Mixalz

Very nice. Batman!

A Toyota 86 into the gutter apparently. Today is not a good day

I know this has been asked before but the Photobucket issues are making finding examples impossible. Basically I'm trying to fabricate some headers from aluminium wire and am struggling. I was wondering if anyone had a WIP photo to show the process they used (aluminium wire or any other alternative). These are the ones I'm trying to replicate https://s1.promotionsupplies.com/ebay/cxmotorsports/images/turbo_kit/cxm-TRB-Kit-Supra-Mk4-CB-CAR-2.jpg Thanks

You chose a difficult subject with sooo many decals and did an awesome job with it! Did you try decal solutions?

Thanks for all the great feedback!

I've just started building an AMT '72 Corvette Stingray. The gauges are moulded into the styrene. Any advice on how to paint these? I'm used to decals Cheers, Michael

Niceee. Love the blue was so torn between dark blue or the brown. I'm keen to do another one now that I've learned.

Bob Smith Gold and Purple bottles. Awesome product. Can't be beat

Thanks for looking everyone!

Hi everyone, Finally finished up this model tonight. Had quite a few dramas with the kit quality and then stuff ups on my behalf but the result is OK I think. Definitely fun to try new things (automotive paint and drilling rivet spaces in this case) WIP Thread:

Ah BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. Rushing!!! why did I flip the model to take a photo. Now Ive lost the antenna.... Gonna cry now EDIT: Found thank god

I just noticed from the last photo. Gluing the diffuser first also resulted in me not having the rear bar as a reference when cementing the exhaust. Now the left tip is too far left! BAH I'll have to put a sign above the bench saying DON'T RUSH!!!

During my lunch break today I started assembling the model (mistake!!!). I have always had a major problem with impatience especially when the model is just sitting there almost done. I rush to assemble because I just can't wait to see the results and screw things up. Above: Vallejo and BMF ready for Tamiya clear red Above: "Mistake" 1 - This one I'm not happy about BUT I don't think it was due to rushing. Essentially the Alclad cracked when placing the exhaust as its a custom fabrication job and the clearance wasn't large enough. I can accept this as a lesson unlike the other errors below which were due to rushing. Advice on spot repair/weathering to hide this would be appreciated. Above: Mistake 2 - Pure rushing. I had taped the exhaust to check the clearance for the diffuser. It looked like I could insert the body with the diffuser already attached so I decided to glue it on with the chasis not attached just so I can say the model is almost done. This was a mistake as I had to flex the body to fit the exhaust in the holes and resulted in chipping the blue tip I had painted. I taped them up and tried to spot repair with the airbrush but its not great. Above: Mistake 3 - This one is due to a combination of rushing and inexperience. I decided to trial gluing the taillight brake lights with epoxy. Having normally used CA glue (and the non-clear safe stuff at that lol!) on most of my old models, I thought I'd try technique I made up. Used a blob of epoxy, seated the lens and mopped up the excess with a microbrush. Worked OK but I think I needed more epoxy as I got a airbubble. Next time I think Ill just use CA glue. Oh well a learning process. These errors aren't the end of the world. The exhaust cracking is rather noticeable and upsetting but for my first bit of scratch building I didn't have high hopes and was actually impressed at how much creativity this hobby allows. PS: I chopped the windows because who on Earth drives a convertible with the windows up!!!

Thanks! I'd love to see photos of your S2K model. Your builds are awesome from what I've seen. Don't find too many JDM cars on this board.

Wow these restoration jobs blow me away everytime. I know I'd just buy new kit out of sheer frustration lol. Coming along nicely

Gonna be good

Oh you may also notice the two bits of piano wire under the rear bar. These were inserted to allow the diffuser to sit off the car as it does in real life. The gap without them didnt allow room for the exhaust (which would have been touching the diffuser otherwise). Inspiration for this model from: http://www.speedhunters.com/2010/04/feature_gt_gt__evasive_honda_s2000/

Very exciting update (for me at least). Body was completed as follows: - Prep using cements (BSI) and putty (Tamiya tube and Mr Hobby Dissolved Putty and 500 Filler) - Sanded using Tamiya sponges - Primed using Mr Finishing Surfacer Grey - Above repeated multiple times (about 5-6 times) until I got a result I could live with. Pitting of the surface due to air bubbles in the resin and filling the panel join marks was difficult. - Sprayed with Tamiya TS-50 decanted and thinned with Mr Levelling Thinner - Surface touched up due to inadequate dust control (sand and recolour) - Badges attached via thin film of epoxy (BSI) - Cleared with Mr Color GX100 - Polished twice with Meguairs Scratch X - Waxed twice with Meguairs Carnauba Wax Really happy with the result. Potential improvements/defects/character features as follows: 1 - Notice the panel line on the bonnet is a touch wavy. Really tried my best to rescribe it straighter but the different material hardness made this difficult. 2 - Problem with rear right flare as above (notice the "colour variation" which isn't actually colour difference but is instead due to the light reflecting at the wrong angle due to my filler placement) 3 - The decal tore in the centre of the front bar during clear. This is not really noticeable unless under direct light source so I may leave it as is. 4. Air bubble in CF decal on LHS of front diffuser Advice on improving the above areas is welcomed Thanks for looking, Michael

The lines almost appear to be mold lines ghosting through the paint but are in strange positions so maybe not.... I'd wager they could have been eliminated during surface prep. As for the black, personally I've only ever done one black car and it was a true nightmare to get a halfway decent surface. The inconsistency in gloss is probably due to inconsistent paint thickness on your wet coats. If one area is too thin or is sprayed from too far you won't get good leveling of the paint and thus gloss. This is what prompted me to invest in an airbrush. Keep at it though and quality will improve. Looking good for a beginner. Michael

Ugh absolutely gutted. I placed a carbon fiber decal on the front diffuser. In the front grill section I didn't notice that it wasn't seated along the 90 degree bend properly but was slopped instead. As I was clearing over the body the decal tore!! So upset. Not gonna be able to redo that without screwing things up further. Lesson of the day be careful with right angles and decals.... Might have to weather there to try and hide it. Its so large!

I looked at yours again and the only things I could think of is the camera used, the primer colour (I'm using Mr Finishing surfacer) and perhaps the spray distance as I'm am using these paints thinned further through an airbrush (far away = rougher surface = mild orange peel even with Tamiya's paints; which is why I started to thin them more) Yours is still amazing for someone early in the hobby. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Rant: Is there anything else worse than hearing the dreaded ping of your PE flying out of your tweezers. Luckily my eyesight is good and I saw the landing site sight (in between model boxes) so I had a small area to search but even with a magnet took 30mins lol.

Tamiya Mica Blue (TS-50). Going for a blue body with CF aero and white rims

Looking great so far. Love a subie. I will say this though. Dont glue the shell if it isnt absolutely necessary! Also if it is use double sided tape, as was recently pointed out to me. Will save u headaches if the shell needs to come off.

Thanks for the comments! FINALLY laid down my colour coats today and yesterday (I had some dust bunnies to sand out of first coats as I didn't clean the airbrush or the booth before lol. Don't be lazy!) Here's a photo update of the body before it was placed in the dehydrator The picture looks better than in person. I'll post some photos later where you will see the drama I had with panel lines/fitting the kit. That being said for my first major kit modification I'm stoked so far.