Pierre Rivard

Another masterpiece from your bench Dave. Do you have special methods or materials to take out the surface irregularities from the printing process?

I love Bertone designs and the Stratos is the ultimate expression of this style. Such a beautiful car in comparison to today's HUGE mid engine supercars. Fantastic choice you are making to go with yellow on this one. Will this be a racing or road car... or something of a mix?

On the road car the rear part of the floorpan is occupied by the fuel tank and spare tire tub. The race car has this replaced by a deep tub holding the fuel cells.

Absolutely Dave. Lots to do on this one and the Otaki body provides a better starting point than the other one.

Gorgeous work Paul. The air deflectors are so realistic they look full size. So nice to see this project back in action.

The rear axle/diff/oil pump assembly is a model by itself. No 3D printing shortcut. In this shop we fabricate our parts! ?

Going back to the "front engine" 275P. It's a little tight to access the V12 for maintenance, but check out the trunk...it's huge. People don't realize how practical this car is for road trips. I might buy one...

Love it Helmut. Stance is spot on. Such a beautiful race car.

Oh yes Bill. Bentley Continental would be high on my list But first would be the Red Pig!

WHAT? OOB... and miss all the fun? Yes Andrew it is better now. Now please finish that exhaust header connection.

Hello Ulf, You are experimenting a lot and that is basically how I developed my method. I don't promote brush painting as the way to go but for me it was the only way because I live in a high rise flat and setting up a spray booth was just not possible. My best tip would be lots of thinning and multiple thin coats are the way to go to avoid brush marks on large surfaces. Vallejo primer, thinned about 20-25% with water. 3 to four coats, a few days to dry and then moderate wet sanding with 2000-3000 grit. Vallejo model color, thinned with at least equal part acrylic thinner (my favorite is Green Stuff World 2102 acrylic thinner). Again 3-4 coats, no sanding. Vallejo gloss varnish 70.510, 5 drops clear and 3 drops water for thinning. Usually 2 thin coats. I let it cure a few days before polishing. After decals I add a layer of Holloway House Quick Shine to seal them and it also evens out the gloss level.

The printed parts add so much details. It is a new world.

Lots of beautiful fabrication going on, and the F1 Specialties detailing kit may be scary to look at but it sure takes this build to the next level. This may be the last truly beautiful F1 racer and you are building a spectacular replica of it.

Looks very good. How did you make the reinforced flexible fuel hose?

Another great build Matt. Such a wonderful race car. If you want the more accurate out-laced Borranis for the front end, USCP has them labeled as MB 300slr wire wheels and Jason Hupin (Jack Modeling) also makes them.

Definitely not an in-between build. I've been scheming this one for a long time. A big challenge for sure! Thanks TJ. She looks all business but there is so much more to do. A yup from the master is "goodenuf" for me. ? Gravy for you Jason, but not for me. I'm sh... scared of the decals but some more manageable stuff to do before I hit that bridge

Decent amount of bench time lately spent on the chassis to body foundation

Thank you Gerald. It is a challenging kit but the gorgeous body casting makes it worth the effort. I have another kit of this great car and I expect the build to go much smoother with all the learnings from the first one. Decals on mine came from VRM and they were excellent. I don't know if they are still producing but the site is still up (v-r-m.com)

It really looks the part Mark. This is a fabulous journey into the search for realism and scratch building all these components to reflect the car as it was built.

Most interesting topic for me as I brush paint absolutely everything. I'm keeping it simple, water based paints for everything, synthetic bristle brushes that I clean with dishwasher soap and water after every use. 1/2 inch Privateer Press P3 for large surfaces (body) and a small assortment of AK Interactive brushes for all the other components. A lot can be said about brushes but my experience is that properly thinned paint and brushing technique play a larger role in the equation. This car has been 100% finished with brushes and acrylic paint materials.

Such a wonderful build Jason, and the WIP journey provided so much learning, thanks to you sharing all your techniques and materials. The end result is an amazing barn find with extremely realistic exterior and mind boggling weathered interior. Incredible achievement sir!

I can't wait to see the rest of this WIP and posting under glass. There were a few R8's running around my neighborhood in the day so this build brings back nice memories.

Formidable work Rich. I think it's the first time I see a WIP from your bench and definitely lots to learn. What a mix of detailing and productivity. I started at 60, build about 5 a year, so I ll reach 1000 by the age of....

Speaking of realism, check out the difference between the kit wheels & tires and the upgraded units I put together. Wheels & tires can make a huge difference between a build that looks like a toy and the same build having a purposeful look to it. Pictures below tell the story.

Work begins on the Otaki body. The body has good proportions but some elements need to be improved to provide a better sense of realism.