Hey why not, right? If I can’t get the hot cars to come to me, I might as well build them myself. Budget constraints make it so they have to be a bit smaller. Like 1/24th-ish smaller.
I have not built a model car in like four odd years or so, and some of them have been around half assembled for seven or eight. The thing I found out is I am a bit rusty. Like this GMC pickup.
It was meant to look that way. This is the fast version of how it is done. First paint it rust color. While you wait for it to dry, get some sea salt, table salt and a spray bottle full of just water. Mist the body, sprinkle on the salt, and wait for that to dry.
Just walk away, trust me. Resist the urge to point a heat gun or hair dryer at it. Chances are you will warp something.
I did a trailer too because I want to do dioramas. I want the models to tell a story, not just sit by themselves in a display case.
I bent the fenders and dented the deck plate with a body hammer before I painted it. I never see a brand new trailer without dents and rust around my native home of New York, so I found this fitting.
If you wish to know more about this process, I would suggest you get the book, Ratz, Rods and Rust: Building models Cranky’s Way by Virgil Suárez. It has a lot of tips for car building, not just rust.
Scott Downey 