Grumps Tute

[Don Garrett]

Here's what I'm using to get started.....
Paint (enamel or water based) and several sizes of quality paint brushes. Try to think of paint and brushes as your your most important detailing tools. If you do nothing else in the way of detailing, these two items items can turn an otherwise great model into a glue bomb . There's nothing that kills a model quicker than a brush hair or crud in the paint. Buy good brushes and keep them clean....they will last indefinitely if properly cared for. The tooth picks are to stir the paint. Paint settles & separates if it sits for any length of time, just shaking the jar won't thoroughly mix it & you will wind up with disappointing results.



Avoid the temptation to snap the small pieces from the trees and start to assemble before painting. This just leads to lost parts and they are difficult to paint properly once separated. Leaving them on the tree allows you to get good coverage and they are much easier to hang on to as you paint and set aside to dry. This allows nice clean, sharp edges when two colors butt up against each other after assembly. It's simple to go back after assembly and touch up any minor chips that may have been caused during removal from the tree . You will see in the photo below that I have painted the block, heads, shocks and the front section of the rear end in flat yellow. The water pump and filter mount are painted in aluminum. I try to do all that parts in the colors I've selected for a sub-assembly at one time.

[Don Garrett]

A good hobby knife is a must, I have several handy so that I don't have to continually change blades while I'm working. The blades shown in the photo are the ones that I use the most. The smaller blades shown don't break the point off as easily as the larger #11 blades. The handle style depends on what you are most comfortable with. I enjoy working with the rubber handled ones as they provide a better grip. The small cutting pliers are useful for snipping thick plastic, wire etc.



If you snap parts from the trees by hand you will wind up with burs or chips out of the plastic parts...not good and looks bad. Cut or snip the parts from the trees. This leaves the parts blemish free, do not break them off.



Model cement (tube), liquid model cement (brush on) and CA (super glue) will all be used in the construction of this model. Each has it's own properties & uses.



Gluing parts together is where most beginners get into trouble. Too much adhesive will squeeze out of the seams and leave you with a mess on your hands. Invariably it will get on your fingers and wind up smearing, softening or melting small parts into blobs. This is where the term glue bomb came from. USE ADHESIVES SPARINGLY! More glue does not mean a better or stronger bond.

I used liquid glue & carefully brushed a small amount on both edges of the block. Use care not to get any on the outside where it will show and spoil your model. Clamped them together and set aside to dry. Always test fit parts before applying glue. Allow plenty of time for the glue to dry properly before handling or doing any more assembly on the engine. Model cement does not gas out immediately and the parts can shift or worse yet smear creating a small disaster. Don't be impatient with this step if you want a nice clean model.



I applied glue (tube model cement) to the locating pins only with a pick (tooth pick works fine) and attached the heads and water pump. Again allow the time required for the glue to set. You will notice in the photo that I did not paint the transmission yet. If you look closely you will see the seam where the two halves mate together, this will really show up when painted.

[Don Garrett]

Sand paper & sanding sticks make cleaning up the seam a snap. Remember the best paint job imaginable is only as good as the prep work......paint will not hide flaws. It only makes them more noticeable.



Paint does not adhere well to to chrome plated parts......period! In my opinion the kit manufacturers tend to over-do the number of plated parts in some cases, I certainly don't want to use a chrome plated blower belt, etc. Many of these chrome parts should be painted not plated . If you like all that bling and the shiny stuff, by all means, that's what you should use. As you know, trying to sand these parts destroys the detail and in many cases the parts are just too small to deal with.
There are plenty of chemicals available that will remove the chrome - but take care. Many are hazardous to your health and simply too strong for use with plastic. PLEASE BEWARE & BE CAREFUL.

I put the parts I wanted de-chromed in a thick plastic tub and simply poured in enough household bleach to cover the parts. Spilled bleach will ruin your clothes and can burn your skin.....so once again please be careful. Below is a photo of the parts after just a few minutes in the tub.



These parts only took about 10 minutes. I removed them, properly disposed of the bleach and thoroughly washed them in mild detergent and warm water. Set them aside and let them dry completely.

[Don Garrett]

I've used gunmetal, aluminum & silver paint for this step. Although there isn't a huge difference in color change with this selection it adds that extra subtle eye appeal to the the viewer. This is what I was trying to convey when I said "consider paint a detailing tool".



The bottom half of the distributor was painted while it was still on the tree . When dry I had something to hang onto while painting the rotor cap tan.



Now is the time to go back and do touch-up, repair brush marks, start some assembly and detailing on the engine.

[Don Garrett]

A pin vice & assortment of drill bits in various sizes will get the job done. Rotary tools, drill presses, power tools etc. are great but if you don't have them, the basics will do just fine.
Any time you are drilling a hole ALWAYS start with a bit smaller than what you want the finished opening to be. Use a pin, pick or scribe to put a small dimple on the part to be drilled. This will give you a spot to put the the bit in a will prevent it from "walking" off center.



