’m not usually one for 70’s mustangs… but that’s because they’re missing the look you’ve given this one!  I’m eager to see this build progress!

[mrm]

20 hours ago, JimmyRiggins said:

I’m not usually one for 70’s mustangs… but that’s because they’re missing the look you’ve given this one!  I’m eager to see this build progress!

Thank you.

In contrast, I always liked the look of the '71. It has a hood for miles and a low roofline that looks chopped from the factory. 

[mrm]

Here is some of the work I've done on the interior.

The whole area in the back received a new shelf under the rear window and the rear seat space was filled in making a nice little package tray, like something you would find in a Grand Touring Ferrari. Actually it is almost identical to what's behind the seats of a Ferrari 550 Maranello for example. I have added more detail to the edges of all panels, which is missing in the pictures.

 

Next, that old outdated dash had to be addressed and I first glued it to the center console.

 

Then I covered all the old instrumentation in the center with sheet styrene and molded the console into the dash with more styrene. 

 

This left me with a blank center console. I had bought an Aoshima kit of the 50th anniversary Lamborghini Aventador, which I have not even started. But when I was going over its parts I noticed that Aoshima added a new sprue tree with the 50th anniversary seats, doors and roof, which have different upholstery pattern but are otherwise the same as the stock Aventador and on the same tree was also an extra center console. They left all the regular parts in there too, since they share real estate with some other pieces. So I end up with an extra set of seats and doors and center console. So I cut it up.

 

The insert with all the modern controls had to be trimmed and after some sanding, just nestled up nicely in the Mustang's dash - nav screen and all.

 

Next the molded in door handles were completely cut out and the surface behind them sanded smooth.

 

Then almost as a joke I piled up bunch of loose left over styrene rod pieces and ends that were littering my desk to create actual door handles, which I wanted to kinda flow into the dash, like on most Ferraris from the '70s/'80s/'90s...

 

This was the rough result after some serious sanding and sculpting. Here it is after some primer for guidence, before a round of putty. 

 

And how everything flows together, looking rather factory.

 

This will be ever more apparent, when everything gets painted as seen with this masking tape.

 

Thanks for looking and stay tuned...

Edited July 8, 2024 by mrm

[mrm]

And just to add...

I have done countless carbon fiber decal jobs on all sorts of parts in every possible shape or form. Nothing comes even close to be as aggravating as trying to do deep wheel barrel covered in carbon! Nothing! I'm loosing my mind ???

[Chuckyg1]

The front end mods makes it now kinda looks like a Javelin.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Some very cool mods going on here Michael. ??

[Steve H]

Oh Boy!…. I REALLY like where this is going. Very cool looking build Michael, I’m along for the ride for sure.

Cheers, Steve

[Street Rod]

I’m digging what you’ve got going on here! Great custom and scratch building work, gonna be a really cool car.

[mrm]

1 hour ago, Chuckyg1 said:

The front end mods makes it now kinda looks like a Javelin.

It does a little, but once you put the hood on and look at whole car, that goes away. 

 

1 hour ago, SpikeSchumacher said:

Some very cool mods going on here Michael. ??

Thanks Spike. I’m having fun with this one. 

 

27 minutes ago, Steve H said:

Oh Boy!…. I REALLY like where this is going. Very cool looking build Michael, I’m along for the ride for sure.

Cheers, Steve

Thank you Steve. I’m glad you enjoy it.

 

13 minutes ago, Street Rod said:

I’m digging what you’ve got going on here! Great custom and scratch building work, gonna be a really cool car.

Thank you. I needed a little change of pace from my usual builds. I hipe it turns out like I envision it. Still plenty of opportunities ti Ef it up. Lol

[mrm]

Aaaaaand..... we got paint!

Now comes a lot and lot of tedious carbon fiber decaling...

Edited July 9, 2024 by mrm

[Codi]

Michael, kudos to you for your imagination first of all and for especially pulling this off.  I would never have thought of this car with that look but WOW!   I'm curious, how long did it take you to do the body mods to date and how do you like your 3d printer? 

cheers, tim

[mrm]

2 hours ago, Codi said:

Michael, kudos to you for your imagination first of all and for especially pulling this off.  I would never have thought of this car with that look but WOW!   I'm curious, how long did it take you to do the body mods to date and how do you like your 3d printer? 

cheers, tim

Hi Tim. Thanks for the kind words. I think you are giving me too much credit however. The wide body and all the other aero parts which I have not shown yet, were all part of a transkit which was designed by BlackBoxStl. I am not sure where exactly are they based in, but all their stuff is available on Cults and a lot of people print their designs. Half the stuff in Iceman Collection is their design. This particular print, used on this body in fact was purchased from Iceman Collections together with few other parts and actually played a huge role in the decision to get a 3D printer. His stuff can be hit or miss and when you mess up a part on a transkit like this one, which you paid $40 for, you start thinking "can I do better" and "what if I could reprint just this one part instead of having to purchase another $40 set for just one fender".

