gluebomb
[gloo·bom] -noun A previously assembled car model, constructed with copious
amounts of adhesive and decorated with a mixture of wallpaper
paste, honey and mushy peas, using a small rodent as an applicator.
Car modellers have a language
all their own, at least if the pages of Scale Auto
Modeller are to be believed that is. For instance,
they don't use a can of spray paint, they use "rattle
cans". Models aren't sprayed, they have paint "shot"
at them. Sounds dangerous. Paint doesn't dry, it "gasses
out", and fragile decals are "snuck up on"
by light coats of clear. These people need to get out
more.
In that vein, the gluebomb seems to be the exclusive domain
of car modellers, despite the fact that pretty much any
previously assembled model can be torn apart and rebuilt.
This then, must have been the thermonuclear equivalent
of a gluebomb.
I got this off eBay (where
else??) for a whopping 5 bucks US, plus postage. Marketed
as the "Streaker Vette", it had been partly
assembled and the body was painted - badly, and that's
being kind. In most cases there was more glue than plastic
and the paint, if it was paint, looked like it had gone
on with the consistency of porridge. It took 7 applications
of oven cleaner to restore the body to bare plastic, leaving
me to believe that whatever mysterious substance this
was it should have been used on the space shuttle in place
of the heat resistant tiles.
Surprisingly, the kit was
complete with the exception of one missing hood hinge
which was no big deal. The previous owner had already
cut the hole in the hood for the blower so I was limited
to this version, but I would have gone that route anyway.
I didn't care much for the wimpy tires intended for the
rear end, so I substituted some much beefier ones from
my spares box. This, however, required modification to
the rear frame and axles to get them to fit. See the construction
page for details.
I didn't go whole hog on
the detailing, preferring to treat this as more of a restoration
exercise, so only added spark plug wires. Paint is Tamiya
Mica red and all chrome was stripped and refinished with
Alclad Chrome.
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