# Moebius Hudson Hornet in work



## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

This isn't going to actually be a in progress build thread but I will be posting some pictures as I work along on this model. I would like to hear from the car modeling experts what they think of Moebius's first venture into an automobile. I don't usually do cars, at least stock automobiles, so I am a relative novice at this but it certainly looks like a good and very detailed kit to me. The engine is basically completed and I have started the frame and interior. I stripped all the chrome parts, I don't care for the chrome on kits, and sprayed them with Alclad chrome. Anyway, here are a few pics:





































Bob K.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Looking good. Aside from very poor molding on the chassis the kit has been pretty nice. I need to get back to mine. When I rechrome the parts I cut them off the sprues and mount them on cocktail sticks from the back so I don't have sprue marks and seams.


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## Hunch (Apr 6, 2003)

Nice looking engine Bob, seems to be a nice kit.
dj- whats wrong with the chassis? Funky molding? Lack of detail? Dont have this one... YET!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Engineering and detailing on the chassis are good just molding was very poor and you have to do a lot of clean up to get the flash and mold lines off of all of the various beams and braces. I guess its a trade off to having the chassis separate from the floor which is a good thing.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I've been scouring the web for pictures mainly of the interior. The seats and such were fairly easy to find but the walls were more difficult. It looks from what I've seen like the coloring is based on the body color and seat colors. Also you can see the bumpers redone in the Alclad chrome which, at least in my opinion, is much better than the chromed parts as they come. Anyway, here is where I am at at the moment.




























Bob K.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Yea. The chrome is more "scaled' looking, with that product. Less toyish. Great job, so far!


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## dino84 (Jul 20, 2008)

I've been wondering when I'd start seeing built up Hornets, looks great so far :thumbsup:

Scott.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I've been making slow but steady progress on the Hornet. I am about finished with the frame so I am attaching a picture of the open frame prior to adding the interior to the frame. The leaf springs and shocks cannot be attached until the interior floor is glued into place so they are still missing. You have to be a bit careful about getting the drive shaft and exhaust manifolds into place prior to gluing the small brace into place. Finishing up this part and the interior won't be so difficult but getting the body done with a factory finish and doing all that chrome trim, some molded onto the body, is going to be a bear. I am planning on using bare metal foil for the window trim but am still wondering about the trim strips and labeling molded on the body. I have never worked with BMF before so that will also be a learning experience for me.










Bob K.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

rkoenn said:


> I've been making slow but steady progress on the Hornet. I am about finished with the frame so I am attaching a picture of the open frame prior to adding the interior to the frame. The leaf springs and shocks cannot be attached until the interior floor is glued into place so they are still missing. You have to be a bit careful about getting the drive shaft and exhaust manifolds into place prior to gluing the small brace into place. Finishing up this part and the interior won't be so difficult but getting the body done with a factory finish and doing all that chrome trim, some molded onto the body, is going to be a bear. I am planning on using bare metal foil for the window trim but am still wondering about the trim strips and labeling molded on the body. I have never worked with BMF before so that will also be a learning experience for me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Glad you posted the picture before body installation. Only time we'll ever get to see it on your build. I've used BMF a few times. Sometimes I had good success, others I really screwed it up. But you can always remove it and start over. Practice on something less valuable. Maybe fiddle with something from your scrap box or an old half-built kit. I used it here, on an old Monogram Lincoln Futura kit: 










You can see some wrinkling from not burnishing it smooth, very well. I applied it too big, on purpose, and then used a sharp X-acto to trim it close and peel the rest off. (I heard you can use BMF as a paint mask.) I burnished it with a wooden burnishing tool from an art store. I suppose I'd get better, if I used it more.


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## Els (Mar 13, 2011)

It's looking good Bob. Its also nice to build something different once in a while. Good luck with the Bare metal foil. I could never get it to work right, but I have seen a lot of car modellers that get great results. If yours turns out good, show us how you did it.
Els


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Your Hornet is looking great!! What did you use to remove the chrome plating? I've never used the Alclad chrome... anything tricky about it? Thanks! - Denis


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Boy, that's a fine-looking in-progress build. Are you going to sand out and polish the exterior paint?


