Michael jones

Thanks for the comments. See below attached photos. The first photo is how it was before I fixed it, and the second photo is how I did it. This slightly lowered the front of the car, which was good, and also I had to grind out some of the spring to make it fit. I panicked a bit at first when I saw the wheelbase problem, then came up with a super simple solution. You cant even see the spacers as they are hidden inside the wheel.. I think maybe this chassis has been used on several Subaru wrc builds, and probably the wheelbase of the body has changed, but Tamiya forgot to update the chassis to suit. I noticed several builds online have this problem.

Tamiya Subaru finished. Out of the box build apart from carbon fibre decals and also had to change the chassis wheelbase to match the body. Really happy with the result.

Gidday Gabby, I have used Pearl ex powder before, which are similar to what you are looking at. They are fantastic! Just grab your favourite clear coat and mix in some powder. The only downside, is they have a limited range of colours currently. Mike

Those models above look great! From my short experience with Future as a clear coat, it was the fact that it doesn't "grip" the surface very well, leading to runs, which I didn't like. Looks like it can really be polished to a high shine however. As mentioned above, works good applied with a brush. I did this with a couple of slot cars.

That looks great! Since posting this topic, I found you can buy a back plate that fits a dremel (usually used for sanding but I will use to attach sponge pads), and then can also buy the sponge pads all from aliexpress. It cost me approx. $12USD for all of this. Hope it turns up soon! Thanks Mike

Gidday, I have been getting really good results with a dremel and wool attachment, but I have seen some people using sponge pads on a dual action polisher and getting great results. A great example is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S83pORseuK8&t=717s Does anyone know of a cheap polisher that can go very slowly and also handle the possible extra torque required for these sponge pads. I think it may be a bad idea to use them on my dremel as it could over heat. I do have a drill which would probably work be be fairly clumsy. Thanks

This question may be a bit late as I have already built a number of racing cars with clear over decals, but I was just wondering how should I remove the decal setting/softening solution "stains" before clear coating. I usually wash the body with the decals on, in soapy dish washing solution before clear coat, but just wondering if there is a specific cleaner which is best for the usual decal setting/softening solutions by Tamiya/Mr Hobby/ Micro Set/Sol etc. Thanks

I owned the later model Trueno GTZ and that was a great car. Very fast in the corners! Your builds look cool, great work.

Gidday, Its the aoshima kit. Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks, Tamiya LP Clear Red lacquer and 2k clear over the top. FYI do not use the Tamiya Acrylic Clear Red as it is more like orange! I have 2 bottles and they are both the same.

C33 Laurel finished, working lights, driver added, graphics are painted (clear red over gold pearl ex base/black). Modded engine bay, lowered. Mike

C33 Laurel finished, working lights, driver added, graphics are painted (clear red over gold pearl ex base/black). Modded engine bay, lowered. Mike

C33 Laurel finished, working lights, driver added, graphics are painted (clear red over gold pearl ex base/black). Modded engine bay, lowered. Mike

I have seen some people using hasegawa products like this recently. I would say BMF would be quite expensive in Japan, so this is a local alternative for them. Even in the country I live in (New Zealand) BMF is quite expensive (approx. $17US) so if there was a local alternative that would make sense to buy.

Id say Intermediate Gauzy Agent" by AK Interactive is very similar at a guess to E7 paints chrome sealer. You can contact E7 paints direct if required.

I don't have it in front of me right now, but pretty sure its water clean up. Probably a good idea to run some isopropyl alcohol through after. Usually I have just painted it on with a brush but I think I may have sprayed it once or twice. Pretty sure its sprays fine around 10-15psi. Let us know what works for you.

As posted above, its probably the tape eating/marking the paint. This is quite common with Tamiya tape. Unlikely to be residue. I have cleared over this before, and you wouldn't even know it was there even though it looks terrible before the clear coat.

I decided to buy this product. This is not a paint. You apply it with a cloth, but there is very little info even on the instructions. As you can see the result on the roof is pretty good, but it was already shiny so probably not a huge difference.

Hi guys, Has anyone used this product before? https://www.wahwahmodelshop.com/product/tamiya-87151-gloss-coating-varnish/ I believe it is something similar to the glaze they use on real cars. I have seen a couple of examples on facebook, but not a lot of detailed info on the internet in general. Thanks Mike

The trick is to buy the refill bottle. The chrome ink has not changed so far (probably 2 years at a guess). Don't waste time with the pens. Use a brush to apply.

I think this is an extremely valid point. Anyone who uses 2k clear knows how hard it is to polish out scratches which is way harder than lacquer. A dremel is totally fine from my experience on 2k, but just doesn't quite get the job done with the compounds/pastes I have used in the past. More important is finding a paste aggressive enough to take out any scratches made in the wet sanding process. I personally nearly always don't wet sand, but sometimes you just have to. If anyone has used one that is aggressive enough, that would be great to hear about. I have been looking at Farecla G3. Thanks

Interesting build. Quality of parts is not so great with a lot of mold lines, but the proportions of the body and decals are great. Also was missing the spare wheel which is waiting for shipment in Japan.

thanks, yep 2k clear over the decals

Box stock except for the Indycal decals. Fun build and challenging paint scheme/decals.