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By Havoc0213
#396665
I've been looking forward to this since the reissue was announced. I've attempted Ecto-1A before, but the results weren't anywhere near what I was hoping for. This time I'll be taking it really slow in order to get things just right.

Anyway, on to the kit!

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I definitely dig the additions and changes to the decal sheet!
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Day 1: I didn't do a whole lot the first day. I glued the fins on and started to prep for paint.
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Day 2: Finished prepping the body for paint and shot it with Tomiya bright red spray. Aside from a few spots, I think it turned out fairly well. Also started the interior.
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Day 3: Got the decals in place and worked on the front and rear bumper. I decided to do something a little different with the decals. I noticed in the movie that the caution stripping towards the back goes all the way up to meet the red of the fins. I used spare stripping decals from my first Ecto-1A to achieve this. I know it's not perfect, but I like it anyway.
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Day 4: Today I did a few small things here and there and set the license plate decals in to place. I cut out a thin piece of clear plastic from the packaging of an old pair of headphones, placed the decals on and cut them to size.
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That's all to report here for now. I'm having a blast so far which makes it difficult to put down for the night. I go to work tomorrow at 1pm, so hopefully I can get something done even if it's small.
By Raystantz Italy
#396731
I have to start working on my own kit and I have some questions.....what are those "fins" you have glued on? EHat did you use to glue parts? How you prepared the body for painting?
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By Havoc0213
#396738
The type of glue I use is called Extreme Power, I feel extreme using it. lol
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/store/item.a ... mId=174916

I prepped the body of the kit first by washing it with soap and water. It helps to wash everything as it gets all the factory oils off the parts and makes them easier to work with. I then masked the body of the car off with a roll of wide masking tape made by Tomiya. I noticed Tomiya's tape is thin and quite easier for me to work with. I wish I got pictures of it, but I initially started the kit undecided about posting my build. On a side note, anyone who may be wondering if I sprayed the body white first, I didn't. Reason being that it's already a nice white right out of the box, plus I'll be gloss clearing it for the finish. I can't stand working with white paint because I can never get it to work for me, so I'm glad I got to skip that step.

The fins that are glued on are the 59 caddy tail fins. They come as separate pieces to the body. I decided to glue them on before painting because last time I painted them before gluing and I didn't like how it turned out. You can do it either way, but I prefer the way I did it this time.

So while I'm writing this, a commercial on the radio came on advertising a car dealer ship. The song they used was a spoof of the Ghostbusters theme. Who you gonna call? Call Power! :sigh: lol
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By Havoc0213
#396751
Thanks darthbuster!

So I started something today that seems like is going to work out. I'm not a big fan when it comes to hand painting some things, so I wanted to avoid painting the lights on that top strobe bar. I'm actually stealing this idea from someone on the forms. I picked up a couple of clear sheets of thin PVC; orange, green, and blue. I'm cutting out small strips and gluing them on.

Progress so far...
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A little glue got on the top and jacked up the chrome a little, but I'll fix that with a little bare metal foil cross the top once I'm done.
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By Havoc0213
#396871
Again, I decided to do something a little different with the decals. I took the two "We're Back" message board decals, cut them in half, and switched them up like so.

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By Havoc0213
#396911
I'm the same way, I love watching other builds too. Not only does it inspire me, it also introduces me to new techniques and ideas! Yeah, I think the sign will look cool like this.
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By Havoc0213
#396952
I tried starting off with this clear drying window glue but it didn't seem to work very well, so I just switched to the usual quick drying modelers glue that I've been using all along. Been working out great since lol.
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By Kingpin
#396962
Havoc0213 wrote:Again, I decided to do something a little different with the decals. I took the two "We're Back" message board decals, cut them in half, and switched them up like so.

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Glad to see they updated the graphics for the LED boards, on the original run they were a solid inaccurate font, quite disappointing.
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By Havoc0213
#397066
So today I got a good portion of the roof rack done. Did a little custom work on a few parts, and here are a couple of photos to show.

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Also, I worked on the body as well. Did the trimming with bare metal foil.
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Then finally I did one more custom sign board message.
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Pictures of the interior and more tomorrow.
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By Havoc0213
#397120
Thanks guys, I really like it too! I had thought of using wire a ways back after I decided I wanted to build the kits, so I set an old pair of headphones aside for this occasion. Now that I know it looks really cool, I'll be doing this to ecto-1 when I start that build!

For anyone wondering about the steps I used for the wire, I'll fill ya in. I heated up a needle with a candle and used it to melt a hole in order to create more of a pinpoint accurate guide for a small drill bit. With a few hand twists of the drill bit after that, the holes opened up exactly enough to easily slide the wire in. Add a little glue and done!

Anyway, a few more photos to add!

Here is the interior. I liked how adding wire gave the roof rack a little depth, so I used little more on the dash board and computer in the back.
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I remember seeing a photo a while back where you can see labels on the dash. Also, a strip of caution stripping as well. Well I added a little stripe using leftover decals to from my hotwheels Ecto-1A and B.
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By Havoc0213
#397136
I'm very excited about this! Back when the GB2 minimates were peg warmers at my local TRU, I picked up some extra packs to do this.
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Also, strobe bar is complete.
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By elsoldao7
#397137
Awsome! I had that same idea! But I might cut open the rear hatch.

Sent from my EVO 4G using Ghostbusters Fans on Android
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By Havoc0213
#397203
Of course Slay, I have to give you some challenge! lol

Almost done! All that is really left for me to do now is to fill in some lines around the doors, paint the door handles and a few other things. I plan to purchase a display case Friday and really deck it out with some cool visuals, but until then I'll keep it on this slime splattered piece of wood!

Thank you all for the positive comments, it really helped and inspired me to reach new heights in model building!

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By CaptCyan
#397218
Nice tweaks you did! :nicejobyoudid:

The Sign Board Decals and Interior Extras are stand out additions. Could you take some natural light pics so we can see how well your color choices worked?
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By Havoc0213
#397253
Thanks guys, I appreciate the complements!

Here are a few outdoor photos I shot earlier. I'll be sure to post some follow up photos once I have the display case finished as well.

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By slaysghosts
#397265
looks freakin sweet

How did you do your window tint?

Dude, you should get some of Capt's removable Pink Slime transparencies for the Kenner Ecto's and continue the theme on the car from the base display!!
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By Havoc0213
#397358
Thanks for the complements! I'm still trying to decide on the look of the display case, but I might look in to that Slay! Thanks for the idea!

The window tinting was a pain in butt to say the least, but I managed. I've tried the window tinting spray from Testors, but I can never get it to look right. Basically I did it with the small jar instead ,by the same company, and brushed it on. It turned out a LOT darker than I intended, but at least you can't really see many imperfections in the paint. While it was a pain and very time consuming, it was 100% worth the effort.

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