jaymcminn

Thanks! I'm a sucker for weird cars and the DS definitely qualifies. It's a beautiful car but there's an awkwardness to that beauty that makes it even more appealing. One of the fun aspects of the hobby for me is diving down the research rabbithole when building an unusual subject as well. I always like to try at least one new tool/product/technique on every build and the Tamiya epoxy putty is my new product this time around. It's easy to work, lightweight and sands beautifully. I can see getting a lot of use out of it in the future.

Amazing how much the 356 wheels change the character of the model. Great work!

On to the interior... The door panels are completely incorrect in this kit as they seem to be unchanged from the DS19 kit. Most notable was the lack of a driver's armrest. DS19s didn't have them, DS21s did. I sculpted one from styrene sheet and Tamiya epoxy putty. It was my first time using this stuff and it's excellent! In progress shot of the driver's door with printer's plate aluminum kick panel, sheet styrene tuck'n'roll insert and unfinished armrest... Next I masked the door panels and sprayed with Tamiya Red Oxide primer. This wound up as the base for my "cognac" leather. I sponged some Vallejo black wash over the surface to add some interest and hit the leather pieces with a coat of clear satin. Carpets are a mix of embossing powders to get the dark green I was looking for. The dash decals went down beautifully and a drop of Kristal Klear in each of the gauges reproduced the lenses. I used Molotow with a 10/0 brush for the dash trim. Next I installed the steering wheel and glued the dash to the front bulkhead. Note the metal transfer for the Citroen badge on the steering wheel! The bulkhead had a large box molded into the front, possibly for an aftermarket a/c system. I removed it and filled it with sheet styrene before flocking with embossing powder. Finally I attached the bulkhead/dash assembly to the body. So far, I'm enjoying this build a lot. It's challenging but a lot of fun. Big airbrush session in the next few days and then it's time to get the engine together!

So yeah, I know you were into that show and everything, but it is getting to be about lunch time, and I wanted to make sure you didn't forget...

I think he needs spellcheckle.

Beautiful! Makes me itchy to get started on mine!

Work on the body continues... I masked and painted the rubber moldings around the backlight and rear windows. Next was the brushed aluminum trim on the B and C pillars. It's a prominent styling feature on the DS and I wanted to do it justice. I wound up using Bare Metal Foil, which I "brushed" with 1500 grit sandpaper before applying to the body. Afterward I sealed it with Micro Satin. Then the chrome moldings were ready to apply. (First pic was taken with the flash to pick up the brushed effect, as well as every fingerprint and smudge!) Doors and roof will not be attached until final assembly, but I did a test-fit and was pretty happy with it. The magnets hold the doors perfectly! Next is removing parts from trees and preparing for a big airbrush session. More to come soon!

Heard Panopticom on one of the Blog Radio shows on Sirius XMU. Awesome track. Looking forward to the album!

Man, I loved Orange Blossom. Back in the 80's and 90's my model-building friends and I would go over from Naples twice per year or so- at first with someone's dad driving and on our own later on once we had our licenses. It was a sad day when I pulled up to see it closed. I think that OBH pretty much spoiled every other hobby shop for me... there are some nice shops in my area (Family Hobby Center here in Naples and K&K Hobby Shop in Port Charlotte, which is really awesome) but Orange Blossom Hobbies was magic. That neighborhood, though...

Small, lightweight sports cars are wonderful. You have access to all of the fun factor at perfectly legal speeds. The low-horsepower Caterhams probably give you a driving experience much more like an original Lotus 7. Below is an obligatory pic of my small, lightweight, underpowered sports car. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

If you could find them. I usually can't.

Bob Smith "Super Gold +" is my go-to CA adhesive. I've never had it fog up on me. There's no need to scrape paint before using CA, but CA glue has no "give" to it. If you bump a mirror that's attached with CA there's a better chance the mirror will go flying, and a very good chance it'll take the top layer of paint with it.

That's some interesting upholstery. I think my grandma had curtains made out of that stuff in the 70s. It's a fun kit so far, but pretty challenging. Ebbro was apparently founded by the chief designer for Tamiya during the 70s "golden age" and there's a lot of that DNA in there. It's also needlessly complicated in places, but that just makes it even more fun. Umm, so far.

