Search the Community

Good Afternoon, I photographed the completed Audi R8 this weekend. It was painted with Tamiya FS Primer Light Grey, AK Black Base, AK Xtreme Metal Copper and clear coated with Tamiya X-22 Clear. The rims were primed and base coated the same as the body and painted with AK Xtreme Gun Metal. Interior is Tamiya Flat Black and a custom mixed saddle (homemade brown + Tamiya XF-3 Flat Yellow). The flat black was very flat so I coated it with Tamiya X-35 Semi Gloss Clear. The embossing powder is Ranger Marigold purchased from Amazon. What I learned from this build: 1. Plastic does not like lacquer thinner (probably obvious to many, but I'm still figuring things out). I wasn't happy with the way the hatch/rear engine cover turned out because I sprayed it independently from the body. My usual paint stripper (LA's Totally Awesome) wouldn't remove the AK Copper so I upped the hotness... bad idea. I tried to scratch build a new one with less than great results. I avoided photographing the car from angles that show the poor fit. I may try again. 2. Not sure I like dipping glass parts in Pledge - it looks great at first but tends to pool just a little due to gravity and doesn't like to be handled afterward as fingers leave faint, cloudy smudges (maybe it's just me). 3. Make sure to paint the interior floor pan the same colour as the embossing powder. 4. Double check bottle labels!! I tried Tamiya's Mark Fit Strong for the first time. I had a little air/dust bubble under the carbon fibre decal (behind the gas cap) so I poked a little hole in it and applied what I thought was the decal solution... Tamiya Extra Thin Cement is pretty tough on decals. 🥴 5. Regular Elmer's white glue does a pretty nice job on clear parts... just have to apply a little more. 6. This was the first time I painted rims and I think I will continue going forward. 7. I still don't like AK's Black Base... it just doesn't cover very well or lay super flat (in my novice opinion). If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. 🙂

Just an easy quickie 2-day build. Audi R8 Snaptite- detailed a little... Painted Duplicolor Universal White with clear. Carbon-fiber side sails and roof. Added red accent stripe, red accent interior Ashoima wheels with red edge accent. This is the BASIC Snaptite kit with silver painted headlights, I scraped that off and detailed behind the "glass" bezel with painted spots and Evergreen tubing for the HID