Winter 2024 Model Contest

In reply to RonnieFnD :

If the paint is hard enough you can buff it out. Tamiya sprays polish quickly. I go from 1000 grit paper to 3M Perfectit compound and soft cloth. I stopped using Bare Metal for narrow strips when Molotow chrome markers came available. They are even better. They do not keep though. They make better than Bare Metal when new, but after 9 months they start to make duller, and by 2 years they are silver paint markers. When I build the Lotus kit like Eastparks I often Bare Metal the body tub and only paint the fenders. See the pic previously posted. The lower side trim on the '57 I would still do with Bare Metal. Lifting the excess foil off is always a challenge. If you do not get a bit lifting with the #11 blade try the curve of a #10. Sometimes I try from the cut line side, but it is always easier to go large somewhere so you can start from the scrap side.

In reply to RonnieFnD :

Hey Ronnie, the photo makes the paint look better than real life :). 
I used Taniya spray paint- 2 coats. That's all I did. 

In reply to eastpark :

That is what is so great about Tamiya paints. You can improve yours with compound, it is good enough to skip the 1000 grit. They also sell polish, but I have enough Perfectit for 500 more models.

Pearl white right? That's factory! 😆

Hard to see in the pics. Should stand out against the purple. So far from done. 

Sure. Do 1/12 scale he says. No problem he says. You'll get it done he says. Hahahaha

I'm starting to see what I like about certain brands and what I don't.  The nova also taught me to test fit EVERYTHING before paint, it is a pretty terrible kit.  I'm pretty proud of the way the 55 turned out, I think it looks okay for me just starting this.  I would like to throw out a big thank you to everyone for getting me hooked on this.

In reply to RonnieFnD :

Your welcome! Notice you spot things you forget when you look at the pics. The decals underhood is a common thing with real cars that is seldom caught by modelers.

I worked on mine a little today.Not sure I'm going to keep the carpet, it is a little too red. The engine is ready for injection plumbing and ignition. I have to make some vents for the A/C, and I've deleted the old school rally equipment.

A black wash on the Chevy grilles would really enhance them. Tamiya makes a product called panel line accent I use for door gaps but it can also be used for details like the fins on valve covers, emblems, etc. It's probably too light for the grilles but you can thin out some flat black or semi-gloss and just let it sink into the recesses. Lightly wipe off the high spots to show the chrome.

In reply to ddavidv :

I'm having a hard time believing Ronnie's a beginner. I wish I had his learning curve. Absolute talent underneath the skills.

I had a lot of fun building the 7 and the weather hasn't been great for outdoor activities. So I've been working on the next car in the queue:

It's much simpler than the Tamiya kit, but everything is going together well and is a fun kit to build quickly. 

In reply to eastpark :

One at a time builder, huh? I've had 5 or more in some stage of construction continuously since the early 1980s., work space and storage prevented multiples prior to that. 

TurnerX19 said:

In reply to ddavidv :

I'm having a hard time believing Ronnie's a beginner. I wish I had his learning curve. Absolute talent underneath the skills.

Thank you.  For the kind words and the help getting started.  Building gassers is fun.  So the back story on my obsession with then.  When I was a kid up until I was about 13 my dad had a 56 chevy 210 gasser that he daily drove. Straight axle, fender headers, 427 with a cross ram intake.  It was a matte Grey color, no front bumper, tons of old stickers under the hood (where I got the idea for mine), redneck 3 point roll bar....it was a awesome car.  My dad was hit by a box truck in it that pretty much bent the car in half and spelled the end.  I do still have the 427 and hope to build a real one someday 

So I guess the next step is a airbrush.   Anyone have any suggestions on what to buy to get started?

Big learning curve. I had one...not sure if I still do. I used it mostly for 'weathering' when I was into model trains. My pro tip is spend more time cleaning it than using it, because any debris stuck in it will generate horrors. Also, buying cans of propellant is a fool's mission. Just buy a compressor. 

I just use spray cans today, either Tamiya or hardware store name brands. Occasionally I'll use Duplicolor for something I can't find otherwise. I never found the airbrush to be worth the hassle.

ddavidv said:

Big learning curve. I had one...not sure if I still do. I used it mostly for 'weathering' when I was into model trains. My pro tip is spend more time cleaning it than using it, because any debris stuck in it will generate horrors. Also, buying cans of propellant is a fool's mission. Just buy a compressor. 

