jaymcminn

Nap time...

Momma- Household Name. A fantastic album that sounds more like 1992 than 2022. Lots of influence from bands like Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies, etc. It's pretty much bangers from beginning to end!

Wish I'd gotten more, TBH. I think I got 4 or so, but it was the end of the tour and the docent was getting a bit antsy to move on to the next group. I don't know why he wouldn't just leave me in there on my own, I would have kept my hands to myself...

Great, super clean build of an underrated classic. I love it!

Super Gold+ is excellent stuff. It doesn't fog and has the perfect consistency for a thick CA glue. I've been using it for many years.

Online ads for Temu. 'Nuff said.

Well, I haven't gotten around to the engine yet. I decided to tackle the bolts and safety wire on the body and undertray as well as some simple leatherwork. This stuff needed to go on before final assembly anyway. The wire lock bolts are from Unobtanium in the UK and are designed for the Italeri Alfa 8c kit. They're the wrong style for the Bugatti but they work well. Unobtanium includes a jig that allows you to drill precisely through the bolts to insert the wire. I used 30-gauge soft beading wire, which forms to exactly the shape you need and holds the shape perfectly. Every Bugatti 35 seems to have a slightly different pattern to the safety wire, I just went with something that looks good. I used the same thin leather as on the seats for the leather gaiter on the driver's side as well as the top belt for the spare tire carrier on the passenger side. Simple enough, and good practice for the more complicated hood straps to come. I went ahead and glued the seat back to the bodyshell at this point. These pics have the partial chassis mocked up with the seat bases in place while checking clearances. Today I'm going to fire up the airbrush and start on the small mountain of engine and chassis parts that I've gotten cleaned up and mounted for painting. On to the pics!

Great job! Those old Hasegawa Ferraris are really nice kits.

Lol, no worries about "building other people's models", I think all talented builders do that to some extent. That salt weathering technique is magic... just proof that spending some time seeing how the other modeling disciplines do things can pay off. I can't wait to see your Alfa, with your skills it's going to be a good one. Definitely going back for the hoods up display. Did the workshop tour this time as well. I was a bit disappointed that the Ferrari 250LM wasn't on display in the collection until I walked into the workshop and saw this...

Italeri includes some reasonably nice parts for these that would look good with some drybrushing and washes. The fusee chain is a good idea though. I'm already using thin stainless braided wire for the brake cables instead of Italeri's black rubber tubing.

Ah, another modeler who has discovered the joys of the Tamiya Magic Brush! That color is absolutely insane. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Yes, I've seen it used in some builds on here for hinges. How do you think I could incorporate it here? Possibly the chain tensioner for the brake lines?

Much as I love the timeless look of a stock 240z or a Fairlady ZG, these 70s custom versions are awesome in their own way. Great job on that bodywork and paint!

Since you're already using Vallejo Model Air, their Model Wash acrylic line is excellent. Lots of colors available and they can be manipulated quite a bit. I've had good luck with them over satin or semigloss clear topcoats and then you can hit them with a final coat of clear flat once you're happy with the effect. This is my current Bugatti 35B build from the Italeri 1/12 kit. Vallejo Dark Grey and Black washes were used around the louvers, rivets, panel lines and the area around the undertray seam where grease and dirt get trapped by the bolt locking wires. The paint is Vallejo Model Air Sky Blue with a top coat of Tamiya TS79 semi-gloss clear.

Orient Sun and Moon! I have the white dial version.

No pics (they didn't stick around long enough) but fresh-caught red snapper tacos with guac, Pico and pickled red onions. Black beans with brown Basmati rice on the side. Cigar City Maduro brown ale to wash it all down.

A few inspirational pics I just took of the ex-Louis Chiron Bugatti 35B barn find in the Revs Institute. I wanted to make sure I had good pics of the front suspension, brake cable configuration, radiator minus its nickel plating, etc.

Yup, I generally get a slump after a big project that's really pushed my limits as a builder. After my 1/12 Fiat Mefistofele build a few years back, I cleaned up my work bench and didn't touch another model for three months. I'm working on another big project now, the new Italeri 1/12 Bugatti 35B. I'm a month or so in with probably another two to go. Whenever it starts feeling like a grind I'll take a few days off until I want to get back to work. When I'm ready to get back to the bench after a big project I'll build a "shelf model" or two... generally something easy that will look good on the shelf without stressing me out too much. Ironically quite a few of these "slump busters" have walked away with awards at contests. Slumps absolutely happen. I've gone a year plus without building until the right project catches my eye and I'm back in the game. As far as display case room goes, there's nothing like buying a nice new display case (I like the Ikea Fabrikor cases, myself) to give you the urge to fill it up!

