Monster Energy Supercar Conversion

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For whatever reason, Monster Energy-sponsored Supercars have only been produced in 1:18 scale. The sinister looking satin-black machines with the fluro green ‘claw-scratch’ M makings have proven popular with race fans and collectors.

However, the only way to get one in 1:43 scale is to build your own.

Not long ago, Biante did a 1:43 scale ‘Satin Black Plain Body’ Ford FGX Falcon V8 Supercar – perfect for a Monster Energy machine!

The Build

Armed with a set of decals from Patto’s Place, the plan was a quick conversion by simply adding the decoration. But it turned out a little more than that, and if I was to do another, I’d consider a different approach.

Biante’s 1:43 scale ‘Satin Black Plain Body’ FGX Falcon V8 Supercar is the donor model. The sacrificial piece for this Code 3 is model number 234 of a limited edition run of just 360 pieces. The wheels need to be black. I’ve seen other Code-3-ers hand paint these wheels, but the results I’ve seen are not that great. So, they had to be sprayed, which meant the wheels had to come off, which meant the model had to be disassembled after-all…
Due to the incredible adhesive they use, pulling these Biante models apart is quite an effort and requires drilling out location pins plus lots of careful prying to coax pieces apart.
To spray the rims properly, the tyres have to come off. Need to be very careful doing this as past experience proves the rims are actually quite fragile and break easily. One of the half-axles was badly bent from the factory, so long-nose pliers were used to straighten it back as much as possible.
The wheels after the rims were sprayed semi-gloss black and the tyres refitted. I use a liquid mask to preserve the original wheels nuts. The original model did not have tyre branding and there were no tyre markings on the decal sheet I bought, so had to wait for another decal delivery of the Dunlop logos.
Re-assembled and ready for decals. The interior, windows, lights etc were never removed. I reckon it already looks much tougher with the black wheels.
Almost done (was still waiting on the Dunlop tyre decals to arrive).

Finished Model

There was very little difference between the 2017 and 2018 versions of Cameron Waters’ Monster Energy car run by Tickford Racing. The decals were marked as 2018, however I thought they more closely represented 2017 – though it must be said some of the more significant changes happened on a race-by-race basis. I have not found a definitive photograph of what the decal sheet represents, so final product does not reflect a specific race, just a general representation of the car that season (and the following one).

Finished! Cameron Waters’ FGX Falcon Supercar, 2017-2018.

Conclusion & Tips

If I was to do another Monster car, I would give consideration to an alternative method.

The base model was satin black, just like the real race car. But the decals don’t like going down on a satin finish. Maybe the donor model should be totally stripped and re-painted gloss black, the decals added on the gloss, than a satin clear over the top. It would mean the green Ms would not be glossy (like they are on the real car) and would likely result in the loss of the bonnet pin stickers, but it might give the model a cleaner overall look.

Having said that, like my other Code-3s, once in the cabinet, it fits in fine with all the other models 🙂

Before applying, I clear coated the big green M decal that went on the bonnet to give it a gloss look like the real car. An added benefit is it made the colour more vibrant (compare it to the one on the roof).
The donor model has tail lights, but they are blacked out, so I used decals over the top.

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