Nox

Haven't had much time to do anything lately on account of work, but going to try to get some stuff done this weekend. Even if it's just a little more BMF.

I'll check them out. The one I'm going to borrow is actually a single action.

I actually got one of those magnifying glass desk lamps with the LED ring. Actually works great, I just have to get used to the magnified workspace. I felt my cuts were much more precise on the second door panel and the gear shift base though. As for the airbrush, I could honestly see myself possibly enjoying the dual action operation but I see your point as well about "press a button and go". I'll have to play around and see what works.

Got some more BMF done. Haven't had much time to work on things due to holidays and work schedule. A buddy of mine is a taxidermist and is going to give me an old airbrush of his to try out. It's just a cheap one but I figure it'll give me more control than the spray can. If nothing else I'll test it out on something. If I like it, I've been looking at possibly getting a Paasche TG Talon.

Yep, found that out quickly. I will say, it is a lot easier than what I imagined it would be though. Magnifying glass would have probably knocked the completion time in half just from being able to see precisely where I was cutting. I'm also a firm believer in using it now instead of paint!

I had to at least try it out tonight. All things considered, I think this turned out magnificent for a first attempt. A magnifying glass would come in really handy, so that's now on my list of things to get. I had a few misses while trimming, as you can probably see on the center trim. Total time was about an hour and a half, but I took my sweet time on it to get it as best I could.

"Batmobile lost (three) wheels and Joker ran away..." lol She got me the 2010 convertible vette. I would have personally chosen a vintage model but she thought this one "looked faster" haha. I'm gonna have her help me build it. BMF arrived today. I work this weekend but plan to start into it on Monday.

Foil ordered. I got the "new and improved" variation, as I have seen some incredibly mixed reviews about the old ultra bright chrome. Bo, what I was meaning was trying it out on the inside of the door panel that wont be visible, just to practice hitting the details I want on something no one would see on the finished model. But if it's as easy to just peel off and start over, I'll forgo doing that and just dive right in. I also have several brand new #11 blades so I'll set a few aside just for the foil. I also ordered an extra can of primer, as I MAY have accidentally caught a glimpse of a Christmas present from my 8 year old. I saw AMT and it looked like Corvette taillights...I'll have to act super surprised lol, she was trying so hard to hide it.

I'll get some foil then, no time like the present to give it a shot. I may practice on the inside of a piece with some reverse details on it.

Thanks guys. I think my biggest issue is I'm OCD and a bit of a perfectionist (I am my own worst critic in all aspects). I did get most of the engine assembled today though. Still a few minor touch ups I need to do on some paint from cutting the sprues. I have done some research into BMF and would love to try it out, but I feel like I'll end up with a mess on my first attempt. Not sure if I should just try to paint the details, as I am actually pretty steady with a brush, or use Molotow. If I go with paint, can someone recommend what would look best? Edit: Talking about the chrome door panel details and whatnot.

I'm probably not going to start into the body until I have the majority of everything else done. Honestly I'm trying to make sure I only have to do it once, the right way. Not just one coat, but I want to avoid having to strip it and redo it. Remember, this is the first time using spray on a body for me...kinda intimidated lol.

I have now circumvented the need for the dehydrator by putting my drying box sorta close to the wood burner with the fan blowing on it. Same effect and SURPRISINGLY EFFECTIVE. Enamel was drying to the touch within 15-20 minutes!

Thanks Bo. I actually got a bottle of the testors stuff just to see how it is, but I'm literally only using drops of it at a time and I dont use it for cleaning. I have a jar with some of that eco friendly stuff (found in the garage) I just sit the uses brushes in when I'm not using them, then swish and wipe when I need a new color. The testors is just for thinning purposes. I found an old can of "lacquer thinner" from probably the 1950s in the garage but I have no idea what is actually in the can. My wife's grandpa kept all sorts of odd mislabeled things in there, like the weedkiller vacuum sprayer I found full of gasoline, or the bleach bottles full of kerosene. It doesn't smell like thinner though so I'm just leaving it where it is.

