AMT '53 Studebaker Starliner

[rightrudder]

Spoon test! These are all Tamiya rattle-can Mica Red, TS-39, applied over the following:

• Left: Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500, black. Not the effect I was going for, but interesting!
• Center: Bare plastic. Nice, but a little too bright, and kind of a matte appearance.
• Right: Tamiya Fine Surface Primer, light gray. I love it!! Just a shade darker, and man, does it go on smooth. This will really pop after clear coat.

I didn't realize that this paint was a very fine metallic, only noticeable in bright sun, but it'll be great for the Starliner.

Now, just waiting on shipment with the putty...

 

[rightrudder]

Here's the car I'm using for reference. I just wish the kit had wide whitewalls... ?

[Bronzekeg]

nice color choice, looking better all the time!

[rightrudder]

1 hour ago, Bronzekeg said:

nice color choice, looking better all the time!

Thx! Itching to lay some color on.

[slusher]

The red over grey primer has a real nice shine…

[rightrudder]

11 hours ago, slusher said:

The red over grey primer has a real nice shine…

Yeah, I was surprised at the gloss...almost looks like it's clear-coated already. I think I found my new favorite primer!

[mrm]

19 hours ago, rightrudder said:

Spoon test! These are all Tamiya rattle-can Mica Red, TS-39, applied over the following:

• Left: Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500, black. Not the effect I was going for, but interesting!
• Center: Bare plastic. Nice, but a little too bright, and kind of a matte appearance.
• Right: Tamiya Fine Surface Primer, light gray. I love it!! Just a shade darker, and man, does it go on smooth. This will really pop after clear coat.

I didn't realize that this paint was a very fine metallic, only noticeable in bright sun, but it'll be great for the Starliner.

Now, just waiting on shipment with the putty...

 

Just as a future reference, any color that ha ‘Mica” in its name is a metallic. If you really want this red to “pop”, you should try spraying it over gold. 

[rightrudder]

1 hour ago, mrm said:

Just as a future reference, any color that ha ‘Mica” in its name is a metallic. If you really want this red to “pop”, you should try spraying it over gold. 

Thanks for that, Michael. Will definitely try it over gold sometime...Mica over Inca? ?

[mrm]

17 minutes ago, rightrudder said:

Thanks for that, Michael. Will definitely try it over gold sometime...Mica over Inca? ?

I would go over testors pure gold. Inca is too lime-y. Tamiya’s Mica would work too, but not as dramatic 

[espo]

There are other kits out there with white wall tires use could use if that's what you're wanting. Nice looking paint color and finish. 

[rightrudder]

57 minutes ago, espo said:

There are other kits out there with white wall tires use could use if that's what you're wanting. Nice looking paint color and finish. 

Thx! I guess the skinny whitewalls don't bug me to the point of chasing down another set.

[rightrudder]

Got some putty...geez, this stuff really stinks! Good ventilation a must.

Getting close to painting; I think I'll prime this afternoon and shoot color tomorrow.

I shimmed the front bumper down with some styrene stock. 0.5mm seems just about right. Rear bumper fits perfectly.

 

[lordairgtar]

On 2/7/2022 at 5:02 PM, rightrudder said:

Here's the car I'm using for reference. I just wish the kit had wide whitewalls... ?

White latex paint (house paint) will do a great job making your whitewalls.

[rightrudder]

5 hours ago, lordairgtar said:

White latex paint (house paint) will do a great job making your whitewalls.

Thanks for that tip, Gregg. I will have to experiment with that.

Shot the exterior paint, and it's not quite what I expected. It looked better on the spoon! The red is a little brassy, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. The paint went on ultra smooth (Tamiya acrylic white for the roof, Tamiya rattle-can Mica Red lacquer for the body, both over Tamiya light gray primer). Impatience got the better of me and I masked the roof while the paint wasn't fully cured, so it had some tape imprints. Fortunately, it looks better now after color sanding with 2000 grit.

I'm so pleased with the gloss that I'll forgo the clear coat on this one.

 

 

 

[TransAmMike]

Well Douglas, sure looks good to me. I like the red.

[rightrudder]

1 hour ago, TransAmMike said:

Well Douglas, sure looks good to me. I like the red.

Thx, Mike! We're fortunate out west to have great painting weather right now. 90 degrees in February...crazy.

[Bronzekeg]

looks great in that red and white.

[rightrudder]

16 minutes ago, Bronzekeg said:

looks great in that red and white.

Thanks!

 The part line for the colors looks high on the pillar, but that's the way Studebaker did it. I'll put a little strip of BMF there to clean it up.

[bisc63]

Very nice color, I like how the red came out!

[rightrudder]

42 minutes ago, bisc63 said:

Very nice color, I like how the red came out!

Thx! I was hoping for something a little more on the maroon side, but this color is growing on me.

[gman]

54 minutes ago, rightrudder said:

Thx! I was hoping for something a little more on the maroon side, but this color is growing on me.

Well, when it comes time to use Mica Red again, try it over Tamiya's new(ish) red oxide primer to get a more maroon metallic tone. As you can tell with your spoon tests, the undercoat does affect how this semi-transparent paint looks in the end. 

'Stude looks great BTW. I wouldn't change a thing.

[Bugatti Fan]

That Studebaker is a lovely looking car and very European in styling considering it was built during the Chrome and Fins era in the US. One of the nicest looking American cars to my eyes, and this kit build is looking really good.

[David G.]

Beautiful work on this so far.

David G.

[misternemo]

If you want wider whitewalls that will fit the stock kit rims without any modification,use the set from the Lindberg 53 Ford kit. 

[rightrudder]

9 hours ago, gman said:

Well, when it comes time to use Mica Red again, try it over Tamiya's new(ish) red oxide primer to get a more maroon metallic tone. As you can tell with your spoon tests, the undercoat does affect how this semi-transparent paint looks in the end. 

'Stude looks great BTW. I wouldn't change a thing.

Thanks! I didn't know that primer existed. It'll give it a whirl next time.

Noel and David, thank you for the kind words. I totally agree that the Starliner moved the needle on sophisticated American styling in a big way.

25 minutes ago, misternemo said:

If you want wider whitewalls that will fit the stock kit rims without any modification,use the set from the Lindberg 53 Ford kit. 

Those are great, Ryan. I think I'll use the kit tires for now and maybe chase some of these down later.

 

Gotta re-spray the roof! I did some color sanding and was trying to be careful, but I cut into the primer. Easy fix, and then I'll get into the dreaded foil work. After that, it shouldn't take long to complete, as I've got most of the other parts prepped and ready to assemble.