Technics

Thanks guys! I absolutely love the purity in the shapes and proportions of the vehicles in the era. I misted on two full coats of black mr surfacer, then a mostly even / slightly uneven coat of metal paint. Still in awe what comes out of the airbrush rather “easily” I will begin working the upward facing surfaces once it’s had ample time to dry and kick back the reflection as I see fit, it’s all trial and error, alot of error. Fun at the bench.

On my test piece I continued working the surface, it was lighted up and got more chalky with pigments. I then adjusted the perimeter by “subtracting” with the metal paint again. I’m more then content with the result. I think it looks believable. Before the perimeter was adjusted and under more complimentary lighting.

I began testing paints and believe I will be going with the selection below. With a majority being the metal paint I will try to modulate. The purple and golds are my runner up. The fun begins! Adding and subtracting. I’m stippling on the metal paint, airbrushing it then matting it down with sandpaper. Matte clear completely removes the intriguing realistic metal feel so that’s not an option. Maybe satin would be ok. I’m really happy with the session. I believe I will aim to lighten everything up a bit so it’s more dusty than extreme high contrast. Easier said then done I don’t really know how yet but it’s rewarding playing around on scraps.

I swiftly assembled the majority of the project in 2-3 evenings guessing a number of steps. Somehow the vehicle sits upright and nicely although during the assembly I didn’t see how anything will sit in place it’s absolutely not a Tamiya. You can see some traces where the some of the chrome was. I will clean up the body where necessary and get it into primer. I think it looks fantastic. A truly huge object that screamed down the tarmac. I will likely cut out the plastic driver side net and make one slung over hanging out down the side of the door from an appropriate looking textile material.

@ncbuckeye67 Thank you bud. Yes it really is. But I’ve been building models since the 80s, collecting / studying reference photos trying to understand and indulging in all the amazing info and videos out there today and ease of acquiring materials. I’m super excited! My next project is under NASCAR’s WIP thread. Thank you everyone!

Purpose built race cars are one of my favourite things to look at. Slightly lower, slightly wider stance, deleted features, added features.. Building this kit with my main and only focus is the first impression of the exterior that has a nice stance. Neither a non functioning junkyard find nor a showroom car. Something inbetween. I am not an expert on the genre of racing or the car subject just having fun with model making. The kit is significantly old, instructions are vague, some parts are warped but useable. Most Importantly the body is super nicely done and to scale. Moderate to low price entry for something a bit obscure of a subject beside say a Fastback Mustang, 67 Camaro etc. I immediately stripped off the horrible ( to me ) manufacturer chrome plating with oven cleaner. All gone in minutes forgot to take a before photo, gotta love the stuff. Some inspiration follows below.

@Musclecarbuilder Thanks!! Yeah, I really would love to have the teal - I tried, didn’t want to look at it again so onto something fresh and new. Today I shot the roof again with a paper template shielding the rest. I’m content. Will let it rest before clearing. Super understated the colour I love it. I aim for the new reference below including the nice body trim.

I find the colour so very attractive, somehow understated in its matte finish I feel like keeping it. The body prepping wasn’t perfect but i hope the overall build quality / gloss will keep your attention. I’m content! 3 layers of paint straight from the bottle. “water” based paint this version, still has a door but not harsh. Edited Friday at 05:38 by Technics

My second Airfix/Heller kit, WRC car and a French Citroen! My aim was to build it as tidy as possible, with a cloud of stage dust accumulated in the rear. I have not got to the last part as I’m still waiting to distance myself emotionally from the project before I literally spray dirt onto something I surgically assembled in a gas chamber 😂 for six months so incase it doesn’t happen I want to conclude at this stage anyway. Model - Citroen DS3 WRC by Heller Details - Box Stock, I kept this one free from any aftermarket parts as a change to my recent Stratos build You’ll want to find brush paint to match the decals there’s plenty of small edges and slivers of areas I had to brush touch up. The decal job is significant as explained in the wip thread the “redbull” words and bulls themselves made up of 8-10 decals that overlap another in ways you wouldn’t ever dream of doing. So ultimately I can’t believe it all sticks and I didn’t tear a bottom layer or a midway decal during application ruining everything in a complicated way. Perhaps it speaks to show the quality of decals themselves Heller made here. Modifications - Box stock build apart from the flocked interior, steering wheel cable, front tow hook, and diy cut masks for the Citroen racing logo on the front. I also used utilised a universal carbon decal sheet by Tamiya for the rear wing. Pros By far most complex decal / livery I’ve completed combined with painting multiple masked colours as a base. Might be the nicest clear coat I’ve managed thus far. I thank wet sanding and spraying down the room with water before each clear coat layer in an attempt to ground anything airborne. Cons Wheels could be nicer in these heller kits. Otherwise this is almost Tamiya quality fit / finish ( opposite to the Xsara kit ). Yellow has a bit of dark blue seeping through as the blue is in paint and the decal overlaps it. To make this alignment 100% you’d have to paint the decal or be a magician to have it align, guessing how the decal will conform while setting on the surface vs. A clumsy freehand masked tape line. I’m really content. I absolutely love rally cars. Build Thread -

Thank you everyone! This will snowball into many non "perfect" showroom finish projects as it´s all I ever aspired to do since the 80s.

Here’s the colour I will be going with.