I recently picked up the Ebbro kit of one of my favorite cars, the Citroen DS. I spent the better part of a week test-fitting, filling sink marks, priming, test fitting again, etc. Initial impressions of this kit are really good, but it is not something you want to tackle for your first kit. Or, like, your tenth. Observations so far: Parts are very thinly molded. As close to scale as possible. Unfortunately this has led to minor warpage in the body shell at the A pillars. I mostly corrected it with hot water and the windshield unit forces it true when installed. Opening doors are annoying. I trimmed down the friction-fit latches on the interior door panels to avoid paint damage in the future and installed neodymium magnets in the doors and sills to help them stay closed. Trimming the latches also helped the doors fit better. I rescribed the rear door line wider to match the front door gap. Fortunately 70s Citroen build quality can easily explain big panel gaps! All the chrome trim on the car is represented by finely molded separate pieces. Unfortunately these are subject to warping as well and, being chrome plated, these are much easier to break when trying to correct the warp. The plan is to not mess with them beforehand and rely on epoxy to install them. Proportions are spot-on and the quality of the molds is very good. From my test-fitting, it looks like it will go together well in the end. First round of pics are the painted and polished body parts. Paint is Tamiya TS60 Pearl Green over Tamiya grey primer. This pretty closely matches Citroen Argent Green. Roof is TS14 black and headlight buckets/wheels are TS7 Racing White. After applying TS13 clear, I polished out with Meguiar's Ultimate compound and polish. No sanding was necessary. The plan for the interior is cognac leather with dark green carpets. This will look great with the body color green on the interior door panels. Engine will get some extra detail but the DS engine bay is such a mess of tubes and hoses that going overboard won't make it look any better. It's going to get some weathering and oil staining as well. The plan is for it to look like a well-cared-for daily driver. Anyway, on to the pics! Allons-Y!

The batteries from all the remotes.

Looking at the built prototype, I'm thinking how much better this will look with black Sharpie run around the edges of all that glass before installation to hide those edges. Which means I'm already pre-planning my build. Time to start thinking about colors...

I'd go with the 185/60. Lower profile than stock, but better looking in scale. 165mm would be much narrower than stock.

Looks like the design and parts breakdown will be pretty similar to the Senna. I'm fine without opening doors... even with Tamiya's engineering know-how they're often fiddly and annoying. Including PE grilles is a nice touch.

Creativity, taste and workmanship all rolled into one package. Sublime!

So after posting in the wrong thread I'm just gonna post again here... I laid down Tamiya TS60 Pearl Green and TS13 clear on my Ebbro Citroen DS21. No cat hair or dust, which is a bonus. I switched from automotive tack cloths to an anti-static brush a few years back which really seems to help. I caught a couple of pics of the body shell in the sun, which really lets the color pop. I think my phone's camera is probably exaggerating the brightness of the color. The color is pretty close to Citroen's Silver Green paint color. Roof will be black, interior will be red-brown with dark green carpet. Since the Ebbro kit doesn't represent a high-end Pallas model, there's a fair amount of the body color in the interior as well. Going to let the paint dry for a few days before polishing with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Polish. WIP thread coming soon...

Yeah, just realized I wanted to post this under "what did you accomplish today"... Oops. So I guess I got a painted body today?

Got paint (Tamiya Pearl Green and TS13 clear) on my Ebbro Citroen DS21. The other panels are painted too except for the roof, which will be black. After a few days drying time I'll polish with Meguiar's Ultimate compound and polish. No dust, boogers or cat hair in this one!

Barrett Jackson- Tommy Bahama, Oakleys, light beer. Gooding & Co- Brooks Brothers, Ray-Bans, Simi chardonnay. Artcurial (Retromobile)- Armani, Persols, Veuve Cliquot. At least everybody's still day-drunk. Several years ago it was '70 Chevelle SS454s. It seemed like every other car on the block was yet another '70 SS454. That was what cured me from watching B-J. It's just an endless parade of high-dollar me-too mobiles punctuated by dimwitted commentary and the occasional insanely overpriced tax-deduction charity car. The "cheap cars" on the early days are definitely more interesting... as the price goes up the interest level goes down.

Very nice build. It shows what a skilled builder can still do with those old Italeri Ferraris!

Tamiya putty, applied thin with a pallette knife. Allow it to dry for a day or two then sand using sanding sticks like Greg posted above. (top tip... you can get the same basic thing at Sally Beauty supply!). Prime, sand, and you should be good.