Pete75

Thanks Mattias!

Thanks Sonny! I was surprised about the badges too - maybe you'll have more luck than I did. Glad you liked the the straps - re-purposing things is quite satisfying. Cheers Dann, appreciate it!

Bit of a fast forward to the finish on this one. It seems black cars don’t make for great WIP photos, and the exterior work turned out to be a bit tedious so I didn’t really document my progress. Installed the seats as they were in the end. I tried using a lighter wash (“European Dust”) to accent the recesses, but even diluted it just looked like muddy staining. Judging by other reviews, I’m not alone in not rating the Vallejo brown washes, but I’ll keep an eye out for alternatives because the pale seats are perhaps a bit “modelish”. The final interior element was the headliner upholstery. For me, this is the first time it’s been required and I debated whether to mask/spray or brush it. I decided the latter was the most efficient way, particularly as it’s unlikely that a slightly uneven finish on the ceiling is going to be much of an issue! The phone flash shows the effect of 1200 grit paper on the clear coat pretty starkly! It also shows how the big particles of rattle can paint don’t quite get into some of the fine recesses, and where I must’ve worn a couple of edges away whilst polishing the colour coat. From here I went with 2000 grit, then polishing compounds before touching up and doing the satin detailing. The window rubber and vents/grilles were masked and sprayed TS-29; the panel lines were masked and brushed satin black; and for the worn edges I masked tightly to the affected area and brushed on Tamiya X1. I’m not great with window glass, I’ve discovered: after getting super glue on the single unit in a couple of places I had to use Tamiya compound to polish it back the best I could, but I think I need to review my installation technique! With the glass fitted, plus the interior panels glued behind the side strakes, the body shell is a tight fit. I tried filing down some protruding edges but, ultimately, I had to use magnets to hold the front end down flush to the chassis. After wavering on the pop-up lights, I finally decided against them: too much work & I’m not a fan of fan of the way they look on this particular car. The tail pipes were lost during the build, so I fashioned replacements using some sprue and twist drills. I had fully intended to install mesh inside all the engine bay grilles – like the real thing – but I found the section between the tail lights would entail much more work than I imagined, plus the lifting cover barely fits over the engine as it is! For now, I don’t think it’s worth it but maybe I’ll revisit it someday. The prancing horse was sprayed silver, then glued on and coated with chrome marker. I spent far too long searching for aftermarket solutions for the Pininfarina badges on the flanks. I couldn’t find anything, so I just masked and sprayed them TS-17 - why didn’t I think of this earlier! Just waiting now for a script badge for the engine cover and she’ll be ready for her under glass pics. Thanks for looking!

Cool! My dad had a 3500 when I was a kid - in an appalling green. I'll always have a soft spot for them ?

23. Pete75 - Lotus Esprit S1 The Spy Who Loved Me After a small customs delay, the kit has arrived from Japan for my 007 Lotus: It’s a basic curbside affair, but I like what see. Now I just hope I can do some kind of justice to a movie icon. (Or failing that, not totally insult it!) Don’t know about time frame, but at least we’ve checked in at the parking lot before the start line! (Yes, I know it's from Octopussy & not The Spy Who Loved Me!!)

Nice one, Leroy - you're ahead of me. I've just finished watching the second season MV (before the Testarossa arrived). It's one cool kit car - hard to believe it's a Corvette! I guess the interior is the big giveaway (the mods you make will be interesting), but then I'm not a "proper" car guy & didn't notice the 250GT California in Ferris Bueller has a V8!! Cool project - will be watching.

That body chopping came out great, Bruce. Very impressed!

Geez Tim - that looks amazing! I have an Aoshima LP-700 lined up (going for candy green) and was planning black mirrors too. Now I'm definitely having black mirrors!! Nearly there, keep it up ?

Awesome. That would be welcome in many-a-garage. Look forward to it ?

Beautiful work! Super clean detailing ?

Nice job! I have a BMW I'd like to do in this colour. What did you use?

Nice work. Great colour for a Stratos I reckon ?

Awesome! Really imaginative & well executed. Now where did I put the Star Wars Blu-rays...

Stunning work - a really beautiful car.

She's a beauty - well done!

Really nice looking kit. Love the engine detailing - very effective ?

Cheers Guy - I have a space ready for it! ?

Thanks for looking in Dann - appreciate it ?

It all looks so simple - the sign of a master! Very interesting ?

? I love the attention to practicalities! No such considerations in an amphibious Lotus!

Twice the fun!! Thanks for looking in Leroy ?

Thanks Carl - appreciate it! ?

On to the interior ? I declined the option of doing the popular four tone interior (three shades of brown plus black) in favour of two colours, purely because I think it looks better on a black car. Made a rookie mistake in being casual with the choice of primer. I used black - out of convenience - without considering that it would impact the tone of the TS-46 light sand that I chose, so the result is slightly darker than the colour I had in mind. It's a subtle point that doesn't come across in the pictures; I guess it's one of those things you have to see in person. Something that doesn't require personal contact to appreciate are the almighty mould lines on the seats! I must’ve assumed it was piping or something when prepping, but they aren't ony any reference photo I've seen and they're now gone! I hit another snag when I tried putting wash into the seams to add some depth. I used Vallejo dark brown but it looked wrong - even diluted - and I ended up recoating in TS-46 and ordered the paler brown one. We’ll have to wait and see. With all the amazing scratch building going on around these parts, I thought I’d dip my toe into the shallow end and have a stab at doing some luggage straps, which aren’t a part of the kit. I’ve recently acquired my first styrene sheets which will take care of the buckle ends, and for the main part I have a tape measure that came out of a Christmas cracker! Primered and sprayed, they came out pretty well: For the carpet I’ve gone with my tried & trusted mix of matt black/anthracite to give some contrast against the satin black leather trim & gloss black detailing. A unique feature of this kit is having to roughly guess where the carpet and pale leather meet under the door card trim! The gear knob made the mould lines on the seats look positively neat, and had to be re-shaped with putty and sandpaper. The flash photos make my silver brushwork look slightly crude, but it’s not so bad in the flesh - squinting from a distance, in a fog etc. ? I found black wash invaluable in getting the iconic shift gate looking sharp. Because the Testarossa has a leather trimmed dash, I decided to brush it with satin black rather than spray it (like the steering wheel) to give a richer texture. (It’s also useful practice for my upcoming Cannonball build where my Lotus interior is probably going to have to be mostly hand painted.) After my last build, which had five separate dials, it’s a relief to have just one big dash decal! Will get the seats washed (or not) & fitted, but that’s as much as I can do to put off sanding and polishing the bodywork! Thanks for looking ?

Totally! I'm pretty new to all this and find it fascinating and inspiring - as well as a bit mind boggling! Keep up the great work on a beautiful car ?

Thanks Joe! Don't know why, but I particularly like interiors! ?