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This
is a Revell 2017 Raptor
built using the EightyOne Pandem transkit parts. (you MUST
use the Revell Raptor kit that says 2017 on the box. The
other Raptor kit they make will not work).
The
resin parts include a new front air dam and bumper, custom
side fenders, rear clear tail lenses, front clear headlight
lenses, and new front head light buckets. (the taillights
and headlight bucket parts shown above have already been
painted).
The
first step was to wash the parts and get them ready for
painting. The fine resin fender parts are very crisp and
fit the Revell Raptor body perfectly. I used CA glue to
attach them. No putty was needed for any gaps.
To
attach the front lower air dam and bumper, you must cu off
the original bumper. It's easy to follow the line and cut
there. Once I cut the bumper off a sanded the edges of the
lower body / grille and lower resin piece to match. I then
glued it on with CA glue.
I
lowered my kit to make the truck look like it was 2wd instead
of the regular 4wd Raptor. I did this by cutting and modifying
the plastic pieces that are molded into the chassis, allowing
the axles to ride up higher. You must do this by trial and
error.
Don't
forget to install the interior temporarily when testing.
I
recommend you glue the new front resin air dam on first,
because if you lower the truck too much, the bottom of the
new piece will scrape the ground, or worse, prevent the
tires from touching the ground. You also don't want to lower
the truck too much so that the tires rub the top inside
fender wells.
With
the resin parts all glued on, I primered and painted the
truck. I used a base coat of Tamiya AS7, then several coats
of Tamiya Metallic Blue, then a couple of coats of Tamiya
Transparent Blue.
The
interior is molded as one piece, making it difficult to
paint any details inside, so I simply shot it with a satin
black color.
The
rear window and side windows were painted with Tamiya Transparent
Blue to give them a tinted look.
I
used some carbon fiber car wrap to make a bed cover, and
add some detail to the front hood vents and the rear tailgate.
Some say the look is out of scale, but they are a wrap,
not real carbon materials, and a wrap graphic can be scaled
any way you want. I just like the look.
The
front body grille orginally had a big FORD logo, but I chose
to cut that out and make my own custom grille. Using some
evergreen plastic and metal mesh.
The
wheels were painted with a Tamiya Metallic Dark Grey color.
The side lettering decals are from a Revell C7R car kit.
There
are no details on the chassis for this kit, it's just flat
plastc, and the entire chssis was painted a flat black.
The
taillights a painted with Tamiya Transparent Red. The resin
headlight buckets were painted chrome, and the new front
headlight lenses were pianted with a florescent yellow paint
color to replicate the rain headlights seen on GT3 race
cars.
Overall
this was a fun build. Some of the custom work required some
advanced skills, but anyone could add the EightyOne Pandem
parts without all the mods I made.
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