Indy 500 Kraco Special - March 88C

[modelcarjr]

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This is any AMT kit that I am going to start next. It is the car that Michael Andretti drove to 4th place in 1988, the year that Rick Meyeaars won his third Indy 500.  I grew up in Indianapolis and have been to over 50 Indy 500 races. 1988 was a good year because that was the fourth year that I traveled from Houston to the race and I brought 3 of my friends for their first Indy 500 race. I rented a Cadillac for that weekend and the weather was great so we had a great time. 

Building Indy 500 race cars has also been a great way for me to get into modeling and also helped me with model contest competition. I was frustrated with going to contests and not placing so this category, competition open wheel was something I knew a little bit about and I had research materials and it was a category that didn't have a lot of entries. So I have added two photos of the 1989 Indy 500 winner that I built many years ago.  It took 1st place At the Southwest Challenge in 1990. the lettering for the decals was Letraset letters rubbed onto clear decal film one letter at a time. The red paint is a 50/50 mix of Testors model master red and a dayglo red I found somewhere. the white is Testors white and both color were airbrushed. There's a lot of wiring and plumbing in the engine from studying some photos of engines at the time. 

So I won't be going to that level of detail on this one but I am going to get started tomorrow! Thanks for looking! 😎

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[handiabled]

What a great looking build! Wonderfully detailed engine compartment in this! Sounds like you were awarded appropriately for your efforts, Congrats!

[atomicholiday]

Awesome! I'm into older Indy cars too. I'll be watching. Hopefully this helps motivate me to finish up the Dominos car I started a few years back.

I've been to a few 500s. I've lived my whole life about 3 hours north east of Indy.

[406 Silverado]

I'm really looking forward to this JR!! Was that kit that you placed with the old Tamiya kit? Regardless of which manufacturer it was you sure packed a wallop in it in terms of detailing!!! WOW!!!!

I'll be bookmarking this one and definitely looking forward to the updates as they come rolling out.

[kyledehart5]

Excellent. I cannot wait to see this. Open wheel racing modeling is what brought me back to the hobby. I love the old AMT kits. Building Scott Braytons Amway Lola right now. I’ve built Kevin Cogan’s 7/11 car from 86, Pancho Carters Ghostbusters 2/Hardee’s car from 89, Mario’s amoco car from 89 and Rick Mears 88 winner all from the old AMT kits. They build up nice and are easy to add some details to. Your build of the 89 winner looks great too! Really looking forward to seeing this one.

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Handlabled, Atomic Holiday, Joe and Kyle. Joe, that is the AMT Rick Mears PC-17 just in different livery. Kyle, I saw your build of the 82 car and now I can't find it again. I'm thinking about buying the Tom Sneva McLaren that broke the 200 mph barrier. I was there on that Saturday and you couldn't have squeezed a piece of notebook paper between the front tire and the 1st turn short shute wall. Anyway, your build look quite nice and got my juices flowing.

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I finished the painting today, hopefully, since it is going to rain tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. I'll rub it out tomorrow and see where I stand.  The paint is Tamiya yellow and Krylon Short Cuts Forever Blue. I also used this Krylon Blue on the last one I built because I can never find a good solid blue in model paint lacquer. The last one I built is the 1993 Al Unser Jr. #3 car below. Al won in 1992 and 1994 but lost to Fittipaldi again in 1993. And look - there's a seat with a 5 point harness in the Valvoline Special! that will fit perfect in this one! Imagine that! Thanks for looking! 😎

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[keavdog]

I do like the open wheel cars! Following

[kyledehart5]

Dec 14, 2023 21:43:15 GMT -5 modelcarjr said:

Thanks, Handlabled, Atomic Holiday, Joe and Kyle. Joe, that is the AMT Rick Mears PC-17 just in different livery. Kyle, I saw your build of the 82 car and now I can't find it again. I'm thinking about buying the Tom Sneva McLaren that broke the 200 mph barrier. I was there on that Saturday and you couldn't have squeezed a piece of notebook paper between the front tire and the 1st turn short shute wall. Anyway, your build look quite nice and got my juices flowing.

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I finished the painting today, hopefully, since it is going to rain tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. I'll rub it out tomorrow and see where I stand.  The paint is Tamiya yellow and Krylon Short Cuts Forever Blue. I also used this Krylon Blue on the last one I built because I can never find a good solid blue in model paint lacquer. The last one I built is the 1993 Al Unser Jr. #3 car below. Al won in 1992 and 1994 but lost to Fittipaldi again in 1993. And look - there's a seat with a 5 point harness in the Valvoline Special! that will fit perfect in this one! Imagine that! Thanks for looking! 😎

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Suppose I should get some photos and post some of my open wheel builds on here. Didn’t realize I haven’t posted many of them at all. The Al Jr. ‘83 Eagle was my very first completed build that I posted on here.

