Trumpeter 1/12 1966 Ford GT 40 Mk.II
By Anson Glinsky
I saw this kit in the window at my local hobby shop last summer, and I asked Dave the owner, "What in the @#$%^^ makes THAT kit worth $259.99 of my hard earned cash??" As soon as he opened the box top, I had my answer. Out came the debit card, and it was my birthday, after all... Lots cool stuff in the box. The article in..... drum roll please... Scale Auto... peaked my interest in building this kit, so I waited 'till the Scale Auto article came out to start the detail work.
I'm glad I waited-the article was spot on as far as build issues that go with this kit. One thing I will say is that after 30+ years of building scale automobiles, this is THE one that has challenged all my skills. When I build a car, it is my vision, and it was the same with this one. I built this kit as a "customer car" circa 1966. I was an independent racer... hoping... dreaming...
The Engine Build
Chrome Rules ! These parts went together with nary a snag, with minimal flash to be removed. Like I said, lots of CHROME ! (*** One note from the article... the mesh fittings for the oil and fuel lines are un-useable. Search your parts box for your spare wiring, you're gonna need 'em ! ***) The high-pressure fittings were painted in Tamiya Clear Red and Clear Blue. I let them dry for a good two weeks before working with them.
Since the mesh for the wiring was unusable, I used varying sizes of vinyl black tubing from the parts box. Once the parts all come together, the differences in chrome and pre-painted parts meshes rather well. Just be careful with all the chrome parts, handle them with a clean cloth, and scrape the chrome off the mating surfaces that need to be cemented together.
There are some detail parts from the first build page (5) that I thought should be done at or near the final build stage, and I was right.Due to the fact that you are handling the kit numerous times upside and downside, these parts are better left for later in the build. This kit includes more than 450 parts....
Engine Build continued....
Note to Manufacturer: for all the faults that are inherent in this new kit. (this is Trumpeter's first large scale car kit) 97 % of the kit went together very smoothly. I like a challenge! There are a couple of carburetor links that are not installed here; those will be installed at or near the end of the build. The high-pressure fittings come into play when the engine is installed into the chassis.
There are 30 of these fittings. It all works out in the end. One of my "build signatures" is that whenever possible I paint the exhaust headers or manifolds white. The instructions call for a colour of "Blazing?" What colour is that ? Bah... white it is! I painted the shock absorbers Testors Flat Red, with the torsion bar silver, and the shock tower black. The colour contrast works well.
Those oil lines will present a little problem later in the build... There are 4 springs that keep the rear of the exhausts attached to their brackets. These didn't work for me.... I found something in the parts bin, though, but for much later in the build. " God praise the Spare Parts bin", I say! Next up is the chassis build ... The original Le Mans winner was painted black... mmmm... nope, wrong colour for me....
The Body and Chassis...
The body came in a really cool box, with photos of the actual car on the outside. If you were building this kit as "authentic" it's a great reference for painting. It is also great for transporting the finished model. The car fits in like a glove and can be transported to and from model shows with ease. The body needed some sanding to get rid of the seam lines.
The front clip, the rear clip, and the doors all needed some attention, but not too much. I started with a coat of Testors Silver. I didn't use any primer, as the silver base coat would reveal any additional work to do. The strange thing about this kit is that it had some pre-painted items that had to be masked off in order to paint the chassis. The front of the chassis was pre-painted silver so out came the masking tape.
I glued on the braces for the top of the doors prior to painting. I used super-glue for these, as I didn't want some pre-mature movement. The doors, once installed, fit very tightly, and a little "off". I actually had to spend some time with the passenger door bending and aligning it before the painting could begin.
The "helmet bubble" was also super-glued on prior to painting. The air intakes on the rear clip took considerable work to get them ready for painting. Each intake was comprised of two parts and a nasty seam ran across the top of them. These were glued together and test fitted to see where adjustments had to be made. I used Gunze Mr. Hobby "Mr. Surfacer 1000" to fill in the seam.
