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Revell 1/24 Shelby Mustang GT350H |
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The Revell 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350H is a great kit, and it builds into a great model out of the box. Starting with the body, you are rewarded with a kit that has good proportions, which only needs a little clean up to make it work.
After the removal of the “Mustang 2+2” and “289” scripts on the fenders, the molding lines on the rear quarter panels need filling and smoothing. The passenger side is the worst, with the mold line extending up to the B pillar roofline. Glue on the front and rear pans, along with the side scoops, and the body is ready for paint.
Speaking of paint, only 800 of the 1000 cars ordered by the Hertz car rental company from Shelby were painted black and gold. The remaining 200 cars were broken into blocks of 50.
These cars were painted Candy Apple Red, Wimbledon White, Sapphire Blue, and Ivy Green, respectively. All five colors are classic, and they work well with the Gold stripe decals in the kit. The choice is yours. I chose Wimbledon White paint from Scalefinishes.com.
While the paint on the body dries, the next step is the interior. With only 15 parts, this step goes quickly. The interior parts include the correct tachometer and arm rests. All Hertz cars had a black interior.
Do NOT follow the kit instructions for painting the steering wheel and the seat hinges! The steering wheel center and spokes should be chrome, and the rim is brown wood. The seat hinges are only chrome on the long sides and the short hinge covers are black. Be sure to paint the underside of the interior primer red as it is visible through the center of the chassis.
The engine and transmission are the next stage and in keeping with the rest of the kit, these components are very well represented. The kit’s 289 cubic inch V-8 with four-speed transmission represents one of the early Hertz cars. The later cars used a C4 automatic. Engines are painted Ford Corporate Blue.
The transmission bell housing is aluminum, with a steel transmission case. No chrome was used on the motor except for the breather on the driver’s side valve cover and the air filter. Oil pan, valve covers, intake manifold, and carburetors are all bare aluminum. For the headers I used airbrushed Testors Chrome to replicate “jet hot” ceramic coating.
The chassis is well made and goes together nicely. Both front and rear suspensions are molded separately, as is the exhaust, and the shocks. With a bit of detail painting the underside of the kit really pops. Overall the Chassis is primer red, the wheel arches, and the top/sides of the front frame are flat black, and the front suspension is a mix of chassis black and silver. Silver is also used on the exhaust, and the gas tank.
On the real cars the shocks are red. I painted mine yellow to replicate the look of a modern Monroe. The rear suspension is chassis black for the axle, primer red for the center section, with steel finishing off the leaf springs and drive shaft.
The wheels are Magnum 500s. Flat black paint on the centers is all that’s needed to make them look fantastic. The tires need a little cleanup, and have very little marking on the sidewalls. The tread is okay, and the tires look good, but are not one of the kit’s strong points.
Final assembly is quick, with just the glass, chrome, and under hood parts remaining to be attached. The engine bay, front shock brace, radiator core support, and wheel wells are painted flat black. The radiator is gloss black.
The assembled kit is a nice model out of the box. My only complaint is the flash on the ends of the bumpers, and the lack of traction bars that Shelby used on the real GT350Hs. But what can you do?
(Note: author Jameston Kroon is the owner of Scalefinishes model paints. You can follow the link to his website)
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