Jo-Han 1/25 scale Dyno Don Maverick 1 Year Project-Finished

First off....I don't own a REAL Maverick so.....I did next best thing. I built a scale version of one so I could say that I actually DO own a Maverick....so to speak.

Next....let me go into the actual car. I've been wanting to build a Maverick for a VERY long time but there aren't many kits to choose from. The best offering (and this isn't saying much) is the Jo-Han kit. I was fortunate to get mine from someone on another forum for the mere price of $50. These kits are running around 300+ bucks nowadays so 50 bones is a friggin' steal. Then there came the matter of subject. I was looking for a car to build....you know....a pattern. Nothing struck my fancy for the longest time until I found Dyno Don's car. Man....I was smitten! Just an evil lookin' car! So .....I set out to build it.

The real deal:





When I started this project one year ago almost to the day I just didn't realize what ride I was in for. This started life as a Jo-Han kit and I quickly found out that it would become much more on down the line. The only things used out of this kit were the body, base interior tub (which got modified at that) and the engine. The rest....went in the trash. The chassis is from AMT's 67 Mustang Fastback, interior is almost all aftermarket stuff to include the 27 piece shifter and the 25 piece seat belt harness. In fact so much scratch and up level detailing was done in the interior that I don't even know where to start. Total parts count for the interior alone is 125 pieces in all. Extensive mods were done to the chassis to get everything to "work" and although not accurate it allowed me to achieve the stance and overall look that I was after. Probably the BIGGEST hang up I had with this car was trying to figure out how to fabricate the shock tower/ inner fenderwells for it because I just couldn't get anything to work. After MANY hours in thought and experimentation I ended up fabbing them up from soda can aluminum. So, Fermis, if you're lookin' on.....thanks for the idea buddy.
Paint....I used Tamiya's Pure Red with a Testors Wet Look clear. Car decals were from a supplier on Ebay....forgot the vendor. Wheels and tires are from the parts bin except for the rear wheels which I used from Revells 41 Willy's gasser kit. All lettering on the sidewalls of the tires are from Slixx decals. The engine has details from so many different suppliers that I forgot half of where I got everything from. LOTS of scratch work though. Cooling fans are from the Revell Rick Dobbertin Pontiac J2000 kit and again....were heavily modified to fit into this car. This was definitely a test of my abilities as a modeler to say the least but I learned ALOT from this build (as well as learned a few new curse words). There are inaccuracies that'll be noticed by anyone who knows anything about this car and a few liberties taken here and there in the name of adding interest to the car but I feel like it came out alright. I also left off the wheelie bars. I was going to scratchbuild a set but the longer I looked at it the more I thought that they would detract from the overall looks of the car. Any how.....I present here...the finished product.....MY Maverick! Thanks go out to all who either looked in on or commented and encouraged me along the way. You guys all rock!!!

The build thread can be found here: Dyno Don Scale Build | Maverick/Comet Forums


























I tried getting as close to the original as I could. The red ignition wire I had was the scale thickness of battery cable so that was out and then I took a few liberties in regards to throttle linkage but overall I was pretty happy with the results:

The real deal:



My version:

 

Unbelievable; job well done! If your Maverick model could be photoshopped into a real dragstrip or shop setting from the `70s, a person would have a difficult time distinguishing it from the real car.

 

Thats just super cool!!!!

 

Just awesome Joe!!! Beautifully rendered!!!

 

A masterpiece for sure. So many awesome details! Thanks for letting us watch you build that beast!

 

Thanks HR! Really appreciate you following along the whole time bud.

Thanks Dennis!

Pete!!! Thanks buddy!! Looking forward to seeing that lil' Mustang of yours finished!!!

Thanks you so much Stu!! Glad to have had you taggin' along on the build the whole way potna!!

 

So now.....I'm at a crossroads with what I should do next. I've got another Jo-Han kit that I could do and now that I have my method down for these kits it outta go one helluvalot smoother. Just gotta figure out what them I would go with because there are so many cool looking Pro Stock Mavericks out there to choose from . This time I'll be going with a 429 Boss car though I DO know that.

OR....I could go with my 1/32 scale Maverick that I could build as a street car now that I have a set of really cool lookin' wheels for.

Decisions....decisions....decisions.....

 

She's now in my "garage" that I built a couple of years ago just like all of my other most current builds. She'll stay there till my next one gets built.

 

Nicely done! Love the hand print smudge marks on the door, true to life.

 

Thanks buddy! I had a great time with that shop as well. I got alot of these items from different places. The laptop has a screen saver of my favorite photo of my wife and son scaled down to 2%, printed on photo paper and glued to the screen Toolbox was a Christmas ornament that I cut the hutch off of and brought out some of the details with paint on. The garage itself was a from the Fujimi Garage kit with things like the shelves, jack, vise, bucket workbench and work table being from the same kit. Microwave, coffee pot, coffee cans and mugs all came from Scale Equipment and were painted up and assembled. Engine block , cylinder head and stand are from the AMT 66 Nova Pro Street kit. "Gone Fishin" bumper sticker on wall was a decal that I made from an actual bumper sticker. Signage is from a vendor on Ebay.

 

That garage is amazing! I sent the image to my wife this morning and she had no idea it was a scaled down display.

 

Wow! Thanks Rick! This garage was alot of fun to build. I'm currently planning another garage dio but in a home garage setting with plywood walls. Hopefully I'll get that going sometime this year.

Here's another shot of the garage with my 56 Ford F-100 chassis build up ongoing. When I was putting this whole setup together I just couldn't help but to get the burger, fries and shake. Like the rest of this stuff....I had to build and paint the burger, fries, bag and cup. Every time I take a look at it I get hungry for burgers and fries. lol

 

Sweet build, very cool!

 

Haven't been around in a while but will be making it a point to get started building again. Home repairs and upgrades'll do it every time.

 

Sorry for the late reply Earl. Thanks a mil bud.