It’s not a racing car, but it was in a movie that featured racing cars!
The Car
This is the star car from the 1966 Hollywood production, “Fireball 500”. It’s a George Barris Kustom based on a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda. It was built alongside the original TV series Batmobile (still the best Batmobile!) and there’s a cheeky line in the film saying that this one was finished first.
The movie version of the car (see pic, below) is quite different to what comes in this kit. The kit is also different to how the car is presented today. Some of those differences are the overall paint scheme, the graphics down the side, the headrest shape, the windscreen size, plus the fact that in the movie, the cockpit was not divided into two sides.
In the movie, the body colour was a deep metallic red fading into gold then pearl white, and carried a very different graphic to the kit. Today, the car is presented closer to the box art depiction with twin cockpits, long windshields (but tinted orange) and blue Plymouth signwriting (see below).
Why did this car change so much after the movie? (Assuming it’s still the same car?)
The Model
It’s the AMT/Ertl release of an original AMT kit in 1:25 scale.
Box Art – I believe this is the re-issue from 2002, still using much of the original tooling from the sixties.
Kit parts – including the trailer! Moulded in light grey, plus a chrome tree, rubber tyres (for the car. Trailer tyres are plastic), metal axles, clear parts and translucent red. One small decal sheet matches the box art decoration, but does not match either version of the real car.
The Build
This had to be a quick build as it was required for our club’s display at Model Expo.
I elected to build it as a kerbside, for two reasons: 1 – It’s a pretty basic kit with some glaring compromises on accuracy and detail, and 2 – I was pushed for time. I’d promised to have it ready for our club display at the Australian Model Expo and due to other commitments, simply didn’t have the time to built it as I’d originally intended.
Materials Used
Paint: SMS – Surfacer Black, Semi-gloss Black, Pearl Snow White, Pearl Raspberry Red. Tamiya – Grey primer, White primer, Gold
Adhesives: Tamiya Extra Thin cement, Kristal Klear, CA
Other Products: various sanding sticks/pads/papers, Frog tape, Tamiya masking tapes, Tamiya Panel Line Wash, Bare Metal Foil
First step was cleaning up all the parts. Amazingly for a kit this age, there was very little flash on the parts themselves, though there were the usual moulding lines that needed to be scraped or sanded off.
In my kit, there was only one exhaust extractor (bottom of pic – there should have been two), so straight away the engine could not be built accurately! There were several extra parts in the kit, including this inlet manifold for a 6-cylinder engine, a spare distributor plus an extra radiator.
Some random bumps of plastic in a few places, such as the underside of this cylinder head. The two circular posts had to be cut back a little as they were too long and prevented the part from seating on the engine block.
The plated parts are very lustrous. Thankfully it scrapes off easily to expose the plastic for gluing, such as around the edge of this rocker cover.
A wash in hot soapy water for the main parts in preparation for priming.
The Body
To prevent the possibility of light shining through the plastic, I painted the internal surfaces black. Firstly, I masked off the openings in the body to prevent overspray from getting on the outer surface.
Including these apatures for rear-facing lights
Then sprayed with SMS Black Surfacer
The bonnet got the same treatment. I pointed the airbrush away from the centre, allowing full coverage of the underside with almost zero overspray on the edges.
Outer body got a coat of Tamiya grey primer, a light sand…
then Tamiya white primer…
followed by SMS Pearl White Snow over the front half. I’ve had no experience with pearl paints, so used a sprue offcut to test how the gold and red would go over the white pearl. Quite well as it turns out!
The bonnet was fixed in place to get an even band of gold across the entire model. It’s Tamiya TS21 Gold (decanted and run through airbrush) carefully sprayed across the middle. I used this paint because I’ve had success with it in the past (refer to the APX GP movie car conversions).
SMS Pearl Raspberry Red sprayed on the back half. It’s not quite a match to online images, but it would have to do! I masked the white to prevent any possibility of red particle overspray.
I was a little conservative on the gradient fade – I should have extended both the gold and the red a little further forward, but I’d managed to get a reasonably straight line so ran with that rather than risk getting it wrong! Overall, for first time doing this type of colour scheme technique, I was quite happy.
The Pearl Red is a strange colour – at some angles it does look close to photos (eg, the earlier pics), but under certain light, it looks really washed out, as if it’s just got a dust coating of colour. I was running out of time with this build, so just two quick coats of clear were hosed on (SMS Super Clear with a touch of leveller) but no polishing (though there was a little sanding after the first clear because of debris in the paint).
Upper cockpit surrounds are black, so these were carefully masked off and painted
Masking removed
The two recesses in the bonnet were brush painted semi-gloss black, then the plated intakes glued in place. Panel-line wash was applied to the eight mesh inlet filters to bring out the detail. I don’t know if these were functional on the movie car, but certainly on the model, they have no connection to the engine which sported a traditional carburettor
The horrible chrome grill (the slats are not uniform and some were buckled) fits from the inside. With no dedicated fixation points, I had to use heavy tweezers to hold it in place until the glue set.
