First Build: AMT Baldwin Motion Camaro

[drive4th]

Hi all! New member on the forums here, but been lurking for a couple of weeks checking out all the great work I did an intro thread already, but to summarize, this is the first model i've built since i was 10. Learned a lot from the posts here and decided it to give it a full go with the AMT 1970 Baldwin Motion Camaro!

I've always loved the look of this car, but not a huge fan of the green color. So i plan to build it OOB and try a different direction with the paint job. I bought this just after Christmas and got straight to work, but i didnt realize how much time it takes to have everything prepped and have all your supplies ready. After some obvious delays, i finally got started.

Didnt take any before pics but it was straight out of the box anyway, typical white mold and some chrome pieces. I didn't want any chrome on this biuld so i stripped it all and then got onto the engine assembly.

The engine build was pretty straight forward, then i moved onto the chassis and interior. At this point, i wasn't sure what color i was going to paint the body, so i played it safe and went with a gloss black interior, i figured that would look fine with any color of paint. Chassis was painted flat black. Boring i know, but had to start somewhere

We're about a week into the build here, working only an hour or so a night. Finally got the chassis set up and moved onto the body. AFter banging my head against the wall to find just the right color, i had a revelation. My wife's digital camera is this fantastic 'satin red' that shimmers just right in the light and is a deep red otherwsie. I thought that would look cool on the sleek body and decided to paint the trim [bumpers, etc] flat black to contrast it. I must have gone to 4 different hobby shops in my area with the camera in hand trying to compare but it was extremely difficult to tell how the color would look paint on plastic. After some research online of different colors, i found some pics that look like what i wanted and traced it back to Testors Red Metal Flake laquer (spray)! So i got a can and went to work, sprayed 2 light coats of the Red Metal Flake and did a side by side comparison of the car and the camera. What do you guys think?

[drive4th]

Right up front i noticed the red metal flake has a glossy finish and doesn't quite give me that satin look i was going for. Any of you paint experts out there have any suggestions for a satin finish? I saw a can of Krylon spray 'Satin Finish' that supposedly works on plastic but i dunno how good that would work on this. Anyone used it before?

looking over the body i noticed some orange peel and some rough spots so i wet sanded it with 200 - 600 grit and sprayed another 2 coats of red metal flake. Waiting on it to dry now before final inspection and assembly on the chassis. More pics to come! In the mean time, all comments and tips are welcome, thanks for looking.

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[johnbuzzed]

It looks like your light coats might have been not as light as you think.. Also, it's not a good idea to sand a heavier metalflake such as the Testors One Coat lacquers. It can smooth out the finely ground particles that are in the paint to yield the sparkly, glittery 'flake look. You might be able to give it another light coat or two to bring back the 'flake look on the roof. If it were mine, I would probably strip it and start again. Time consuming, but no harm done. Testors also makes clear finishes in the form of Dullcote, Glosscote and a semi-gloss, too. You might want to experiment with them to see if one of them would yield the satin finish that you want. Many people here will use disposable, white plastic spoons as test surfaces. Spray the color, allow to dry, then spray one of the clear finishes; let it dry and check the results.

I have two questions: Did you wash the body prior to painting? Also, did you have the body on a stand of some sort when you painted, or as it is, on that flat surface?

[drive4th]

Hi John thanks for the response. To answer your questions:

1. I DID wash the body prior to painting, but i dont think i did a good job of it. I noticed that after washing some parts felt smoother and others grittier [if that makes sense] but i wasn't sure what to make of that. One of the threads i read on here suggested washing in soap and water then scrubbing with a toothbrush. I didn't see that though til after i sprayed the paint. Guess i got ahead of myself.

2. The first coats i sprayed on a flat surface, and i see now that was a bad idea as the underside is scored and gunky. For the two re-sprays i did last night i put it on a stand.

It's a great tip you gave on not sanding metal flake, i didn't even think of that, so good to know! i'll be more careful about it in the future, but then how would you get rid of orange peel in a metal flake paint??

I did buy a can of Dullcoat, but was weary of spraying it and ruining the whole paint job. Good idea with using plastic spoons, seems so obvious now haha! Will give that a shot as well, thanks for the tips, keep 'em coming!

