Last of the V8 Interceptors-American Style
When I was a kid there was just something cool about Mad Max. Not that it was a great movie but it was so different it was like watching something from a different world. Something forbidden. And then when the Road Warrior came out I was a full-blown fan. I must not be alone in my fandom, because the Mad Max franchise keeps going 45 years later.
At the heart of these dystopia-based movies are the cars. And Max's car, the Pursuit Special, the Last of the V8 Interceptors, the iconic black GT Falcon featuring that distinctive supercharger was indeed the hero of the film. Needless to say I've always wanted to build one. Well, they don't exist. Ok, they do kinda in 20 year old resin kits. But I'm not paying $$$ for a 20 year old resin kit when I have a 3D printer.
I let the idea rattle around my head for awhile and one day I was walking through my local hobby store and spotted a 2010 Dodge Challenger kit. Which is pretty much the last of the American V8s now that EV is all the rage and Mopar is scuttling their muscle cars for good. So I thought—yeah, make a modern-day Pursuit Special with the Challenger as the base.
Fabrication
Using a shape gauge I mapped out the roof and tail spoilers, scanned the shapes and build them in 3D CAD. The blower, header pipes and side vents were scratch-build in 3D as well. Once those were printed I was off and running.
The base kit is the AMT Showroom Replicas 2010 Dodge Challenger. This is basically a "weekend" car kit. No engine, one piece undercarriage. Which was great for this build since I was cutting it up anyway. It's actually a pretty nice kit except the glass doesn't fit very well.
Other simple modifications were the addition of the roof-mounted MFP police radio and iconic blue dash pursuit light.
Lastly, the painting. I'm growing a healthy distain for black. Try as I might, I can not get it smooth. I paint, wet-sand, paint, wet-sand, clear, wet-sand… The story could go on forever and it would still look orange-pealed. Oh well, at some point you just have to stop. And don't get me started on dust while trying to take photos.
Hope you enjoy my take on this iconic movie hero car. And as they say in Mad Max, "She's meanness set to music and the b***** is born to run!" Comment away, and keep building.
Great use of your 3D printing skills, Matt, and the black finish looks just right from where I’m sitting, I can almost hear the whistle of the supercharger.
A beautiful modification, Matt @coondog
With those 3D added parts and the black finish it surely looks like an aggrasive interceptor.
nice, next should be charger in MFP livery
Totally had that in mind.
Looks fast just sitting there. I like it .
Looks great, Matt! I saw Road Warrior in theater when it first came out. Been a fan ever since. I really want one of those gyrocopters!
Excellent job, Matt!
Black is perfect!
Wow - a really cool transformation to this kit into a superb model. This looks great.
Amazing. Paint looks good but if you're not satisfied with the finish there's always sandy Australian dust to cover it in!