70 Sting

You went the extra mile on this one. 👍🏼

@Rich Chernosky Thanks Rich. I received a Tamiya Mercedes-Benz 300SL from Santa this year. Looking forward to this one too. 😀

@Painted Black That would be a good ‘plan B’. I could flip the tires around and use decals. What I’d really like are fatter tires… something to mimic 245s. Luka Cee recently posted a video on making tires wider. Might be something to try.

@Plowboy Thanks, I'll check them out. 🙂

Good evening, I hope this is the correct place to post this. I'm planning to build AMT's 1970 Corvette but would prefer to use BF Goodrich tires over the Goodyear's provided with the kit. Does anyone know of an alternative kit or aftermarket seller where I can purchase a set? Many Thanks!

@Nacho Z They have a better selection in their TS rattle can line, however I haven’t hit on a really good recipe for decanting/thinning/spraying it. Have you? Should probably just use it straight from the can. 🤔 @JollySipper Photography hides some of the little flaws. I should probably add to What I Learned from this Build: If a seam that has been glued/melted with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement let’s go, re-scribing the panel line doesn’t go well as the scribing tool tends to skip along the seam. This happened after the brake fluid bath and the results can be seen along the hatch and right, rear corner panel above the wheel.

@Phirewriter The red is a little bright but looks nice through the windows. I saw the actual car sitting in someone’s driveway while walking the dog and thought it looked pretty cool. Did a Web search and found that Tamiya made a kit. 🙂 Blue would look nice as well. Enjoy the build.

Good Evening, This was my first Tamiya kit... I now know why people rave about the quality of their kits. Pretty sure you could toss the kit into a bag and the parts would fall together. There was no engine and some tiny parts that could probably have been moulded as one but overall a pleasure to build. Great window masks were included - a first for me. The body was primed with decanted Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black and painted with decanted Tamiya TS-45 Pearl White. The TS-45 took several coats but never really covered that well so I decided to apply 2 coats of Tamiya LP-43 Pearl White and sealed it with decanted Tamiya TS-65 Pearl Clear. I did not use primer on the interior. The colours are Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black and XF-7 Flat Red. I used Ranger gun metal embossing powder for the carpeting. Of course it wouldn't be a build if I didn't make a couple mistakes along the way. What I learned from this build: 1. I turned a tiny dust speck into a bigger boo-boo and had to strip the paint. Oven cleaner worked okay but brake fluid seemed to work better. Thanks for the tips I read here on the forum. 🙂 2. This was my first time using Tamiya's LP lacquer paint. It sprayed nicely thinned 1:1 with Mr. Levelling Thinner and I would choose their LP over acrylic for car bodies every time. 3. Not sure about colour similarity between their TS and LP line. Tamiya's Lacquer Compatibility Chart says TS-45 and LP-43 are the same but the LP-43 looked warmer to me. 4. I used a heavier application of white glue with the embossing powder which worked well. 5. The decals seemed a little thicker and less sticky. Had to use multiple applications of decal solution to make them stick and conform. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! 🥂

Love 'em all. 👍

Love 'em all. 👍

Well worth the 365 days!

@Bills72sj That’s very kind of you. 🤗 Agreed, the box art does nothing to sell the kit. I only became aware of it through a prolific YouTube builder. With regards to the front wheels, I’m wondering if the trademark front wheel humps of the C3 Corvette make them look smaller?

Totally worth the wait and effort (manicure)😎.

Wow! She’s a beauty. Awesome interior and great outside finish. 😎

Excellent techniques!

Huge C3 fan. Your ‘69 looks great!

Me likes! I've thought about purchasing this kit a few times but haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. Seeing your build is making me rethink that decision.

@magicmustang Hey that's cool 😎. Please keep me posted, I'd love to know how you find the build and see the final result. @Ace-Garageguy I've heard good things about something called Milliput but have not looked into it.

Hey @Claude Thibodeau I'm a recent returnee to the hobby where so much is new to me now, that I can't speak comparatively about its use and quality vs other brands. What I can say about Tamiya Putty is that it seems to shrink a bit when it dries, however it hasn't been an issue after a second application. I treat it like using drywall mud/compound: apply just enough to fill the gap plus a little extra to compensate for shrinkage - but not too much to avoid a lot of extra sanding. I find that putting the part in a dehydrator really helps as well. For bigger gaps I would use Tamiya 'Epoxy' Putty and finish it with the regular putty. As for long term shrinkage, I built this Ford GT40 several months ago where I had to fill in the entire rear seam like on the Stingaree and there are no signs of cracks or shrinking.

Thanks for the comments, fellas. The box art is pretty weak. The frame was kinda finicky and difficult to keep aligned. Not sure I'd build one again, but it was certainly a good learning experience. I'm going to build my first Tamiya kit next. I hear they practically build themselves. 🍺

Good Evening, Not my normal cup of tea, however, being a Corvette fan I thought why not? I photographed the completed Stingaree this evening and thought I'd share my thoughts. The body was painted with decanted Tamiya FS Primer White, decanted Tamiya TS-43 Racing Green and clear coated with decanted Tamiya X-13. Some of the chassis was painted with AK Xtreme Metal White Aluminum and the chrome parts were stripped and painted with AK Xtreme Metal Chrome. All aluminum and chrome parts were base coated with AK's Black Base (yucky). What I learned from this build: 1. The body comes in 7 parts which fit together with obvious seams. Got lots of practice using Tamiya Putty. 2. There's some sort of warp in the frame. I've seen alignment issues with other builds. 3. I think I have been thinning the primer too much (1:1 with lacquer thinner) as it doesn't fill little scratches like it does straight from the can. 4. First time I decanted TS colour paint - I think I need to change the ratio (4:1 with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner Retarder type) or be more patient and apply multiple light coats and slowly build the colour. 5. First time using TS-13 Clear - also thinned 4:1. It did not burn the decals (I've read horror stories on the forums). Applied a couple mist coats first then 2 wet coats. 6. Decals were very brittle and broke in multiple places. Lined them up as best I could but the seams can definitely be seen. 7. Must remember to wipe off excess decal setting solution. It left spots that would not come off with water and or isopropyl and a cotton swab. Luckily the clear covered most of it. 8. Tried making my own fuel line with heated and stretched sprue. 9. Used a commercially available distributor and battery wires. So tiny... need the patience of a saint. Thanks for reading 🙂

I appreciate that MikeyB08. I've made a return to the hobby after 35 years due to covid. Back then, I never painted a kit for fear of ruining it and only used Testors tube glue - didn't know anything else existed. Internet Forums and Youtube have opened my eyes to all the possibilities. I'm determined to try new techniques every time because I have many years of catching up to do. 🙂

I actually used Tamiya glue to set a stubborn dashboard decal on a Miura because I didn't have decal solution with me at the time... it worked, you just can't touch it. Good spot on the callipers, I hadn't notice that. Wondering if that was a manufacturing mistake as the wheels attach to the axel with half circle connections i.e. they can only be rotated in 180˚ positions. I suppose I could have drilled out the other half circle and oriented it correctly (or pretend I didn't read your comment 😜). The biggest drawback with X-22 seems to be the drying time from what I've read on the net. Had a problem with the Miura but it dried nicely on this one.

Thanks espo. I did use paper towel to wick the excess off - I guess it just took a little longer for gravity to do its thing. I know the airplane guys use this method religiously on their canopies. I also airbrushed Pledge on the body of a previous build, the same thing happened - very minor pooling along a bottom edge. Kinda hard to see in the photos, perhaps I applied it a little heavy with the airbrush in this case. 1932 Chrysler Imperial 8

That's a good one, too. 🤭