W-409 Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Yesterday at Local Model Car Show I spotted one Jo-Han Pinto FC for sale. The first thing that caught my eye was the box, it was just like brand new! Since the price tag was 25 Euros, which is currently $32, I decided to buy it since there can never be enough Jo-Han kits in my stash! The kit was unstarted, only taillight lenses are missing. Maybe I need to scratchbuild them... The plan is to build something that could have raced Back In The Day, with three-color paint scheme that will be something similar to the one in that box art. The engine is a Boss 429 (?) so all detail pics of those FC engines would be highly appreciated. I have some pics already, but still lots of details are unknown. I started by cutting the Rear Window cover with "Pinto" text away, since I want to have a real rear window in this build. Then, after sanding those mold seams away, I put some Bondo on the body to fix a couple of bad spots. Tomorrow I'll sand them and see if it is already a time for primer coat. Also I started cleaning up the chassis parts, but I have no pics of them yet. Here are pics of what was inside the box. http://public.fotki.com/NostalgicDrag/johan-ford-pinto-fc/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 The plan is to build something that could have raced Back In The Day, with three-color paint scheme that will be something similar to the one in that box art. The engine is a Boss 429 (?) so all detail pics of those FC engines would be highly appreciated. I have some pics already, but still lots of details are unknown. I started by cutting the Rear Window cover with "Pinto" text away, since I want to have a real rear window in this build. Then, after sanding those mold seams away, I put some Bondo on the body to fix a couple of bad spots. Tomorrow I'll sand them and see if it is already a time for primer coat. Also I started cleaning up the chassis parts, but I have no pics of them yet. Decent engine pic here: http://www.hotrod.com/whereitbegan/hrdp_0507_mickey_thompson_funny_pinto_fc/photo_01.html This kit was originally a replica of Mickey Thompson's Titanium Pinto, so the rear window with the "PINTO" opening was correct for that car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Here is some good reference material! http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=34145 The 429 Ford Shotgun engine was originally built to compete against the Chrysler 426 Hemi. It was great for NASCAR, but, a pain for Drag Racing on Nitro. The Pro Stock guys made it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 NICE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Looking forward to this build Niko... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 Thanks Guys for the pictures and comments! The progress hasn't been too fast, since I've been a bit sick lately. But now I'm feeling better and I'm able to do some more work again and I started from the Frame. I had cleaned the Mold Flash already, but today it was putty time to cover those Ejector Pin Marks. Tomorrow I will sand them down, and put some more putty or paint primer on those parts.. We will see... Also the body has got some more putty and sanding. Maybe a primer coat tomorrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Edman Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 looking good Niko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Keep up the good work Niko. Been under the weather also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragfreak Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 looks like a good start Niko! any more progress on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Love your builds Niko, you have good taste with the subjects you choose. Will be watching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Glad your feeling better. Now get after this build ! : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share Posted October 28, 2013 Thanks Guys! I have been taking a break with this one. I'm trying to finish my '71 Pro Stock Barracuda for the Model Car Show next weekend. Also the Cannonball Torino for Cannonball Run CBP is in progress. Once they get done (Hopefully) I'll get back to this and a couple of other Drag Car builds. I've done little Bondo and sanding work on the frame rails, though and with the inside of the body, but there's really nothing much to show yet. I've been thinking of posting a WIP of the Barracuda, but I'm bit hurry with it now, so it might be that I only post the finished pics when it is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoatGuy Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Looking good Niko. Question for reference pic - is that a battery I see in front of the motor ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Boy Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Yes, that's a battery. And yes, the real Mickey Thompson funnycar had one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truck parts Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Nice start I will be following this build as you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Thanks fellas, and yeah, the kit has a battery. I didn't know that some of these had one before Aaron pointed that out. I'm not a Funny Car expert, but these are a lot of fun to build. This is still kinda stalled, but I guess I can get an update posted soon. I've been working with the body and chassis... Bondo, sanding, more Bondo, more sanding etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 After almost 11 years, this thing is finally back on the bench. Today I was working with my other Funny Car, Gas Ronda's '69 Mustang, and I got to the point where I had to wait for glue and putty to dry before I'm able to continue with anything else. So, I decided to grab another Ford Funny Car from the pile of stalled