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I started the tow car first. The flash was
minimal, but the parts needed fine-tuning
and fitting. Nine parts comprise the main
body. The hinged doors and engine cover
require a little extra attention before priming.
2
I glued in and filled the two small rear
panels and the little luggage hatch
between the rear window and engine cover.
They don’t seem to be on factory Piranhas.
Two small sink marks (one on each side)
needed to be filled.3
I primed the parts Krylon gray and sanded
them smooth before a second coat of
white primer. With the coupe body ready for
paint, I turned my attention to the funny car.4
I primed and sanded the bottom of the
drag-car body the same as the coupe.
Although I glued together the yellow-tinted
upper-body halves, it really doesn’t matter
because the car will be painted.
5
A little sanding trued the seam between
the well-fitting upper-body parts. I
re-scribed the panel line with the back of a
hobby knife. After sanding the gray primer, I
coated it with white primer.6
That’s a lot of yellow! I shot the larger
parts with Tamiya chrome yellow (TS-47)
spray paint and handled the more delicate
parts with my airbrush. I noticed the trailer
frame was a little warped, but the weight of
the drag car should fix it.7
After the chrome yellow dried, I sprayed a
few light coats of Tamiya pearl white (TS-
45) on the funny car until the appearance
looked right to my eye.
8
For the bronze fade, I made an 8:2 mix of
Testors Sealer for Metalizer (No. 1409)
and Tamiya metallic brown (X-34). I thinned
the mix by 50% with lacquer thinner and
airbrushed it on in two light coats.9
I placed the decals on the funny car
relying on reference photos. There are
plenty of extra decals to mark different car
versions. I clear coated the body after decals
with Matrix MSV-21 two-part urethane.10
After polishing the tow car’s body, I
followed the instructions (mostly) for
the markings. Tamiya Mark Fit (No. 87102)
conformed decals to the front fenders. I also
employed a hair dryer for the wood-grain
decals on the door sills.
11
I airbrushed the tires Tamiya NATO black
(XF-69), scraped the paint from the
raised Goodyear letters on the race tires with
a knife, and cleared the recessed whitewalls
with a Windex-soaked wooden toothpick.
Testors Dullcote went over all the tires.12
The trailer went together easily. While
the instructions say to mount the
license plate to the trailer, they give no
indication regarding where. I cemented it to
the rear of the springs so it wouldn’t break off
during use.Sink
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