jaymcminn

Fantastic. The Lusso deserves a subtle color and that is a great choice. My Italeri 275 Spyder in Nocciola...

On to the motor... The mighty beating heart of the DS21 was a 2.2 liter 4-cylinder making a whopping 115 hp. The FWD configuration is unusual by today's standards, with the engine mounted longitudinally behind the transaxle. The parts were airbrushed in Vallejo Metal Colors, which have completely made me stop missing Model Master Metalizers. It's insanely good paint and can even be used for brush painting small details. I used Metallic Grey, Duralumin and Chrome. Vallejo washes were used to bring out detail. The distributor was heavily modified with Albion Alloys 1mm tubing for the boots and Tamiya Epoxy Putty. I also inset the Albion tubing into the valve cover for the boots on that side. Next I installed the engine/transaxle unit into the body shell and added the rest of the underhood detail. I scratched up a coil from styrene and the Albion tubing and used a "Wizard O" from Scale Motorsport and some black adhesive-backed material for the spare tire tie-down. I dirtied up the engine bay a bit with Tamiya Weathering Master. Next up, finishing up the interior and installing the floor pan!

1960 Mazda R360. Mazda's first passenger car. Although they don't usually look as cool as this!

Running errands (one of which was a new battery for the Miata, or that's what I would have been driving) and this was among the sea of Porsches and McLarens on the road. Late first-generation NSX.

Looking forward to this build. Your paint looks awesome. I've had one of these in the stash for years!

Looks like a battle well-fought. I guess there's a reason you rarely see these built up, but you did a great job overcoming the challenges!

Whenever you get stuck, just look at that top image you posted. That is probably the prettiest car from the prettiest era of F1. Great work so far!

Lol, getting it back on track... Parts and supplies are winging their way to me from around the globe for my upcoming build of the Italeri 1/12 Bugatti 35b. Yesterday I received a set of 3d printed wire locks for the bodywork from Unobtanium in the UK. Also got some fabric-wrapped copper wire for the ignition system and thin distressed cognac leather for my attempt at leather upholstery.

Yup, and it was all down to the complicated hydropneumatic system. Citroen invented it and the DS was the first car to extensively use it. Basically the system used high-pressure hydraulic fluid for the adjustable suspension, power steering, brakes and clutch actuation. This was all driven by a large belt-driven pump. There were dozens of high-pressure supply lines and low-pressure return lines, any one of which had the ability to deprive the car of basically all its vital functions just by springing a leak. Additionally the green "balls" which comprised the suspension could fail, causing the suspension on that corner to go completely rigid. The system was reliable when properly maintained and provided an incredible ride, however. Rolls Royce famously licensed the technology in the 60's for the Silver Shadow, and companies such as Mercedes and BMW followed suit. Citroen themselves used hydropneumatic suspension until 2015.

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...