1990 BMW 850i-------Update! She's now clearcoated! 6/19/16

[niteowl7710]

I love that shade of green!

The reason this kit is constantly rising in cost is RevellAG forever changed the molds when they made the Convertible version.  So there's never gonna be another made unless they were to go do some substantial retooling. 

Unlike that ESCI Transit Van which Italeri is reissuing this summer.

[MrObsessive]

I love that shade of green!

The reason this kit is constantly rising in cost is RevellAG forever changed the molds when they made the Convertible version.  So there's never gonna be another made unless they were to go do some substantial retooling. 

Unlike that ESCI Transit Van which Italeri is reissuing this summer.

Thanks James!

So that's what happened! Yup, everytime I see these turn up on the 'Bay, I can count on the price to be either outta sight already on a BIN, or the price goes way up from whomever wants it getting into a bidding war. I lucked out as I bought it not long after it turned up as I have eBay as an app on my phone, and it let me know that this one was up for sale on a cheap BIN.

I'll probably never touch the unopened one I have.........they do have nice packaging as Tamiya packaged it with their box art. The other one I got from Gerry, that was missing the original wheels and that one someday I may make into a convertible................uptop and all. 

The latest on the one I'm doing------seems as though I'm running into an issue with the wheels. I assembled the driver's side disc brake (yes, each disc has separate pieces! ) and I did a dry fit of the wheels with the tire in place. It seems as though the wheel is sticking out a bit too far in relation to how the 1:1 looks as I have plenty 'o pics of the car. 

So I'll have to put on my thinking cap to figure out how to get the wheels to tuck in a bit further. Looks like I might have to employ my "Moebius" approach and cut away the inner wheel, and then cut off the nubs on the hub so that the outer wheel will scoot in further.

I'll of course take pics of how all of this takes place.............I hope this one won't be as drama filled as that '59 Impala! This is supposed to be "box stock" dontcha know!

Stay tuned...........

[MrObsessive]

One of the more important things when I'm building something is the car's stance, or how it sits when it's all put together. There are some really nice models out there I've seen on the box art, but what kills it for me is that either they sit too high, or the wheels don't sit even. 

It's one of the reasons I don't like to paint at all on the body till near the very end. I want to make sure the chassis will go in with as little hassle as possible, as I'll do many test runs to get an idea of how it'll go in before painting. That way by the time the paint is rubbed out and polished, I have pretty down pat how the body will mate to the chassis with as little fuss as can be.

This 1:1 shot of the 850i gives me a very good idea of how the car should sit. I've run into trouble doing some dry fitting of the wheels, and I want to address those now before I go any further.

First, I did get the chassis fully painted and got most of the rear suspension done save for the passenger side rear disc brake. My better sense told me to go ahead and test fit the wheels on with tires to see how the tire to fender relationship should look. 

On the chassis, my feeble attempt to paint those fine lines with "chrome" paint (looks like sending unit lines) fell flat, so I simply painted that area black and called it a day.

OK, here's the driver's side rear disc brake glued on............yes, the disc brake itself was multiple pieces coming in two halves with an inner hub with those nubs.

Here's the wheel and tire dry fitted on those nubs, and the tire simply sticks out too much IMO.......more so than the 1:1 pic showed.

Sooooo.........I'm going to take my "Moebius" approach and cut away the inner part of the wheel. This will allow the outer wheel to sit in further, and also allow the disc brake to be seen through the wheel spokes.

My tool of choice when needing to cut away something like this. A sharpened steel rod inside a pin vise. Simply go round, and round, and round...........

Inner part of the wheel cut away.............

I cut away the nubs on the hub........

Now test fitting everything together. You can see the disc through the spokes now. The fella that had this kit before stripped the wheels of the too shiny chrome. That saves me some work as I'll use later down the road Alclad to give the wheels the aluminum finish.

Pardon the dust.............

That's much better! The tires are tucked in more under the body per the 1:1, and just flat out looks better!

The tires look like they're uni-directional so I'll have to pay attention to how the tread is positioned as I mount them. I'll scuff up the tread as well to get rid of the center "ridge" that's on 'em.

Now I get to do this THREE MORE TIMES! At least the kit gives you a spare to put in the trunk that opens.........nice touch Revell!

