BODYWORK AND PAINT....
First I glued the hood and fins to the bottom chassis and let them cure for 24 hours. The following day I proceeded on fitting all the resin modification pieces in place. This took some cleaning for a tight fit, then I cleaned the chrome plating off the side moldings that came with the kit. I glued them in place and contoured them into the body. You don't have to cut them yet because they will help guide your fender flares to the center of the well. These will be cut out with the dremel when ready. Remember to have patience with your putty because set up time is about 4 hours. Once I had the body well shaped with my putty, I dry sanded and then wet sanded in stages and used more putty if needed to fill in any pitting. Then I started on cutting out the wheel wells. I used a rounded Dremel sanding bit and took my time. With the high speed of the Dremel, I had to take it very slow. I also used the Magic Sculp Putty to extend the fins a slight bit, so I could shape the ends with the same scalloped design as the original Batmobile. I made sure that I scored out all the doors and any other panel lines that I lost while I was filling with a burnishing tool. Time for the paint job!! I used one last even coat of Testors sandable Grey Primer for the top coat to adhere properly. Waiting 48 hours before the top coat was a good idea. First I checked for any last minute fixes then I used Testors Classic Black spray in 3 light even coats waiting either 48 hours between coats or recoating within 2 hours. I also used some testors clear coat for added lustre.
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CANOPY...
The Futura Kit comes with a full canopy that includes the mid-section. What I had to do was cut out the middle and dispose of it. With masking tape, I taped the front and the back pieces of the canopy, which are the pieces I needed to use. The reason I taped them is to protect them from any damage during separation. Using a Dremel cutting wheel I slowly proceeded, trying not to crack the clear brittle plastic. I was suprised how well this worked. After my cuts I sanded the edges smooth. I used Baremetal Foil to trim around the canopy and give it that chrome trim or molding look. I didn't glue the finished pieces on yet, because I needed to handle the body a little more while I decaled, trimmed and polished it.
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TRIMMING...
Trimming this car is a real task!!! To save time and my sanity, I used Pactra Red Trim Tape. This tape is great because it's very durable and can make some sharp turns!! Any RC dealer will most likley have this tape, It comes in 6' rolls with about (7) different sizes. I did all the horizontal lines and wheel wells with the tape. Then I used Testors Guards Red paint for the grille trim which matches up well with the trim tape.
One word of advise....If you want your batmobile to have a more professional look then I recommend taking the time to hand paint all the trim. This Looks better and you can polish over it without getting lint or fibers from your cloth stuck in your tape job.
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DECALS...
I happen to experiment with custom decals and I liked them alot!! The company that offered these helped me alot with the instructions on application.
All that you need is any graphics or photo program and your inkjet printer. First you must get the white paper NOT the clear. With the clear the Red Bat became dark because of the black paint on the Batmobile. With these decals, I recommend letting the top coat clear spray that you use dry fully. I was very careful with this type decal, not to smear the ink.
The company is McGonigal Paper & Graphic.
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