writes:
Previously, you saw me repaint the Sting Rod II. I've also put together a three-car racing team. Now, I want to go back and add a second car to my 'yellow' racing team, which I am calling Team Imai (because my original car has that decal on it).
The toy car I'm starting with is in Maisto's Fantasy Car range, and after doing some internet research, I believe it's called the Octa-Blitzer (and has been released in several different color schemes).
With 'octa' in the name, you might expect eight wheels, but no, just six. (Maybe 'octa' is for 'octane'?)
After a little drillwork, the toy comes apart into three pieces: a soft plastic driver's canopy, hard plastic red-and=chrome body, and an unpainted metal chassis (plus three axles and six wheels). The canopy is a little tricky, because it inserts from the top, then is pushed up the rear screw shaft to fit.
I chose to prime the canopy, then spray with gloss black. I didn't get the gloss finish I wanted, so I sanded the defects out and hand-painted with a glossy black craft paint.
I flipped the chassis over, primed rust-brown, then painted it red.
For the main body, I didn't see a way to preserve the chrome, so I primed it white, then repainted by hand in yellow.
The engine block was then painted black, and 'chromed' using a silver marker.
The tubular bumpers were painted black, then drybrushed gunmetal. The strap on the rear bumper was touched up with silver marker. Two of the 'bumps' on the front bumper were painted yellow (headlights).
OK, so where are the weapons?
This is about the simplest conversion you can do: I drilled holes in two of the 'bumps' on the front bumper, and inserted paperclip wire as gun barrels. These were painted gunmetal, and touched on the end with black marker to give the impression of being hollow.
Unlike the previous cars, I had to go up to a 2" x 4" wooden base (ordered from LITKO) due to length of the toy car. The wood was painted black, then flocked with black sand. LITKO FlexSteel goes underneath to keep the base from sliding around inside my magnet-lined storage box.
Then the painted and re-assembled car was superglued to the base. (Curiously, it rests on four wheels – the front wheels don't quite touch the ground.)
Lots of yellow. Maybe I should add a team logo…
You can see the simple way I painted the engine, and the front bumper is clearly seen, with guns and headlights.
With four wheels under the engine, I'm guessing this vehicle has good traction and acceleration.
I put a little black ink wash around the straps on the rear bumper to accentuate them.
I would also think that the four road wheels up front would make this vehicle difficult to turn.
The red on the lower body is seldom seen.
The air scoops have louvred doors, which I painted black, but they are blocked by the tires so you hardly see them.
The guns, obviously, would be a problem in a forward collision. An opponent might even deliberately try to knock the guns out.
Maybe they auto-retract?
In my imagination, that big, high-mounted rear bumper must work as a counterweight to keep the rear wheels on the road.
One more car to go, and Team Imai will have three vehicles, just like my other team!