Got some more painting done, seats fitted as well. Maybe it's the fan, maybe it's the temperature, maybe it's the thinner, but this enamel is drying a lot faster than I remember. Or maybe I'm just not globbing it on like I used to. Either way, hoping to start assembling the rest of the engine maybe tomorrow.

That hand crafted tubing ingenuity is insane. I never would have imagined such a thing until I saw those pics. That looks awesome.

Awesome job!!! That car is beautiful!

Started painting the engine block. Got seats glued together, back seat and pedals glued in. I didn't really notice before, but I thought the rear inner fender wells would be covered by the seat and door panels. Going to touch them up a hair. I may have thinned the orange a bit too much, because it was pretty (extremely) watery going on. I may end up putting a second coat on it with less thinner depending on how it looks when it dries. Using thinner with the enamels is new thing for me, as when I was younger I always just dipped right into the jar and went to town with it. But that's probably also why it was always a gummy mess...more to come!

Did a 1000 grit wet sand to smooth out some rough spots and sanding marks I missed last night (first pic). Got a good second primer coat on the body, hit the seats, door panels, dashboard and did touch up coats on the floorpan/suspension and radiator. Did another dry assembly of things to see how it all looks and I'm ridiculously anxious to start gluing. Going to leave the body alone for a bit and focus on painting the smaller parts so the assembly can get underway.

I agree the temp probably had something to do with it. I was walking around with the spray can I was about to use in my pants pocket for about 20 minutes prior to using it so it would get it warmed up (and it certainly did while standing by the furnace!), but I think it was probably more the overall ambient temperature being what it was. I just got home from Hobby Lobby and picked up some supplies, had the burner going the whole time so it's fairly warm in there now. Picked up some enamel thinner and a few of the small-tipped high dollar paint brushes for detailing. Also snagged some tack cloth, scribing tools and what may be my body color. They only have Tamiya spray cans in the primer, but they have the Model Master auto lacquers in several colors so I picked up a can of Chevy Nassau Blue Metallic. I realize that specific hue was not a stock color for the car, but I like it. Just got back into the garage and we are pushing 60°F (hung a box fan for circulation and drying assist) so time to get to work!

Second coat primer on the body and base coats done on the floorplan, suspension and radiator subassemblies. I also hit one of the door panels and the pedal group too. The garage is cold but it has a small gas space heater and a large wood burner in it. I didn't have much wood so I threw what I had in it and let it cook. Only got up to about 52°F, which is at the minimal end of the temp range for the paint, so I was taking turns waving the painted parts over the space heater to help things dry a bit faster. Getting more wood tomorrow and gonna load it up to hopefully get temps into the 60s, then do second coats. I have noticed on areas like the radiator grill and fuel tank, which have very thin contour lines, the paint doesn't want to get into those little gaps. Would it be recommended to keep spraying those areas until they fill? Or just touch them up by hand? The only liquid paints I have are the testors enamels, so I'm wondering if they will look noticeably different. If I do it by hand, would it be best to just do the entire areas of the parts, such as the whole fuel tank area of the floorpan, and not just the gaps?

Thanks Bo! Definitely easier than basically working out of my lap! Not even worried about building a vented spray box now, I can just throw a tarp behind me to protect the car from overspray.

So I didn't get to painting yet by the wife let me take over the garage so I have a legit workstation now.

Yeah I know what I'm looking for now and I've started finding quite a few on noticable areas of parts. The whole radiator had one right across the top edge and the cap. That was tricky to sand down without getting into the cap itself, since it's only about a millimeter thick to begin with. 1000 grit and easy does it worked it down nice and smooth though. I'm going through things with a fine tooth comb now to get anything which would be visible. My Tamiya semigloss black should be here today, so I'll be able to put some paint down on the suspension and whatnot. Going to try to do my second primer coat on the body today also and maybe get into some actual assembly.

Mold lines sanded.

Thanks guys. I didn't even notice the mold line on the roof until the primer went on. I will give everything another once-over and get to sanding anything else I find.