Wheels are a go... The Bugatti 35 series were the first cars to use aluminum alloy wheels. These were multi-piece cast-alloy units with integrated brake drums. Some restored cars show nicely polished wheels but they were rough-cast from the factory. The kit wheels are nicely molded in five pieces including valve stems. They're satin chrome plated, which I stripped using Easy-Off. It took longer than usual and I was left with white residue on the parts which came off after a soak in 91% Isopropyl alcohol. I painted the wheels in Vallejo Duralumin with mist coats of Vallejo Matt Aluminum and Gunmetal followed by a coat of Mr. Clear flat. Next was dry brushing with Matt Aluminum and a dark grey acrylic wash. Below is a wheel before and after the weathering process. Four finished wheels... they all look a bit different, which was the idea. Once the tires are given a nice application of dirt and grime they'll look the business.

Well, if you don't use those gloves at least you'll never run out. I gotta say, though, the wire rack you came up with for your siphon tube is genius. Wish I'd thought of that when I was using siphon-feed airbrushes!

Of all the impressive stuff on this build so far, beveling those PE gauge bezels probably tops the list for me. Plus bonus Radiohead quote!

I've seen that build, it's nice. When I saw that Italeri was releasing the 35b, I knew immediately that I was going for the unrestored/barn find look. Bugatti 35's look best when they're properly "broken in". The challenge of building a weathered vehicle is that you have to take every part into consideration. You can't really do a body with flaking paint and a spotless chassis or polished wheels unless you're doing a "patina rod" or something similar. The engine, as I said earlier, won't be as rough as the body due to my idea of the car being recently recommissioned but it can't look brand new either. Fortunately I have the excellent 35B local to me in the Revs Institute for reference. There is also no shortage of pics of weatherbeaten, crusty 35b's online. The owners seem to take a lot of pleasure in keeping them as authentically grungy as possible. If/when Italeri releases the inevitable fenders/headlights version I'm going to build it as a pristine restored example. It'll make for a nice contrast!

I think you made the right choice in not putting it up on Ebay. It looks like something from The Incredibles. Looks like some nice clean work going into this. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Thanks Thomas. Your build of this kit was fantasic!

This is Italeri's new 1/12 scale Bugatti 35B. My vision for this car is a car actively raced before WWII that was hidden in a barn when Germany occupied France... maybe a little too well. Rediscovered 80 years later, the brief by the new owner was simple... restore the mechanicals, upholster the seat, and wipe the rest down with an oily rag. I should have taken WIP pics of the "salt weathering" technique used on the body. I haven't touched the chassis yet, so I'll try to get some pics of the same technique when I get to that part. Basically, you prime and then paint your base coat (here a mix of Vallejo Metal Air Duralumin and Flat Aluminum). After the base dries, wet it lightly using water with a tiny drop of dish soap to break the surface tension. Then sprinkle on sea salt (I used Alessi fine grain) and let it dry. You can control where you want more of the base to show through by applying more salt. Once your salt is dry and stable, apply your top coat... in this case Vallejo Model Air Sky Blue. Over that I applied a light coat of Tamiya TS79 Semi-Gloss clear. Finally, once that's dry, brush off your salt mask to reveal your base color underneath. It's a really effective technique. I hit the body with a light polish after this to give it a nice light "oily rag" sheen. Weathering was done with Vallejo acrylic washes. The extra grunge around the seam between the body and undertray is where the locking wire bolts from Unobtanium will go. Most unrestored vintage Bugattis get extra grungy around there because you can't really access that area to clean without removing the wire. The number is a stencil by Orlee, sprayed in Vallejo Model Air White. The cracking was done in the fresh paint with the backside of a #11 blade. This is a nerve-wracking technique I've used before to good advantage. Finally, the seat has been upholstered in thin (1.5 oz) distressed Cognac calfskin bought on Ebay. I separated the seat base from the back to make it easier to work with. Heating the seat parts CAREFULLY over a candle allowed me to introduce some sag to them, necessary as the kit parts bear no resemblance to actual automotive upholstery. Next up will be the wheels and the engine. The engine will be oily but not especially grungy, as befitting a car that's been given a little TLC since being rescued from the barn. Anyway, on to the pics! "Le Chaton", BTW, is French for "Kitten", which kind of suits a baby-blue Bugatti. I'm tempted to hand paint it on the driver's side ahead of the handbrake.