Great start on this one. The colors you’ve chosen are perfect for the Kraco livery. I like the Al Jr Valvoline car as well. I built Scott Goodyears Mackenzie Lola from 1993 with the 1/20 Tamiya kit. That seat will look perfect in your new build.

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, John and Kyle! I appreciate your comments!

I wanted to make a correction. The Al Unser Jr. car above is the 88 car and he finished 13th. I read my record book wrong and I can't do it from memory! Not much done today. Maybe more progress tomorrow.

[modelcarjr]

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I have the cockpit and although it doesn't look like much detail, I did use a couple of old Fred Cady decals for the gauges and added some paint to the dash and steering wheel. The front part of the body has been rubbed out and I have added a red decal stripe as a paint separator.  Next, I'll work on the engine. Not as much detail as above but I add some lug wires and do some paint detailing. Thanks for looking! 😎

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[kyledehart5]

Looks really great! Cockpit looks the part.

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Kyle!

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I finished the engine assembly, including plug wires and the rear suspension. I will add some additional plumbing after I mount the engine behind the bulkhead.  The nice thing about building these engines is that you can use a brush to swab some additional colors over many of the parts to make it look like a running engine.  I used aluminum, Model Master metalizer burnt iron, (I still have some!) and Model Color brass. A few more pieces and this one will be on its way to final assembly. Thanks for looking! 😎


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[kyledehart5]

Excellent work on the Cosworth. That looks fantastic. Great work on the paint scheme as well. Looking really nice all mocked up.

[handiabled]

Your engine work looks wonderful!

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Kyle and handlabled! I appreciate your comments!

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Finished the rest of the engine plumbing that I am going to do although you may not be able to see it due to my poor camera. I also added a wickerbill to the rear wing. I am working on the tires and I thought I had decals for the tires but the one I have are for Slixx decals for Stock Cars. They would probably fit on the rear wheels but would be too big for the front tires. So I have ordered some from IndyCals. The rest of the construction is done except for the windscreen and mirrors that I will do last. I'll finish sanding down the tires to remove the raised lettering and scuff up the surface of the tires and add the decals to the body. After that its just a waiting game for the tire decals. Thanks for looking! 😎

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[kyledehart5]

I do dislike those raised letters they insisted on putting on those tires. But at least the tires are proportioned about right so it’s a small gripe. Looking forward to seeing it all done up

[handiabled]

Scuffed tires look more the part for sure. You are flying along on this!

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Kyle and Handlabled! I appreciate your comments!

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Decals are almost done and the tire decals from IndyCals were mailed today. I have to be careful with these decals as they are very old kit decals and will split very easily. I noticed that there are slim red decals meant for the paint separators but I have already added some that I cut from another decal sheet that are thicker. I'm sure that the thin ones on the sheet would have broken apart.  Once I have the tire decals I will apply them and then mount the very tiny mirrors and add some mirror foil before mounting them. I probably can finish this year! Thanks for looking! 😎

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[kyledehart5]

Wonderful work with those old decals. This is looking very nice.

[jeaton01]

Nice neat work, bright colors!

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Kyle and John! I appreciate your comments!

​This is a mock-up of the finished race car without the tire decals and the mirrors. The tire decals will be much easier to apply with the tires and wheels off. I'm leaving the mirrors off until the end so I don't inadvertently knock them off while mounting the tires and wheels. Thanks for looking! 😎



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[kyledehart5]

Yes, that’s very sharp!! Going to look really great!

[handiabled]

This is coming together really nicely! really makes a difference with the sponsor markings on it. Made me wonder how much STP shelled out for the spot they got on the car.

[atomicholiday]

Wow! Great looking old Indy car. Nice work!👍

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Kyle, Hanlabled, and atomicholiday! I appreciate your comments!

This one is done! I received my tire decals from IndyCals and they were excellent! The white letters on a blackwall decal laid down nicely and the edges seemed like they disappear into the tire surface. They look like they were stamped, just like real tires.  What is that in the last photo? Is that another Indy car? Hmmmm....

[tcoat]

[kyledehart5]

Indeed. Beautiful work here!! I am also a big fan of Indycals tire decals. I love your treatment on the engine and exhaust and the paint and decals are superb. Can’t wait to see that other Indycar now.

[deafpanzer]

[atomicholiday]

Excellent workmanship. Wow...
Man, I gotta dig mine out of the stash and get cracking!

[handiabled]

Superb work on this! The engine details and painting look fantastic and your treatment to the wheels made a huge difference