Edited May 6, 2016 by MrObsessive

[Ron Hamilton]

Hey Bill,

Guess what I saw today. An actual in the flesh BMW 850i. It was a dark blue car. I was doing 30 m.p.h. and saw it out of the corner of my eye. I plan to get photos of it. in a few days. Hit me off the board if you need some details.

[Kennyboy]

Excellent as usual Bill on your detail.......your wheel fitment issue is all too common, you showing how to address it is quite commendable. Great job!

 

* If you wanted to add a little more detail to the rotors you could do what I do when the kit rotors are just lacking, take a small washer (the right size needed) and spin it on a drill while "cutting" the surface with a file...this machine the surface. Then, just cut off the caliper from another disc setup (Tamiya, Fujimi, etc) and glue on to the rotor.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Kennyboy

[MrObsessive]

* If you wanted to add a little more detail to the rotors you could do what I do when the kit rotors are just lacking, take a small washer (the right size needed) and spin it on a drill while "cutting" the surface with a file...this machine the surface. Then, just cut off the caliper from another disc setup (Tamiya, Fujimi, etc) and glue on to the rotor.

Thanks for the tip Ken! I'm going to keep this one as strictly to box stock as I can. Just in case I ever enter it into a contest in the box stock category, there won't be any drama regarding those outsourced rotors as you mentioned. 

Also, the wheels have quite a busy design, to the point that cutting out the inside portion of those inner wheels, the rotors still aren't seen all that much from the outside. This is one build I'd like to employ the K.I.S.S. method to a T!

Hey Bill,

Guess what I saw today. An actual in the flesh BMW 850i. It was a dark blue car. I was doing 30 m.p.h. and saw it out of the corner of my eye. I plan to get photos of it. in a few days. Hit me off the board if you need some details.

Ron, if you can PM me later on I'd like to get some pics of the inside of the trunk if possible. The trunk hinges aren't exactly correct per the 1:1, but once again since this is box stock, I can't really change 'em. I'd like to see what colors were used as far as materials though..........barring that I'll just wing it per the instructions.

BTW, check your PM's as there's something else I wanted to mention to you................

 

[Harry P.]

Isn't cutting up the wheels going beyond the "box stock" category?

[MrObsessive]

Isn't cutting up the wheels going beyond the "box stock" category?

I always thought of going beyond box stock was adding parts that didn't exist, not taking something away. For example, there's door sill trim that's missing and I thought about adding it. Someone mentioned to me at the NNL East that doing that wouldn't be considered box stock as that trim piece is not included in the kit. 

Removing material to make something fit better I don't think goes against the rules, but then what about folks who add flocking? Wouldn't that be considered something along the lines as a paint job? Same goes for BMF.........

Box stock is somewhat foreign to me as I seldom if ever build this way, but I want to get away from overcomplicateditis for a spell-------at least for this one particular WIP!

[Harry P.]

Don't know, Bill. I just assumed that modifying kit parts as extensively as you have done with the wheels would disqualify a model from "box stock" status... just as if you had used parts box wheels, for instance. I don't really know... the rules for "box stock" vary from contest to contest.

[MrObsessive]

Don't know, Bill. I just assumed that modifying kit parts as extensively as you have done with the wheels would disqualify a model from "box stock" status... just as if you had used parts box wheels, for instance. I don't really know... the rules for "box stock" vary from contest to contest.

True, some contests can be very lenient while others are quite strict. Nevertheless, I'm not really building this for any particular contest per se, just something for me to clear out the cobwebs while I gear up for my next MAJOR build.

 

[martinfan5]

 

The reason this kit is constantly rising in cost is RevellAG forever changed the molds when they made the Convertible version.  So there's never gonna be another made unless they were to go do some substantial retooling. 

 

So that make this a rare kit indeed now. 

[MrObsessive]

So that make this a rare kit indeed now. 

Yup! There are a few on eBay and yes, all of them are in the three figures. It's one of the reasons I jumped on this one I'm building lickety-split-----windshield pillar damage notwithstanding. I didn't want to touch the unbuilt kits I have just yet, and this presented the perfect opportunity to give this one a good home, fix the damage and get 'er built.

Well, the chassis buildup is all done save for the wheels. I'll wait till the interior's done and just before I'm ready to paint the body, I'll get the wheels all painted and fixed up. Once again, I don't want any surprises as things get closer to getting done. So far, this WIP has been pretty much trouble free. There are 41 steps in the instruction booklet, and I'm already up to step 20-21. 

