A Dusty Tarp
Following on from my previous post, I’ll show you what I managed to get through before the project reached a stalemate between my creative urge and just plain purposeful negligence.
To start, as usual with most of my automotive subjects, I began work with the body. The C1 Models RTR-X transkit is fantastic and recreates the custom metal bodywork on the real Mustang to a very high degree. The only draw back is around the rear spoiler where it meets the trunk and rear body work. Out of the box, it is quite a detracting factor from the lines of the actual car. So if you’re handy with some epoxy putty, smoothing and reshaping the rear end should be a piece of cake and give you a better result in the end.
As far as color choice goes, I’m fairly certain I got them correct. Testor’s Enamel Graphite Metallic for the overall body with the Sublime Green highlights. The matte grey color is still in contention but that’s going to only be applied at the end. In the end I will most likely end up stripping the body of paint and reworking some areas that I simply was too ignorant to address in the beginning but that I’m going to rectify in the final result.
The most intricate part of the RTR-X is not the body, its the chassis, the structure under the custom body. And that is really what killed me on the build in the first place. From the get go, I chopped off the front frame in order to facilitate the 5.0 Coyote engine further back in the chassis and allow for the truss work of the front clip. The front wheel tubs and strut mouths were also foregone because custom sheet metal work that goes between the body and the frame work.
The last nail in the coffin with the build was the interior tub. Molded in one piece, as was common for the time, modification will be extensive. Cutting out the transmission tunnel to facilitate the new engine and transmission is necessary so the cut marks were outlined. The back seats were also to be removed as the roll cage, floor pans as well as the unique cantilever rear suspension takes up all of that room. It too was marked and ready to be cut.
With that we reach the end of what I was able to accomplish those 3 years ago. Stay tuned because i intend to focus as much effort as I can in the allotted time that I do have. I intend to start with the chassis. Getting the front frame correct and then building off of that. Then ill take care of the interior tub and sort the exposed suspension and roll cage out.