Thanks again. One of the things I noticed when following the Official Build was the visible mold seams on the plastic exhaust pipes. I thought I'd try to some detail by removing those seams. As long as I was removing the seams I decided to remove the exhaust brackets and clamps and add my own scratch-built units instead. What you see here is the results. The pipes are all painted with Tamiya silver leaf. The brackets and clamps are painted metallic grey for contrast. The hex bolts, nuts & washers are all 1mm stainless steel from the ScaleHardware (Model Motorcars). The "U-bolts" are made from hobby wire. I removed the sleeve that the u-bolts were attached to on the kit version and replaced with a small piece of Evergreen tube. I'll explain later how I made the clamps and brackets.

Excellent work, the detail looks fabulous....

Regards

Alan

I wish I had your patience and skill.

Just caught up with your modifications and must say that there is stunning work on show.

All your patience in scratch building the mods have certainly paid off. I'm already eager to see what you add next

Thanks again for the comments guys.

For those of you that want to use personalized or different number plates there is a company here in the US that makes scale plates for model cars. They are accurate reproductions and come laminated front and back. Cost is $11 US for 2 plates and for an extra $1 they will adjust the screw holes to 26mm on center to accommodate the Shelby mounts.

MINIPL8S.com

Here is a quick and easy way to make scale screens for the side scoops for the Shelby. I started by Googling "1967 Shelby GT500 side scoops" and came up with several examples to use for a template. I transferred the templates to a drawing program to refine the edges and get the scaling just right to fit the kit scoops and then printed them out on Avery full-sheet label paper. In the photo you can see I made templates for both the side and quarter scoops. From there I cut out the template, peeled off the backing and stuck it to a 1.25" stainless steel pipe screen (Amazon $8.49 for a pack of 50) and then cut it out using stainless steel scissors and some photo-etch nippers to trim the curved sections. You can also clean the edges up with medium grit sand paper. That's it. Scoop screens. I will probably paint the background on the scoop black for contrast and then glue the screen to the scoop using a thin coat of Elmers white glue.

Nice touch.

Mark

Beautiful work, very well done and thanks for sharing......

Regards

Alan

The starter looks real amazing result there top draw regards Phil

Update…

I’m getting real close to officially starting my build diary, having worked out most of the modifications that I wanted to add. Still left are the rear disc brakes and a few more engine details, although those can pretty much be addressed during the build or assembly process as they don’t really effect other assemblies.

I'm still considering running lights to the dashboard gauges and have a plan but I just haven't decided if that's what I want to do.

I kept the body modifications to a minimum and I hope I don’t upset any Mustang or Shelby purists for what I have chosen to do. I’ve made it clear from the start that I am doing a mild custom and not a factory stock Shelby.

Body modifications (some previously mentioned) include removing the hood-pin locks, the Shelby badges from the front fenders, the radio antenna and the small ridge that runs down the center of the body from the rear, through the trunk lid & roof (with a small break) and through the hood. Since I’m painting the body a solid color with no stripes I thought that removing the ridge would give the car an overall cleaner look, especially if I can pull off the paint job that I want.

I’ve stripped the paint off the body parts and made the modifications mentioned above and have applied a working coat of primer to all parts. Much wet-sanding with 600 grit sandpaper followed and more primer. Stripping the kit paint off revealed a few issues but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Some pitting and burrs – mostly on the edges – and some high and low spots that you don’t notice until you are looking at bare metal.

Next step is to assembly the body parts and check the fit across adjoining panels (like between the doors and the body, trunk with body and hood with fenders). I’ll also use sanding sticks to sand across these panels, much like block sanding before disassembling and starting the long process of applying the color coats – which will be many.

I’ll try and post pictures of the assembled body by this weekend.