I let it dry for several days before wet sanding them. The rear spoiler is also super-glued in place here as well. The pre-sanding went well, with not much to touch up. I've always had good luck with this colour, and I wasn't disappointed this time. Three cans later... I only needed to do a little bit of buffing when all is done. The pictures really don't do this colour justice. This paint goes on very smoothly and you can "read" the metallic coating, so not too much is applied in any one area. Next up are the front suspension and the installation of the engine to the painted chassis...
Before the rest... the Rims and Rubber...
Trumpeter spent a lot of time in this area of the kit. The tires come in their individual box as well. The rims are pre-painted metallic gold, which is apparently not the correct colour. I left them alone because I liked their colour and finish. The tires are very detailed. The lettering is spot on for the era of the car. No sanding needed-there are no mold lines to speak of. You could sand their surfaces to get a more "realistic" racecar finish, but I liked the detail so I left them as is.
One of the really cool things about this kit is the in the detail. The tire package comes with solid foam inserts, ala " inner tubes " for the inside of the tires and rims. This prevents the rubber in the tires from "flat spotting" over the years. I've had issues with this problem for some of my other large-scale autos. I estimate this car will weigh approximately 3 or 4 pounds when completed, so this should prove to be interesting after a couple of years on display.
The "Goodyear" lettering decals are another issue altogether. I followed the instructions for the first application and ruined the decal. Thankfully they give you five decals in total to complete the front and rear tires each, which works out to one error per pair. Using water really doesn't come into the finishing: these are dry transfers, NOT decals.
You just have to cut them to shape, hold and apply accurately, and RUB very firmly but gently. The top film will come off easily if you don't use too much moisture. After the application, there is a noticeable film around the lettering. The lettering is applied to both sides of the tire, so when on display, it is accurate.
Did you notice the air valves?
These are actually turned aluminium pieces. When installed, they bring the whole installation to life. All in all, the completed set looks and works well. Once the chrome centre pieces are installed, it looks great. Another signature touch of mine is red brake calipers. My roommate was building a ship with a flat red hull, which I thought was an interesting colour. This use of the color red comes into play later in the build. Next up is the final engine prep and it's installation into the chassis. This is now almost 5 months into the build.***image16**
Final Engine Build and Front Suspension...
The final engine build went well. The only thing I really had to paint was the front fan belt, and the rear drive shafts and inner boots. One thing that is conspicuously missing is the lack of ignition wiring. Although you really don't notice it in the end, it is an omission that is unacceptable, given the amount of detail that is included in this kit. This could be fixed I'm sure, but I didn't have the resources to make the appropriate parts needed, nor did I have anything of this scale in the "parts bin". The engine and the front cross-member are installed using tapping screws. These pieces installed without a problem. Just remember to install these with a screwdriver that fits snugly into the screw head. One thing that is omitted in the instructions is that a screw needs to be installed on the rear bottom of the chassis. There is a hole in the rear of the transmission and an identical hole in the bottom of the chassis. I made sure to install one, just to be safe.
Lots of CHROME!!
The front suspension was an easy installation. Most of the pieces didn't need glue, and "snapped" together. More chrome here as well. Those panels on the inside of the suspension are "photo-etched". There is a sticky plastic film on either side of these parts on the sprues. I cut the pieces first, and then peeled off the film on both sides. A word of caution: these parts bend very easily. Once they are ready for installation, ensure that they conform to the part to which they are glued. These parts look awesome when installed. The photo-etched parts throughout this kit are very well done. The contrast between polished and flat finishes adds to the realism of the finished model. Detail painting for the suspension set-up is carried out here.
Rear Suspension...
