Project 0012 – School Spirit             See the Step-by-Step Project Guide
      So, your parents let you have the family buggy so you could get outta town to go off to college! That’s probably a better idea than hanging around while you’re looking for a job. To show your love for your new school, you could order a “school” plate from the state license bureau or hang a tassel on the rear-view, but what if you could turn that old four-door into the hottest item on campus. Wouldn’t you look great driving this thing in the homecoming parade? The college might even make you an offer you can’t refuse to drive your showpiece in the Rose Bowl Parade.
     While all that seems like a really great idea it would probably set you back about five grand for the custom paint and graphics treatment on a full size vehicle. The next best thing would be to put one of these great looking replicas together to display in front of the TV on game day. It would give you instant bragging rights about being the “biggest fan” and you might even get a good offer for it, after all, you could always build another one! You could even say that you have one on order just like it so the dealer gave you a model of it to show off until it’s delivered.
        Here is the result, so if you like what you see and want to learn how to do it for yourself, read all about it in the Step-By-Step section.
Before: Jeep Sahara®
See the Step-by-Step Project Guide for this Jeep!
If you’re just an average Joe that wants to personalize an off-the-shelf (OTS) model car/truck then this project is just what you’re looking for. With a little patience and some common model making tools, along with some items from around your house, you can make a spectacular replica.
You won’t need an airbrush, paint booth, heat lamps or even special lighting to achieve outstanding results and your keepsake will always be a proud reminder of the fun you had in the original vehicle and of the time you took to make a replica of it.
After: Jeep Wrangler Sport®
A few years back I owned a beautiful Jeep Wrangler Sport® that I wanted to “preserve†by making a replica of it for my collection. I needed a base model with good detail but I was never able to find the exact model or color combination that I needed. One day I noticed a 1:18 scale die cast model on sale and decided to “convert†it into a personalized version of the Jeep® that I had owned.
The body shapes of the two vehicles are almost identical so there was little needed in the way of structural modifications. The only thing in that regard was to remove the Sahara® side emblems and denote the fender skirts of the Sport® model with a painted demarcation.
Here is the result so if you like what you see and want to learn how to do it for yourself, read all about it in the Step-By-Step Project section.
The Projects are coming! The Projects are coming!
Watch our site soon for a section devoted to modeling projects where we’ll show you how to perform the same project yourself through a fully illustrated step-by-step guide. These projects will run the range of common spray painting techniques through fully blown customizing jobs.
The first project will be a color change to a die cast model. It will show in depth how to take that great looking die cast model that you always wanted but could never find in your color and make the conversion.
I would also like to hear about your special projects and model building tips as well. Leave a comment below or send an email to righton@rightonreplicas.com and tell me your story!
As the old saying goes, “It takes a village…â€
