Project 0024 – Earth Day Celebration

Project 0024 – Earth Day Celebration

 

       It looks like Detroit is finally going green. Well, brown anyway! In celebration of Earth Day Ford Motor Company has released a concept vehicle that finally addresses the most stringent environmental concerns. Due for production in 2015 this new design makes use of breakthrough technologies that reduce tailpipe emissions to zero. In addition the entire body structure and interior are made from dirt! It is actually made of baked clay.

 

            The advantages are tremendous for the savvy buyer. Not only will you get carbon offset credits for your purchase but auto body repairs are now as easy as making mud pies. In the event of a collision, repairs can be made by simply scooping up some mud and slapping it on the damaged area. Using the factory installed blow dryer to set the patch, you’re on your way within 15 minutes and nobody will ever know the difference. Just don’t forget to throw on a couple coats of varnish before the next big rainstorm!

 

            The propulsion system is just as amazing. It runs entirely on compressed air just like filling up a balloon. This new compressed air technology (CAT) allows the vehicle to travel over 100 miles on a fill up and is ideal for city driving.

 

            End-of-Life requirements mandate that manufacturers make products that are mostly recyclable. This new design is quite an advance in that area as well. After removing the drive train to melt the few steel parts down that are in the vehicle, the tires are shredded to make new road building material, the wheels are recycled to make aluminum cans and the body is buried in the ground where it will completely dissolve within three years into some fine potting soil.

 

            You can’t buy one of these beauties yet but you can make a replica to display at your next environmental event to show how serious you are about protecting the earth. This two-story pickup truck even comes with a bio-degradable bed liner for that organic garden you’ve been wanting to plant and the rabbits can’t get to your veggies without a ladder.

 

  

                        Figure 1 Before                                               Figure 2 After

 

Step-by-Step

 

            The great thing about the die cast models available these days is that they offer great detailing and features in an affordable model and they rarely use adhesives for assembly. For this Right On! Replica Project we used a die cast Maisto® brand Ford® F-150 FX4® Truck model #39248 in approximately 1:32 scale. This model of the trail-busting 4X4 is the product of out-of-the-box thinking aimed at raising “green” awareness by describing something that “could” be. It doesn’t really exist as a concept vehicle or otherwise except in the form of a model, and is truly just an exercise in wishful thinking, but you have to start somewhere, right?

 

Step 1 – Disassembly

 

            It almost seems a shame to take a brand new model and tear it down into separate pieces but that is the only way to do a truly good job of repainting your model. Begin by looking your model over to familiarize yourself with the attachment points and fastening methods used to assemble the model. In this model tabs, screws, flared posts were used.

            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. One great thing about the Maisto® Assembly Line^TM kits is that you won’t have much disassembly to do to prepare the model for re-painting.

            Begin disassembling the plastic parts from the body shell by turning the model over and using a hobby knife with a sharp chisel-type blade to slice off the flared plastic posts that are used to attach the front headlights and grill. Remove those items and place them in a small container or bag so they aren’t lost.

 Figure 3 Slice off the flared-post fasteners

            Open up the doors and remove the inside panel by getting a blade under the side panel and prying it away from the door. Use the chisel-type blade to slice off the flared-posts that retain the side view mirrors and add these to your container of small parts.

 Figure 4 Remove the door panels and mirrors

             Remove the inner tailgate panel and taillights.

 Figure 5 Remove the inner tailgate panel and taillights

             Remove the windshield by turning the body upside down and pushing it outward gently but firmly at the top of the window glass. There are two tabs at the top that locate the secure the window in place. Put this in a separate baggie to keep it from getting scratched

Figure 6 Chassis windshield

             Use a rotary grinder or a high speed drill to remove the two metal flares that secure the cab window glass to the roof. Be careful not to scratch the window glass sections. Remove the windows and put these in a separate baggie to keep from getting scratched too.

 Figure 7 Remove roof mount flares

Step 2 – Preparation

           

            Use some 600-800 fine grit wet sandpaper to dull the painted surface to give it some bite for the primer paint

 Figure 8 Wet sand the body shell  

             Sand off the side body “FX4” emblem. It would show through the paint and won’t be needed for this model being replaced with a “100% Carbon Offset” decal in true green.

Figure 9 Remove the side body emblem

             Wash the body shell in mild detergent and water using a soft toothbrush and sponge. Towel dry your model after a good overall sanding. The finish should be smooth to the touch but dulled in preparation for priming.

Figure 10 Prepped for priming

             Use some good quality masking tape to tape off the highlights that you don’t want painted in both the interior and on the exterior. Use a sharp bladed hobby knife to remove the excess.

Figure 11 Mask areas not to be painted

             Mask the body emblems and high-stop taillight and carefully trim the excess with the hobby knife.

Figure 12 Mask the body emblems

            Use a “tack” cloth to remove dust from the vehicle body just prior to painting. 

Figure 13 “Tack” the body

             Bend a piece of wire like that from a coat hanger to fashion a stand that you can set the body shell on for painting.

Figure 14 Body on wire stand

  

Step 3 – Finishing

 

             The first coats of primer spray should be light even coats sprayed at a distance of 12″ to 16″ from the body shell.

Figure 15 The first “tack” coats of primer

            Open up the doors and let some of the paint coverage get into the door jambs and continue to add primer coats in wet layers until an even coat is achieved. Set this aside to dry. Normally we would sand in-between coats but this will actually add to the “made out of mud effect we’re trying to achieve in this project.

