Micro Machines "Street Racers" Charger

       
 
 
Micro Machines Street Racers Collection Charger
Micro Machines Charger engine Micro Machines Charger interior Micro Machines Charger rear

 
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With all the Micro Machines customs and parts that have showed up over the years, it's a little surprising that it took me this long to build a Micro Machines tribute. Back when they were first introduced, I remember having a devil of a time finding any. But eventually the searching paid off, and I was able to acquire the #11 "Street Racers" Collection featuring a Charger, '71 Cuda, '73 Trans Am, Blazer, and MG-TF. The Charger became the first of those finished mostly by virtue of the others being much harder to find in 1/24~25.

The chassis, engine, and interior were built straight out of the box, using the optional parks to jack up the rear end. I started deviating with the wheels, which were replaced with a set of Pegasus 23" CL's to mimic the toy's design. the axle mounts needed to be drilled out to fit the Charger's axles, but otherwise went on with no problem. For the side pipes, I briefly considered using a set of oversized pipes from a large RC car, but in the end decided I wanted to make this appear at least semi-realistic. These were mated to the race headers with some round styrene stock and scratch built mufflers.

Most of my work on this project went to the body (it wasn't actually the body that belongs with this kit, but a '69 that I had swapped out at some point). I had to first sand off the vinyl roof texture and extra trim. I added some parts box rear fender flares and molded them into the body, then used them as a template to carve out the original wheel openings. The front end was cut off just below the grille opening, and a custom air dam was used from a Fujimi parts pack. It fit surprisingly well, needing just a couple of filler panels at the corners and a new panel to support the bottom of the grille. Finally, the hood was entirely scratch built and a scoop was made from a 1/48 aircraft canopy.

The chassis and interior were painted flat and satin black, respectively, and the engine and body were both done in Tamiya TS-47 Chrome Yellow. Bare Metal Foil, chrome paint, and some spare decals from MPC's Charger took care of the trim, and a set of custom decals based on the original toy gave it that unique "Street Racers" look.

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