Ford GT40 - 1968 Le Mans winner
This is the companion piece to the Ford GT I did recently. The GT40 will eventually be a part of a diorama with the GT. This is my first Fujimi kit and overall it was a really nice kit.
As you can see from the photos, it wasn't the easiest thing to find a color match among the Tamiya lineup of spray cans. It forced me to break out my airbrush and mix my own custom color. The blue I mixed is definitely not an exact match to the 'traditional' gulf blue. Mine is definitely more grey but I think it still looks really good.
There are 6 LEDs, 2 cool white Chip LEDs for the headlights and then 2 orange and 2 red Nano's for the fog lights and tail lights respectively.
All of the weathering is done with Vallejo washes. Mostly light grey and a little dark grey behind the front wheel wells.
The video is being edited and should be posted to my YouTube channel today or tomorrow. http://www.youtube.com/@brithebuilder
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Nice job! The color looks really good, especially with the road grime and all. Very convincing. Such cool cars.
Thanks Clint, I appreciate it. Definitely cool cars!
Absolutely superb, Brian @brithebuilder
The color looks indeed to be an exact match of the original color.
Usage of the LEDs gives it a much more dynamic look.
Thanks John, I appreciate that. I really like the color and the LEDs make so many things cooler. They're like the bacon of the modeling world. LOL
Really nice! One of my favorite race cars of all time. I had the pleasure of driving one of the actual Gulf LeMans cars in '68 or '69. Gulf Oil reconfigured them to "streetable" format (289 V-8's and street tires). and took them a PR tour around the US. My Dad was the head of exploration and production for Gulf Oil in New Orleans at the time and was able to get me a ride. Fun car!
WOW, so amazing Tom. That would have been so cool.
Awesome job, Brian! Your GT40 looks superb, utterly realistic!
Loved following your build thread.
Congratulations!
Thanks Spiros! I appreciate it. This was a fun build and also forced me to design an airbrush stand.
Nice result with the racer. Looks almost like an escapee from "Ford vs Ferrari".
I think you used the Tamiya equivalent of RLM65 Hellblau, which is where the "turquoise" comes from. Their X-4 (gloss) or XF-4 (flat) blue is always a better place to start for creating a light blue. That's just for future planning.
Thanks Tom. I guess that means I did my job.
I used XF-23 light blue and X-4 blue... lots more light blue than blue, but yes, you're absolutely correct the custom mix is the way to go. I also picked up a bunch of dropper bottles to store my mixes in so I can make extra and keep it for the future. Just makes sense if I'm going to airbrush more.
All good ideas, and mixing those two colors explains the result. If I was doing it, I'd have started with X-4 blue, and used X-2 white to get into the neighborhood, with maybe a teensy bit of gray at the end. None of that is a complaint about your result, which is superb; if you hadn't mentioned your frustration with the mixture I doubt I'd have noticed anything.
Starting with light blue and just shifting it more blue made sense in that moment. I wasn't intending on the grey component really, it shifted that way as it dried and I liked it... and no worries, I don't take anything as a negative. I appreciate accurate information... and I'm not always right, just ask my wife.
Nicely done, Brian!
Thanks Gary!
Following your WIP thread I knew it would turn out great, and it did. The colour is always a subjective matter but your custom mix looks spot on, and the lighting gives it the finishing touch. Looking forward to your Ford diorama.
Thanks George, color (and spelling, LOL) is definitely subjective. The diorama should be coming up shortly. I have some ideas for some additional custom 3D models as well as more LEDs. Weird right.
Beautiful, just beautiful, Brian @brithebuilder! 🏆
Thanks Gary!
Looks like it just finished a bunch of laps at LeMans! Love that "raced used" look. A wonderful presentation, Brian(@brithebuilder).
Thanks John, weathering is one of my favorite parts of the hobby. Situational realism...
Terrific looking, especially those wheels, Brian @brithebuilder. The “raced” look and lights really make it. Enjoyed your WIP.
Thanks Eric, yeah, I know the wheels aren't 'accurate' but they're pretty cool.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
This is a very enjoyable model to see and it makes me go back in time when I used to race this car in my AFX Electrical Track even in that color and with real lights.
Thank you for sharing these images ... uhh! And for the trip thru memory lane.
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Great looking build, Alwas'd liked this car, had the little Matchbox car, and I still have my Aurora GT40
Thanks Robert, much appreciated.
Nice work!
If you find yourself in that situation again, go to a good auto paint store They can probably dig up a color code-some very specific-and make a rattle can of it for you. My local shop does this regularly-and willingly. It is also price competitive for the most part
Thanks Bryan, I actually thought the first 2 Tamiya colors would be close enough, then I didn't want to spend any more money and broke out the airbrush... there is a place like that near me I've used before, I don't think of it as a go-to though.