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Denis, I used bleach and soaked the parts in the bleach. It took 3 or 4 soakings and scrubbing with an old toothbrush between soaks but most of it came off. The Moebius chrome parts take more work than others I have done. I've had the chrome literally just vaporize when I've done this on other kits. I think that Easy-off oven cleaner might work as well. I then put a coat of Testors rattle can black lacquer on it as the Alclad wants that for a base coat. They make a black to do it with as well but I use the Testors. The Alclad sprays absolutely great from the airbrush and requires airbrushing, it will not work brushed on so touch up is kind of out of the question. I've used their chrome, silver, and gold. I did my Munster's coach and a Roth Beatnik Bandit the same way. I don't care for the chrome parts in kits so this is my plan for all future builds that have chromed parts.

PF, I am planning on doing that but have never done it on a car model before. I have buffed out model rockets in the past but the surfaces were far less convoluted. I am going to read up on the best way to do it to a car model as I don't want to rub through the paint and really start screwing things up. And I am still trying to figure out how I am going to do that chrome trim stripe that runs down the side of the car and is molded in. I got a bit more done this weekend and am enjoying this build. I have a Moebius mummy on the bench as well and that got most of my time this weekend as I came up with some nice paint schemes and cool ways to get the effects I wanted. I hope to finish the mummy by next weekend.

Bob K.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The chassis looks great. You are coming along nicely on the kit. I sort of let mine fall by the wayside...

Bare Metal Foil is not hard to use at all. The Hudson has a couple areas that look problematic if you dont plan ahead. The chrome belting on the lower half of the body just seems to disappear into the side of the car. There isnt a sharp division that I recall so trimming the BMF will be tough. Perhaps pre cut it with a razor knife and straight edge so you dont have to trim the top. Also the window framing around the top of the windshield is very indistinct. It just sort of blends into the roof of the car. I am not sure if the sun shield visor will cover this or not. I planned on scribing the edges of the windshield around the top before I paint the body to give s better demarcation.

A couple tips for people using Alclad II Chrome... Super Clean removes kit chrome and the clear primer used to adhere the chrome to the plastic parts. It works quickly and without much scrubbing. Alclad is a lacquer so be careful as to what base coat you use. Testors enamels do work fine but should be fully dry. I use Tamiya TS gloss black spray paint. It is a plastic safe lacquer and is very durable. Mist the Alclad on VERY lightly and at low pressure (10 psi or less). More is not better and if you build up too much Alclad it does not stick to itself and will be dull and rub off.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

DJ, I am thinking that for the trim along the bottom of the car sides I may mask it off and use the Alclad. But those chrome trim stripes that run down the middle of the side of the car have me in a quagmire about how to do them. I am wondering about masking them as well but haven't decided yet. As you noted, not having a hard line for the edge makes it even more difficult. Have you looked at the logos on the body as well? The Hornet name and a couple of others. Do you have any idea how you are going to do those up in chrome? I am thinking for those I am just going to have kind of dry brush with a silvery acrylic paint like Vallejo. They are so small and the edges are blended into the body so it will be difficult.

Bob K.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

When I stripped the chrome off of my Monogram Future, I soaked the parts in Formula 409 cleaner, overnight. It just dissolved, no scrubbing.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I thought about masking the side spears and doing them in Alclad as well (along with the bottom panels. Actually the windshield frames would be good that way too. Of course if you did a black car, the silver trim would be very easy with Alclad.

As much as I like the kit, much of the body detail is really so mushy and indistinct compared to even old 60s AMT kits. Some of the badgework/lettering could be done with photo-etch should someone put out a Hornet set. Normally I would do those bits with BMF but the kit detailing is so fine and soft. When I did Johan's Rambler Wagon it was not hard to just cut out R A M B L E R in BMF across the rear door.

You might try painting the chrome details with Vallejo Super Silver. The Super line of metallics are alcohol based (they clot up if you get ANY water/moisture on them or on the brush). But their Super Silver looks just like Chrome. I use it inside headlight housings on military vehicles all the time.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Bob et. al., I did my first sand/polish out on a 39 Ford last summer. I did not find it difficult, just time-consuming. But you do have to be sure you have enough paint on the car and stay well away from the high spots. Also it takes a certain amount of um....hutzpah to start in sanding on a perfectly good spray-paint job, especially since it doesn't start to gloss up again until you get to the really fine sanding pads and polish. Here's a link to some instructions that I found quite useful. They're done by Pat Covert, an expert car modeler and author of several books on the hobby.

http://ilovewood001.tripod.com/modeling/polish.html


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Thanks PF, I am going to give it a go. I figured you needed a fair amount of paint on it to begin with. It does have a pretty good coat but I may give it more. I also need to do the roof in a light tan and have to buy a can of Testors paint for that. I have acrylics but lacquers would be much better for polishing. I have some BMF coming as well. Thanks for the directions, I had been doing some googling on this subject.

