The Wraith M4S Turbo Interceptor

       

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Original Kit:
1981 Dodge MS4 Wraithe
Made By:
Too Many Projects
Scale:
1/25
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M4S Turbo Interceptor from the movie The Wraith
The Wraith M4S Turbo Interceptor front detail The Wraith M4S Turbo Interceptor flank The Wraith M4S Turbo Interceptor rear

 
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For a car that's never been officially kitted and only appeared in one independent movie back in 1986, there have been a surprising number of aftermarket options available for M4S. I think only the '66 Batmobile has had more options over the years. First there was the resin kit by Planet X (makers of The Car), then there's StarFactoryModels who made it available in both finished and unfinished form, MartiansCloset that has several size options available, and of course my personal favorite and the one I used for this build: Too Many Projects.

The Too Many Projects kit comes with the body, wheels, spoiler, and sideview mirrors. I selected the "low resolution" white plastic since the body didn't have a whole lot of details, but even so it was a nice clean piece with sharp panel breaks. I gave it a good sanding and a light skim of Tamiya white putty here & there to smooth it out. There was one rough edge along the bottom edge of the rear window that also needed to be sanded smooth. Finally, I removed the taillight panel so I could make my own transparent red insert.

Once the body was prepped, I painted it and the spoiler Tamiya's TS-14 Black followed by their TS-13 Clear. The lower half was tricky to figure out, since the prototype made heavy use of pearescent paints and the movie's lighting shifted its tone from the original root beer brown to more of a grayish purple. After a few tests, I settled on my final process that used a base of TS-100 Bright Gun Metal followed by Spaz Stix's Amethyst Purple Pearl. The instructions specifically warn users that the paint goes on almost clear, and needs to be built up over several light layers to get the proper effect. I did as they said, and after about four coats I had the exact tone-shifting finish that I was after.

While that was drying, I got to work on the chassis. The car is frequently shown with a purple underbody glow, and I thought that would be fun to replicate. The main platform is a piece of 0.060" (1.5mm) styrene that I cut to fit inside the body with a gap all around the edges. By doing it this way, I could put the LEDs inside (rather than underneath) and avoid hot spots. I got four of Evan Designs' 5mm Super Bright Solid Mega LEDs, a slide switch, and used another one of the 2xLR44/A76 battery holders that I got for the Ecto-88 to provide power. I placed the LEDs at the center of the front, back, and sides of the main platform, then cut holes for the battery box and switch just behind the front axle.

To locate the chassis, I started by making a column of scrap plastic in the middle of the platform to support the roof. Then shims were added until I got the proper ride height. It's not very pretty, but it got the job done. Once that was set, I added the axles. Each one uses a length of 0.125" (3.2mm) styrene tube reinforced by a core of stainless steel rod. The styrene allowed me to fit the wheels perfectly and have something that could be welded to the chassis platform, while the stainless steel made sure that nothing would sag over time. With these installed, I then made baffles to go behind each wheel and prevent the body from looking hollow. The baffles were test fit, trimmed, and shimmed to fine-tune the body's stance and provide plenty of support. They also provided something for me to glue a support brace to, since I didn't completely trust the adhesive to hold the battery box in place while I was shoving batteries in there.

All that was left was the final details and assembly. The kit's wheels were painted black, gold, and chrome, then fit to a set of tires from m parts box. The taillight panel was my usual trick of using the edge of a CD case. I skipped the mirrors since they weren't part of the movie car's look. The rocker skirts were made from vinyl strips. Finally, the stripes and headlights were custom decals I drew up.

 

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