Edited January 12, 2015 by drive4th

[TonyR]

I love the look of the Testors Red Metal Flake - I've sprayed a 55 Ford Pickup with it, and have an extra can that I'm dying to use on a car!! I found it difficult to spray light enough coats with and ended up with a couple runs.

[ferrari87]

Hi John thanks for the response. To answer your questions:

1. I DID wash the body prior to painting, but i dont think i did a good job of it. I noticed that after washing some parts felt smoother and others grittier [if that makes sense] but i wasn't sure what to make of that. One of the threads i read on here suggested washing in soap and water then scrubbing with a toothbrush. I didn't see that though til after i sprayed the paint. Guess i got ahead of myself.

2. The first coats i sprayed on a flat surface, and i see now that was a bad idea as the underside is scored and gunky. For the two re-sprays i did last night i put it on a stand.

Prep your model first. When you pull it out of the box inspect it for nicks, scratches, and flash. Then wash the car in a large tupperware container with Dawn dish soap. This will rid the car of 1. the oils used to release the body from the mold. 2. the oils from our own hands. Then rinse the car off and using a light grit sandpaper, wet-sand the body until the "shine" on the plastic is gone. That will give the primer a "tooth" to adhere to. A toothbrush helps get into the panel lines.

Use an old spray can, they are usually a good diameter to fit inside the car body. Use doubled over tape on the lid to hold the car onto the spray can lid. Personally, I spray the underside of the car first (the part of the car that would sit on a flat surface, the underside of the bumper, the underside of the rocker panels).

I don't think there's anything you can do for orange peel in a metallic paint. Someone way more experienced than I will have to walk you through that process.

[drive4th]

Good tips on prepping the body, will certainly do that next time. I inspected the latest coats of paint and it turned out alright. I say 'alright' because even tho the paint is even and sparkly, you can vaguely see the suff marks from where i sanded it :/ it's very faint but i can see it, maybe because i know it's therebut either way lesson learned: DON'T sand metal flake paint! Will post pics tonight. Thanks guys

[espo]

Another thought on a base for spraying your car body. Without investing in a paint stand, you can get the same results by using a coat hanger. It takes a little bending but it will give you the ability to spray into the underside without much trouble. I did it that way for years and it worked well for me.

[Draggon]

If your really after a satin finish, there are several options. I think dullcoat might make the paint take on an anodized look like your camera, but I'm not certain. Duplicolor sparyed out of the can will not be very glossy when it dries. The teal 34 Ford below shows how it looks with no clear or polish. The one with the shading is Testors Aztec acrylic, more satin than Duplicolor, but its only in bottles so it needs to be airbrushed.

[microwheel]

Hi John, you picked a nice subject to work on. I just finished up one of these AMT Baldwin motion kits myself not to long ago. As far as metallic paints go, if you want to be able to wet sand them out without having all the issues, I'll tell you what I usually do. Some on here may have better ideas, but it works for me.. I usually give any model I paint in a metallic color a few coats of clear coat paint after the base metallic sets up for 24 hours.. this allows you to wet sand the clear coat to get rid of the orange peel and gives a great shine without damaging the metallic.

As for a make shift paint stand.. Im old school and use empty spay paint cans and even a small block of 2x4, both allow the body to fit over them and using the rolled masking tape described by Justin above. And also as described above, paint the undersides of everything first.

Nice progress so far.

Jim

[drive4th]

Jim - thanks for the tip on sanding the clear coats, i'll experiment with that one. And i did end up using an old spray can as a stand ha! it worked like a charm

Glenn - that teal is closer to the satin finish i was going for. The camera is a 'flat red' color, but it has a satin finish, i dunno how else to describe it haha. It has an almost 'pearl effect' shimmer to it, but if no light hits it it looks like 'flat red'. Canon must have just molded the plastic that way i dunno. i must have spent hours searching for colors that might be a close match but there is nothing in that color in a satin finish that i could find anywhere. I figured i'd have to 'create' the effect myself using a close color and then applying the satin finish.

the color of the red metal flake is spot on i think, but the metal flake does add more sparkle than i was looking for. so i figured a dull coat or a satin spray might be what i need but im afraid i'll end up with dull sparkles rather than a satin red?? we'll see, if it's a disaster i'll strip the whole thing and just get a red and a dullcoat.