Bob K.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I got some more done on the interior. I have completed the seats with all the detailing and glued them into place along with the pedal assembly. I am waiting for a trip to Orlando to hopefully get a Testors cream spray to use on the body roof. Once I get the cream I can put more effort into the body. Things are moving along albeit a bit slowly and I hope to finish within the next 2-3 weeks.



















Bob K.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Beautiful work... so far so good


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## Whiteraven_2001 (Apr 12, 2008)

That looks really nice... I don't build many cars, either, but I have a few in the stash.

For what it's worth, if you can find Simple Green cleaner, it dissolves chrome from parts entirely. I used it on the chromed parts from the _Batman Forever_ Batwing, and the first time I checked the parts, the chrome appeared to be peeling off; the second time, there were just bare parts and Simple Green, not even remnants of the chrome.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I did some more work on the interior. I completed painting the doors/sides of the interior. I visited Jay Leno's car website where he has a video of his '53 Hornet. Although his is a green combo color you can pretty well figure out from watching the video how they did the interiors based on the color scheme so I think this is fairly accurate. I made my first attempt with bare metal foil to add the chrome trim down the door sides. It went ok but hardly fantastic. It didn't stick very well at all so I sprayed some Kyrlon matte over the door after getting the BMF down which seems to have locked it into place. I then went over the BMF trim and handles that I had painted with Vallejo silver with Future to shine them back up again. I am placing an order today for a Vallejo paint set that includes super silver and super gold which I intend to use for the instrumentation on the dash. Therefor I won't be able to finish up the interior until that arrives. And Wednesday I hope to pick up a Testors cream spray in Orlando for the body roof. It is coming together slowly but surely and I am biting at the bit to complete it now.



















Bob K.


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Great work on your Hudson, Bob!!! Really nice details!! - Denis


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I noticed things about Bare Metal Foil... it does go bad and have a shelf life. Fresh stuff sticks MUCH better than old, dried out BMF. The Ultra Bright Chrome also does not stick very well. The original regular Chrome is much easier to use.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Exceptionally clean work and beautiful paint job. Nicely done to this point.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Nice work, so far! I really like what you've done with the washes.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I've been able to spend a bit more time working on the Hornet. I picked up a can of Testors ivory enamel in Orlando and sprayed the roof. It goes on thicker yet more runny than the Tamiya red. I will now have to let it cure a few days before polishing it up. I also picked up some Turtle Wax polish and did a little work on buffing the red body prior to spraying the ivory on. I am planning on doing the side body lower trim with Alclad chrome and haven't decided on the trim stripes yet. I have some Vallejo super silver on the way for the interior dash instruments and will see how that works before deciding how to continue. I did get a sheet of chrome BMF but it definitely doesn't stick too well so I am wondering what to do about that. I believe they make an adhesive so I may get some of that and see if it resolves the problem. Anyway, here are a couple of shots with the painting in process. I also noticed that when you put the body on the frame there is an interference with the radiator cap which might be a bit difficult to resolve. If anyone has noted this as well let me know how you worked around it.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Sharp!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Bare Metal's regular Chrome sticks quite well. I have used it on many models with no problems. HOWEVER the Ultra Bright Chrome does not stick well. Also old BM Chrome is not good. The stuff has a shelf life. Buying the last pack off a dusty store shelf is a recipe for disaster.

Microscale makes a foil adhesive that works sort of like contact cement. But it will not work well to make old BMF more sticky and if you get it on the model's painted surface it will NOT come off easily. 

It would not be terribly hard to mask the side spears and lower rocker panels and hit them both with Alclad Chrome.


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## Rondo (Jul 23, 2010)

The Ivory paint looks good. It will be interesting to see the Vallejo silver. If it were me, I'd stick with one method for the exterior chrome. Since you have done a lot of it in Alclad, it might be best to stay with it if at all possible.

