Nacho Z

Now here is something very interesting. I had already completed my decal recovery project when Tim posted this post for me. Check this out! In the pictures of the #21 car, (right under the driver's picture), that placard sure as heck looks like it is split to me. Split in a couple of places!! I should have left my decal as it was...lol.

On to the decals. Disaster has struck!! Please keep in mind that this kit simply is just about impossible to find. I don't believe there are any type of aftermarket decals for this livery. You get one shot and I blew it! I will do a new post because I have a few pictures to share. Here is what happened. I consider myself pretty darn good at laying decals. I have done a lot of race cars and have had a lot of practice. One thing is for sure, you can only do so much with compound curves. I knew this one was going to be tough. I laid the placard decal down and had four very small folds. I could have, (should have), left it, but no, I had to try to make it perfect. I use setting solutions. I hate to try to cut / slit decals. I just don't like doing it. I applied heat and the decal settled in pretty well but not perfect. The more I messed with it the worse it got. I finally said to myself, I would rather not have it on there than to have it on there and be wrinkled. I tried to remove it but the setting solutions and heat basically melted it to the paint. I could only get small pieces off! Now what?!?! I left it for a day or two. I had one placard left that I had not put on let. The only problem was it was a fender decal and it had a cut out for the wheel well. Long story short; I took a picture of it, sent it to my son who removed the background and filled in the missing white and border. He then sent it back. I found a free Photoshop type program called GIMP. I downloaded it and learned the very basics of how to use it. I fixed a few minor issues with the image and figured out the size I needed to print it to cover up the original decal. I also ordered several brands of white decal paper. I watched a number of YouTube tutorials on how to make your own decals. I finally got it figure out. Printed a few extra decals to practice with before doing the Ferrari. Anyhow, here are the pictures to help explain what I did. The photo of the decal we used to make the replacement. The end result of Photoshop and GIMP work. I used a white gel pen to fill in as much white as I could and then laid down a plain white decal over the original decal as a base. And then I laid down the homemade decal. There is just the tiniest wrinkle in the decal and I can live with that!

I just don't understand...lol. This picture belongs to the post about three posts up.

Thanks! What is so weird is that if I try reposting, after several tries, I kind of get locked out of the website. It just won't load. I have to wait for an hour or two before I can even get back on. Let's see if this loads from my phone.

Time for another update on the Ferrari F430 Challenge. I have spent a great deal of time laying down the decals. There are a lot of them! There are a number of decals that go over the top of other decals so I had to be methodical in order that I put them on. In between decaling sessions I had to do some work to get the body to fit on the chassis / interior / engine compartment. I'm not sure what went wrong but it hit on the back of the roll cage and the front of the engine compartment. I believe it has a slight bow in the chassis plate. Lots of sanding and test fitting. Here is a shot of the rolling chassis. The engine compartment is just sitting there, it is not glued down. Here we go again, the dreaded 404 error. I cannot post pics.....

Geez, Paul, that is gorgeous! You really have an eye for making the most out of your models.

Such a great looking model! Your photos really show it off!

Once again Dann, thanks for taking the time to explain how you fill scratches. I have used super glue for some time now. I usually, but not always, hit it with accelerator. For me, the trick is to NOT wait too long before you start sanding the super glue. It may be my imagination, but I think the super glue gets harder the longer it sets. If for some reason I let it sit overnight, it is hard as heck to sand the next day.

Holy carp, Bill, it is good to have you back!! I for one appreciate you, brother. You and I have a lot in common on many levels. Several years ago, I sent you a PM more or less stating this same sentiment. As is the popular saying these days, You keep doing you! Welcome back!

That engine......WOW!

I never get tired of seeing these Hudsons. This is a beautiful example of why. Very nice!

Nice!

Man, that is looking good! I really like that color combination. I think it looks good on it. Nice work so far.

Our Ollies in North Central WV has almost the same kits as what James just showed. We have a few less. An employee told me they would be getting more toys in due to the buyout of Toys R Us, (I know, no models). She also said she thought there would be more models.

That is a very cool build, Dave! I really like it.

You, Sir, are my hero!!!!! I kid you not, I have spent hours looking for pictures of this car. I never that to check Instagram. I did Google Dario and F430 but kept getting 458 pics. Honestly, I never thought to search for the sponsor, I'm not sure why?!?! I truly appreciate you doing this. I hope you didn't spend too much of your time, but wow, thank you!

Looking very nice so far!

There are soooo many cool liveries! This is why I am a race car builder! I love all of the color and clever paint schemes. There are just too many for me to list so I will show just a couple of the ones I have built. I have the LeMans Miniature resin kit of the Crocodile car. It is going to be built sooner than later. I think this one ranks up there on my list. I like how Eddie Jordan got around the tobacco ban with his Bitten & Hisses and Buzzin Hornets...lol.

Love those old Zs, (and the new ones too...lol). You have done a fantastic job on this! Such a clean build. Great color combo. Nice photographs that really show it off. My hat is off to you, Tommy!

So I just went back and read all four pages of this build. Love what I see taking place! JC, you have some great scratch building skills! As Dann alluded to, I think it is much more gratifying to scratch build something than to buy it and stick it on. Now don't get me wrong, I love aftermarket items of all types and I use them in my builds. I don't think I'm very good at scratching things but when I do, I get immense satisfaction. Anyhow, great work on this one. I'll be watching intently.

Awesome body work! You know you've done a great job when, on the finished model, no one know what you did or that you did anything to it. I think that can be said for this model. I like that builders like you take the time to explain what they are doing and how they are doing it. Pictures showing the work just make it that much better. I'm looking forward to seeing more progress!

Yeah, Will, most of the decals did OK with Set and Sol except for the big red and blue ones. I have noticed this behavior in other kits' decals with reds, blues and greens. I am assuming it has something to do with how much color is laid down to get the color. The setting solutions just kind of sit on the decals.

Thanks Dann!! I appreciate it very much. Thank you for taking the time to not only answer my question but for taking the time to take pictures of the different sheets. You went above and beyond! I have always liked this car, not super hot on it but liked it. Seeing various builds of Hasegawa's kit and your resounding endorsement of said kit, I can't help but wanting to get one. The information you just provided helps in my decision of which one to pick up. Thanks again!!

Looking forward to following this one!

Welcome to MCM! It looks like you are off to a great start on the Evo!