Cobra(JET) Conversion Part 2
In our last installment, I went over all of the exterior enhancements and modifications that went into the conversion from a 2014 Mustang GT to a Cobra Jet factory built race car.
This time we’ll be going through the various interior modifications that include the rear bench removal, dashboard and the roll cage.
Interior
Like with the rest of this kit compared to the 2013 Boss 302 version, alot of the details are moulded in place and to be modified take a large amount of scratch building. Not as bad as the chassis but still a paint to work.
The rear bench seat is the largest and most prominent feature set for the garbage bin. After careful Dremel surgery, I used some 1mmx5mm plastic bar as the bench for…well the back bench. This was then covered with 0.5mm styrene sheet. I used a method similar to how real shops would replicate sheet metal fabrication and used business card stock to refine the shape of the panels. These were then transferred to the plastic sheet before gluing in place. The seams did have a minor gap which was filled with some sprue-goo. The flat edges were scraped with a wide chistle head because getting sandpaper or a file was going to be impossible. The mounting points for the main roll-cage hoop were taken into account as well and those cutouts were made prior to installation with the same 0.5mm sheet.
At this stage I made masking tape templates of the panels for the velour/ velvet paper that I would eventually be using as the “carpet” and moved onto the center console.
The center console was probably the easiest portion to modify here as it was getting a “slap shifter” made from scratch. So the same story of mark, drill, cut-out was repeated and then backed and plated.
Dashboard
The dashboard required minimal removal for the accessory gauge panel on the infotainment panel.
The steering wheel hub was also cut off to make way for the quick disconnect steering wheel mount.
As usual, I made a template and began sizing out the gauge positions in accordance to the reference photos. The holes were then punched out with a punch tool. The bezels were made of styrene rod, the face of which was slotted into a Dremel and sanded round. I then used an old xacto blade to cut off the bezel and then that bezel glued overtop of the punched holes. The push stard button and battery cut-off switch bases were also punched out of 0.20mm sheet and glued into place. The button face for the push start was also punched from the 0.20mm sheet while the selector knob for the battery was a small strip of the sheet turned sideways. I made the toggle buttons by sanding an edge on a strip of 0.50mm sheet and then cutting out the buttons individually.
The gauges themselves are from Gofer Racing (their NASCAR set from the 60’s up to the 90’s). A second back plate was made from 0.10mm plastic sheet. I used the top sheet as a template on where to place the decals. 50um acetate sheet was glued with clear paint to retain the gloss on the underside and trimmed into shape on the base sheet. This would act as a barrier for the gauges as well as proved that “glass-like” look to the gauge faces when placed under the top plate after paint.
I forgot to take photos of the tachometer construction, but it followed the same principle as the center cluster. The wiring for the tach and the steering retention rope were both made from thin copper wire sourced from spare chord and painted with an enamel black. To replicate the dustproof bootings this small, I simply overloaded the brush and focused it more on the connection point at the back of the tach. Just convincing enough at 1/25 scale seen through a window.
The steering wheel hub was alternating 3 and 3.5mm punched disks stacked in an alternating fashion while the steering wheel itself is a Hobby Design resin piece with a photo-etch center sourced from the spares box.
Roll CAge
Scaled down to 1/25 scale, 2 in is 2mm. I like 25th scale because it’s easy to convert most full-scale measurements down. Such was the case with the NHRA sanctioned, factory installed roll-cage. If you’ve never made a scratchbuilt roll-cage for a project I would highly encourage you give it a try because it helps enhance that race-look and just looks really cool. Just make sure you have extra plastic (i’d recommend buying in bulk to save the hassle).
If I’m sitting down for a longer session at the bench, especially on a project like this, I will use a small tea light as the heat source. For quick jobs ill still use the lighter but a steady flame source is more controllable and leave my hands free to make quick adjustments. The tools I personally use are;
Hard, level cutting surface ( for me its spare marble tile)
Larger Xacto blade ( allows you to run the entire circumference of the rod)
Flame source ( either a lighter or tea light in this case)
Cement (Tamiya Extra thin or the Strong Xtra Thin are the typical go to’s, but I much prefer the straight MEK Methyl Ethyl Ketone)
Small round file ( I would suggest one that is sized up from the diameter of what rod you’re using)
I will go into much more detail in a further post but essentially I used reference material and the good ol’ MK.1 eyeball to get the cage right. Make sure to have all the pieces that will be inside of the cage placed and fixed in order to make sure you don’t build the cage to small or too big. Test fit, test fit, test fit. While it’s nice to have a large amount of spare rod to correct mistakes,m the old adage of measure twice and cut once rings true. The satisfaction of everything being done on the first run far outweighs the pile of failures that tends to follow an new skill or endeavor. I use the round file to slot the matick surface and save the trouble of filing it in later, that and the hotter nature of pure MEK means that the melted plastic pushed out from the scene when semi dry can be formed into a weld bead which further enhances the realism.
After everything is test fitted to my satisfaction I can move to paint. When that was done and everything was decaled, I laid down the velour/ velvet paper to replicate the carpet. At this time I also added the shifter assembly and the 5-point seat belt harnesses from Hobby Design. The seats are two different styles ( as per the references I had) so if they look “off” it is indeed intended. The window net was made from 1mm paper strips, weaved and glued together with watered-down white glue prior to semi-gloss back acrylic paint. The net is poseable thanks to some prior planning of clips on the roll-cage and a .31mm brass roll incorporated into the netting.