projects. Since the last update, I had sanded all of the mold seams and other imperfections from the frame. Some spots required putty and sanding also. That was done and today I could start assembling the chassis, as I thought it's easier to do it before painting. The instructions were not that great, but because of genious use of half-round locating pins on the frame crossmembers, it was actually easy to figure out the correct way to mount them. Then I started to prep engine parts for paint. The front cover had a hole straight to where the magneto is installed. I wasn't sure how well it can be seen after the cylinder heads are on place, but I decided to fix it with sheet styrene anyway. After the pictures, I also smoothed out the ejector pin mark with putty. Then I had to test fit the tin work to the body to prevent issues during final assembly. The fitment was great, and I was able to glue some of the tin work pieces together to ease painting and assembling. Now I'm also able to fill the joints with a little bit of putty. I guarantee, the next update will come sooner than in 11 years! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragcarz Posted September 16 Share Posted September 16 I hope this helps Niko, MickeyThompson had a Mustang also. Identical except for the body. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted September 16 Author Share Posted September 16 Thanks Roger! I appreciate taking the time to post the pictures, they sure help a lot because you can't beat closeup pictures like that when trying to detail something. To tell the truth, now I have a lot more knowledge, pictures and information about these cars than what I did back when I started this project, but despite that the reference pictures are always a great help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted September 26 Author Share Posted September 26 Slowly working on this thing a few minutes here and there when I have the time, so the progress is quite slow. Anyway, I got some of the engine parts prepped for paint. Engine block, front cover, oil pan and heads are silver out of some automotive spray can. The brand of paint I've usually used had changed a little, and now it's unfortunately a bit brighter silver than before. Valve covers are kit chrome with a coat of flat clear and intake manifold is "Chrome Silver" spray paint. But, the shade of silver on the block and other parts, is a little too close to the shade of valve covers and intake. I think a subtle black wash and all of the detailing later will help the overall look though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted September 29 Author Share Posted September 29 Next up, cleaning up the wheels for paint. I want to paint the wheels to look like magnesium, so I had to strip the chrome plating off. But before that, I wanted to open up the holes to make them look more realistic. After some careful sanding from behind, I was able to open up the holes. For comparison, on left side, a wheel with opened up holes, and on the right side, one that's straight out of the parts tree. Front wheels had open holes in them, but each hole had a pretty significant amount of mold flash. So they needed some careful sanding as well. And here are the wheels ready for primer with the chrome stripped off. At the same time as I had Alclad's Grey Primer & Microfiller on my airbrush, I shot some primer on the wheels and on the frame. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted October 1 Author Share Posted October 1 I sanded tire treads on front and rear tires to make them look a bit used. Especially the rear tires were litle too shiny from the sides, so I carefully wiped the sides with a scouring pad (is that a real word in English?). Turned out a lot better. Here on left side is before and right side is after the treatment. Tire texts were handpainted with a small brush and Tamiya Acrylic white. Wheels are airbrushed with Alclad Magnesium. For lug nuts on rear wheels, I used brighter silver and after that all of the wheels were given a really subtle black wash with The Detailer. I was very careful not to overdo it, so I basically just dry-brushed it on. I think I was succesful. I still need to paint the center caps for front wheels and also I need to find proper wheel backs for front. The ones that came with the kit were so badly warped that I don't think I'm able to fix them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Everything is looking great. Nice work on the wheels and tires. Huge improvement. And yes, 'scouring pad' is a word in English. It worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv1963 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Yep the tires look much better now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted October 9 Author Share Posted October 9 Thanks Trevor and Robert, I appreciate it! Next I searched my parts boxes for wheel backs / inner wheels for front. Because the front axle has spindle mount wheels with no brakes, all I needed was a round "ring" of correct diameter. Found two of them, but they were a little too deep, but the razor saw took care of that. Now they fit well on place. I'll need to do a small touch up with sandpaper and then they're ready for primer and paint. Frame was painted next. I wanted the frame to be blue, and the plan is to use the same blue on some areas of the body later on. The paint is Model Master Acryl thinned a little and shot through an airbrush. I did bunch of research to find the correct thinner for that paint, because the internet had so many different opinions. I ended up using Ultimate Modelling Products' "Ultimate Air & Brush Thinner" and it worked great. The paint laid down pretty nicely, now I'll let it dry a couple of days and then I will clear coat it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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