Moebius Chariot 1/24 scale build thread

[builder101]

I have had this kit for a while it was time to have a go at it. This is a discontinued kit by Moebius which state's on their site that a new Chariot at 1/32 scale is in the works. This being 1/24 from the show, "Lost in Space" that I used to watch as a kid on re-runs.

The kit is well made with some pro's and con's. The detail is nice and what you would expect from Moebius. The canopy or glass top was tough to mask and any paint on the clear dome will not be easily corrected. The curtains that come with the kit I don't care much for but think I will go with them rather than fabricating new ones.

This is what I have completed so far.

Nice box art and upon opening it was pretty cool to take a once over all the sprue.



A look at the components



Decided to light the front lights so I began to drill out room for the head lights and do some minor soldering/wiring.






Head lights glued in place using some styrene rod and card to make the led hold in position.



I dressed up the back radar dish that I may dry brush a bit once most of the buggy is put together.



Drilled out the front scanner tube and added some brass grab handles



Now the fun part, the masking... This took a lot of time and I need to make a trip to LHS for some more Tamiya tape and primer. The masking is really tough and I know that you can buy masks. It might be nice of Moebius to include some in the next edition. Now not only did I mask the inside but the out side as well with the exception of a few panels. Some of the inner curved glass I used liquid mask. The exterior of the dome I plan to paint certain panels and will need to then mask them to paint the chrome trim. I am a little concerned masking over the metalizer ModelMaster paint but hoping it works out. The inside frame is much wider than the trim on the outside.



I read on a forum that a guy brush painted all the detail on the glass inside but I took my time and hope that the tape does it's job when I unveil the mask.





I had to paint a lot of parts before assembly. A look at what has been painted.











That's all for now. I think it's going to start coming together and will have more progress pic' s soon.

Thanks! and happy building..

 

[Grendels]

Re: Moebius Chariot 1-24 scale build thread

Nice masking job!

 

[builder101]

Thanks Grendels, Will have to really see how it turns out when all the tape is removed. I stopped and picked up ModelMaster primer and more tape. I got some more completed to the interior and more masking and painting on the actual glass panels that I did not mask. Primed and sprayed some MM aluminum plate and will paint the one front panel along with the lower body a MM spray can grey metallic. At that point re-mask and paint the trim with a Tamiya chrome silver. I want to let the paint sit before I begin any more masking. It will be interesting to see how the MM metal type paint will hold up to the Tamiya tape.

More updates soon

Keep the camera rolling I enjoy the videos!

Mike

 

[MrNatural]

Great work so far! Im a huge fan of these Irwin Allen kits. Will be watching.

 

[builder101]

Great work so far! Im a huge fan of these Irwin Allen kits. Will be watching.

Thanks!

After all my masking and work I made two mistakes one to me is pretty critical. This is how it went last night. I painted the front upper side panel which will also be the color of the lower body a MM metallic grey. I re-masked and painted the trim silver.





Soon after I removed all the tape inside and out.

When painting the silver trim I must have removed a bit of tape and had a nice silver line running down close to the front windshield. I scraped a bit but was not able to remove the paint. I did not want to fog up the finish as rubbing alcohol or some thinner may leave that white smear. I went to my kit stash and found a windshield and rubbed a bit of tamiya acrylic thinner over it with a cotton swab and found that it did not fog or mar up the finish. I then gently scrubbed the glass with q-tip and the paint wiped off without any marking or issues.



The liquid mask I cut the edge with a razor and removed. It will need a bit of touch up but worked out pretty good.






Now a huge mistake I made and it really sucks. I pretty much prime everything before painting and I primed the inside of the glass dome before painting the orange. Not real smart of me cause the orange panels are expose to be seen from the outside looking in and now at the top you see the primer. After all this work I am not making this easy on myself. This is what I'm talking about have a look.



It's not like I can just repaint this so I have thought about my options. Anyone that reads this feel free voice your opinion. It's not that it looks bad to me but not the look I wanted so was thinking of remasking the exterior and basically the top I'm going to mask where the orange should shine through and airbrush the orange on. Then mask that and re-airbrush the silver. Not real mad about the ordeal just live and learn.
Just the top where the panels are wide the rest looks clean and I'm pretty happy with the results.



Really looking at the last pic posted I may just leave it. The inner square is to be grey as the dome circle that fits inside will also be grey up to the small dome circle that fits in the center. Any opinions?

The next couple of things I want to acomplish is to future this dome by brushing it on inside and out after a good cleaning. Then put it away in a cake pan holder free from dust. I am trying to acomplish a clean look but also want a used look. I have some ideas on washes and weathering some new methods as I don't want this machine to look as if its out of the show room. A lot of interior is painted and about to be installed.

More updates soon!

Mike

 

[builder101]

I started this as a progress build. After my canopy dilemma the best resolution I found was to replace it. Moebius sent me out a new one quick and I continued to work. I didn't post any up dates as this kit just deemed tedious with lots of masking. Basically built out of the box. I made some new seat belts and buckle's and a few other mod's and only lit the head lights but would of added more led's if I got the etch.

The canopy was a difficult to install I clamped down to glue one side and another end part would pop. I found the testor's glass clear glue stretching so I had to use super glue. I wore glove's when working with the glass trying to keep all finger prints at bay. Still hate the curtains and I need to build up the robot for the out side and also want to scratch out some items for the rack. Enough of my rambling here some pic's and thanks for looking.

 

[adampolo13]

This thing sure is looking sharp! Good decision on lighting, adds a bite of shine to the model!

 

[Grendels]

Nice!

 

[builder101]

Thanks for comments and those of you that looked at my model here, finishing the robot and ready to start something new.