Meng 1/24 Ford GT40

[Bomber_County]

Stunning Peter, as Rob said absolutely flawless. Also helps being photographed perfectly as well. I’ve got both the Ju88 and Lysander to photograph but all my attempts at portraying it as it is reality is almost impossible for me…..I’ll have one go….

[Kamran GTR]

Hi, great build! I'm currently building it too, applied clear and finished the wheels, and I'm disappointed when I tried to test fit the wheels, they looks small and stick into the outside too much, completely ruins the model look. Looks like Meng did a good job with details, but the car doesn't look convincing when finished.

[harv]

Peter, sorry I lost track of this. It is stunning  !.....harv 🏆

[Peterpools]

Thanks Phil, very much appreciated.

My three passions have always been: Flying, photography and modeling. I do spend a lot of time photographing and preparing the images for an update.

How do you take your photographs: camera or cellphone? The key is lighting and sharpness. Leaving out all the photographic mumble jumbo, if you can focus 1/3rd into the model from front to back, that should give you a reasonably sharp image. I could go on for hours but I would put everyone to sleep including me.

Keep 'em comin

Peter 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Harv

Just glad your back on board as I'm not far from the finish line.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

[Peterpools]

BACK ON THE BENCH AND UNDERWAY AGAIN

After making significant progress on the GT40, I had to put her aside so I could build and finish my Ukrainian GB entry, the Embraer 190. The Embraer was completed, in the GB Ready For Inspection Forum portion of the GB. And now back to the GT40

First step as always for seniors (I’m 74 and closing in on 75), is to just sit and look at the kit, try to remember what was done and were the project actually was left. After organizing my thoughts, it was time to resume construction.

First order of business to was to thoroughly clean the GT40 and at the same time ensure no parts were missing or damaged – all seemed A-OK. I left off after completing the masking and painting of the rubber seals around all the glass and at that time when I removed the Meng masks, they left a messy, sticky residue on each piece of glass. And that’s the note how I left the kit.

Step one was cleaning all the glass and being very careful not to remove any of the ‘rubber seal’s I airbrushed on. I found the best method was to use the Gravity (Spain) three part polishing system, working each piece of clear plastic glass very carefully. All the goo was removed and the glass test fitted – perfect fit, nice going Meng.

The head light and driving light tunnels needed to be painted flat black and that was accomplished with Tamiya XF-1 thinned with X20A and applied in numerous, very light coats with a Windsor Newton Series Seven Brush. Time well spent.

The Rear PE Grill needed to be painted and that was done with MRP Black Primer and no additional color coats needed.  

The wheels were primed and the outer rims painted with Alclad Dura Aluminum, the inner portions Tamiya Lacquer LP-19 Gun Metal and the knock offs with Alclad Polished Aluminum.

Mengs rubber tires are simply gorgeous, mounted to the rims and Future Floor Wax was brush painted on the sidewalls, being very careful not to slip and get any on the tire treads or rims. Once try, I applied the Indycal Tire Logs with blue stripe decals, a separate purchase and so well worth the cost. Once thoroughly dried, I thinned and brush on a semi matt clear finish which nicely replicated the look of the race tire.

Very satisfying progress and getting ready for the next stage: applying the clear gloss finish and polishing.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

 

[harv]

Saaaweeet......harv 

[Peterpools]

Thanks, Harv

Couple of work sessions and this baby is done and in the books and onto my Spitfire build.

Keep 'em comin

 Peter

[BlrwestSiR]

Very, very nice GT there Peter. 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Carl

Enjoying building the kit as auto modeling is so different then aircraft modeling - a nice way to keep each fresh and eager to get going on, alternating between the two. 

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

Very nice work, Peter!

 

[DocRob]

Love it Peter the Ford looks almost ready to race. Thanks for the explaining your method of applying decals onto the tyres. I have to do that soon and the last time, I added markings and logos to a models tyre was in my twens with a clumsy brush painting effort .

Cheers Rob

[mark31]

Great work almost there.