[ferrari87]

John, here are a few videos to help out: prep, paint, wetsanding

Just as a helpful tip, two coats should not have the coverage that you have right now. After two coats, you should still see some primer. As for your issue on the roof, look into buying Novus 1 and 2. Among many other products, that system will help you buff out scratches from sanding. I don't know how your model looks now but i'm sure it something you can live with. You have to start somewhere

[drive4th]

wow these are really great tips guys, thanks Justin for the recommendations! So here's an update, some good and bad news:

So the Good news is that the paint job turned out alright. I lightly buffed the paint and the scuffs are hardly visible now. The light has to hit it just right and you really have to look for them to see them, so i'm ok with that for now. I also now see that you guys are right and those 'light coats' ran a little thicker than it seemed. It's so heavy in some places they've completely covered some details and body seams. I'll have to think it out. At least the orange peel is gone.. Who knew painting was so tricky?

Now for the bad news. After a quick polish, i wanted to test fit the body over the chassis to make sure it all fit correctly. Well, it didn't. Im not sure if all that paint 'shrunk' the body or what but it just will NOT go over the chassis and interior tub like it did before. I test fit it a few times before pint to make sure everything lined up and it fit like a glove. Now it just wont budge!

So i put a little extra elbow grease into it and tried to be as careful as possible but it popped out of my hands and onto the table and it knocked a wheel + spindle off, scraping the paint on the rocker panel in the process.. d'oh!!

So im pretty steamed about it but it's my own fault, and im too tired to deal with it tonight. Gonna get to it tomorrow with fresh eyes. i can touch up the paint, and hopefully re-glue that wheel but now i'm afraid it wont sit correctly. Im going to inspect it thoroughly to make sure nothing else broke or relocated during the drop.

To end the night on a positive note, i thought the wheels looked a little bland so i painted the spokes just to change it up a bit. Hopefully they'll look alright with the red body. i'm going to add all the glass and trim before i place the body again, just in case it doesn't come back off we'll try again tomorrow, peace

Edited January 14, 2015 by drive4th

[drive4th]

tried to test fit again this morning before work and it wasn't any better. left it alone before i made it worse and instead just cleaned up a few details. Will have to spend more time with it and maybe make some cuts to get the body to slide over the chassis. oh boy..

[ferrari87]

The body didnt shrink, the paint made it grow. I havent built a Baldwin Motion Camaro and I don't know where the hang up is that is preventing the body from fitting over the chassis. You'll have to figure that out on your own. Those rims look pretty cool like that! Do some searching on here, a Baldwin Camaro was just finished up and it looks truly fantastic. Follow what the author did and you'll learn a ton, he's a phenomenal modeler.

[drive4th]

so lloking it over, seems the hang up is on the rear quarter panels, where the body mates up to the rear fascia. For some reason the body does not want to flex enough to get around the rear section of the chassis. If i slide the rear in first, then the front section wont flex. I dunno what i did but i think the quick n dirty fix is to shave off a bit of the rear chassis section so the body can slide over it nicely. Will work on this over the next couple of days and post pics soon. Thanks for all the advise guys

[drive4th]

Alrighty, after about a week of neglect and and a few disappointments i have an update. First the explanation:

I managed to finish adding the exterior trim and have been working to get the body onto the chassis.

I tried several attempts to get the body onto the chassis and it just wouldn't budge. For some reason the body doesnt seem to want to flex enough to slide over the interior tub.. or maybe the tub leans out too far, i dunno. i also realized that i should have place the body on the chassies BEFORE i glued in the front and rear valences :/ the instructions show what pieces go together but doesnt give any guidance on what ORDER they should go together. Ah well live and learn.

So i got a little annoyed and tried to muscle it onto the chassis. Bad idea. In all the man-handling picese started popping off or bending! The paint got a few good scratches and muddied with fingerprints, i put a slight crack in the front windshield and knocked off the rear spoiler, the OTHER front wheel and parts of the rear suspension and chassis came unglued!!! arrrrgghhh!!!!

No one to blame but myself, however i DID manage to get the body onto the chassis in about 98% the correct position. I say 98% because the pins under the body should fit nicely into some holes on the chassis where i should be able to glue it together, except that the pins are forward JUST a smidge and wont go in properly. And now, the body is permanently staying where it is and has no intention of moving back 2 millimeters so i can slide in the pins. Also, the rear wheels don't sit quite right in the wheel wells, that may be due to the unglued rear suspension bits. Here are the pics to go along with the story..

