Project 0012 – School Spirit (Part 1)

Project 0012 – School Spirit

     So, your parents let you have the family buggy so you could get outta town to go off to college! That’s probably a better idea than hanging around while you’re looking for a job. To show your love for your new school, you could order a “school” plate from the state license bureau or hang a tassel on the rear-view, but what if you could turn that old four-door into the hottest item on campus. Wouldn’t you look great driving this thing in the homecoming parade? The college might even make you an offer you can’t refuse to drive your showpiece in the Rose Bowl Parade.

     While all that seems like a really great idea it would probably set you back about five grand for the custom paint and graphics treatment on a full size vehicle. The next best thing would be to put one of these great looking replicas together to display in front of the TV on game day. It would give you instant bragging rights about being the “biggest fan” and you might even get a good offer for it, after all, you could always build another one! You could even say that you have one on order just like it so the dealer gave you a model of it to show off until it’s delivered.

      Here is the result, so if you like what you see and want to learn how to do it for yourself, read all about it in the Step-By-Step section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

       In this ROR Step-by-Step project we’ll show you how to convert a Revell® Chevy® Impala^TM Police Car model into an extraordinary showpiece that demonstrates your school spirit even if you’re just a great fan. You don’t have to be a degreed alumnus to show how you feel about your favorite school. The main emphasis in this project is exterior masking and painting to apply that school’s color scheme to your model. The rest of the steps are optional or model specific. The Revell® Police Car model has police vehicle equipment that is not assembled so the mounting holes or brackets are removed or filled in. If you are modifying a die cast model see ROR Step-by-Step Project 0001 for instructions on how to do that. College sticker sets are available from a number of sources to adorn your model. If you’re making a model featuring a local school that does not have copyrights on the logos and emblems – you can even make them yourself with an inkjet printer and decal paper using image preparation software.

Step-by-Step We’ll show you two different ways to transform that police cruiser into something that freshman, seniors and alumni alike would have something to scream about. The kit used here is a great base-model for this work because it has clean lines to work with and comes as a Revell® Snap-Tite^TM kit for ease of assembly.

Don’t let the basic nature of this kit fool you though. Although this is snap together model it can be richly customized in a variety of ways. This is because all the main features of this project are displayed on the exterior and/or interior of the vehicle but there is plenty of room for detail in those areas. The engine compartment and underbody are not really involved in the highlights of “School Spirit!” Whether you choose the basic assembly method or go the super-detailed and customized route – both versions will shout “just try and top this” regarding how you feel about your favorite school.

Step 1 – Common Preparation

     Begin by looking your model over to familiarize yourself with the attachment points and fastening methods used to assemble the model. In this kit only the grill, headlight and taillight assemblies are attached to the body by flaring the ends of the locating posts on the inside of the car body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

      Prepare a place to work on your model that has ample room, lighting and ventilation then place a soft cloth under it to keep from scratching any of the body panels. Turn the model upside down and look for the attachment posts mentioned earlier. Using a stout chisel-style blade shear off the flared posts to remove the assemblies and set them aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

        Gather the parts that need to be filled to remove the police cruiser features. This includes the main body shell, the two inner door panels and the floor pan.

      

          There are a couple products available to fill holes like the one in the console that is used to mount the patrol officer’s laptop computer. Testor’s® Modeling Putty is convenient and very easy to use but takes at least twelve hours to dry enough to sand. Another option is good old 3M® Bondo^TM Plastic Filler. I prefer this because it can be mixed to harden in just minutes and be ready to sand within an hour.

        Apply some putty to the holes to be filled and after a few minutes they will start to setup and harden.

         To save yourself a lot of extra work carefully trim these spots with a sharp bladed knife to remove excess material after the filler sets up but before it gets too hard to work with. Be careful to remove only putty and avoid cutting into the plastic model itself.

            Make sure that the putty has hardened enough to begin sanding and start to finish off these spots using a flexible sanding stick. After removing the bulk of the material start with a 400 grit then use progressively finer sand papers until the surface is very smooth and cannot be felt by running a fingernail across the edges. If you can see it or feel it before you paint it the effect will be doubled afterwards.

              Use a 600 grit or finer dry paper to sand off the rest of the main body to give the paint some better adhesion.

         Bend a coat hanger or similar wire to make a standing frame for the model body to set on and set them aside.

           Gather the rest of the parts that need to be painted with primer and carefully remove them from the trees. Assemble the steering wheel to the rest of the column and snap the two halves of the seats together. Trim off any excess flash and sand the edges smooth. Use some Blu-Tack®, similar putty or tape loops to mount the parts off of the painting area to allow air flow under the edges to properly reach those areas.

          Use a soft toothbrush and scrub the body in a mild soap solution. Pay particular attention to recesses and panel lines that may have accumulated some dust from sanding. This will also remove any casting film or oils from your hands that could prevent good paint adhesion. Rinse the part in cool water and pat dry. Let this stand aside to dry completely before painting.

