Shelby 427 S/C Cobra by CDW - FINISHED - Fujimi - 1:24 Scale

[CDW]

Once this project is completed, sometime in the near future, will build this 1965 world champion Cobra Daytona Coupe. A limited run, fully detailed resin/multi-media kit. 

[CDW]

There were some specks of dust embedded in my clear coat, so I wanted to wet sand them out. After allowing the clear coat to cure 72hrs+, used a 3000 grit sanding/polishing sponge to lightly give it a go.

 

 

Next, used three grades of Tamiya polishing compound in successive sessions.

 

 

Last, used Tamiya wax to finish it out.

 

[Old Collingwood]

That  is  an amazing  rescue  -   that   gloss   hi sheen  finish  looks  amazing.

 

OC.

[CDW]

13 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

That  is  an amazing  rescue  -   that   gloss   hi sheen  finish  looks  amazing.

 

OC.

It’s next to impossible to avoid all specks of dust or even a grain of dirt in a clear coat. So this is pretty much standard procedure to fix it. One must be very careful not to burn through the clear coat or else another clear coat will be needed.

 

[king derelict]

The gloss is beautiful. Worth the extra effort

Alan

[yvesvidal]

3 hours ago, CDW said:

Don't forget the Ceramic Coating for long term preservation.... 😄

 

Yves

[CDW]

A dry-fit. Finished the suspension, lowered it a bit by cutting and repositioning this and that. Out of the box, the model would sit a little higher than you see it here, by 1mm all around.

 

 

 

[gsdpic]

Looks great.  That gloss finish is very nice.  I've never used 2k clear....the extra cautions/extra recommended PPE for it scares me away so I just stick with the Tamiya X-22 for now.   I also recently got some of the Tamiya polishing compound.   For some reason, I found that hard to acquire in the US.  I added it to my Spot Model order when I ordered the MFH seatbelts to use on my Lotus 72D.

 

Looks like the wheels fit into the wheel wells nicely now with your suspension modification.  On the Revell kit I did, I had to pull the front wheels in a bit as they seemed to stick out too far.   And I also trimmed down the center wheel spinners/knock offs as they were almost comically large in that kit.

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by gsdpic

[CDW]

[CDW]

For the dashboard, I drilled out the molded, raised detail gauges, used the kit gauge decals on a backing sheet made of thin styrene which was then glued to the backside of the dashboard (to show the gauges through the holes). Next used some generic photo etch rings that fit the holes. everything else in the interior is box stock.

[yvesvidal]

14 hours ago, gsdpic said:

Looks great.  That gloss finish is very nice.  I've never used 2k clear....the extra cautions/extra recommended PPE for it scares me away so I just stick with the Tamiya X-22 for now.  

The two major problems with 2K clear are:

 

1) The price - You have to plan for $25 a bottle. Then, you'd better have other projects to clear at the same time, as the can will last only a few days if conserved in the fridge.

2) The spraying: you really have to have a complete covering suit, goggles and a serious painting mask with dual canisters. Do not spray inside, if you can avoid it as while drying, the clear will vaporize and leave a small residue on your shelves and other horizontal surfaces.

 

Otherwise, it is a fantastic product that I have used on models and pinball playfields with a lot of success.

 

Yves

[CDW]

My advantage is a dedicated spray booth in a separate building outside.  I agree, without the appropriate gear, leave it alone. I bought this quart size can and a pint of hardener over a year ago and it’s still fine. Paid somewhere around $65 for it. Have used it a number of times on various projects. Custom Creations Creative brand.

 

PS: I see now where my source is selling a 5 liter can with a half-size of hardener for $100, so my memory of $65 for my liter (I said quart earlier) size was probably more like $45 instead of $65, but whatever. You get ripped off when you buy things like this in tiny, small, "hobby sized" bottles. 

Another thing....keep your hardener far away from the base and use every precaution not to introduce and hardener whatsoever to your can of base. It's so easy to accidentally contaminate the entire batch and if you do, it will harden it in nothing flat.

Edited November 10, 2023 by CDW

[CDW]

[CDW]

Headers and side pipe exhaust system. Each side consists of 5 pieces, 10 pieces in all. Bad news, the early indications are, they don't fit. 🤔 Will have to make them fit as best I can. Worst case scenario, the bonnet will remain closed. It appears the headers don't quite reach the heads. I may be able to extend each of the 4 header pipes to each head and make them fit. We'll see. I had the feeling all along this could be a problem area, and it seems as though it is. Murphy's law at work here.

[CDW]

My grandson (16 years old) is a real time, natural born horse trader. Today, he traded for this Honda CR250 dirt bike.

 

 

of course, 70 year old grandpa had to try it out. My wife scolded me for it. 

 

IMG_4601.MOV

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by CDW

[CDW]

I can dream....