A small pilot hole was drilled and then a larger bit was used to open it up to the desired size for the plug wires in the valve covers.



The same technique was used to open up the ends of the exhaust collectors. Take your time and work slowly.......it's easy too break out the edges of plastic & ruin a part.

[Don Garrett]

Valve cover painted with with Testors silver/chrome & oil pan done with Zynolyte gold epoxy (both spray can products).

[Don Garrett]

Exhaust collectors drilled out and the openings painted with flat black.



The distributor is simply too small in 1/25th scale (at least for me) to drill out each terminal for plug wires........the entire center was drilled out to allow the insertion of the 8 plug & single coil wires.



An ultra fine enamel paint pen was used to black out the panels on the blower case and to paint some of the bolt heads.

[Don Garrett]

All sorts of materials have been used for ignition wires, thread, telephone cable wiring, etc. The problem is many of them just don't look right or are way out of scale. For a model this small, I head to the local department store (sporting goods dept.) and pick up some nylon coated braided steel fishing leaders although mono-filament would work it's usually semi transparent. It's available in various sizes, lengths and rolls, best part is it doesn't fray, holds it shape and is inexpensive.



Thread a length of the steel leader through the plug holes and with another length do the other 2 holes.



Pull the wire tight and apply a little (thick) CA to the bottom of the valve cover, set aside to dry and do the other cover.



Depending on how much detail you want to add, a short length of wire insulation or a tiny o-ring could be slipped over the plug wire and pushed down to the valve cover to form a plug boot. Installed this way the plug wires can not pull out and there are no glue smudges. Also you don't have to insert the plug wires one at a time.

[Don Garrett]

Valve covers & plug wires installed.

[Don Garrett]

The engine has been set aside for a moment so that some of the other parts can be painted and readied for assembly.

The tire on the left is as it comes in the kit, it has mold lines and and burs. The one on the right shows the tread area lightly sanded to clean it up and impart a more realistic appearance.



The wheel on the left is a kit chrome plated example, it has a toy like appearance, The one on the right has been stripped of chrome and painted, the center is light flat gray & the rim painted with Testors aluminum. Depending on the level of detail desired a small hole could be drilled in the rim and a short small piece of wire or tubing could be added to simulate a valve stem.

[Don Garrett]

I mentioned earlier that thinking of paint as a detailing tool could improve the visual appeal of modelers projects even if no parts other than those supplied in the kit were purchased. To achieve that goal, here's a couple of inexpensive tools that will make it less frustrating and produce better results.

When working with small scale models some sort of magnification for detail work (at least in my case) is needed. I purchased one of these head band units simply because they are inexpensive and it allows my hands to be free. It came with lights on both sides for under 20 bucks. I removed the lights and batteries because after working for a while the weight became an issue for me.
It has a flip down lens to multiply the magnification and a little swing away single lens for really tiny parts.



Below is a photo of the sanding sticks that are available through hobby and craft shops. They are flexible, assorted grits and again inexpensive...usually less than 2 dollars.



As mentioned I pre-paint parts on the trees to make handling easier.



A few parts pre-painted and ready for assembly.



Belt and pulleys painted and installed on engine......remember, the devil is in the detail.



The radiator was spray painted brass (epoxy spray paint), the radiator cap silver and then the core was brush painted flat black (water based) acrylic enamel



I lightly sanded the core with a small fine grit sanding stick to bring out the detail of the cooling fins

[Don Garrett]

The frame was painted with Krylon Bahaus gold and the painted springs attached. Notice that the front axle will have to be cleaned or repainted as it's become soiled from handling.



A few more pre-painted parts and assembled rear axle.



It's much easier to assemble the axle, brakes and wheels before attaching them to the springs. The wheels are a press fit and trying to install them after the axle is attached will only lead to broken parts. The photos below are a test fit of the front suspension.....it will be glued on as an assembly after the rear suspension is installed as these parts are fragile and won't tolerate a lot of handling.









The floor board, and body parts were lightly sanded, washed with warm water and mild soap to remove any manufacturing contaminants or oils from handling. If you are gluing parts together make certain to scrap or sand the "chrome" plating from the mating surfaces to insure a good bond. When the floor boards were thoroughly dry the bottom was sprayed light flat gray.



The bottom of the floor board taped off, make sure to use low tack tape to prevent pulling the previously applied paint off during removal.



The inside of the body, hood and the top of the floor board sprayed dark flat gray.





Divider behind driver's seat sprayed light gray / painted roll bar installed.



Assembling the painted interior pieces.



At this point if you wanted a little more detail...seatbelt, fire extinguisher and drivers helmet could be added to the interior.