The rear suspension consists of 17 pieces, and the last 2 links are attached at the very end of the build. These parts are all chrome plated, and look very good when installed. The bottom suspension arms attach to the chassis very easily, but the attachment point on the chassis has to be done very carefully. There is just a small plastic washer for each side that keeps them in place once the springs are installed. This car is very heavy when completed, so all of the rear suspension components come into play to support the rear as in the 1:1 car. One other thing was omitted: when installing the front tires to the brake discs, 2 screws are required, one for each side. No screws were included for the rear wheels. On the back of the rims, there is an octagonal hole that slides into and onto the rear drive axles snugly, but not tightly. The rear wheels kept sliding off. Securing both with a single screw would solve this pesky problem. Once the rear suspension is completed and the tires installed, the car sits level and true, with no adjustment necessary. If the car were painted with the stock colours, the rear to me would look rather dull and boring. The colour contrasts I have used, with the flat red, all of the chrome, and the colours of the engine block and transmission work well, and look good on the show circuit.
Rear Bulkhead and Interior...
For the interior, I decided to go with gold as a base coat, with the seats being painted flat red. The colour contrast works well with my colour combinations. It's not accurate but it looks good when completed. The rear bulkhead fits well to the interior tub, but you need to ensure that you remove the chrome from the back of the parts that attached to the tub, especially to the rear, facing the engine compartment. When you install the oil and fuel lines you'll want to make sure that these parts are well secured and glued in place. The one thing I neglected here was to sand down the injection-pin mold marks. There are quite a few of them but they are not that noticeable on the completed model. The seat belts were a major challenge. I spent more than a week to get them right and settled down on the seats. The seat belt material has a sticky side that should stay in place when you affix them to the seats. This did not work for me. I had to get a toothpick and some super glue and go after each section to make sure they adhered to the seats in their proper place. I literally had to rub each section (with quite a bit of pressure!) and let them dry thoroughly before moving on to the next. The roll bar and mirror fit nicely as well, with no fit issues to speak of. The interior fits nicely to the chassis, with no fit issues there either.
Doors and Dashboard...
When painting the exterior of the vehicle, be sure to paint both the sides of the doors. When the doors are opened to display the interior the inside edges are visible and should be painted body colour for consistency. I painted the interior door panels gold and this colour works well. The door hinges, each of which attaches by 2 tapping screws, are made of a more sturdy plastic than the rest of the car. They have a sort of spring-back action when attached and are very solid. I installed the windows and exterior bits at the end of the build, as I always do, just to avoid the possibility of scratching the glass or losing one of the chrome bits. I painted the dashboard Tamiya semi-gloss black, which harmonises with the rest of the interior. The bezels for the gauges are well engraved, and would lend themselves well for some bare metal foil, for that added bit of realism. The decals for the dashboard lay down well, and I used Micro-sol setting solution, just to make sure that they sat well in their assigned places. The GT badge for the steering wheel is very well done, and looks great when installed. For the sake of accuracy, an actual photo of the dashboard would have helped for the detail painting of the knobs and switches. The one issue I had with the steering wheel was attaching the steering gear (K10) to the metal shaft. It didn't fit properly, and I tried to adjust it with a set of pliers... big mistake! The metal is softer than it looks, and it broke off with just a small twist. As it happens, you don't notice it when the car is completed.
Front End...
There are lots of goodies that go in the front of the car, and there is a ton of chrome here as well. The oil tank is chrome, but I painted it Testors silver, just to tone it down a bit. When attaching the photo-etched straps that go over the tank, ensure you are very careful with the installation. The parts are very small and fragile, and the slots are very tight. There are chrome air ducts that attach to both sides, and again, you need to ensure proper fit here. The air hoses that are included in the kit work, but not well. A lot of trimming is required to get these parts to fit properly to the openings on both the air duct and the attachment point on the brake disc. Both of mine have kinks in them. The plastic is too stiff to bend at the proper angle. When painting the tow hooks at the front of the car, be extremely careful when masking the rest of the body. They are attached to the frame of the front radiator, and that frame is very fragile. The radiator comes in two halves, with photo-etched grills for both front and back. I left the radiator chrome, but when completed, there was a nasty mold line across the top. A piece of bare metal foil solved the problem. When installed, the radiator looks great. Be very careful with the front grill as well. It has to be bent at just the right angle, to ensure a proper fit in front of the radiator. The front oil lines are installed here as well.
Attaching the Body...