That's kind of a record for me as I seldom work that quickly. I'll do some touch-up work that I can see needs done and then the engine bay stuff is next, and then it's on to the interior.

[martinfan5]

The chassis looks nice,  good job.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Love it superclean.

[Oldmodelmaker]

Bill, fantastic detail on the chassis. How do you get the little silver lines painted, toothpicks?

[MrObsessive]

Bill, fantastic detail on the chassis. How do you get the little silver lines painted, toothpicks?

 No, a 5-0 brush and a very steady hand! I tried those Sharpie silver pens, and all they did was make a mess! So I resorted to the best way I know how-----anchor my wrist against the table, and steady as she goes.

As I type this, I've run into a snag with the front wheels. Seems as though the front struts are preventing the wheels and tires from going inside the fenders (or at least even) like I have the rears.

Soooo---------I'm gonna have to resort to some fancy footwork to make those wheels fit! I'm going to have to break out my Dremel Moto-Tool, and some grinding will be in order to force 'em.

Sigh..........things were going well up to this point, but it explains the way-too-far-out appearance of the wheels on the Alpina BMW 850i kit I also have. The stance is simply not correct for this car and I intend to fix it!

[djmcguire]

What is the copper color you used on the exhaust?

[Oldmodelmaker]

Thanks Bill

[MrObsessive]

What is the copper color you used on the exhaust?

 

The instructions call for Tamiya XF-6 Copper. I used that as I'm staying mostly by the book (except for the wheel fitment) as much as possible. Normally, I go with what looks right, but in this case I'm gonna follow the "rules" with this one. I may even clearcoat it in their X-22 which is quite good BTW as it dries rock hard when fully cured.  

Interesting enough, when it came time to do the wheel spindles and tie rods, the original Revell of Germany instructions (the Alpina kit I have is ROG) tells you to heat swage the tips so that the tie rods will stay on.

Tamiya's instructions don't mention this, but I can tell you that this is a MUST! The first turn of the steering and they're gonna pop off! I did that with a candle and an Exacto blade, so that's one surprise I won't have.

[MrObsessive]

Well, I was hoping that this particular WIP would be drama free, but that was too much to hope for. I FINALLY got the interior done, but not without some issues as far as how it'll fit into the body. It's one of the reasons why I'll keep shouting from the mountaintops-----especially to new builders..............

NEVER PAINT YOUR BODY UNTIL YOU KNOW EVERYTHING WILL FIT INSIDE FIRST!!

This was reinforced as you'll see in a second but on to some pics.......

One change I made from the the color scheme mentioned in the instructions is that Tamiya says that the carpeting should be XF-63 German Grey. Well, with the seats and whatnot paint in their Sky Grey, that's just too much grey for me, and I decided to use black embossing powder instead. If one is paying $90,000+ for a car like this back in the early '90's, they oughta be able to get their carpeting in whatever color they wish, no?

Here's where some of the drama was starting to come in to play with test fitting the interior into the body.........I have to say that this will be a VERY TIGHT FIT. Revell of Germany made some quite tight tolerances in how everything is literally jam packed inside the body. One of my complaints is that they want you to glue the chassis onto the floor pan, and then put the whole works in the body.

NO! This leads to the interior being askew, and the door panels sitting waaaay to high above the doors themselves, I'm going to make my own positive "stops" for the interior (sorta what John Goschke is doing with his '58 Chevy), and this'll fix the interior from sitting too high above where it should.

Here are a few pics to illiustrate...........

You can see in the above pic that the inner fender of the chassis is very slightly aft of the wheelwell in the body. When I initially test fitted this, it was more tucked in. This might be due to where the dash is butting against the firewall header and has no more room to go forward.

I decided to test fit one of the wheels to make sure that they're not going to stick out too far after dealing with all of this.......

Looks good----so far.........the seats seem to sit "tall" but I'm not going to fret over that.

I don't like the looks of those quarter windows AT ALL! I'm going to be rogue here and cut those away. They're distorted and spoil the lines of what to me is one of BMW's nicest rooflines------especially in true hardtop form.

The rest of the glass I'll have to live with. It's also a bit more distorted than I'd like, but since I'm trying to make this build as pain free as possible, I won't hassle with molding new glass and whatnot. My deadline to get all of this done is within the next couple months. I want to get started on the next one ya know!