Primed rear section of chassis in black. Cut out front air intakes Drilled out some front holes on the body based of references Drilled out center section of fuel inlet for some depth

Clipped off the front air cardinals and trued up the front not to have soft undercut features revell made. I cut away and fused in the aftermarket diffuser. Mated the chassis to body for mock-up, a first - window trims came pre painted. But bizarrely slightly transparent / worn out decal feeling.. think it’ll work though. Love how it looks!! Wheels will need a slight offset during final assembly. I will begin to drill and cut away necessary cavities I find based from photos I don’t know what I was thinking shooting paint before studying references more 😃.

Working my way through primer and sanding, some dry fitting for motivation. Looks fantastic as a package. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t stand Revell Germany boxes. Completely unintuitive and unusable during the build process for me. Small side slot opening, parts sloshing around. I disguised a useable box as the ford project instead 😂🤠 Some more improvement parts arrived, just because it’s fun. Upgrades are something I never really understood until recently but it is really fun I’ve learned during the lotus build… and some of the upgrades can bring drastic improvements. If it feels exciting and propels the build forward I’m all for it now! Diffuser, fuel caps, air hose, wheel. I got it just for the diffuser but the rest won’t hurt if I manage to get them into the model nicely.

I started fusing the main body parts together. There’s a few seam lines to address and tricky surfaces to clean once you join the main body parts. It didn’t help that I was a bit sloppy with the CA so there’s more clean up then there should have been. Also scribing clean the part lines. I bet the Tamiya kit is perfect but it is not the LM version which is ultimately more exciting to me. I plowed through a bunch of steps in the manual fusing parts into assemblies for ease of painting and detailing. It’s no where near as good as a kit as the Land Rover III. German vs American Revell?

This kit came in a bundle and ended up being completely free once I sold off the associated cars which were not of interest! The kit looks excellently detailed and being a modern release I’m hoping it’s perfect to assemble even if it’s not a Tamiya.. I have read mixed reviews of it however... It can´t be worse then the Lotus Esprit anyway! The box art livery is ok but I thought about doing a more modern and exciting ( to me ) feeling. - single color Ford Liquid Blue with matte clear or pearl stripes Dual centered stripes that are stuble on a car is something very seldom I would consider so it could be the way forward. They land on some horribly difficult air inlet areas so I’m not certain.

I went with a massively understated looking Polymatic Grey Mustang GTD colour. Getting some sort of reaction on the roof.. maybe went in too hot not giving the primer more dry / gas out time.

Having stepped away, forgot about it and returned with fresh eyes ( and my newly discovered favourite tool, IPA-Isopropyl alcohol) I decided I’m not excited by looking at the model so I stripped it back to nothing again Did two cleaning sessions with chemical friends, and got it back into black primer stage.

Looks great ! Unbelievable improvement with correct sized wheels. Looks incredibly natural now.

Project has been concluded. Thank you everyone! Final Post -

I went in wanting to do a weathered paint surface look. I mixed colours directly in the airbrush pot to try to get some shade variations, have fun and break away from the stiff ( and usually painful for me ) showroom finish desire / need / ultimate often disappointment. Discover excitement in other approaches, subjects, etc. Model - Land Rover Series III - Revell A newly serviced runner, that’s not had any bodywork completed.. and proud to be it. Details - None, completely out of the box build, I left several parts off the final as I feel it doesn’t need anything more. Modifications - None, completely out of the box build! A first for my “comeback” Pros My most weathered look attempt First chipped paint attempt First “metal” finish attempt Fought the urge to clean up enamel wash Incredibly happy! Looking back at the photos I can’t believe it’s my build. Cons Nothing really, Could be “dirt” weathered too but I feel it’s so characteristic already it’s not needed. Build Thread -

Front lamp lenses in. Hood wheel / tire mounted. Windows in. Window trims are brush painted on the body and permanent marker on clear parts. Mist of matte showing wiper movement. I am treating this as a in progress restoration build, rather then a non running junkyard barn find type. So thing´s aren't broken, the body is aged but its all in running order. I sponge stippled 3 colours to build up a nice feeling and hue on the seats. I began to panel wash some detail on the body and interior. I will mist a bit of dirt and call it a day soon. I will say it looks sweetier in person. A bit less harsh contrast if that makes sense. More pastel feeling.

@titinoCompletely overlooked that I will likely drill them out. Thanks!

With an exterior wrapping up I blasted through the remainder of the interior. Keeping it simple OOB as it is incredibly hidden, with just hints of it visible. Just the steering wheel cable was non standard. Applied flat clear to the harness decals, cut them out with the backing paper remaining and ran a black marker along the edges. I CA glued them in place. Using decals are unrealistically glossy and are less then paper thin so this adds a bit of mass to them. Build environment context shot

Window trim painted - I went after my main references instead of the kit decals so the windscreen was masked 3 times to get the black off areas, sun visor and lastly a mist of clear for a hint of texture. The side windows got masked twice in order to get a dual gloss / matte finish as the reference photos. The windscreen locks and holds in place without any glue. The side ones mate beautifully from the outside. I love a kit that is designed this well on such visual integral parts. This is a great fitting kit. Applied remainder of decals Getting close now. Note kit decals shape Rounded black off areas and a sun visor that’s off black.