[gsdpic]

18 hours ago, CDW said:

Headers and side pipe exhaust system. Each side consists of 5 pieces, 10 pieces in all. Bad news, the early indications are, they don't fit.

That's unfortunate.  This was a weak area of the revell kit as well.  In that case, the problem was that the end of the headers did not come close to meeting up with the beginning of the side pipes.  It's visible but not too noticeable looking in the open hood but very noticeable if you pick up the car and look at the underside.

 

With your skills, I am sure you'll figure something out.

 

[CDW]

1 hour ago, gsdpic said:

This was a weak area of the revell kit as well.  In that case, the problem was that the end of the headers did not come close to meeting up with the beginning of the side pipes.  It's visible but not too noticeable looking in the open hood but very noticeable if you pick up the car and look at the underside.

 

This will be where I leave well enough alone and enjoy it as an interesting shelf model. As you said, when you pick it up and look underneath, there is no hiding the fact the collector pipes do not line up properly with the headers. In the end, I chose to make the header pipes line up with the heads, as these parts can be seen with the bonnet open, and not worry about the collector to header match. The only real way I can see to solve this deficiency is to build a custom set of headers. The model is not of sufficient quality to make that a worthwhile effort. To bring this model up to a showpiece level, a LOT of scratch building would be required and that's not something I'm interested to do with this kit.

As a side note, I have looked through other builder's efforts with this model and have noticed that the better modelers such as Plasmo, don't even give any photos of the header to collector fit and that leads me to believe it's a common problem. Looking at the history of this kit, it was originally released as a curbside kit, meaning no engine detail except for a plastic insert that showed a raised detail of the bottom of the engine. The collectors were cemented to a plate on the bottom of the chassis. Somewhere along the way, Fujimi added the engine and header details without making other improvements to the chassis. My kit even came with the parts to build it as a curbside model on the sprue trees. If I had known how poor the fit was going to be, I actually would have built it as a curbside model and cut out a lot of work.

Anyway, it is what it is. 

 

 

[CDW]

Getting very close to finish now. 

As I look at it, I'm satisfied with the model as a nice addition to my model car shelf but it's definitely not a show model. Maybe if you started with the Fujimi body shell then scratch built the chassis or maybe even scavenged the chassis from another kit (not sure what all is out there), added an aftermarket engine/transmission, along with other things, you could make a show model from this. For the $30ish price tag I paid for the model, I really can't complain. Also from this experience, I would recommend using the kit supplied parts and just building this as a curbside model. Forget about wasting time with the kit supplied engine and so forth. Could have built this model in half the time.

 

 

[Jack12477]

Either way, Craig, that is a very impressive model. Congrats! 

[CDW]

This wraps it up. Time to move on to a new project.

Thanks for following, your likes, your comments. It's been fun as always. See you again soon with a new project.

[gsdpic]

Wow, looks great to me!  Very nicely done.

 

It seems like there are a lot of Cobra kits out there, but I suspect that they have a lot in common with each other, and lot of the same problems.  They were probably mostly created back in the 1970s too.  Not sure which one would provide the best starting point for a model.  The one I built....I am mostly happy with the result but there are just enough flaws that I'd like to try again, so maybe some day I'll pick up another Cobra and give it a go.

 

Quick note on the photography...it seems like the blue base messes with the automatic color balance of your photos.  The first picture that has a bit of the black background looks good to me.  But many of the other pictures where there is no black background, just the blue base, the gray car has a greenish tint to me.   Maybe if you have some sort of gray base, instead of the bright blue, that you could put the model on when taking pictures, you'd have truer color representation.

 

[CDW]

I believe a florescent light was causing a large part of the issue. Here are some photos with that light turned off.

 

Here is one with the light turned on.

 

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I am not very good at photography.

 

 

[gsdpic]

Much better!  Definitely a sweet looking model of a sweet looking car.

 

[CDW]

Some months ago, my son gave me a pair of brand-new photography lamps that sit atop tripods. Aside from setting one up and turning it on, twisting the knobs to see how they worked, I did nothing with them until now.

Here I have one of those lamps set up and took a few photos to test the difference it makes. Looks like there is a marked difference. Maybe if I had the pair of them set up from two directions, focusing on the object to be photographed, that may be the ticket.

 

It looks like what I need to do is set up a dedicated location to take photos where I can keep all this menagerie set up and ready. 

[mtaylor]

Yep, it was the florescent light.  What huge difference.  

[BobG]

Beautiful model! I love the paint job!

[Javlin]

On 11/11/2023 at 9:48 AM, CDW said:

70 year old grandpa had to try it out.

You go for it  buddy "getting younger every day"I say!

[king derelict]

Absolutely stunning. You built a beautiful model. The painting is exceptional

Alan

[Landlubber Mike]

That came out really great Craig!  Excellent model of an iconic car.  Love the paint color and finish!