Chassis and Engine
While the kit is pretty basic, it does include a number of moulded-in brake lines and wiring looms, such as these under the chassis…
…these on the firewall
…and these in the engine bay.
Engine bay detail of the kit’s radiator and battery will not be visible once the bonnet is fixed in place, so for this build, no point adding battery leads, overflow tubes etc. The positioning of this battery was guesswork as there were no mounting guides or pins. This would lead to a problem later in the build…
Chromed headlights are glued to the other side of the radiator mount panel
Underside masked up to spray the drivetrain a different black. This is a very rough mask, and more to see and test the effect than enhance the model.
SMS Semi-gloss black (‘Chassis Black’)
There’s a massive cut-out in the engine block and sump to accommodate the kit’s front axle. I put the engine in the model, but as it’s kerbside, there was no point fixing this or adding extra detail – though you’ll see later I painted it.
Chrome parts everywhere. Are show-car engines really this blingy??
Wheels & Tyres
It looks like the real car has drum brakes, painted red (scene clipped from the movie). Note the Firestone tyre branding.
The kit includes nothing in the way of brakes, and because of their colour, I think they are a significant visual when looking at the side of the car. So, I cut discs from styrene sheet
These would mount behind the outer half of the wheel rim
Thus creating a visual like on the real car
Some of the holes in the rim were closed off with plating, which had to be removed
Plating removed from the glueing surfaces of the two-piece rim
Complete wheel, ready for a tyre
The ‘brake drums’ were brush painted Tamiya XF7 Flat Red, then given some dark wash
The movie car rolled on Firestone rubber, but the kit came with Goodyears… “Blue Streak Stock Car Special”. Other than that, the tyres were pretty good, no massive seams to remove. I just wiped them clean and used straight from the box
Tyres popped on and brake drums glued to the back of each wheel. The kit also included three-point spinners for the centre of each wheel to which I’ve added a little clear red
The Interior
Interior tub was hit with the SMS Black Surfacer.
Then masked so the seats can be sprayed a different black (SMS Semi-gloss black)
Dashboard is one piece. After painting semi-gloss black, Bare Metal Foil was used for the various panels, then carefully cut away the bits that were not needed
With steering wheel and shifter added, the interior tub is done. The various textures moulded into the parts, plus the two types of black, made this look surprisingly good. Something I realised after the build, the steering wheel rim is supposed to be brown (not black like the instructions call)
Tub had to be weighted to have it seat while the glue dried. Again, I used Krystal Klear as there were lots of gaps that styrene cement would have had trouble bonding. Also, the external side exhausts have been fitted.
Assembly
Twin windscreens. Firstly, they are NOT the same, there is a specific left and right piece, despite the instructions not mentioning this (subtle difference with the mounting lugs and the shape)
Out of box, the ‘glass’ has mounting posts to fit into holes in the body, plus small raised circular nubs that must have something to do with the manufacturing process (the ejection pin points?)
These had a dramatic effect on the fitment, creating a gap to the body, so I removed them to try and achieve some realism
A little Kritsal Klear is used to stick them to the body. Not perfect, but a big improvement
Like the windscreens, the two headrest are slightly different and fit well when used on the correct side. If I’d had more time for this build, I’d have either (a) filled in the windscreen locating holes before painting, or (b) completely removed that central section to replicate how the car was presented in the movie. That would also involve modifying the headrests and screen glass as in the movie, they are a very different shape.
Engine was brush painted in blue (block) and silver (gearbox), then crudely glued to the chassis. The chassis and body were then ready to come together – but they would not fit because…
…the battery was in the way of the front wheel! So I cut if off and patched up the scar with black paint.
Again, having to use weights to hold pieces down while glue set, in this case to stop the chassis from popping back up!
Wheels could then be fitted. The model uses two metal axles. I had to enlarge the hole in the back of each wheel to allow the axles to push in.
Conclusion
I’ve heard some bad stories about AMT kits, and this lived up those stories! But to be fair, I thought the moulding of some of the larger parts, such as the main body, were actually pretty good.
So, a pretty basic kit. The fit is not precise, especially the engine parts, but it does mostly come together as instructed. My build is nothing like how the real car was ever presented, but it’s unmistakably a Barris Kustom.
Overall, it resembles the Fireball 500 car. Unfortunately, I got a little silvering in the tail end of the flames decal
Headlights hidden behind the full-width grill. Bonnet pics are moulded in and carefully painted chrome-silver
The kit includes an enormous chromed blob for the filler cap. It was hideous, so I left if off
Rear facing lights and tail facia are all stock parts and fit well.
If I ever stumble across a cheap kit of the #43 Petty Plymouth, I’ll grab it to complete this scene from the movie.
Obligatory closing shot – my build with the box art.
