DiscoRover007

Glad to see you back at it Alex!

Was really hoping Tamiya would make the 488 gtb

Im okay with it as long as Rustoleum offers a better product. Duplicolor has a great primer but I'm not the biggest fan of their paints. The only ones worth using are the pearl paints to look in scale and then they have a tendency to show ghost lines, fog, and crinkle. The best results ive had with Duplicolor paints was when I used a testors or tamiya lacquer as a base and then overcoat with Duplicolor.

It's definitely the paint. That happens with Duplicolor all the time. You can try duplicolor primer sealer and see if that helps. Otherwise I try a different brand of paint.

Looks great. Nice touch on the gas cap. I was going to get this kit the other day but I kept debating in my mind how to accurately do the gas cap. I can only find one example of the road version clubsport where the gas cap is in the middle of the hood like Tamiya molds it. It's yellow and I wonder if it maybe the only example in reality. Generally the road version seems to always has the gas cap to the side fender. I was hoping an aftermarket company made a decal to represent this or perhaps an accurate template to scribe it out.

What are the new colors?

Realistically. An MK4 Supra in red, blue or silver. Perfectly stock. Favorite current super car. Best looking Ferrari since the 360 Modena imo. The 488 GTB American Muscle. Viper GTS All time great. The 246 Dino GTS The singer 911's are growing on me though.

Looks like your friend had some real modeling talent. Good of you to finish it for him.

Oh yeah its a struggle. But i've decided not to settle on these. So they will take time.

Well two things stalled this project. 1. Getting the glass piece painted up to my liking. Have yet to master the masking technique to really make it look nice. 2. The Blue body supra has taken a brake fluid bath. Ended up polishing through the clear after getting a small bit of CA glue on the paint. As first I was furious but the other thing I realized was that the roof lines on the body need to be carefully sanded. There are two molded in lines or strakes you might call them. Tamiya has mold lines running directly over them. Those actually need to be carefully sanded off without damaging those features themselves. So I forgot to do that and decided I had already worked so hard to make it look realistic everywhere else I might as well strip her down and go again. The red body will be another tan interior and I'll probably use the aftermarket engine that is made by hobby design. The silver one will probably be more box stock with aftermarket wheels. I say that now however but I'll probably detail that as well. I have a model meister turbo kit that I need to use so I may drop it in there. The finish came out really great on the silver. Its TS-17. I finally started to get the hang of using it.

Call me crazy but I did say I was making a fleet of these yes?

Thats a cool idea! Question though. In your video you say that you can use your preferred clear coat over the future for the best finish. But that's only if you use an enamel or 2k clear right? I would imagine lacquer would eat through the future.

What happened to the paint?! You’ve done a brilliant job so far. That’s a nice silver paint job

I almost exclusively use tamiya sprays for bodies. My method is usually the following. First and foremost have the body prepared with primer and wetsand most if not all the orange peel down with 2500-3000. With your color coats, just start with mist coats. 5-10 Minutes apart is fine. Build up the layers with mist coats until the primer is completely covered and opaque and the panel lines have a solid base coat of paint. Then do one-two medium wet coats. Let this dry for a few hours at least. When dry, color sand/wetsand this layer with micro mesh polishing cloths. I usually use 3600 up to 6000. The point of these coats are to provide a smooth a color matched base for the final wet coats, this will also give them depth. Be careful not to burn through the paint. When finished I wash the body off and use a damp paper towel to wipe off excess water. I then use an airbrush to spray compressed air to make sure there is no more debris or water. Then Ill wipe it with a tack cloth and then a few swipes with Tamiya's static display anti dust brush before the final wet coats. Then lastly spray your final wet coats. You should have a deep and beautiful shine with minimal orange peel. I always clear coat my paints with TS-13 and I usually have very little orange peel. If i do its pretty easily rubbed off. A little bit of orange peel is actually somewhat realistic, especially if its a mass produced car.

I've always thought plumbing was an odd term as well. It leads me to believe that the cooling hoses were added, and hollowed out all the way into the in the engine block. NOW THATS REALISM LOL

Thing is with the spray can metalizers is that they are only buffing types. They are meant to be polished and shine. They come out a lot better when airbrushed in my opinion.

Hey guys I was just curious if anyone had a spray paint they like to use when they paint engines and trannys? My typical approach is to use tamiya primer and then airbrush model master aluminum metalizer. It has just the right grain for cast finish. However sometimes it would be nice to have a lazier route and mayber use a spray can. I've tried tamiya silver leaf but it appears too bright. Gloss aluminum might work if sprayed in light coats and then dry brushed with an acrylic and some weathering. But I was curious if there was an option anyone here uses? Thanks

I pretty much buy all my kits on ebay. Its almost always a better deal than in store. But i dont buy vintage kits. Mostly just tamiya/fujimi/aoshima newer stuff. So I assume quality control is better.

I typically only criticize if i get the idea that the OP is open to suggestion or has generally done a good job and with some minor tweaks could really improve the look.

Sealed is usually best. I know sellers on eBay seem to think it’s a good idea to have it open box and take pictures of all the parts but I hate that. Thats only convenient if it’s an old kit with various versions and you need to confirm what type that model is. Or if it’s curbside etc...

One pet peeve of mine. And it's totally just me and my opinion and I understand that people have their own way of progressing and getting better. But for me I would not sacrifice cleanliness for detail. If you can't detail something with really good accuracy and clean paint work, then it is best to simplify the work. Practice on spare bodies and botched kits. Don't a blemish a near complete model where you've got an A all round, but some of that engine detail is C/D+ paint work and sacrifices realism. It's an eyesore and would make me ignore the rest of what would be a nicely done model.

Personally Testors Wet Look clear seems like it's not nearly as hot as TS-13. That doesn't surprise me either.

The thing about our hobby is that this is an enthusiasts niche market. You don’t buy a model kit because it’s a fad thing to do. It’s because you like constructing. It’s the legos of cars. Otherwise you could just buy a prebuilt diecast and be happy with it. But to me that’s cheating and is something I won’t do. Model making is an investment of time and skill. I treat my models the same an artist would treat a realism painting. I want to treat the kit as a work of art through painting skills. I don’t think it’s something that will ever be very popular. But the great thing about today is that amount of aftermarket parts and detail accessories available is just incredible and it’s getting better. Hell i have a few kits sitting in the box because im waiting for the precut carbon decal release. One thing that might help is the continued development of paints and non toxic paints to be exact. If a company can produce non toxic spray cans that can produce lacquer results than a lot of people and parents will feel much safer about starting the hobby. I myself still think about toxicity risks in the back of my mind. I know it is miniscule but you can pay a price if you aren’t careful with certain prodcuts.

I mean it’s definitely an all time beauty but 52 million would get me every car I ever wanted and pretty much anything else. Ferrari F50, 993 GT2, Mk4 Supra, NSX NA1, Ferrari 360, Aston Martin DB11, Porsche 918, XJ220, 96 Viper GTS, 01 Diablo VT, and brand spankin new Tacoma with all the gear I want. Literally all mine and a mansion in mountain of NC and all the hobby tools I’d ever need. Then I’d throw money at Tamiya to make all the kits I want. Still probably under 52 million for an old and dated car. sorry to derail the thread with my pipe dream

Was never aware of this car. Shame it didn’t hit production. Very cool. Reminds me a bit of the Maserati mc12