MPC Ford J Car

[rasputen]

I'll re-post this since the other road racing forum seems to have disappeared. Here is an MPC Ford J Car that I built from two glue bombs. I really liked the cover art on the box so I finished it in the same way - half clear and half painted. I used a Revell parts pack 427 engine block and heads, and Cady decals. Okay half of the Cady decals.

[imsanut]

Nice indeed. Makes me want to dig into the IMC and MPC Jcars I bought built and in need of repair!

[4wheels]

That's a cool build! I've never tried a half-clear build but I should, it looks neat.

Brian

[mustangrex]

I wish I could see the photos. Hardly anyone ever builds this kit.

[rasputen]

Fixed - now on Fotki...

[mustangrex]

Thanks for fixing the pictures. I was torn when I built mine between painting it or leaving it clear. These have become worth more than they should be but I went ahead and built it as close to pictures I could find online and in books. I like the half and half idea so I guess I am glad I did not copy that.

[shunter]

Great job and not as easy to do. How was the clear areas did they have sink marks and seam lines?

[rasputen]

The biggest problem with the clear body is that the pieces are very brittle. To save money on this model I bought two glue bombs, and the only usable front nose section had a very large crack in it. I was just able to conceal the crack under the painted area and the roundel. There is also some spider webbing above the right front wheel but it doesn't show up in the images. Another problem was that the lower front body extensions are separate pieces. I used canopy glue to attach the one that was left clear, but there is no way to hide the joint. The radiator air exit duct is also a separate piece so I had to paint half of it first and then attach it with canopy glue. I actually introduced another crack in the rear body, simply by pushing the tail light housing into its recess. I think there may have been some seam lines but they can be polished off.

I'm working on a Tamiya Mercedes 300 SL which uses a clear undertray. Making the undertray clear was a cool idea, but it is full of ejector pin marks. I'm not sure what to do with that one, I think the best solution there is to paint it but make it removable somehow.

[mustangrex]

I did deviate from building it box stock by using the 69 Shelby taillights.  Otherwise it was an easier job than the IMC version.  It's too bad the molds are probably gone forever.

[mustangrex]

Some pics I found online.

[Chris K. Hale]

I have managed to pick up several J-Cars, one partial built and one clear mint IMC versions and I think a couple more some where. I also got the Ford MK IV in IMC, Testors and MPC in all mint condition. These are not easy builds, although sometime I will build them using hi-detail and scratch building .. a matter of time. The pics you guys added are fabulous builds and I really like the 1/2 clear build, I did build a IMC Ford GT Mk II that I used to sit in with Briggs Cunningham at his museum while he told me stories from the Americas Cup to Lemans and other races. What a Great American!!! THe model appeared in SAE, Model Cars and MOdel Car BUilder mags.. It was a version that Ford originally built 6 of, The original plan for Ford was to use the D.O.H.C. Indy engines, but when they caught on like wild fire at Indy Ford decided to drop in the proven 427 cid NASCAR engine.
the last  pic is the car in the museum Briggs had coverted it a StreetCar with a nuffler and all, later it was converted back to race trim and to this day I understand it runs in vintage events with a small block!! public.fotki.com/pmodwrks/ford-gt40-dohc/    this is the link to all the build pics. I used 4 or 5 kits due to warpage and poor fit!! Chris

[mustangrex]

I checked out the Fotki photos. The Mark II is fantastic. I have built all the available IMC, Testors, Mini Exotics, Thunder Valley, CMA and MPC and one Fujumi GT40 with probably 20 or so unbuilt ones to go.