Technics

Thanks everyone ! @Rescued customs it’s a fella here in Sweden you can find him on Facebook if you search Ghostman 3D parts. He’s easy to reach and chat with.

Project was concluded. Thank you everyone 😊 Final post is below

Model - Lotus Esprit 300 Details added - Carpet, new oem emblems Modifications - Alot of the body and chassis needed removal of material to fit together. As individual assemblies they were nice otherwise. Stance is hard-set with CA glue and hot glue as best as I could manage. 2024 marked my return to 1:24 from a 20 year hiatus, feeling inspired and motivated! Paint Street Blisters Arden Green Mr Surfacer Black Primer Mr Super Clear Pros A tidy paint and clear finish Really happy with result! Best I have done so far Cons Kit Part fitment could be better Finish could still be better in with a polishing process to get a true glass / gloss finish. A advanced build due to number of parts which were unfortunately difficult to assemble together as sub assemblies in the end. Manual is good, part count and detail of the parts is very good. Build Thread -

Main engine assembled, few tricky bits. Isn’t perfect but it should look great as a whole. Chiseled away at the firewall whenever I had the inspiration, nothing pretty but most won’t be seen or drawn attention to hopefully. Mocked up the motor to chassis to body. Took a bit of trimming, and working the chassis to get the motor to sit at the angle I wanted. Looks absolutely mental 😃 ! I will work to have the motor sit further forward but I’m starting to see promise. I will be able to pull this off. A huge undertaking as this is the second kit I’ve ever cut outside of the instructions ( Stratos the first ) . It was about time I dared to Again, not perfect but a inspired build. I also got these wheels as I love the look of them. Well see if they’ll work on this project or not.

Four coats of clear, last two were wet sanded with 3000 grit. If I applied a bit more pressure it would have been perfect. This is by far the best finish I’ve managed it’s significantly more “Mirror” reflective gloss like then the Espirt :) . I guess a fine grit cut and polish would make it completely glass. Very pleased!! I had to remove finger prints from the second layer and small dust speckles from all layers but the last. I will let it rest for a few weeks to a month+ before I dare to tape the next stage. I have let it dry 4-6 hours before handling it for these photos.

Sharing some more inspiration images which I am using as a reference for dirt accumulation and body colours. I made a test of a few colours for the lower half as I am now not 100% certain which one to go for. I will give it a bit more time before I make a lower body colour pass. Now I’m leaning towards rubber black. I feel It will contrast nicely with the green.

@MarkJ That’s some very kind and encouraging words thanks for that! I often see only flaws, but try to see the big pictrue and just enjoy the process regardless of the result. I outlined and brush painted the first layer of two of black on the inside of the clamshells that will be seen when the model is complete. Not 100% decided if I’ll leave it at that or elaborate on the fibreglass. I started to plan out the interior and began applying some PE parts. Super rewarding process it is.

Lovely subject and progress so far. Inspiring to watch the scratch building / hinges.

I fused the clear lenses onto the rear. Happy with the result. Here is how it looks unfinished underneath so far. Some examples of how the clamshells are finished or not finished rather. I am going to aim for a faded beige yellowish half dirty look which will probably be mainly paint maybe putty, the feel grass like flocking is a bit overkill for now at the least way I’ve tried. Black was the plan initially but it’s a but more interesting with a modulated warm colour for the inner clamshell.

Surge of inspiration came so I opened up the remaining resin parts of the kit that I haven’t touched since summer. I primed the next batch of small parts. Rear struts mounted. The motor has been painted and washed a few times over and has been sealed once. Plenty left to do on it, the exhaust I mocked up briefly and decided I want to make it white. I tried to modulate the colour and make it all look realistic / interesting. I will continue to matte down and dust it in white it should turn out ok. I’m out of realm here but am inspired and there’s no lack of images available online. Technically this could apply more towards my other build(s) as I will not go this heavy on the Lancia but I’ll post it here. I experimented with dirt and with rust. The left is pigments applied, and removed and matte clear coated. The right is rust by applying 4-5 colours with a spounge and slouched about. I am super surprised how well both sides turned out. I am very happy. I would do it much more stubble with a top layer exposing only fractions of the rust is the idea. Small bits on the exhaust maybe well see how it feels. Finally I had the idea of trying to mimick fibreglass. It could be simply colour or Tamiya diluted puddy applied to the Desired surface but I thought I’d take it a bit further and try to get the fiber hairs / strands. I applied wood glue and sprinkled on household spices at first. I was being careful as it smelled delicious immediately. I went out and bought some railroad grass strands which fitted the scale more. I applied them and am now experimenting of how to seal and paint them a yellowish pale brown tint / shade. Clear coat did not do much to my liking but get absorbed so what you see here is layers of different types of clear gel / resin / micro klear etc. The airbox will be in this raw fiberglass as well as the inner of the entire rear clamshell. Just because I haven’t done it before and to get over the hump of doing high gloss only.

Begun to brush paint details on the body, masking touch ups with paint, lamp housings & lenses. Fused the lamps to the body. I’m releved the magnet and hinge work as they should. As it’s all CA glued in its final place.. permanently ideally! I started to appreciate how small the model is when handling the clear parts, tiny as the car itself! They can be mistaken for scrap trimmings when they’re off the sprue. The wheels sit vibrant now, some reference photos show a much more lemon yellow but I went with a more orangey reference photo / colour . I’m not replicating an exact stage or race. It’s a kit car for all we know Fused on painted and backed front and side clear lenses. Began inspecting the photo etch detail up set I have. I don´t know how much I´ll be using from the PE sheet but I will use as much as I see fit! I removed and began to shape the front grill. So precise and accurate it seemed at first glance. I bent the mesh around a exacto blade handle to match the curvature of the front of the body.

Looks awesome !

I made a colour choice, I went with the Iceland BMW Green. I will have bumpers and running boards in this nice satin Porsche colour I found. It’s warmer and less Arden Green then it appears on photos. Unintentionally it ended up being sort of box art vibe haha. Actually thought about going full box art and finish it off with a finely painted gold stripe of tape. Feels very OEM anyway I am debating attempting a weathered peeling clear coat in areas. I do plan on having a light road use feel. It’s a parked runner / survivor. I have not airbrushed for a while so I made the mistake of shooting in a bit too low psi, and I had not cleaned it properly so it resulted in needing to wet sand after a few base coats. But with newly cleaned disassembled hardware and psi 25-30 it shot beautifully. So inspiring to use, I’m on my 8th or 9th. “Full pot” of paint. I will let it rest and gas out now.

@NOBLNG I’m with you, I love a lifted off roader, crawler, pre runner etc…. I just need some really simple OOB builds in parallel to offset my nerves of challenging builds and setbacks of other projects 😃 I have the Lindenberg Cherokee in 1:20 which I will build one day, caged and on my 1:24 crawler chassis with knobby tires and all the things. @Mattilacken oo sounds awesome! i wish the first gen existed in scale form. It’s such a nice body. Black primer on. Worked on removing seams and blemishes I could find. I love the feeling of Mr Surfacer.

I won’t be ready to shoot until midweek if I’m lucky but right now my first choice as boring as it may seem the Aston Martin Arden Green again with a silver bottom half . The colour is very appropriate for the maturity of an OEM Jeep and will look realistic I feel. straight out of a dealer catalogue. My second choice is the BMW Iceland Green.

Jeep Cherokee I need some OOB builds that aren’t fussy to offset the difficult Airfix and Monogram kits I am wrapping up. A golden era Tamiya Jeep is the ticket. I’ve had this in the stash a good while. A era of SUV’s that are kinda special if you look back at them now. Manual gearboxes, V8s, and lots of character! I will definitely take the opportunity to go with a two tone paint job on this exterior. I have the urge to use my newly acquired paint. I feel a metallic red would feel believable. Otherwise a black or dark metallic shade of grey is a no brainier but that works so well on anything I am willing to go outside of my comfort zone to make something unique ( maybe ) . I love the extra rugged look of modified ones but I want to keep the rabbit hole shallow in the name of progress and ultimately completion. It gets out of hand quickly otherwise 😃.

@1959scudetto Yes your absolutely right! However this particular vintage kit unfortunately that I bought came without front or rear lamp lenses. which is why i wrote " Cons Missing lamps lenses from the box " in the description. I found out this information after I already started but wanted to build it anyway to improve my modelling skills and have model completion momentum. I would have love to put the glass in off course! Next one! Thank you all!

It could be better, but one must continue. There is no lack of bottled paint touch up that will be needed. The magnet hinged rear is also fully functioning and in place. Sometimes it needs an extra firm push to sit tightly. Happy to be where I am with it. Next up, alot of lamps!

I had the nerve today to mask off and tackle the black areas. It went ok, a 7.5/10, there will be cleanup. The clear has alot of flaws in it sadly but the model is by far the most intimidating and complex I’ve attempted. As a complete package it’ll be nice from a distance. I cut down my thinnest tape by half, sometimes a third to get the right thickness or flexibility. I want to do the “tape on and cut away with a blade” technique but no matter how new a blade I always find the tape tears just a bit or isn’t the exact line you aimed for while stressing if your cutting into the body/ part. I find taping just better. From the paint bin a perfect satin finish match wheel colour coming up.

Looking forward to seeing more, I just got this kit in a chance bulk purchase!

I took some time to wash and detail paint the motor some more. Being not too accurate, and using a bit more thinner to paint I find helps it look a bit more real having some slight metal show through. I found more pieces for the engine compartment which I lost track of to paint as well. I’m pretty excited how it’s starting to look and feel now. It’s getting close to finishing, something I thought would be much later in the year.

I picked up the motor assembly and began by painting it in flat aluminium, I followed that by giving it two different washes. The motor is mainly tucked away and hidden when it sits in the lotus rear mounted. I had a nervous moment when I realised it might never enter the motor compartment, as I mentioned above the kit is fused together permanently already. I cut away parts of the motor and frame to get it in. I glued back the parts that I could. None of this is seen. I will brush paint and detail as much as I feel motivation to while it’s installed in the motor compartment. I really like the contrast of texture of the carpet to the black and exterior colour.

@oldcarfan haha hilarious mud bogger, so true. Horrible kits for fit and finish. Subjects can be neat though. It’s an absolute glue bomb underneath, zero mechanical sympathy. All in the name of how it appears right side up is how the stance is achieved. I dremelled, cut away even melted with a flame and bent parts to have it sit reasonably. I will need to offset these two very difficult kits made back to back ( Citroen and Lotus ) with a few kits that fall together and OOB I feel 😃

Model - Airfix Citroen Xsara WRC Details - Aftermarket hood pins, decals and DIY leaves added Modifications - Stance is hard-set with CA glue and hot glue as best as I could manage, exhaust is shortened and glued further away from original mounting and bored out to look more realistic, molded in rear badges, hood pins, tow hooks removed. Jack stand holes drilled through. Thin strip of tape painted in yellow and mounted in center of steering wheel detail. Subtle windscreen weathering, Flocked dashboard, seats, and steering wheel. Windows had to be cut down from one part to 5 separate. Gaps remain if you want to be picky 😀 Pros First completely airbrushed model excluding primer and clear First panel line wash First “light” coloured weathering Really happy with result!! Cons Missing lamps lenses from the box Second round of weathering experiment not as convincing as first, it is water soluble so I will continue to remove if bothersome to the eye over time. A simple but challenging build. The model kit reads like it’s in scale and nicely molded but the manual is bizzare and overall build is difficult I would say. A advanced build that required attention and imagination during basic assembly. Beware of old decals, low quality more then high quality ones anyway! Decals, weathering, perfect glass finish gloss paint and 100% stance remains a “could have been better” in my opinion but it’s a finished and documented model. I am very content, this is my second finished model from the 20 year break and it feels fantastic! The lotus in the photos is still a wip but could not help have them in the shot together. Original kit boxes have had their box art cut out for future display / decoration of some sort. WIP Thread -

Agree, love this! Great paintwork !!