You have done a great job

 

Mark

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz

Painting and decaling are my favorite parts of any build and for the most part, that's what the GT40 build has been all about.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Rob

Truth be it, my brother is a fantastic model car builder and it's really his tire technique. Works perfectly and glad to pass it on. I also remember those days of trying to hand paint tires and what a disaster. 👍

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark

Super fun build and you're so right - I'm getting mighty close to the finish line. Clear gloss and polishing are next, a few details to add and with a bit of luck, the GT40 will be done.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

[shark64]

Spectacular work. Friend of mine had the same car, sadly he sits in his garage and barely drives it.
nice work Pete.

[HubertB]

1 hour ago, shark64 said:

Spectacular work. Friend of mine had the same car, sadly he sits in his garage and barely drives it.
nice work Pete.

If it’s a genuine original GT40, I am not sure I’d dare drive it on open roads … Too precious to risk in the traffic

Hubert

[Peterpools]

Oliver, much appreciated and as Hubert said, if it's the real deal and not a replica, I would never park it in the garage but build a room for it as part of the house, so I could admire it every day. No wait, I would build my cave around it, with a complete entertainment center and small kitchen and spend countless hours with the GT40. Of course, she needs to be trailered to the best shows and driven on special courses.  

Oliver, have you at east sat in the GT40?

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[DocRob]

I'm completely opposite, If I own something, I use it, being it rare vinyls in my collection, which I unwrap and put them on my turntable and reduce their value by half, during seconds or build a rare kit. I would be very cautious while driving a genuine GT 40, but would use it. I can't understand, why people close away their valuable goods. Where is the meaning of buying goods, only to maintain them in perfect condition over time. Sure increasing value could be an argument, but to me it's a product, a thing, albeit a very special thing and things should be used as lifelike as possible. If you die tomorrow, how would you feel about not having driven your precious GT 40 only once.

Cheers Rob

[Kaireckstadt]

Great work on the GT Peter! Can’t wait to see it cross the finish-line! 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kai

I'm hoping this weekend to finally do the clear gloss topcoat and then let it thoroughly dry for a good 48 hours. Then early next week, polish, add the few remaining small parts and then I'll be driving her across the line.

The last project of our house reno was done on Wednesday - a new High Tech Anderson double hung window for my studio, followed by two days of cleaning and washing, as sawdust gets everywhere no matter how well I covered up everything. But we're done now with our home reno. Turned into quite a project and well over budget - nothing new.

Peter

[Bomber_County]

Stunning Peter as ever. Le Mans is happening as I type so a fitting build for a great car and race. I’ve have a few friends over there for the weekend…..

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kev, much appreciated

Being at Le Mans, no that's the ultimate for sure.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

FORD GT40

MENG 1/24 SCALE

DONE AND IN THE BOOKS

The Meng 1/24 scale Ford GT40 is done and in the books. The model depicts the second-place finish car driven by Ken Miles and Denny Hulme at Le Mans in 1966. While I was building the model, I had the opportunity to actually watch the movie: Ford vs Ferrari – talk about inspiration. I spent a lot of time finishing the model as I wanted it to replicate the car as best I could. The kit itself had no real issues and was a pleasure to build – my first race car to be honest.

I used Indycal Decals and they were fantastic for all the car and tire markings. The teardrops over the headlights were done using the mask set I purchased from IndyCals when I purchased the decals and were the only way I could resolve the fit and color issues. Indycal helped replicate the car markings correctly and fit of the decals were superb. Decals were applied right on top of the gloss paint, as it was super smooth and no need for any clear coats for application.

Paints:

Primer: MRPLight Gray Lacquer

Color Coats: Gravity of Spain Lacquers

Clear Gloss Top Coat: Tamiya Clear LP-9

The Tamiya Clear Gloss Lacquer LP-9 was used to seal the decals and I followed my brother and Mark’s advice, let the clear coat set up for a good 72hours and then onto the polishing stages. To add depth to the finish I used the Gravity Polishing System and lastly their synthetic Wax.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter