HUMVEE Driver's Red XA
Before you begin, PRINT OFF AS MANY PICTURES AS YOU CAN of the vehicle from websites, watch the movie, and make sketches. I also recommend getting a Dremel Tool; mine is indispensable.
Red XA
Base kit: I used a 1970 something Mustang. I bought the base kit so long ago I can’t remember what year. However, a ‘70’s Torino would work just as well, or even better. Also get a Raiders Coach kit from AMT. It comes with two very detailed 428 ci engines; both with the correct eight air intake stacks.
Extra Parts:
Engine air intakes
Five round headlights
Rubber insulated copper wiring
Six tires
3x1 inch piece of diamond plate for the rear armor.
.030” thick plain sheet styrene from Evergreen for the chin spoiler.
.015” think sheet styrene for the rear spoiler.
Modifications: When I first finished the car I realized the Mustang front end was all wrong. So, I had to do some heavy modifications to the front end to make it look like an XA. I used flat plastic pieces and Model Putty to make it longer and the right shape, then I sanded and smoothed it down. See the picture to get an idea of what I had to do. The grill has to be replaced, and I used some scale roofing material. For the dual rear tires, you will have to cut out pieces of the wheel wells to make room. Or you could just cut off some of the top part of each inner tire. Use the rubber insulated copper wiring to shape eight pipes for the exhaust. Make the rear spoiler from the .015” think plastic and use movie pics to get the curves right. For the front spoiler, use the .030” think plastic and glue three round headlights onto it. Cut a small rectangle out of the hood for the eight air intakes. In the movie, the hole for this is very small, and the intakes barely fit through it. Remember to convert the steering to the right hand side. Don’t forget there is no passenger side mirror, only the driver’s side mirror. Add a chrome gas cap to the passenger side, and that is about it.
Paint: For the main part of the vehicle I used Testors 1250 Flat Red Spray Enamel. The roof and most of the rear is flat black. Again, look at the movie pics to get the paint job right. The interior is black. The window outlines are silver or chrome, and the rear armor plating is Steel colored. There are two skull and crossbones decals on either side behind the side windows. In the movie, they aren’t painted on, they are actually small emblems somehow stuck on. But, I searched the net for a good pic of the skulls and modified it with my Paint program to fit the model. Then, I printed it onto these special decal sheets I bought from MicroMark. Then I just cut them out and applied them like any other model decals. For the large bat on the hood, I originaly painted one on. When I updated the car, I custom drew it from movie pictures in Paint, then printed it off like the skull emblems. Quite a chore. I actually only drew half of it, then I “flipped” it with the computer so each side would be exactly the same. You could paint it on, but if you want a copy of the bat I drew, let me know and I’ll e-mail you one.
Any questions, please ask! Good luck and let’s see some pics!
My Original XA
Modifing the grill and front end of the Mustang
Newly painted
A comparison of the old and new hood art
Right side
Left side
Rear
Front
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