     To answer your question, I have a little over a month into this project and this is not a very accurate assessment, which brings us to the second question about my printer. I have a love-hate relationship with it, ever since I got it (for Father's Day this year). What I mean is that I absolutely love what it does and I still have hard time wrapping my head around what it is capable of. The hate part comes from the time it sucks away from everything else. Once you get out your first set of wheels, you immediately want to try something different and print more wheels and another body kit and a figure and to make a keychain for your wife and this thing and that.....and next thing you know, you have gone through 2kg of resin, have a shoe box of parts that you realistically did not need, didn't sleep more than 3 hours per night for two weeks and not only didn't do any work on the models on your bench, but started six new projects that you shouldn't have. LOL. It's one of those I love to hate it, but hate to love it ordeals, very much because of how good it is. 

  I bought the printer myself, because I didn't think it was fair to let my wife spend that much money on a Father's Day present. But she followed up with buying me a wash station and a UV curing station from the same manufacturer to match the printer. Which made prints easier and faster in terms of getting parts ready. Which in turn made things worst, when it goes to the addiction factor. I literally had to step away and promise that I am not playing with my new toys until my other chores are done and I finished at least two of the models I have started. 

   As far as this Mustang goes, it turned out to be the outlet for quite few ideas and desires I had rolling around in my head. I always wanted to build a Ferrari powered hot rod. Actually I have, but not quite like that. Now that the cat is out of the bag, you know what to expect next on here. A  thoroughbred 4.3l 500hp V8 from Italian descent under that hood. 

Edited July 9, 2024 by mrm

[rickcaps55]

WOW ! that is looking awesome inside and out.!!!!

[Codi]

Good morning Michael,

Just wanted to thank you for the fantastic reply you shared.  I've been considering a printer for my daughter (almost 16) and to read your note, it's something I must do.  I'm not familiar with the sources you've provided but I'll check them out today too.  Amazing what tech and the interwebs can do anymore........soon we'll be able to just tell some artificial intel app to design such and such a file / part and print it out at home (or something like that).  Anyways......keep the updates coming and again, thank you. 

cheers, tim

[mrm]

2 hours ago, Codi said:

Good morning Michael,

Just wanted to thank you for the fantastic reply you shared.  I've been considering a printer for my daughter (almost 16) and to read your note, it's something I must do.  I'm not familiar with the sources you've provided but I'll check them out today too.  Amazing what tech and the interwebs can do anymore........soon we'll be able to just tell some artificial intel app to design such and such a file / part and print it out at home (or something like that).  Anyways......keep the updates coming and again, thank you. 

cheers, tim

Anytime Tim. I got a great deal on mine and very surprised by the whole deal. I spent countless hours of research and watched endless hours of comparison videos and reviews before I pulled the trigger. I went with Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra. Beside the printer you will need some kind of slicer software. All printers come with these thumbnails to download some.... I didn't want to deal with any of it. Based on everything I've watched and read I went with the Saturn 3 Ultra because it eliminated all the headaches. Three reasons for my choice. Everyone raves about the customer service of the Elegoo team. Compatibility with other manufacturer resins and available presets in 3rd party software and most importantly WiFi connectivity. The last one is 70% of the reason for my choice. The ease and convenience it adds to the overall experience is well worth the few extra bucks. I downloaded the Chitubox Basic slicer program for free and it has in it all the settings for my printer and all the available resins. The free Chitubox program has an older 2.0 version and a newer 2.1 version. After struggling with the 2.1 I read lots of reviews and watched few videos and found out everyone is having issues with the 2.1. So I run the 2.0 with no issues whatsoever. I bought the printer on eBay direct from the manufacturer. They have an eBay store where you can buy all their other products and I caught some kind of special. Just the ability to work on the object you want to print from your couch while watching TV and start printing with a simple click of a button is worth the extra for the "Ultra" model. Setting it up was a breeze and I am no computer wiz. 

     I am sure your daughter will have a blast with it. Cults3d have millions of designs for anything you can think of and many are free.