Once the body is complete, attaching it was a breeze. I left the installation of the front glass until final assembly. The body fits well, with some minor adjustments. This is where the steering rod is attached, and the brake disc venting is completed. The body and chassis mates together well, you just have to ensure that everything is lined up properly. They are secured from the bottom with 6 tapping screws. Some people might think attaching the body this way makes the car look like a toy, but not in my opinion. I would rather have the car ONE solid piece, especially when transporting it to contest shows, than to have to worry about it being an issue. The car sits level and true, with no adjustments needed to the front or rear ride height. But the tolerances for fit are very close, so insure that everything lines up per the instructions.
Completion of the Engine Compartment...
The finishing touches of the engine are done at this stage. The carburetor is installed along with the fuel line. You could probably add a fuel filter to enhance the model's accuracy. The supplied woven sleeving didn't work so I found some clear flexible tubing that worked quite well. You need to cut it longer than the instructions call for, just to ensure proper fit. The rest of the fuel lines are installed next. I substituted black standard tubing from the parts box. It's not realistic but works well in the end. I needed a magnifying glass at this point to see where the instructions told me to attach the lines. Trumpeter could have done close up shots of each side, to ensure proper installation, a la Tamiya. They do have two close-up shots of each completed side, but they look like a mess of snakes, with no clear definition of where to route the fuel lines. The last two suspension links are installed next, and it firms up the solidity of the car.
The Front Clip...
I experienced more fit issues here and I had to do a lot f inside trimming just to get the hood to fit properly to the front clip. I taped the hood to the front clip during the painting process, but it still needed trimming of the inside edge to fit properly. Trumpeter includes some awesome machine-turned pins for the hood to fit into the front clip and they are done very well. I chose to paint the bottom fog lights Tamiya clear orange, just to give the front end a little different look. The chrome latches that are attached to the hood and the front clip fit together very precisely, and once installed lend themselves to the idea that you shouldn't open the hood. The work that was done to the radiator can be seen, so all is well. The photo-etched pin surrounds are designed to fit at a certain angle, so care must be taken when installing them. The wire that was included with the kit for those pins is unusable as it is WAY too stiff. I decided to omit that part, and I will install them when I find a better solution. When you install the front clip, be very careful with. Again, the fit tolerances are very tight. And once you have installed it, LEAVE IT ALONE. It looks better closed.
The Rear Clip...
The rear clip interior fitting is very solid, but it must be installed very carefully and with super glue, to insure proper seating of the parts. There is a Mylar heat shield included, a la Bare Metal Foil, and it should be installed prior to the installation of the rear inside fitting. The photo-etched grill inserts look great with the chrome trim installed. The taillights, which are already clear red, bring the whole thing together once installed with their chrome back plates. Extreme caution must be taken when installing the rear clip to the chassis. The pins and connectors that attach these parts are extremely fragile, and installation must be carried out with caution. Both of mine broke off. The rear clip fits to the body very well anyway, so it wasn't a major drawback when completed. All of the chrome bits and outside glass was installed at this time, which always proves to be the way to finish a car. None of the decals were used in my build. I just thought the car looked better with no markings.
Conclusion:
This car was a Challenge!! It took almost 6 months to build, only because I had to find many substitute parts and materials necessary to complete the car. This car looks awesome on the shelf, next to all of my other large-scale projects. Trumpeter could have alleviated a lot of the stress involved in building this model with more careful research of the 1:1 car. For the amount of money that one invests into a project of this magnitude... and it is a PROJECT... one would expect a little more usability of the parts included.
Don't get me wrong, it looks awesome on the shelf, and the 1st place ribbon next to it tells me all the work and effort was well worth it. This car is only for the seasoned modeller, with lots of twists and turns along the way. Hopefully Trumpeter, with their next automobile subject, will listen to their fans and give us something that can be a real showstopper, right out of the box. Happy modelling everyone, I hope this article gave some of you a little bit of help and insight into making this project, or your next project, one that you will enjoy and cherish for a long time to come.
