Subject:  
Roush Trans Am
Whistler Mustang
Kit Used: Revell - 1/25

Review & model by:
Ed Findysz
Pictures: R. Forys




[Revell Trans Am Mustang in 1/25 scale]



The Whistler Mustang  is one of many road-racing cars fielded by Roush during his Trans Am reign from 1984 to 1997.   This car won the 1989 SCCA Trans Am title with Dorsey Schrader fielding 6 wins.   In the 14 seasons Jack Roush was involved in Trans Am racing, his race teams collected 119 victories with 24 national championships and also 12 manufacturer's titles.   Besides Dorsey Schrader, Roush Racing has had many famous drivers compete in the Trans Am series.   Some of these include Tommy Kendall, Wally Dallenbach Jr, Scott Pruett, Willy T. Ribbs, Lyn St. James, as well as actor Paul Newman and Olympian Bruce Jenner.



[This kit was given to me by a fellow co-worker at Roush.]



This kit   was given to me by a fellow co-worker at Roush because he heard me talking about how involved I had been getting into my modeling hobby.   At first, I just put the model on the shelf because it was missing the decals and instructions.   I also had other projects started that needed to be finished.




Jack Roush has become synonymous with the world of racing since the 1960's when he started out as a drag racer.   He was able to lure several top notch engineers from Ford and he started his own business here in Livonia Michigan.   As the story goes, Jack opened his business to fund his racing efforts.   He has participated in just about every kind of auto racing since then.   Besides drag racing, he has provided race cars for NASCAR, IRL, and the Trans Am series just to name a few.

Jack has managed to win in every form of racing he has been associated with and his company now supplies numerous services to the Big Three automakers.   I have spent nearly ten years working for Roush Industries as an engine test engineer, and have been privileged to see, and be part of some exciting engine testing projects.   I have also had the opportunity to meet some very kind and hard working individuals.













[At first, I just put the model on the shelf because it was missing the decals and instructions.]



Since someone who actually participated in Jack's racing efforts provided the model, I thought he might like it back completed.   He is an outstanding fabricator and has saved my burning behind more times that I can remember.   However, I was still stuck with a kit that had no instructions or decals.   What to do?   I decided to ask for help on the IPMS national website, and luckily for me, a guy named Terry Buschmann responded to my plea.   (Thank you very much!)   With the instructions and decals in hand, it was time to build.




[The wheels are a good representation of BBS style rims.] [This kit was released in 1991 and I was surprised at how well it was detailed.]



This kit was released in 1991 and I was surprised at how well it was detailed.   It contains 107 parts molded in red, clear, and chrome.   Just about every possible detail was provided in the kit.   It has a detailed chassis with molded in dzus fittings to a full roll cage with molded in engine oil lines.   The kit also provides a well-detailed suspension and interior with all safety hardware included, and the wheels are a good representation of BBS style rims.   The decal sheet is extensive, but is of very poor quality.   I will have more on the decals later.




[I learned that it helps to build the cage first so that you can get it square.]

I have only built two other racecar models and learned during that experience that it helps to build the cage first so that you can get it square.   However, I wanted to make sure that I could get the rest of the interior components into the cage after painting.   I carefully did a mock cage setup, and checked for fitment issues.   It seemed that I had it correct, or so I thought.






[The car chassis and cage was aluminum ] [I used a grey/black oil wash to get the details to pop.]



With the cage attached to the chassis, it was time for some painting.   This particular car chassis and cage was aluminum which was going to make for a very monochromatic paint job.   After using a rattle can of Floquil bright silver, I toned it down to an aluminum look with a semi gloss clear.   I went to work on the oil lines by painting the protective covers orange, along with black for the tie downs.   I also used Tamiya clear blue for the AN fittings.   At this point, I wanted to bring out some of the molded in detail.   Using a grey/black oil wash, I was able to get the dzus fittings and other details to pop.   I then started installing the suspension, engine, and interior.   Using the same oil wash, I brought out the suspension and engine details.





[I found that my test fitting exercise was a bit off.] [I had trouble getting all the interior components to fit.]




Now to the car's interior.   I found that my test fitting exercise was a bit off.   I could not get the back wall installed all the way back which made it difficult to install the seat, ignition boxes, and dash.   After much wrestling, I got them in.   The engine needed some fiddling to get correct as well.   At least the wheels all touched the ground.


[I was happy the wheels all touched the ground.]




[I like to install the body ground effects before painting so that I can fill any gaps.]



Now on to the car's body.   I like to install the body ground effects before painting so that I can fill any gaps.   The fitment of the body components was surprising good, and very little filler was needed.   After sanding and washing, I put a coat of white primer on the car, and wet sanded the primer to make sure I had a smooth surface.




[The first set of decals were horrible and basically split apart and where unusable.]



I airbrushed   the bottom section of the car with Tamiya acrylic white and followed that with Tamiya clear from a spray can.   After that dried, I taped it off and sprayed the rest of the car with a can of Tamiya red.   I am probably the only person who can run lacquer paint.   The red looked fairly bad, but since there are plenty of decals, I thought it might be alright.   The decals were horrible, which might have been because of their age.   They basically split apart and where unusable.




[Being extremely frustrated, I gave the model to my co-worker as just a chassis.]



Being extremely frustrated,   I gave the model to my co-worker as just a chassis.   He was still quite happy and soon returned with two more of the same kit he had found in his basement.   Now I had decals again.   At this point, I had to decide if I should build a new body and paint it, or strip the existing one.   Since I am still a novice, I wanted to see if I could get the paint off with the techniques I have read about.   It took three applications of nasty oven cleaner to get most of the paint off.   The rest was sanded.




[I sprayed some Testors decal bonder to the second decal sheet, which worked.]



I again airbrushed  the white with Tamiya, but this time for the red, I airbrushed Gunze and it came out pretty good.   I then sprayed some Testors decal bonder to the new decal sheet.   This worked, and the decals went down very well with Mirco Sol.   I gave the completed model back to my co-worker, and he was quite impressed.   I found it very satisfying to give someone a hand-built gift of a subject that they really enjoy.




[I found it very satisfying to give someone a hand-built gift of a subject that they really enjoy. ]