Underneath, things look OK but I may add some plastic strip on the rockers to tighten things up before I paint. I hate large see-through gaps on models! 

OK, now it's on to test fitting the rest of the body panels, get a feel for how to attach those with more positive locations, and then it's on to paint! Hopefully all of this can be painted and polished in the next couple weeks.

Thanks for tuning in!

Edited June 1, 2016 by MrObsessive
Picture missing

[Ron Hamilton]

Looking good so far Bill.

I did go and look at the one-on one 850i after the NNL, and unfortunately, the lot was closed, and I could not get into the car, but I looked it over, and while it is a used car, it is in decent shape. It is Dark Blue, with a Beige interior. A little bland for my tastes, but none the less, a nice car.  The hood as a black rubber weather strip on its leading edge, I guess to aid in engine compartment sealing and aerodynamics. It looks like a sunroof gasket, about 3/8" thick and 1/8" proud of the hood. It's kind of strange to me, and I am not going to sweat it on my build. I took a few photos of the car. For some strange reason when I take photos with my phone, I have a problem with Photobucket as it acts as if the pictures has a virus in them, so I am not downloading them for now. I am going back to my camera until I can get things sorted out.

I have a couple of projects ahead of this one, but looking at yours may move it up in the queue.

[MrObsessive]

Thanks Ron! I'm not going to worry about that gasket either. If anything, I may paint the leading edge of the hood black to represent it, or just leave it alone. 

No pics yet as I'm getting ready for work, but I did get the quarter windows cut out. Looks better already! Considering the age of the tooling, I can't fault Revell for how they did the windows------------I just can't stand distorted glass. The front and rear glass isn't too bad...........the side windows and how they were molded just flat out didn't look right.

I suspect whoever did the box art for Tamiya, left a lot out of the car to get it to sit the way it does. I had to take out the upper springs in the front struts to get the wheels to tuck in further. My main goal is to get the car to sit properly and not sit up too high. That's just not the character of the car.

[slusher]

Beautiful chassis detail Bill. 

[MrObsessive]

Well, with the humidity taking a breather here in the area for the time being, I thought it would be good to try to get some painting in today. 

I got the body and its other parts in primer now. My primer of choice is Plastikote Sandable Primer T-235 which is all but impossible to get locally anymore. I get my cans off eBay or Amazon lately in that I hate traipsing all over creation to have to find it. 

What I like best about it is that it airbrushes beautifully, dries fast, and sands down very well.

Since there's an opening hood and trunk I needed to paint the inside areas first. I'll lay the trunk in its opening so that it and the hood can be all color coated at the same time. I'll need to tape the headlight doors somewhere on the body as well so they can be painted too. Metallic colors can be a bit tricky as you want the metallic flakes to be in a uniform direction on the body. 

I like to spray in a criss-cross pattern so that the flakes are uniform across the entire body and not in splotches or patches.

Same as I did for the trunk..............The flakes are still a little bit big for my tastes, but this'll do. When it comes time for final clearcoating, I may tint the clear somewhat to blunt the metallic flakes. Tamiya Clear X-22 is my clear of choice as if I happen to mess up, Windex or some other ammonia based liquid will take it right off without hurting the paint.

As with anything, I do everything in stages. I'll let this sit for at least a day or so, then I'll semi-attach everything and get it all color coated at once. A couple weeks may go by and then I'll clear coat the whole works. Then when the whole works is dry, it'll get wet sanded and rubbed out. 

In the meantime while the paint is drying thoroughly, I may start on the bodywork of my next WIP. More than likely, this next WIP will take me through the end of the year and beyond. LOTS will be involved with that one............I want to make sure the body lines are as close to the 1:1 as possible. 

Thanks for lookin' folks!  

[MrObsessive]

OK folks, not a lot to report this time around......just finally got 'er painted up and sitting quietly gassing out. Maybe over the weekend, I'll clearcoat the whole works, and while that's drying (I may stick it in the dehydrator to speed things up), I'll get started on my next WIP.

Here she is......................

I have to say, it's nice to be able to get to this point so quickly! It's been quite some time since I went from just starting on a model, to getting it painted!  Hopefully, this'll all be done in within the next month, and I can get moving on the next WIP in earnest. That one will take quite a bit of time from start to finish, and I can safely say that it'll be this time next year, and still may be working on it.

Thanks for tuning in!