Italianhorses

Rick, if you have a macro mode on your camera/phone, try to use it so closeup pictures are in focus.

Thank you. I'm almost done with the interior, will post some pix probably later today when I'm done.

Thank you Chris! Appreciate it. Thanks! I have about 20 builds that I need to post to the website. Many kit reviews, couple of new tutorials, and a huge update to the kit database. It hasn't been updated in 10 years! The problem is, the design, layout and the engine the website is built on is sooo outdated its next to impossible to work on it. I need to have it completely re-designed, but I can't afford a professional do it (I can barely afford to keep paying to keep it up!) and I don't have any friends who know how to do it, so it just sits dormant...Its a sad state of things, but hopefully I'll find a way at some point. Thanks man, appreciate it!

Looks like it has been in a fender bender - check the Carfax before buying!

Thank you! I mostly use dark acrylic washes and then after they are dry, go over it with dry-brush and some buffing Model Master metalizers. Once metalizers are dry, you can buff them highlighting high areas and making them look polished. Another update - engine is in place: IMG_1347 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Painted all suspension bits: IMG_1344 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1343 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Front suspension assembled: DSC_0583 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Rear as well: DSC_0582 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Completed chassis: DSC_0588 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0589 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Wheels are also done: DSC_0597 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Wheels are a bit wobbly, but overall look fine: DSC_0578 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Assembled top part of the engine: DSC_0591 by Italian Horses, on Flickr And then the mock up to check the stance and overall fit of everything: DSC_0558 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0556 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0552 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0559 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0562 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0566 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0574 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Took some good pictures of the model:

Thank you! Metallics usually do that! Well thank you, much appreciated. All real cars you see on Flickr are my personal cars - my other hobby is buying older cars and bringing them back to their glory - restoring them back to close to factory stock and minty fresh. Just another type of "building"

Yes, white looks really good on this car! Thank you! Yes - thank you, I should have taken a picture of when it was all masked up! Took hours - but then again - nothing compares to the satisfaction of peeling all those masks and seeing a nice clean trim job under it! A it more progress. Cleaned up small bits, painted in base colors: Detail painted engine parts: And assembled the engine. Even OOB it looks great, Tamiya did a good job on this.

thanks Bernard - Nissan is next: Thank you!

You bet. I usually paint my body shells on the inside as well, so masking and airbrushing it is the only way to do it right, really.

Chassis was not very complex to mask, so I did that and painted the front arches and belly pans black: Where it got a bit tough was masking the body and all those little pieces, but in the end, it turned out fantastic: Really like the contrast of pearl white and black!

Rich, yeah - its masked and airbrushed. In my WIP thread, I have a pic where it is all masked up if you want to take a look. Its a great kit of a rather obscure car, but I love it and had to build it!

Thank you gents!

Thanks man, appreciate it!

I have painted the body. Paiting model cars white is a very special skill set, which I totally lost. Last time I painted a model white was 18-20 years ago, and now I remember why I didn't do it for such a long time - you can't see the color going on the surface! So easy to overdo it or not put enough paint! Pearl turned out magnificent, though. Can't really see on the pictures as the grain is too fine, but I mixed Tamiya White Pearl with flat white, and that made the grain just perfect for the scale. Clear turned out just ok - I think i mixed in a bit more thinner than I usually do - got a couple of spots that need to be polished out. DSC_0527 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0525 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0523 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0519 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0516 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0514 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Thanks! Building out of the box does not take long! Thanks! Umm, not sure, tamiya masking tape? I don't think I'm doing anything special, just patiently working through it and make sure I burnish everything down one more time before spraying the paint. Thanks you! Haha, they never came stateside. Neat cars, though. Thanks!

Very nice! Its a great kit!

Thanks Bruce!

Pretty straightforward kit to build, everything fit fine, except maybe hood needs a bit of work to sit right. Built this one box stock. DSC_0507 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0501 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0503 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0509 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0477 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0493 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0489 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0484 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0480 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Thanks Jason. The model is completed: DSC_0507 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0501 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0503 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0509 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0477 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0493 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0489 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0484 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0480 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Some progress on this one. I cut the panel lines a bit deeper, which proved to be a chore, since there are a lot of them! Initially I wanted to leave the hood clear, but it had a molding defect on it, so it also got primer and ready for paint. IMG_1232 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1229 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Chassis was primed with some addition of gray primer to make a bit darker than the body: IMG_1227 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

When you are on the roll, you can accomplish a lot of things. I'm on a roll right now (mostly because I'm bored) and this would be my 4th model this month. Building box stock. IMG_1222 by Italian Horses, on Flickr I have built this kit before - in fact, this was my first Tamiya kit I have ever bought and built back in 1999. Back then I thought it was a nice and well engineered kit, just too complicated for my skill level. Hopefully I'm up to the task now! IMG_1223 by Italian Horses, on Flickr The kit is old stock - original issue of 1989, with old catalogs, etc. Yellowed instructions sheet and decals. Just how I like it, lol. IMG_1224 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Previous one I painted in red, this one will be White Pearl! IMG_1221 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

All right, I have finished the interior. First, I had to clean up front seats that had a lot of imperfections and took couple of hours of work to get into the shape I wanted: IMG_1070 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Interior color had to be something not boring for a body paint like this – I picked a combination of black and gognac. Base color was mixed from these 3 colors: IMG_1159 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1163 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then everything was masked off and painted black: IMG_1169 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Tamiya includes some plastic mesh for the front grille in the kit, and I used it to make the speaker grilles look a bit more interesting: IMG_1172 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1180 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1177 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Painted and detailed the dash: IMG_1184 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Interior ready for assembly: IMG_1175 by Italian Horses, on Flickr And a few pictures of the completed: IMG_1199 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1201 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1203 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1190 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1193 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1196 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Painted window trim: IMG_1167 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Washed and assembled the wheels: IMG_1160 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Assembled and detail painted front bumper: IMG_1206 by Italian Horses, on Flickr And finally a mock up of everything together: DSC_0474 by Italian Horses, on Flick DSC_0475 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0470 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0463 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0457 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0455 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0459 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0463 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0472 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0467 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Lot of good work done here! Though, I think the bodywork makes it look like a Mustang way too much, its loosing that Celica identity Though, I guess after the V8 swap...

Its mostly dry brush with some MM metalizers. Thank you!