Supercar Conversion: 2018 Truck Assist ZB Commodore

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The commercial manufacturers didn’t make any models of the 2018 TEKNO Autosports Supercars. Here’s how I made the Jack LeBrocq/Johnathan Webb Truck Assist version.

In 2018 the TEKNO Autosports team ran a number of different liveries on its ZB Commodore Supercar driven by Jack LeBrocq.

One of the better looking ones was this orange and black Truck Assist version that LeBrocq and team owner Jonathon Webb raced at Sandown and Bathurst.

Official press release photo from the livery launch (which had lots of artificial lighting)

As far as I’m aware, there were no models produced of any of the 2018 Tekno cars. So, armed with a donor model (Shane van Gisbergen’s Red Bull) and aftermarket decals (Patto’s) I was able to create one.

Decals

The decal sheet was, for the most part, reasonably accurate. It represented the car as it was shown at the livery launch and raced at Sandown (some of the signage changed for Bathurst). However, the big issue was the circular orange logos which were made of a composite yellow with tiny red dots to achieve an orange affect. I mixed a custom colour to match, but it would have looked wrong on the main body of the car. I ended up reverting to Tamiya’s orange (with a dash of yellow to help brighten it up) meaning there’s a significant mismatch to the logo.

There was also some incorrect sizings – the JHB (rear quarters) is too large; Tekno (front bar) is too small; driver names (side windows) too large; headlight decals wrong shape (looking more suitable for the VF Commodore), plus a couple of other pretty minor errors.

However, despite these issues, I reckon the overall end result looks ok.

The Build

Shane van Gisbergen’s #97 Red Bull car from Classic Carlectables was the donor for this project. It always pains me to ruin a perfectly good model, but at least this one was re-birthed as something that was never made by the commercial manufacturers.
Unlike the Biante’s, simply removing three screws allows the body and chassis to be split on the Classics. However, the window glass is riveted and glued in place and required grinding to remove it.
It looks like some sort of Photoshop effect, but this is just the paint stripper doing its job. I use Polystrippa and it bubbles the paint and decal wrap right off the diecast. Looks kinda cool, huh?
Cleaned and sanded ready for primer. Unlike other brands, the rear wing is cast as part of the main body. Chassis in the background is plastic.
Tamiya pink primer on this one, straight from the can. I’ve read this is the stuff to use when preparing to spray red, so thought I’d give it a go for the base of the orange on this model
Orange down where it’s needed (and then some…)
Masking the bits that are to stay orange before hitting it with gloss black. I placed some of the livery decal against the model to determine where the masking edges should go.
Masking the contour of the lower rear skirt was a mixture of tape and (hand painted) liquid mask.
The big reveal! It’s always a nervous (but usually rewarding) time peeling off the mask to see what’s happened underneath. No major issues here.
Decals on the diecast bit done, ready for a quick coat of clear and re-assembly.

Photos: Completed

The current generation of Classic Carlectables models don’t come with a display base, so I mounted the model onto a homemade MDF plinth with a couple of countersunk self-tappers screwed into the chassis plate. Works well!

3 thoughts on “Supercar Conversion: 2018 Truck Assist ZB Commodore”

  1. Hi, very nice work.
    Have one question, how did you remove the names, window strips etc from the glass without any damage?
    Thanks
    Bill

    Reply

    • Hi Bill. I used Re-Po brand ‘Paint Doctor’, a compound for polishing scratches out of paint. I might have also used some Tamiya finishing compound afterwards, but it was a while back, can’t remember exactly!

      Cheers, Mark.

      Reply

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