The body as it was before the mayhem

Here is the chassis before the merge:

This is when the fun began..

The following pics are of the aftermath of forcing the body onto the chassis :/ At first, i realized that i should have placed the body on before the rear valence. Bu i thought i could cheat fit it by cutting off a little of the rear chassis pan to allow the rear of the body to slide over. While this DID work, it just led to other headaches..

continued in next post..

[drive4th]

And this is how the body sits now.. it's final resting place apparently.

You can see the rear tires almost rubbing up against the back side of the wheel well, and obviously the missing wheel and spindle on the driver side front. Here is the damage from the bottom.

This is the pin i'm talking about and an arrow showing where it SHOULD be.

So.. i'm open to ideas for fixing this but at the moment i've decided to leave it where it is rather than risk making MORE damage trying to take it off and replacing the body again. I know i know it's a lame way to build a model, but gimme a break it's my first time and i think the real reward is the knowledge i've gained from this experience I'll certainly be more aware of these hazards building my next one, and it's already in the mail!

From here i'll [attempt] to repair the damage, the wheels and regluing whatever parts came unglued. I'll finihs up the front fascia and trim and do my best to polish up the pain and any last minute details. I'm going to keep this model as a Base so i can compare my progress in building and also as a reminder to watch the little things!

Will post up the final pics soon, cheers!

[ZTony8]

Best advice-buy another kit.Chalk up this one to experience and start fresh.

The finished model does tend to sit a bit high.Mine sits the same way(though my chassis lined up properly).If you want the front end lower flip the spindles upside down.

It looks like you used Testor enamel for your red metalflake,That stuff is notorious for pulling away from panel lines and spraying on thicker than you think it does(even when trying to spray lightly).Next time try using one of the model lacquers.Tamiya sprays on thinner than Testor One Coat(not one coat).

Try sanding the body before you apply the paint.This should help prevent the paint from pulling away from the panel lines.

[Belugawrx]

It looks to me like the rad is leaning slightly forward stopping the body from moving back...

You might also check the interior tub assembly and firewall joint....

Are those the kit rear tires?.... if so they may need to be snugged up to the spindle ends,....

They seem to have some camber to them (angled outwards).....

I always dry fit all assemblies to find these problems,..before painting the body.

It's only plastic....

[drive4th]

hey guys thanks for the replies.

Tony: you're spot on with the Testor's spray paint, i realize now how thick the paint is laid on and it looks it. Never used Testors spray before so it's all in the learning!

Bruce: The radiator is leaning a bit forward but it's the body/inner wheel wells that are 'pushing' it over because it comes too far forward. the firewall sits right over the trans bell housing. These are the rear tires that came in the kit and they got jerked about in trying to put the body on, so yeah they have way too much camber at this point haha.

i'm with you guys, have to chock this one up to being a noob and try again. Man everything was going so well i thought.. but you're right. It's only plastic. I'll finish up this one and try again. Will post up pics of the final product just for closure, thanks for the advise guys!

[rv1963]

Hang in there John, I think many of us had these kinds of problems when we first started I know I did.

[ferrari87]

Keep your head up John! I just suffered a loss during my recent DBS build. Your next build will be much better!

[drive4th]

OK! So i'm basically done with the camaro! i managed to put it back together and it isn't terrible.. but it's not great either haha! I'm actually surprised i got it back together as well as i did, so im happy to take it as is. All that's left is a few detail touch ups, place the side view mirrors and give it a polish. Once i clean that up i'll post it in the Under Glass forum for all to marvel This is where it is now

Thanks again to all for the great advice! I'm already anxious to get started on my next model and apply all ive learned but i think i need to take a slower approach

[ferrari87]

Doesnt look too shabby! Good job following this one through. We all learn along the way, some builds go well, some go horribly wrong. You'll develop a method to everything. Some people like to prep and paint the body first, let it gas out throughout their build, then assemble. Others are opposite, they build from chassis to interior to body. As far as painting goes, its all practice and experience. You never know how a new paint will spray until you use it. The Camaro looks good! Can't wait to see your next build!