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Thomas Pepe
27 articles

Monogram's 1/24 Scale 1966 Ford Shelby GT350H

January 24, 2019 · in Automotive · · 15 · 2.1K

Started to build this kit about 15 years ago. Never completed due to the horrible stock decals associated with this kit! I painted this Shelby black lacquer and masked off the black and painted the gold stripes with lacquer. Was wet sanded then Testor's lacquer applied and wet sanded between 4 coats. These gold stripes are deep into the finish and are flawless. The rocker panel stripe from the kit indicating "GT350H" adheres with a MILKY finish! Looked terrible and I took it off! Love the detail of this kit but the MAIN detail of this Hertz Rent A Car is it's rocker panel stripe! I have tried to find an after market decal set for this project with negative results. Perhaps someday I will finish it!

Reader reactions:
4  Awesome

3 additional images. Click to enlarge.


15 responses

  1. πŸ™‚ ... Greetings ... πŸ™‚ :
    Very nice clean, sharp and shiny Shelby, she is looking very good. Shame not too see it finished.

  2. That's a beautiful start (reminds me of Smokey Eunick's colors - hope ya "get her done". πŸ™‚

  3. Beautiful ! And in my favorite color scheme, too! That lacquer finish looks like it's about an inch deep!

    Bravo !

  4. It is a shame if you don’t finish this beauty! The gold over black paintwork is as good as the real deal...wasn’t this the hardest part to get on this model? Try custom made decals or masks, there are several modelers that produce whatever decal drawing the client asks them. You can find them on several modeling websites

    • Yes thank you Pedro. I had a friend that made decals for all my Road Runner models (pics coming soon). I have been out of modeling for quite some time now. My show Dodge Demon and my Chrysler boat takes up most of my free time! Believe me, I wouldn't put Monogram's Rocker decal on my work. Real garbage!

  5. yeahhh, finish her!

  6. that gold...oh that gold

  7. Not only did Hertz rent the car...but, folks got creative and took them to the track. Bolting on role bars and then raced them for the weekend. The cars would be returned with a few holes in the floor pan on Monday.

    I had a opportunity to ride in one. It had airplane style seat belts and would do 150 mph. The front tires were so big that when the car turned the corner they would rub up against the wheel well. Oil pressure was about 150 psi versus 50 in mom and dads car. The term muscle car was a accurate description.

    Thomas, that is excellent finish and your well on your way to making a outstanding model.

    • The guy who formerly lived around the corner from me has an original Hertz renter. Not the best looking car but it's all ORIGINAL. Same color Black and gold. His has burn marks in the carpeting and welding spooge at the rear of the front seats. This one had a welded in roll bar. Interesting vehicle. I am definitely not a ford guy, but love the story behind this car! Had to have the model. One day I will finish it! LOL

  8. I'm not a Ford guy, but I would definitely try to finish this one up. The paint looks flawless ! It really looks fantastic and deserves to be completed.

    There are stories / rumors out there about guys renting these cars from Hertz over the weekend. These same guys who rented the cars, also owned Mustangs. The story goes that they would swap out the driveline from their car to the Hertz Mustang over the weekend.

    Then they supposedly returned them to the rental agency with a different, but functioning engine...

    Go for it and finish her up...

  9. Does anyone know of a company or hobbyist that can make these gold rocker panel stripes for me?

  10. Hi Thomas

    Your Project is coming very nice..

    I am working in the same Project!

    I was looking for a way to paint the leman stripes..because the decals don't look very flexible

    to install and since they are very delicate i don't want to do a big mistake there..

    So i am writing to you because i still have all the decals in perfect condition..

    Maybe i could try to scan them in color with the proper scale,send it to you and then you could experience a way to finish your Project and avoid another 15 years of waiting πŸ˜‰ ..

    • Juan, The decals are the worst i have ever seen on any model. Monogram should be ashamed of themselves! I masked off my model after black paint and air brushed the stripes that you see on mine. The gold color is very thin. I then airbrushed gloss clear enamel with three coats and wet sanding between coats. Must let clear enamel dry for a week or so before wet sanding. The stripes now are beneath the clear coat. My problem is using that lousy side stripe.

  11. Yes you are right!
    It's ashame that the quality of the finish is not great on the body and also decals for the time frame you have to assemble them before decals become yellowish,etc..
    But the models they have are very cool and unfortunetly companys like Tamiya does not have..
    Anyways thank you for your tips and triks,it's very appreciated!

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