71 Mach 1 Model Kit Builds

[tpj71mach]

I picked up one of the Harbor Freight airbrush kits, and it's a solid compressor, the hose is fine, and the AB itself is craft quality (keep it absolutely clean, and it'll be fine). However, tankless air compressors suck - the pressure builds up a little bit in the line, and when you first hit the button, it surges a little bit at a higher pressure then settles down to what you dialed in, which gives mixed results on the paint.

I picked up one of these compressors as a kit a few years ago, and it's much better. https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Runner-Compressor-TC-326T/dp/B07ZQM6R83

The air tank acts as a buffer and doesn't allow the line to pressure up nearly as much.

The water trap is necessary if you have lots of humidity, and the pressure regulator is super helpful for dialing in the right pressures depending on what paint you use. I normally prefer the more flammable paints (like House of Kolors urethane enamels, etc.), but decided to make friends with water-based acrylics, since my booth has a normal fan, which could cause a fire with the fan motor being in the airstream. I'm planning on building a booth using a bathroom fart fan that has the fan motor outside of the airflow by using a squirrel cage motor set-up (needs to be bigger, too).

I found the booth on Amazon as well, and it's OK for small model cars and similar sized projects.
View attachment 81090

Once I got the color I wanted, I shot it with some Future Acrylic Floor Finish (now called Pledge something or other), and it's really awesome. Dip your glass pieces in the stuff, and they'll look like real glass after it all sets up. I'm still working on this kit after years (pesky job and other life things get in the way), but it's coming along nicely. My real version of this car also had buffer burn marks in the paint when I bought it back in '87, so that was a happy bonus, but be careful when sanding between coats as airbrush paint usually goes on thinner than spray cans and covers better.
View attachment 81091

That hood ornament was not a decal, BTW - I hand-painted that with a Molotow 1mm chrome paint pen, 1mm red, white, and blue Sharpies, and made the running horse with another blob of Molotow chrome.

As for the kits, the new AMT kits are a LOT closer to being anatomically correct than the Testors or others before (those have the same plastic bits as the Testors die-cast kits, which are '73 bumpers and headlight doors on a '71 grille - I ordered some resin grilles and bumpers for a couple of those kits I have. Stay away from the Lindberg Mach 1 kit - it's atrocious. I haven't seen the new Monogram kits yet, though. If you want something that's really close (only a few minor things wrong), find an Otaki or Doyusha 'Vanishing Mach 1' kit on ebay (they ain't cheap, though - I got mine 1/12 + 1/24 dual kit for $125 several years ago).

Something else I've learned to have a lot of fun with is weathering. When I made my original model version of this car, I didn't pay attention and painted all sorts of things with whatever colors I had, so the underside of the chassis is silver, stuff under the hood is completely wrong, and I used an '83-'84 kit... but, it'll all I could find at the time. This kit was weird, as I had to make the rack since neither of the poseable front wheels were connected. Lots of fun.
View attachment 81092

Anyway, hope that helps. Have fun, no matter what.

Wow that is a great set up! Being a model builder since I was a kid I wish I had something like that to spray them with. I love your detail on the under carriage, it's nice to know there are others that detailed and I am not alone in painting every bolt. I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested, lol.

 

[1973 Mach-1]

Okay, What am I missing here... I have been following this thread and every box claims to be a '71, but they all have color-keyed bumpers. Not chrome.
Am I that far off the mark?

 

[Mister 4x4]

My parents had an 83 Mustang 6 cylinder in that exact color! It was monotone beige though, no black grille or quarter window accents.

Mine was an '82 GL - it was a 2.3L 4-cyl, FMX automatic, carb'd with A/C - which meant it was not quick at all. Still, I loved it and used my meager E-1/E-2 pay to make it mine. I didn't get a pic of it when I bought it, but scoured the 'net and found this one, which was close (mine had wire-wheel hubcabs and whitewalls).


I threw some cool 14x6 chrome mods, Goodyear Eagle GTs (215/60R14), hatch louvers, window tint, and blacked out all the chrome window trim. I also duplicated the eyebrow logo from the Carmadillo nose bra I had in silver fade vinyl - wound up making a little side cash doing about 50 cars (tint and graphics) for buddies all over Holloman AFB. The running horse fender badges came from a friend's '66 Mustang she was restoring.


I forgot to put the dent in the fender on the kit (came with the car and I never got it fixed before I traded it in for an '85 Nissan 4x4). The Dobi "I-Lidz" headlight covers were good for another 9-10mpg on long trips (and were stuck on with Velcro).


The weathering is too much fun. I remember the exhaust system having a hole in the muffler that would blow soot, and the pipe itself was discolored over time as well. I used some Tamiya weather kits I found at Hobby Lobby (they're like eye shadow make-up kits with the different colors for rust, dirt, dark mud, light mud, etc., - just load up the applicator and go to town).

 

[Mister 4x4]

Okay, What am I missing here... I have been following this thread and every box claims to be a '71, but they all have color-keyed bumpers. Not chrome.
Am I that far off the mark?

ALL '71-'73 Mach 1s have color-matched urethane [front] bumpers - all rear bumpers were chrome. The other models from '71 & '72 (except some special models like Sprints, or special orders) had the chrome bumpers - all '73s had the bigger 5mph color-matched urethane bumpers. Mine has a chrome bumper because I got tire of my painter messing up the urethane bumper, so I popped a chrome one on so I could get it on the road (I'll repaint my urethane bumper and put it back on someday... maybe).

 

[Spike Morelli]

Maybe I'm the outcast here, but I've been modeling for years. Personally, I've mastered using spray cans to paint with. I used to do 1/48th scale aircraft, I had about 50 in 3 glass cases at my Dad's aircraft shop, and, had to learn to airbrush camoflage and such, so I know how to do that, but don't really find it necessary for car kits. You can lay down some pretty nice paint jobs out of a can on car model kits. Here's some examples...

 

[Sheriff41]

Nice work, Spike!

 

[steves73]

Maybe I'm the outcast here, but I've been modeling for years. Personally, I've mastered using spray cans to paint with. I used to do 1/48th scale aircraft, I had about 50 in 3 glass cases at my Dad's aircraft shop, and, had to learn to airbrush camoflage and such, so I know how to do that, but don't really find it necessary for car kits. You can lay down some pretty nice paint jobs out of a can on car model kits. Here's some examples...

Me too. The Camaro is a little Tamiya spray can, and the Cutlass is actual automotive color match spray can.

 

[RocketFoot]

I plan on using some rattle cans for models especially like flat black for the frame and interior tub. There are several other colors I am collecting in cans as well like silver aluminum for exhaust and maybe a few custom colors for the bodies...I like practicing with the airbrush but far less clean up with rattle cans, LOL!