Greasefinger

Thanks, I might try them out. Good colour selection and I think they can also custom mix by colour code.

Excellent job inside out! How did you like the Firescale paints (durability, metal flake scaling etc)? Did you use their lacquer or water based version?

Thanks and looking forward to see your solution. I posted a link to discussion about the cane work above, maybe they will help!

Thanks! I saw you build here and on Britmodeller and it is really still at another level. The wicker / cane treatment is actually molded in the body. I posted a question about the subject here before starting building. I thought of making it look a little more three-dimensional by applying brown panelliner but that didn´t work out quite well so I opted for just a clean look instead. For the same reason I didn´t gloss coat the black and dark red body parts, wet sanding and buffing them would´ve been quite a chore. Semi matt was easier to get a clean look.

"Released in 1930, Cadillac became the first American car manufacturer to introduce a production car with a V-16 motor. In the early 1930s American car manufacturers were in a battle of “cylinder wars.” The likes of Packard, Franklin, Lincoln, Auburn, and Pierce Arrow all had created 12-cylinder cars by 1932. Marmon, a Cadillac competitor, thought about the idea of creating a 16-cylinder car in the late 1920s before Cadillac, but were unable to do so due to the lack of resources. Unlike many of the competitors in the high-end market, Cadillac predominantly offered complete cars rather than rolling chassis to be bodied by custom coachbuilders. Many of the 'standard' bodies were constructed by Fleetwood (Ultimatecarpage.com)." Jo-Han has released three of the Fleetwood styled bodies as 1:25 scale model kits first in the 1960´s: Two door Cabriolet, four door Sport Phaeton and four door Town Brougham. The kits were re-released and re-boxed in the 70´s. For the Town Brougham Jo-Han used as a template a car which was a result of 20 years of research and restauration work. You can read more about it´s history here: https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/23234/lot/43/1931-cadillac-v-16-series-452-town-brougham-chassis-no-703164-engine-no-7-3214/ All Jo-Han Cadillac 1931 models share the same chassis, engine, tires and lights. The kits have over 160 parts each and are very well detailed. The age shows, and the plastic was quite brittle, I broke several parts. The cabriolet was built in 2023. The Sport Phaeton and Town Brougham were finished just this week. The most challenging part in the building process was probably attaching the Town Brougham´s interior into the body, it was a very tight fit. Otherwise parts fit quite well. Painting the Town Brougham required lots of masking because of three different colors.

Here’s my take on Fujimi kits.

Thank you, very useful info!

I´m starting a Jo-Han 1931 Cadillac build project. Was wondering what material is the rear part of the car body, specifically the panels that look like wooden texture from most reference pictures? Is it really wood? Or is the metal body panel covered with some perforated wooden panels? Here´s what I mean. Photo from Scalemates (www.scalemates.com/kits/jo-han-gc-731-1931-cadillac-v-16-town-brougham--946388)

Thanks for comments! I suppose I should put at least the rear register plate on..

Thanks. It's ok but the headlights look quite terrible. Might check if something could be done. Kari

I built one a few years ago straight ootb and painted it gloss black (from top down), The red trim is actually tape, did´t trust my masking skills back then..for me Sierra was the first car I drove regularly after getting the licence (in -86).

Aston Martin´s flagship model DBS was released in 2007 but made it´s first public appearance in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale. The car features a front V12 engine with 510 hp. The Tamiya kit is from 2010 and has not been re-released since then. Prices in eBay are ridiculous, I was fortunate to get one for a more reasonable price from a model show. This model has been presented here and other modelling sites quite a few times over the years, they were of great help. The kit was built in about one month period this May/June. Because I knew no cheap spare kits would be available in case I would mess up something, extra care was practiced during every step, expecially the paint job. The exterior color is metallic green from auto paint store´s hundreds of greens, so this is not exactly any Aston Martin factory color. Rims are Tamiya TS-30 Silver Leaf and the dashboard, front and rear diffusers and the side mirrors Black Metallic (in lack of real carbon fiber). This was the first time I actually painted the window trims instead of foiling them as chrome trims would not suite the car that well. That of course meant a masking marathon and airbrushing of Vallejo Model Air silver. Fortunately there was no bleed through. Needless to say, the quality of the kit was awesome. The only disappointment was the metal transfers for the engine cover and I unfortunately lost the other side´s Aston Martin logo transfer. The kit also had plenty of photo etch parts for the various air intakes and pedals.

