Lance Sellers' Lloyd Ruby 1970 Mongoose - Updated 12/23

[Art Laski]

Thanks to my friend, Jimmy “RASS”, I have been able to obtain one of Lance Seller’s Lloyd Ruby 1970 Mongoose kits. I’ve wanted to build one of Lance’s kits for a while now, but my budget just hasn’t synced up well with his releases. But this is one that I really like, so I am really happy to get my hands on one and am looking forward to diving in. Thanks again to my buddy “RASS”!

The quality of this kit is first rate, which I can’t say I’m surprised, since all of Lance’s cars always come out nice. As nice as it is, I’m glad that I see some areas where one can add some additional detail and really make this model stand out.

Here’s the original car:





Here are the kit pieces and the decal sheet:




All of the color can be done with the decals. I’m contemplating painting the red, though. We’ll see…

So far I’ve mostly just done parts cleanup, but I did open up the naca ducts.








I decided to lower the seat back a little to match the reference photos.

[Calvin]

Awesome! It's already an award-winning model!

Good idea on the NACA ducts....wished I would have done that on mine....but I always have one billion other things going on at the same time that I always overlook those little details.

[jwrass]

Art,

This is going to be good! I will be following from start to finish!

The Goose is in good hands.

Jimmy "RASS"

[robh]

Art,

This looks to be a great project. Good luck with the decals.

[indy]

Great start to the WIP. Looking forward to the updates on this one to see what you do with it.

Jordan

[jwrass]

I don't know what Art Has decided with regards to Paint VS decals.(we discussed this) I have a sign making plotter that I cut all types of masks on... for my 1:1 work and models. I am going to sent Art a couple sets of masks should he decide to do some paint. A multi media approach I think would be a great idea.... some paint, some decals.

Either way this is going to be a epic build.

Jimmy "RASS"

[Art Laski]

Rass,

I'm definitely going to paint the red, and am looking forward to using the masks. Taking it further with the blue, etc., is a little bit beyond what I think I'm capable of right now...

[sandysixtysfan]

This is going to be fun to watch! You're off to a great start, it's the little things that make a difference.

Sandy

[Art Laski]

Thank you, Sandy! I'll be adding lots of little things!

I've been making a little progress on this, but it’s been mostly cleanup. Looking at the reference pictures, it looks like the car (or at least the restored car) had a different looking transmission rear cover. The closest thing I found was the piece out of the AMT Lotus kit. Since I didn’t want to ruin the whole kit over one piece, I cast a copy of it in resin.





I also polished up most of the white metal. This shot shows the polished part next to the unpolished parts.



Added ribs to the vents, per the reference shots. They might be a little oversized, but it’ll work.

[Art Laski]

Starting to close up the bottom of the nose, so I had to paint the radiator, then mask it off before I glued it in. I added some pull tabs to the masking tape so I can get it off later.

[Art Laski]

I found this picture of the interior on Facebook, which has a lot of detail, some which differs slightly from the kit. I think adding it will definitely add some interest to the model.



From another pic, I could see that the upholstery had horizontal stitches as well as vertical, so I added some.







This was hard to do because it looked pretty cool, but I removed the side upholstery to go with a more accurate modification.




More to come. Thanks for looking!

[Calvin]

My gosh!

Im glad model building has ZERO building rules or you would have been outlawed long ago for being too good!

[indy]

Great details, thanks for taking us along on this journey, Art. This is really impressive.

Jordan

[clm1545]

You manage to take anything you touch to a new level, Art. Looking just fantastic.

[Art Laski]

I really do appreciate your comments, guys!

Got a little done on the interior. I made a new dash that will allow it to come back a little in the cockpit and meet up with the frame.



I added some frame tubes as per the references.



Some aluminum panels were made that will later be “anodized” blue.



I tried to make some side upholstery panels, but they were an abomination, so I gave up on that. I have an idea that I think will work better. I did make a seat roll at the bottom, though, and that worked well. I also realized that, although it was accurate to the reference photo, the inside vertical tubes in the cockpit had to go. It created an impractically small opening.

[bobbyc]

Nice work Art! When do I get fitted for the seat? :-)

[Art Laski]

Come on over, Bob!

I drilled the hole for the intake tube. I accidentally drilled it out too large (had too big a drill), so I filled it back in with styrene tube, then drilled that out to the correct size. It actually turned out nice that way.





It’s hard to see on the reference shots of the car at Indy in ’70, but reference shots on the restored car show a fuel filler cap very similar to a sprint car tail tank. I think adding them will add some interest. I had previously made some castings of the filler cap from the Monogram sprint cars and they look to be a perfect match.

[clm1545]

Makes me rather happy that I don't have this kit, Art. After seeing this, I'm afraid I would have to destroy mine.

[Art Laski]

Well, Craig, it is a great kit as is, and as you've seen here, builds up great. I just like adding all the little doo-dads to add some interest. Thanks for looking!

[2lapsdown]

You call them doo-dads, I call it eye candy.

John

[jwrass]

Art,

From my state of solitary confinement it looks GREAT from here! Hope to be released on Thursday LOL

Jimmy "RASS"

[indy]

Great detail eye and executing the work, too, Art.

Jordan

[Deleted]

You are whittling up a storm on that one Art. I may need to make another popcorn run cause this is fun to watch

[Art Laski]

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

I finally got some paint on this beauty. I elected to forgo the red stripe decals and paint it instead. After some talks with Jimmy "RASS", I picked up some One-Shot sign painters enamel. I used the Donn Yost method I usually use with my Testors enamels and mixed it 2:1 with lacquer thinner. I have to say, the stuff worked great. I laid it in real thin so as to not bleed under the tape, but I'm real interested to see how it would do on a full body. It seems like it would really produce a nice finish without a clear coat. My base coat is a little grainy, so that's how it looks in the pictures, but once I get clear on it, it's going to really pop.

















Here's a shot of the blue anodized parts for the car.



Thanks for looking!

[clm1545]

Fanflippentastic, Art. Typical of everything you build.

[harveythedog2]

Looking Super Sweet Art!

[indy]

Looks good, Art, but there is some pixelation in the photos that hide your crisp paint lines. Really enjoying the progress.

Jordan

[Gary Davis]

That paint job sure POPS Art! Good job on this puppy....

[Art Laski]

Thanks for looking, guys!

Apr 3, 2017 13:05:46 GMT -5 indy said:

Looks good, Art, but there is some pixelation in the photos that hide your crisp paint lines. Really enjoying the progress.

Jordan

Yes, Jordan, the program I used to shrink the photos messed them up. Won't be using that again. In the meantime, I just replaced them with the full-size pics.

[jwrass]

Art,

As always looking fantastic... As you know my job has had me sequestered for a number of weeks, consequently I haven't had a chance to look at the build in a few weeks... The Goose is absolutely off the rails!

I'm pleased that we talked about the One Shot and you took a leap of faith.... I knew you would like it and you pulled it off brilliantly.... Hopefully your testimony and awesome results will encourage others to try products out of the norm for Model Building. Your skills and attention to all the details speak volumes.

I'm happy we made the trade and have become good friends through this process.... You are giving the Goose it's just rewards....

Happy Trails & Peace....

Jimmy "RASS"