The Black Island (Ford Zephyr)

It's pretty beat up... but we can fix that.

Paint cleaned off, but the crack in the windshield was too large, so I had to scratch up a new one from some clear plastic sheet. It needed a very careful candle-heated bend and some bit by bit surgery to get it to fit.

And... blue! 10 drops of Tamiya X-14 and 3 drops of Tamiya X-4!

Some careful masking required.

That turned out all right. It needs a few touch ups, but I can live with that.

Applied coats of Future between masking and painting sessions to ensure I didn't lift the paint. Slow going, but it seems to have worked.

A couple of touch ups and a final sealed coat of Future and we're good to go with the body shell.

The car was missing a steering wheel, so a bit of scratchbuilding to the rescue. I also salvaged new wheels leftover from my Tintin Opel Olympia build... close enough, right?

Since I don't need the wheels to turn, using a bit of flexible wire really helps with the final placement and positioning.

Car assembled, now for the finishing touches. Some bits of plastic and homemade decals for the taxi sign and license plates and a bit of thin black wire for the antenna.*

*not shown 😉

Comments

24 19 February 2021, 15:41

Greg Baker
I'm avoiding having to scratchbuild a jigsaw tank turret, rigging a hangman Spad XIII bi-plane, and white panel lining a jet black Me262... what ELSE have I got kicking around on the shelf of projects?😉

19 February 2021, 15:55

Cuajete
Wow... another diecast restoration!
Good job with the windshield 👍.

19 February 2021, 19:23

Greg Baker
That windshield was actually a bit tricky, there's a bend in the bottom corners, and a bit of an arc along the bottom, but straight at the top. You can see a bit of a stress mark where I forced it in a bit too early near the top.

Working with diecast is fun, but a new sort of challenge. I'm already wondering how I'm going to attach an antenna to the back end without being able to drill a hole. 🙂

19 February 2021, 21:01

Spanjaard
👍

19 February 2021, 21:47

Matthew A
nice looking flame thower

26 February 2021, 21:49

Chaz Gordon
oooop, he's playing with his Dinky toys again...

27 February 2021, 15:11

Greg Baker
I'll let you know if I go blind.😉

27 February 2021, 16:06

Greg Baker
Had too many paint lifts, so I repainted it, sealed it with Future and then let it dry for several days before trying again. Worked much better this time.

2 March 2021, 06:16

Greg Baker
Final pics tomorrow. Calling this one a victory

8 March 2021, 06:44

Greg Baker
And there we are, done!

8 March 2021, 14:52

Chaz Gordon
Wow, that's one of the tiny ones, I had assumed it was a 1/43ish. Guess I should have known. Nice work Greg

8 March 2021, 15:39