1:24 Mitsubishi Colt Galant GTO-MR Aero Custom

A coupe that looked across the ocean

The Colt Galant GTO arrived at the beginning of the 1970s and did not hide where it drew its inspiration from: the long hood, the raised rear end and the overall cut came from the American sports coupes of the day, only in a scaled-down Japanese edition. The top trim was the MR, that is the version with a more sharply tuned 2.0-liter engine with two camshafts and a pair of carburetors. The accessories called aero custom were part of the taste of the time, when owners added spoilers and widened body parts before it became a whole cultural chapter.

Several weeks for one car

A car kit in size 1:24 is a different kind of work from an aircraft. There are not many parts, but every one of them has to fit, because a body does not forgive even a tenth of a millimeter. Divide the project roughly like this: the first stage is the body and its preparation, the second painting and polishing, the third the interior and the last the final assembly with the glass and the chrome parts. At an evening pace it is work for three to five weeks, and the most time is taken up not by gluing but by waiting between coats of paint.

Where the quality is settled

With cars the result stands and falls on the gloss. The body first has to be freed of the mold seams, sanded smooth and given a primer, which reveals everything you overlooked. Only then comes the paint in three or four thin coats and finally the polishing. The added aerodynamic parts complicate the whole procedure slightly, because there are more transitions that have to disappear under the paint without a trace.