I am not sure how many people have done this so I thought I would post a step by step walk through on changing the color on a Sunstar 1:18 Cougar. I wanted a 1:18 Cougar to match my car but I was unable to find one in black. I was not sure at the time I did this if Sunstar even made black (onyx) 1967 models. My Cougar also has a GT-E style hood scoop so that was another change I wanted to make so the model would look more like my car.
Step 1. Finding the model to buy, for this I used ebay. I got a good deal on a green 1:18 Sunstar model.
Step 2. After receiving the model I disassembled it. The screws located on the bottom were easily removed. Two screws are slightly hidden from view in the front wheel wells. After removing the screws the front suspension is loose and you can move it enough to get the wheel well screws out without breaking anything, just use care while doing this.
Step 3. Now that the under carriage section has been removed you have access to remove the interior passenger area which separates from the body easily. Removal of the front and rear windows from the body was done as follows. These sections are held in place by melted “body rivets”. I drilled the mushroomed head off slowly until I could see that the post of the rivet was the only thing holding the window sections in place. Using care so the window plastic would not break I pried the window sections loose from the body.
Step 4. I used the same drilling technique to remove the grille and tail lamp pieces form the body. Make sure that you only drill off the plastic that is mushroomed over where these sections pass through the body. The rest of the post will be used for mounting the assembly’s back in place.
Step 5. The doors are held in place by one screw. Remove the screw and the doors slide off the body.
Step 6. The hood is held in place by two screws at the hinge area. Remove the screws and separate the hood from the body. The chrome nose trim on the hood can be removed by drilling out the mushroom head of the rivets. These pieces are very thin so don’t drill too much or the piece may crack.
Step 7. Use care while separating the wiper blades and front license plate from the body. For this step I used a fine dental type pick to push on the post that passes through the body from the inside of the car. While doing this I used a slight twisting motion and the wipers came loose. There is no need to twist the front license plate to remove it. Just push on the posts that pass through the body.
Step 8. Now that disassembly is complete I started fabricating the hood scoop. I made the hood scoop out of a scrap piece of 2x4. I cut it to shape using a jig saw and then sanded it until I was pleased with the overall shape and fit. I used a sanding block to sand the body lines that are at the center of the hood into the scoop. This matches the factory hood scoop lines and gives a better overall appearance.
Step 9. Mounting of the hood scoop on the hood was fairly easy. To do this I used latex adhesive paintable caulk. You can get this at any hardware store. It offers plenty of work time and clean up is easy. After placement of the scoop I clamped it in place and let it dry for 24 hours. After I removed the clamps I taped off around the scoop and shot primer on it. This was done so I would not get a large build up of primer on the entire hood. Having too much primer on the parts takes away from the fine detail such as the cowl vents and window moldings.
Step 10. Preparation for paint was done using steel wool (.00) to knock down the shine of the factory paint and to give the new paint a surface for good adhesion. After I was finished with the steel wool I wiped down the entire car with paint thinner to remove any hand oil. This also reduced the chance of having fish eyes in the paint. Another area I addressed during paint preparation was the door handles. I was worried that if I tried to remove them they would break. So to avoid this I mask off each handle. I used latex caulk again. I applied a small amount to cover each handle with a toothpick.
Step 11. Apply the paint for the finish coat in light even coats to prevent paint runs. Use care not to be back to far form the surface, this can cause fogging of the paint and give you a dull finish. Allow paint to dry per manufacturer specifications between coats and after final coat. Once the painting is complete reassemble model. This is also the time to remove the caulk that was used to mask the door handles from overspray. Gently pick the caulk loose to unveil the chrome handles.
Step 12. All of the parts that I removed by drilling the mushroomed rivet heads were attached using the same adhesive caulk. This works well and is water clean up if any of the caulking squeezes out from under the parts.
Once assembly is complete display you Cougar and enjoy.
Steven
Nice job.