Nice, clean build. Great color choice, may I ask which color is that, makes it authentic 50’s look. Is this a Monogram kit? I should search for one.

Nice ”sports limo”, and you can call it four door or more door as well 😄!

Thanks, I was surprised of the successful masking myself (just noticed I didn´t take rear view pictures with the hard top on). Does not happen every time..Yes it was also a good choice from Tamiya to have a one piece hard top, just like on real car would be. And the SL was also available with a panorama roof. Looks quite nice! https://www.pcarmarket.com/auction/1997-mercedes-benz-500sl/

Mercedes R230 generation replaced the previous generation R129 when it was introduced in 2001. The R230 model generation went through some facelifts during it´s lifespan. This Aoshima kit from the year 2009 depicts the last facelift that took place in 2008. This was my last finished model from the year 2024. Quality of the kit was excellent, it even has real suspension springs. Exterior paint is Mercedes Magnetite Black Metallic. This is one of the few car kits I didn´t gloss coat so the finish is satin black. A funny thing is I forgot to paint the back seat red as I didn´t first realise it´s a seat (kind of) and when I did it was too late 🙂 I also left the wheels and the front grill in their kit aluminium first, then painted them satin black to make this a "black edition".

The Mercedes-Benz model range R129 SL was produced from 1988 until 2001. The 500 SL was produced from 1988 to 1995, after which the model name changed to SL 500. R129 generation was followed by R230 in 2001. This kit is no. 99 of Tamiya´s Sports Car Series and was released in 1990. The Mercedes 500 SEC I posted earlier was no. 29 of that series. I finished buiding this kit just last month. The kit was quite good quality, but not perfect. Fit of the hard-top was not accurate, and for some reason Tamiya had decided to use clear plastic for the whole hardtop (instead of just the windows). That meant leaks from masking tape woud be catastrophic..fortunatelu they didn´t happen. Paint is Mercedes Almandine Red Metallic + Tamiya gloss clear. Lower part of the body is the same paint but without clear. Interior is Ammo´s Cobra Motor Paint. Embossing powder was used for the carpets. Wheels are Tamiya TS-17.

Very nice, well built and rare model that has required a lot of work. Superb.

Have you uset their gloss clear (5620 I guess)? If yes, how was it, will it dry hard enough for wet sanding?

Car manufactures and car paint companies have started to use water based colors instead of solvent based. Any experience of those in model building?

I usually start foiling after clear coating. The clear coat protects the painted surface from the blade and makes it easier to clean off possible foil adhesive residue from the plastic. Then after foiling I sand, buff and wax. Before foiling, make sure the surface is perfectly shiny and clean of wax.

Thanks! Looking at it now in pictures, if I would be building it now, would try to make the interior a little bit more colorful, the cream leather is ok but some weathering would have made it more realistic.

This great kit has just recently been re-released by Tamiya so I thought I'd post the one I built a few years ago of the original release from 1982 (Tamiya 7429). The kit presents Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC model year 1981. Exterior paint is Mercedes Smoke Silver. I painted interior cream colour. Quality of the kit is typical Tamiya, very detailed and very good fit. In every Mercedes kit i have built the front grill has presented the biggest challenges, here I think the result was acceptable. For some unknown reason small scratches has appeared on the laquer now four years after, fortunately they can be seen only i certain light.

Thanks, and yes I of course meant airbrushing 🙂

May I ask about the Proscale paints (assuming you mean the UK based company). Do they brush easily, how strong is the smell (compared to say Tamiya LP or other solvent base paints). I am about to order some but user experience would be good to hear first. Thanks!