Figure 16 Paint the door jambs

            Mount the small parts on a piece of stiff cardboard by sticking them into adhesive putty like Blu-Tack or some similar product.

Figure 17 Mount the small parts

            Use the same process to paint the small parts. Start with light “tack” coats and work your way up to some heavier wet coats for coverage.

Figure 18 Tack coat the small parts

             Begin painting the first base coats the in the same way as the primer. Tack cloth the exterior and place the body on the wire frame then use light spray coats to gradually build up to wet even coats. The “crackle” paint that I used was Valspar brand Crackle Top Coat. The color doesn’t matter because we will spray a color coat over it. 

Figure 19 Spray tack coats of base paint on the body

            Continue building up even coats of paint through to the wet coats to achieve an even finish.

Figure 20 The final base coat                                          

            Again, paint the small parts in the same manner starting with the tack coats of base paint.

Figure 21 Tack coat the small parts with base color      

            Continue adding color coats through the wet coats until an even finish is obtained.

Figure 22 Final color coat on the small parts

            Now that your body shell has had time to dry put it back on the paint rack for a coat of “crackle” paint. This paint is done in even coats and the first coat here produced great effects on the roof and rear sections but smaller effects on the doors and hood. Before the paint dries you can add some layers to the doors and hood to enhance the effect and catch up to the roof. Set it aside to dry.

Figure 23 Spray on the “crackle” paint on the body shell  

            Now do the same for the small parts and set them aside to dry

Figure 24 Spray on the “crackle” paint on the small parts

            Using light tack coats at first, spray the body with a suitable “mud” colored paint. In this case I used Krylon’s® Brown Boots Satin finish spray for that lightly varnished baked-clay look.

Figure 25 Spray the body with a color coat

            Continue through the layers until your last wet coat produces an even tone over the whole body shell.

Figure 26 Spray the final color coat.

            Add some detailing on the body shell by replacing the silver sections that were covered.

Figure 27 Repaint the headlights and taillight nacelles silver

            Add some detailing to the dashboard by removing the masking tape and painting some of the gauges and controls for effect and set it aside to dry.

Figure 28 Detail the dashboard

            Place the pickup bed into the back end and secure it into place with the included screws from underneath with a small Phillips head screwdriver.

Figure 29 Insert and secure the pickup bed

            Assemble the passenger compartment by inserting the seatbacks onto their tabs.

Figure 30 Install the seatbacks

             Reassemble the doors by placing the side mirrors on their locating posts and then do the same for the door panels.

Figure 31 Reassemble the doors

            Reinstall the windshield by placing the bottom where it goes and then gently but firmly snapping the top into place making sure the tabs clear the roof and are seated behind the roof’s edge. 

Figure 32 Reassemble the windshield

            Reassemble the tailgate by placing the back panel of the bed liner on the locating posts and snapping it into place.

Figure 33 Reassemble the tailgate

            Install the steering column and wheel by pushing it firmly into the post hole

Figure 34 Install the steering column

            Mix up a little 5-minute epoxy to reattach the items that were removed from the body shell starting with the rear and side window glass. Place it onto the locating tabs and press it down making sure not to squeeze any adhesive out onto the exposed glass panels. Add a dab of epoxy to the tabs on the headlights, grill, and taillights and press them back to place before the epoxy sets.

Figure 35 Install the rear and side window glass

            The body shell now takes shape with the details reinstalled.

Figure 36 The re-assembled body shell

            Set the passenger compartment into place on the chassis.

Figure 37 Attach the passenger compartment to the chassis

            Attach the body shell to the chassis following the kit’s instructions by turning the model over and using the three attachment crews included.

Figure 38 Attach the body to the chassis

            Start adding the decals and emblems to the exterior for that official Earth Day theme.  Most of the decals I used for this project were made from clipart and word art found in most word processing software applications. These can be made by using some decal paper and a color ink jet printer for a stunning appearance. I also included some of the kit emblems like the rear license plate.

Figure 39 Add the decals

            Continue adding decals to give your replica the “finished” look.

Figure 40 Add the Earth Day emblems

           

 

Step 4 – Display

 

            The completed model also includes an organic victory garden planted in the pickup bed. Altogether this unusual replica will be a real conversation piece and should be displayed proudly for everyone to see just how environmentally inclined you are

Figure 41 The completed replica

 

 

List of Project Items

Maisto® brand Ford® F-150 FX4® Truck model #39248

No. 1 Phillips head screw driver

Hobby knife with #11 scalpel-type blade

Hobby knife with #11 chisel-type blade

Phillips head small (2.4mm) screwdriver

Wet-Dry sandpaper (assorted grits 400-600)

Blu-Tack® adhesive

Small paint brush suitable for enamels

Krylon® Brand Spray Enamel Satin Brown Boots

Valspar® Brand Spray Enamel Crackle Top Coat

Metal Primer Spray Paint

Plastic Primer Spray Paint

Five-minute epoxy

Tamiya® Model Tape

Testor’s Custom Decal System #9198

 

*Clicking any of the highlighted links above will transfer you to a purchase site for that item.

 

 

Copyright 2009 Right On! Replicas, LLC (RoR). All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any manner without its written permission. 

 

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