I got some new BMF Ultra recently and used it this morning on my Eye Gone Wild grill insert. It is certainly sticky. I tore the first attempt using a toothpick between the grill bars and like to have never got it peeled off. Used a Q-tip the second time with no problem. Could be yours was old as DJNick said or just a different lot.

I'm looking at my Hornet trying to figure out how your radiator cap is interfering. The cap doesn't really protrude out past the tank. Is it the radiator tank that is giving you problems? Because that was a very tight fit in the body for me. I opened the body up a little around it, then took a bit off each side of the radiator as well for a perfect fit. Still the rad is touching the cooling fan. Very snug.

I remember seeing that someone had glued the upper firewall to the lower firewall instead of gluing it into the body shell. Was that you? That could certainly change the dynamics of body installation.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Here are three progress shots on the Hornet. I've about finished the interior and most of the engine compartment. I've been polishing the finish on the exterior and applying the BMF. Both of these are new experiences for me and they aren't going too badly. I'm kind of anxious to get it done. I bought some Testors chrome enamel spray last night and decanted a bit into a container and did the dash instruments and such by hand using it. It worked very nicely. I had tried to do it with Vallejo super silver acrylic and that was a disaster. This Testors chrome looks like a nice paint, not as good as Alclad but good and it can be brushed on. Anyway, here goes:


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm lovin' it. Getting inspired to start mine over Xmas break. I've only sanded and polished out one car. It took a while, but I thought it was worth it.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I plugged away at a couple of cars today and got some more done on the Hornet. I've almost finished the painting and did the bottom chrome trim and side strip with the Alclad. It wasn't very difficult. I did a fair amount of buffing of the finish with toothpaste and that worked pretty good too. I've also been adding more BMF to the windows and am finding it isn't bad at all working with it. This is hardly going to be a fantastic job like I've seen from others but I am happy with it. It seems to be sticking fine now although the first attempt didn't seem so good. Maybe there was an area of the sheet that the adhesive wasn't too good on. I'm also doing a Roth Beatnik Bandit and I'll post a couple of in work shots in another thread in the Model Car forum.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

super work ! I quit working on mine (no particular reason)


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I've done a bit more work on the Hornet and mainly have a couple of more details, like the hood installed open and the windshield deflector and I will be finished. This is four shots after the Future was sprayed on and the body put correctly into place. I'm pretty happy overall but for my future builds have learned a couple of tricks, like being really, really careful about any dust or contamination on the model surface prior to spraying the Future on and being a little more careful with the glass and CA glue. Anyway, here goes:


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

A real inspiration! Thanks! Please post some final pics!


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Well it is done and here it is. It was a very nice kit and I am happy with the results although I did learn a few little things that will hopefully make my future builds a little better. All the chrome parts were stripped and painted with Alclad as well as the trim stripes on the car. I also used BMF on the window frames which was a first for me and I now know you better have the surface you are applying it to perfect or the imperfections will shine brightly! I finished most of it with a coat of Future which overall turned out quite nicely as well. Take a look and let me know what you think.


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## Just Plain Al (Sep 7, 1999)

Nice job Bob, really like the color choice and the "chrome" looks pretty good to me.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Very nice. Thanks for sharing that with us!


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## modelgeek (Jul 14, 2005)

Excellent Build!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Really nice work Bob!!!! Love the colors and the chrome really makes it pop!
Steve


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Absolutely beautiful. You can be justly proud of that baby.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

She's a beaut! :thumbsup:


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Thanks again everyone for the kind compliments. I really enjoyed doing a car as a showroom stock model rather than a show car/hot rod. Overall I am very pleased with my only gripe being I should have done a better job of making sure there were no paint blobs on the window frames before applying the BMF. There are areas on the frames where it went on over a rough surface due to paint run over and it sticks out like a sore thumb.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

rkoenn said:


> Thanks again everyone for the kind compliments. I really enjoyed doing a car as a showroom stock model rather than a show car/hot rod. Overall I am very pleased with my only gripe being I should have done a better job of making sure there were no paint blobs on the window frames before applying the BMF. There are areas on the frames where it went on over a rough surface due to paint run over and it sticks out like a sore thumb.


You can't really see it. But BMF _does_ show all flaws. But nobody else need know! :wave:


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