atomicholiday

One more suggestion. Start a WIP thread for your project. It's a great way to share your progress. Even better, it's a way to get feedback for many of your questions. And with this group, most likely someone who's already built the same kit can point out problem areas before they become an issue to you.

This is only my opinion. Master the basics first. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with trying out more advanced techniques, but they won’t make a model look “better” if you still have mold seems, sink marks, orange peel paint, etc, etc… Not to say you shouldn’t try new things. That’s how you improve. But the extra detail isn’t completely necessary to a good clean building style.There are some incredible builders that only use what’s in the box. Also, be careful not to compare your work or abilities to others on this or any other forum. There are some truly talented people on here, but I guarantee it took them a long time to get to that level. Thinking you have to be as good as them is a trap. Most importantly, have fun. And keep practicing.?

I have a friend who is a deer hunter and we discussed this once. He said that he’s been able to ride right up on them on his four wheeler, but the instant he steps off and they recognize it’s a man, they take off fast. Something in their instinct doesn’t recognize vehicles as being a threat. Side note. Never ceases to amaze me how far off track we can derail these threads sometimes. And I think this one is probably my doing. Sorry!?. Squirrel!!

That black split window is gorgeous.

Yup. Can’t argue that point..? Still don’t like them though. Although they can be tasty.?

Great color! That’s going to look sharp.?

This is exactly how I feel about deer. Cute or majestic? Hit one while driving sometime and tell me how you feel about them. Sorry. Back on topic…

Thanks! Yup, same color again. But I think I’ll do some spoon testing and try a different clear coat. This was Testors Wet Look. Went on very thick. I think it would be okay on a body that’s more slab sided, but I had a hard time with this one. I just want to be sure whatever I use is compatible with the Extreme Lacquer color coats.

Thanks for the tip Rich. I might very well use that sometime. I’m going to leave this one as is. Interestingly enough, red striping was my original concept for the car. But I changed my mind at the last minute and went with black. Now that it’s done, I like the red. So it all worked out. Maybe black stripes weren’t meant to be.?

Problem solved. Sort of… I gave up on the black decals. There was a set of red in the same kit I got them from, so red it shall be. I did everything in one sitting this time, and the results are better. But still not perfect. There are still some very tiny wrinkles if you look close enough. I’m wondering if the decals were bad or starting to go bad. Never had this much trouble before.? They looked great, but I got them used, so who knows. Anyway, wrinkles or not, I’m calling it good enough.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. Interesting. I’ve done this several times in the past without incident. This is the first time it has caused me any problems. That being said, are these decals salvageable? I’m open to suggestions. They feel pretty thick and are still in good condition other than being wrinkly.

I’m having problems with these decals. What’s odd is that I didn’t do anything different than what I’ve done several times in the past. Here’s exactly what I did. These decals are from the AMT Mercury Comet Cyclone kit, dated 1993. First, dipped the decals in water for about 10 seconds and then set them on a paper towel to soak until they released from the backing. While that’s happening, I applied Micro Set to the area on the body where I wanted the decal. Then I applied the decal like normal. They laid down great. No issues whatsoever other than not sinking down into the panel lines. This was expected. I waited until the next day to do anything about that, and they still looked great 24 hours later. Then I put Micro Sol on them to get them to lay down into the panel lines. As expected, the decals wrinkled. No problem, that’s normal too, right? I left them alone for another 24 hours. The next day they were still wrinkled. So I put more Micro Sol on them and let them set again. No chance. Still wrinkled. When this didn’t work I tried Mr. Hobby Mr Mark Softer. It’s supposed to be a little stronger than Micro Sol. It actually made things worse. The last thing I tried (and I didn’t really expect it to work) was to brush on a coat of Mr Hobby Mr Mark Setter. No change. It should be noted that there was nothing unusual about the paint. Just plain old Tamiya lacquer, not even polished yet. Any suggestions? Or am I just out of luck? Here’s the before and after.

You're on a roll Jeremy. Another beautiful build! Love the paint job.

Wow. That's really sharp. Nice clean build. I built this same kit about 15 years ago. I had the version that was molded in blue metal flake. The molding was so good I didn't paint the body. Yours makes me want to do another one.

Very cool. It's looking great Jeremy.

Cool car. Great workmanship.

That looks terrific. I really like your color choices.

Well if there’s one thing I am getting good at this year, it’s stripping paint. 91% isopropyl alcohol is amazing stuff when it comes in contact with Testors extreme lacquer. This body had about six (admittedly too heavy) coats of paint and clear combined. Soaked it for about two hours and it scrubbed right off with a toothbrush. And didn’t touch the primer. On the bright side, I think I’m single handedly keeping the Testors brand alive! Or not…

That perfect!

My first ride was an ‘85 Honda Nighthawk 450. Got it brand new a couple of months before I could even legally get a permit. Just about killed me having to wait to ride it. It was my only transportation for a whole summer, rain or shine, before I got a car. I still have it. First car was a ‘77 Firebird. White with a black vinyl top. God I loved that car…

That is such a sexy car. Great work!?

Outstanding. That’s a beautiful build.?

I think I’m going to strip this one and start again. I got some pretty bad bubbling in the clear coat in the creases on the passenger side. I went to heavy with the my last couple of coats. Yup. It’s getting stripped tonight. Rather do this right and be happy with it. Besides, I need the practice.

I flip back and forth between Tamiya clear red and Model Master stop light red. Depends on the project. The MM is transparent, but is also metallic.

I agree with all that's been said above. Body prepping requires scraping, filling, and sanding mainly. Which technique depends on the flaw you're trying to fix. It might even require all three techniques to fix one problem. The way the process works is, you work on all the problem areas you can see, shoot a coat or two of primer, and look for spots that need more attention. The primer will make them easier to see. Then you repeat the whole process again until all the flaws are fixed. You might get lucky and fix everything first try, but most likely you will repeat the process a few times. Patience is key here. If you miss something, it will become even more obvious when you start painting color or clear coat. Give a shot.