            Now it’s time to apply the spray primer to the body shell. I used a commonly available Krylon® Brand Black Primer for this project. First wipe off all the top surfaces with a painter’s “tack” cloth. This cloth has a waxy feel and will remove any dust or lint that has settled on the model prior to painting. At first, make a few light passes from about 18″ away to put a light “tack” coat on the model. Do the same thing to your small parts.

          After that has had a chance to setup (a few minutes) give the body and small parts another coat of light coat of primer making sure that the color looks even over the whole surface.

          The third coat can be a “wet” coat. This is when the paint is applied lightly to the small parts and body but a little closer to the subject (about 12″) and appears wet. Don’t overdo it to avoid runs and buildups. After the primer dries, sand the surfaces of the model with 600 grit sand paper or finer. Pay particular attention to any imperfections that you might find.

         Give your model and small parts another light coat of primer to ensure even coverage and sand it lightly after it dries as in the previous step.

          This is where the two versions of this project split off between the Easy Kit Build and the Custom version. The one thing they both have in common is that the underbody and engine compartment are not detailed in any way. The chassis and suspension parts are molded in one piece and as a result some of the features like the exhaust parts – while looking good if viewed straight on – would only detract from the appearance if they were painted because the part extends all the way up to the floor pan.

        There is also some detailing common to both versions that just add so much to the model’s realism that you might want to consider them for both versions. One instance is adding “blackout” treatment and side marker light orange to the headlight assemblies. Another is adding ‘blackout” treatment to the back panel area. There are some other “optional” details in both builds that you should feel free to leave out. One item is consumer electronics that replaced the police cruiser radar gun on the dashboard. Instead of the GPS or MP3 docking station this could merely be filled in and painted over. Models are always highly personal so adlib all you want and consider any non-essential detail as optional equipment.

Step 2a – Finishing the Easy Kit Build (Click here for the Custom Build)

         Now that your parts have been primer painted and have had time to dry, they will need to be painted with the color coats. As with the primer, the first coats will be very light starting with “tack” coats to help set the surface up for the wet coats. This process repeats for both the small parts and the body shell.

           This is a tutone color scheme so we’ll begin by wiping the model off with a soft cloth to remove sanding dust and then use a tack cloth to remove any remaining dust. We’ll spray the lighter color (Krylon® Brand Bauhaus Yellow) first on the body shell and the wheels.

         Add additional light coats to build up to an even color coverage.

           As you can see the progression is gradual and this process gives your model the best depth of color and finish. After you have achieved a fairly even coverage let the model set to dry.

             At this point your model body is ready for a light sanding with 800 grit paper and a series of wet coats to complete the light color application. Continue to paint the wheels at the same time and with the same process as the body with the exception of not having to sand them between coats. After the sanding wipe off the body with a soft cloth and use the tack cloth to remove dust. Set the body shell on your wire frame and apply a nice smooth wet coat of paint at a 12″ distance to the subject. You’ve probably noticed that the quarter panels are not receiving much paint. That is because these areas will be painted the darker color later.

          After continuing this process for three to five more coats you’ll get a rich even color on all the light color areas. Set this aside to dry thoroughly.

             Next we’ll mask off the doors, top, hood and trunk in order to spray the other areas with a few coats of primer to return the finish to a dark base. Tape will be the applied to the panel seems of those features so we must place a good quality tape to do the job. I used Tamiya® Paint Masking Tape because of its superior adhesion and flexibility. Masking, electrical and standard painter’s tape won’t do the trick so this is one item you’ll have to get do a good job.

         Once all of the seams are covered use a crevice tool to embed the tape into the panel seems that you are going to trim out. You can start them with a fingernail but then use an implement like a cuticle tool to press the tape into the seam.

           Use your sharp bladed knife now to carefully cut the tape along the panel lines.

         Now remove the excess tape from the outside perimeters of the light color areas to be covered.

            In the center of these areas use some clean paper to fill the bigger sections and tape the edges down to the tape that was left in place from the first round. Set your body shell up on the wire frame after using the tack cloth and start another progression of primer coats starting with the tack coat to the model body.

           You’ll end up with another very dull, black looking body shell but this will set the depth of color needed for the dark color to adhere and look its best.

               On this particular model we need to tape off the side window frames to provide a rich black color to the window trim like the real vehicle to add to the realism of your model. After you’ve embedded the tape into the seams as before use the sharp bladed knife to trim them out and remove the excess.

           Sand off the exposed panel surfaces and then use a soft cloth to clean them up. Use the tack cloth once again to remove any dust and set the body shell on the wire frame. Begin the paint process all over with those first tack coats as before with the darker color. This will include the small parts and passenger compartment areas as well.

           Keep the progressions going through the light tack coats and final wet coats as before with the lighter color until you achieve a rich dark even color.

           Remember to finish up the small parts in the darker color as well. These will have gloss that we’ll soften later with a satin finish to emulate vinyl.

         After the model body is dry to the touch remove the tape and paper masking to reveal your tutone color scheme with black window trim.

            Use a wide chisel tipped permanent marker like this Sharpie® to finish out the window frames in the front and back on the roof. If you’re careful it does an excellent job and really gives the model a professional appearance. It can also be used to color the windshield wipers with precision.