1:25 Revell 1968 “Bullitt” Mustang – iModeler at the Movies Group Build
The Legend.
So anybody who is a car “guy” or cares at all about muscle cars understands when someone mentions the movie “Bullitt”. Many better movies have been made since—BUT NONE—will ever compare to that chase scene. Say what you will, but the facts remain, Steve McQueen drove it himself. The king of cool. Steve could have beat the c**p out of James Dean by just looking at him—that's how cool this guy was. Seriously, who wouldn't want to drink beer with this guy.
Anyway, I felt the calling to build that iconic 1968 Mustang for this group build. Why…that car is a legend. The only other Mustang that even comes close is Eleanor from “Gone in Sixty Seconds”. The Bullitt car was an understated, heavily muscled Mustang and was every bit as cool as its driver.
There are many links out there to dissect not only the chase scene, but also the car itself. There's a great dialogue about this at my WIP thread. https://imodeler.com/groups/imoder-at-the-movies-1964926360/forum/topic/bullitt-mustang/
The Kit.
If you want to build one, Revell's 2-in-1 1968 Mustang GT kit contains all the pieces to built the Bullitt Mustang. American Racing rims and the blacked-out grille. I'm not a Ford guy, so I'm not sure exactly sure what engine comes with the kit, but it looks like a 351 or a 390 so what the heck, I put a 390 decal on it.
The Paint.
I really, and I mean really, wanted to get the color correct. I'm embarrassed to discuss how many hours I spent looking around the internet trying to find the right paint. I finally ended up buying ScaleFinishes.com 1968 Ford Highland Green. Awesome stuff, great service. My only negative is that I purchased the gloss enamel, but it went on super dull. I was planning to clear it anyway, but needed a lot of patience with 4000 grit sandpaper to get a gloss finish. In the end it worked out. Now I have the materials to do gloss finishes for more cars 🙂 1965 Malibu SS Z-16 maybe…
That's about it on this build. Hope it measures up to the legend that is the “Bullitt” Mustang. Stay cool. I look forward to your comments. Keep building!
For Americans, the movie was on TCM last night (fortunately, they play it frequently, check your listings).
Had the privilege of meeting The King of Cool at the 1980 Watsonville West Coast Antique Airplane Fly-In, when he brought up his beautifully-restored Stearman, all yellow. Helped him "keep his secret" among the crowd, even as rumors spread the final day as to the identity of "the unknown pilot." For which I got a "look me up when you're down in LA" and a method of contact. When I arrived in LA the next year on the road to what became my writing career, it was after he'd been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and just before he went to Mexico for "unusual" treatments where he died. He kept his word and had dinner with me. Told me I didn't have to worry about whether you had to be a "genius" to make it in the movies. "Look around at these guys. Geniuses? Hah!" (Actually, the good ones, like him, really are)
Very cool model. Steve would like it.
Tom,
You have led a pretty interesting life. Great story.
Matt, I don’t usually comment car builds, but yours will be an exception. I love it, the Mustang is my favourite American car, and this one is truly an icon. Bullitt was the most innovative movie in car chasing scenes, so innovative it changed the paradigm from then on. Congratulations on a super build!
I actually have that movie recorded and sometimes when I "feel the need", I fast forward (1:08) just to watch it again - and he passes that green VW like 4 times 🙂
Nice work on the kit, Matt. So what's next...the Charger?
The result of editing. They had four cameras catching that chase where the green bug is.
Good looking pony Matt, I can smell burning rubber coming off those spinning rear tires.
splendid build lovely...i have several scale finishes, didn't know they were flat...what a drag
Bob,
In the end it actually worked out well. You can lay the clear on pretty thick and polish it down while protecting the actual color underneath.
Sweet! And don't feel bad about researching the color, my daughter got me an AMT 68 Shelby and I want to match the metallic sage green on the box. I swear Testors used to make that exact shade in the small bottle, but I can't seem to find it anywhere!
Rob,
http://www.scalefinishes.com/60Ford.html
The color your looking for is Highland Green. If you want, I can send you what's left on mine (more than plenty to paint another car). It's airbrush paint, not a rattle can. Let me know.
A simply beautiful build, Matt. You took me by surprise here as I was expecting another few WiP posts - but no, we have a reveal!
I love everything about this and so many ‘likes’ in such a short time tells its own story. A marvellous addition to the iModelers at the Movies’ GB - and an inspiration. Hell, and a great addition to ‘On This Day’ - - no higher accolade!
Thanks for the support, and the joy of following the work thread.
‘Liked’ x 10000
As I’m sure you guys know, the real car was discovered recently after it had been out of sight for decades. For those who don’t, here’s the story: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/01/steve-mcqueen-lost-bullitt-mustang-is-unveiled
Great model, Matt!
The essence of cool, car and actor. Great job!
Nicely done! You did the icon good service!
Beautiful work Matt... I believe the real "Bullit" Mustang had a 390 in it with a 4 speed. I was watching the build in progress journal and you got the engine colors right too, so don't worry.
Here is a picture of a restored 390 in a 68 Mustang... Look familiar ? It looks just like yours ...
I watched the movie a few nights ago... it was on the TCM channel. The chase scene is the best one ever ! I saw the light blue VW a few times again too 😉
Well done my friend...
"liked"
Thanks Louis.
I actually had a mid-70s Ford 4x4 F-150 with a 390. One heck of an engine. Lots of torque.
Beautiful build of a magnificent car, well done.