I just use spray cans today, either Tamiya or hardware store name brands. Occasionally I'll use Duplicolor for something I can't find otherwise. I never found the airbrush to be worth the hassle.

That's kinda what I was thinking.   The problem I have is the Tamiya rattle cans start to spray like crap when they get low if it's a metallic.   I'm building one now and as my silver leaf can got low the paint got real inconsistent. 

In reply to RonnieFnD :

I will oppose ddavidv on the airbrush. I agree with you on the irregularity when low with Tamiya, and it is not restricted to the metallics. I have a very simple old single action Badger that had a learning cuve, but is the absolute go to if there is no Tamiya to match.

I've seen guys get fantastic results with rattle cans but it's something I've never had much luck with. Once you get some experience with an airbrush, it opens up a lot of new options. It's easier to control the amount of paint going on the model and you can mix colors if you want. You can get great results with a single action airbrush. I've been using a dual action Badger 100G for decades. Keeping one clean takes more work, but I don't think I've ever had to spend more  than 20-30 minutes at a time on maintenance. A compressor with a tank, a large air tank, or CO2 are a must. Those cans of propellant are expensive and you get large pressure drops when the can cools as you spray. 

By golly I think I'm going to be in good shape. Everything chassis/engine/interior is painted and assembly is under way. I stuck the nose on the body and the scoop on the hood so it's going to be sandpaper time and hopefully paint in a day or two.

Progress, and a successful experiment. I wanted carpet in the Mk1Ford Econobox. It's an Ford Econobox, it should be cheap carpet. I'm not going to the fabric store for a yard of mouse fur for 4 square inches, it ain't a Ferrari. So I've been experimenting with dyer lint on thin silver duct tape. I have fair control over the color of the lint. I choose Tamiya "hull red" for the door panels, judge for yourself what to call it, sure looks like milk chocolate to me. The brownest I could get the lint this month was a great burgundy before application to the tape, followed by a heavy spray of Tamiya flat clear. Results are this pic parked on the green chair. In scale it looks too 1970s shag, and the light gray of the tape makes it pink.

Well, I still don't know if I can make it conform well enough glued down, so I tried in spite of the color, and with some patience and slow CA the answer was yes, but the shaping, "rolling" I think the carpet installers would call it, made it shaggier and lighter. With another month before I would have enough laundry for another color experiment I pulled a WAG out and thinned the hull red 50% and brushed a little onto the area that is hidden under a seat. It worked great, did the color and glued the shag back! I kept going on the first piece that is still not glued at all to the rear. I'm not sure yet where I will seam it, but I made enough tape/lint for several tries.

I have painted a pair of my polyester resin home molded seats to look brown on Kevlar shells and the rear bench to look cheap, like the half tin door panels.

Fuel rail and some plug wires on engine, pics next post.

Well this is disappointing

I knew the primer on the sides wasn't 100% smooth but went ahead and shot black over it knowing the clock was ticking. I can still hear my dad's voice from 40 years ago, "black doesn't hide anything." Maybe it'll set up enough to let me wet sand and polish before deadline, maybe? Or I'll just slam it together and promise to do better next time.

Chassis and interior are 99% done, so all that's left is to literally watch paint dry and mull over my options for trying to salvage it.

In reply to Claff :

That looks like you were too close when spraying. If the primer were that bad you'd have seen and felt it.

Yeah, paint looks thic. I don't think the primer was the problem.

The RS500 Ford Econobox progresses. Seat belts and engine install are next. This kit comes with Willans style photo etch belts as well as decals for those who frustrate easily. I put full detail belts in everything, frustration included, they aren't getting easier with age. The engine, headers and all has been in and out of the hole 3 times already, it goes easier than it might. The strut tower tops in the engine bay are flat head Ford water pump pulleys. I put the lines on the hydraulic handbrake , just visible tucking under the rear seat. I did the passenger face of the dash as stock, not rally prep, those parts will find there way onto something else.

I just spotted 4 places that need touch up in the pic posted above Also figured out where to put the A/C outlets at the same time The photos always help.