1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C

[ModelcarJR]

I haven't ever built a Shelby Cobra so I thought I would give it a try. This is the same Revell kit that has recently been re-issued but with different decals and box art, I think. I bought this kit at the last model contest and vendor show. The color is suppose to be Guardsman's Blue but I bought a can of Dupli-Color Royal Blue which will be close enough for me. I have sanded out the mold lines that run the top of both fenders for the length of the model and even under the headlight buckets and washed the body. I have also sorted all the other parts into piles for painting, either black or aluminum for the most part. Some chrome parts are in the purple pond. So tomorrow I should be able to get started painting! Thanks for looking! ?

Edited September 26, 2024 by ModelcarJR
No change

[ModelcarJR]

Had a great day today painting. Temp in the 80s, humidity at 40%. I stopped at 1 coat of clear because I can't do any better than this. I could almost get away with not rubbing this one out. All the other pieces are also painted so now I can wire the engine and get a lot of assembly started. I assembled the entire chassis before paint and painted it with a dark primer. I am going to leave it like that and detail a few parts, like springs, with a brush. I'll rub out the body tomorrow. Thanks for looking! ?

Edited September 26, 2024 by ModelcarJR
Copy text

[TransAmMike]

Lookin' great John and a great looking blue!!

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Mike! I appreciate your comment! 

Made some progress last night and early this morning. Finished the engine and it is now installed in the chassis. I added plug wires and a coil. I thought I would have an issue withs the exhaust headers that were two-piece assemblies without positive pin placements. But they glued on nicely. 

This afternoon is a different result. I thought the decals looked good and I started with the hood stripe but it disintegrated into a bunch of pieces. I looked at the decals and found that they were dated 2004. uh-oh! So I sprayed them with a coat of clear lacquer, which I should have done in the first place. Now I used the alternate decal for the 1975 car on the hood. I can either complete the decaling for the 1965 car using this one decal for the other car, but the hood will not have a number on it as the sides and the trunk will. I don't know if that is against the racing rules and I don't even know what association this car raced in. I think it might be the SCCA, so I guess I need to do some research. 

Or I could just build this one as a hot rod with the one decal that I put on the hood. Let me know what you think and if anyone has info on these racers, let me know. Thanks! ?

[ModelcarJR]

Well, I was going to attempt the rest of the decals but the one that I had put on the hood started cracking and flaking off. So I removed it and that will be it for the decals. I guess I'll have to buy the new re-issue and build it. I understand that the decals are much better in that kit. I couldn't use the front and rear logo decals as they were too big and there were no decals for the side badges that were not sponsor decals. I just used a chrome pen on these emblems and called it good. 

Once I had the interior in place, I realized that I had to re-work the mounting of the dash because it was too deep into the body. So I took out the interior and moved the dash back so that it is glued to the most anterior end of the interior wall. Then I could get the steering wheel in place without it looking like a knuckle-buster. I also mocked up the body on the frame with the wheels on the frame and noticed that the front end sat high without the radiator in place. The radiator needs to tuck into the nose to keep the body lined up. I installed the radiator and ditched the lower radiator hose whose connection could only have been accomplished by a double-jointed person. And it didn't make sense anyway since there is not top hose and you can see neither of them hoodside once everything is in place.

This one has been completed as a street driver. I used the standard windshield and frame, wing windows, interior mirror on the dash, driver side mirror and I left the jack points, front and back, off. Maybe I can find some nice bumperettes to fill the mounting holes in the body. There are none in the kit. I dullcoted wheels and exhaust side pipes and blackwashed both. The hood needs a prop to see the engine. One of the dash decals flew away and another one shriveled up. Some may say the it looks like the body is resting on the rear tires and I wouldn't disagree. But there isn't any way to fix it unless I would go to a smaller wheel or tire or both. The car sits level and the rear of the frame tucks in the body right where it's supposed to. Here are a few pics. Final photos are in the "Under Glass" section. Thanks for looking! ?

 

[MeatMan]

Beautiful work!

[Kenmojr]

One of my favorite cars of all time. Nice work on this kit...

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Dennis and Ken! I appreciate your comments! ?