simonr

An accident made an interesting detail to the interior. I accidentally droped a drop of glue right in the middle of the two seats. To cover that error(because you guys don't expect that I would take out again and repaint!), I scaled down a map of Germany and folded it to place it were the drop is. Remember this cars were use to take long trips in Europe. Also this over view tell you guys how the model it's being. Just some more item to the interior and will go to the engine. Simon

The door panels in this model come very well deatiled if you accept they were designed to be in the closed position. Remember I opened them. In any way, they have to be reworked to make them a little bit more realistic. It just come with a part that makes complete the door lock, the interior door release handle, and the outside open handle. Here you can see the original outside handle and the keylock. I just used that outside handle from the plastic part and for the keylock, I glued together 2 washers from the model car garage set. How it being. I also add bare metal foil to the moulding and with a black artist pen, I simulated the rubber seal outside the metal moulding in the real car. Here you can see the difference among the two doors. For the interior lock release, I had to carved some solder wire in order to make them to shape. Here you can see the real part and how being mine. I added some bolt heads to the upholstery and the metal plate base to the interior lock release sistem. I even added the bolt head that goes right in the middle of the release buttom. Outside view of the door. Inside view. Bolt heads along the interior panel. Just some more item to the interior and will go to the engine. Simon

I'm baaaaaccckk!....No, I haven't working with the model, I've been lazy! Before going to the engine, I feel that I have to do some fine tuning to some parts in the interior tub. I started with the speakers, then some bolts to the uplhostery and the scratchbuilding of the interior door lock system. You remember that someone suggested me to intead just glue the photo etch speaker grill panel over the plastic Heller speaker, to trim that to shape and then glue it inside the rim of the speaker. That's exactlly what I did, but, I also added some bare metal foil to that rim and then the tiny bolt heads. How it looks before...... The part after the removement of the grill with the completed part. This is how it looks now. more in the next email...... Simon

I use almost exclusively a Crescendo 175T too. Most of the work it's done using mostly the fine and medium tips, the large tip for bodies. For the Alclad base coat I've obtained the best results using the Alclad's black base paint(something that surprise me!) and the cheap small bottle testors gloss black. I've had heard that it's not the same result when you use acrylic or lacquers black base coats. Simon

You can also try Gunze Sangyo H96-Smoke Blue, which I think it's the perfect match for that Windshield blue-green tint. Simon

Here are a couple of pictures of my OOP old Union model. Simon

AWESOME MODEL!!!....that one remembers mine, which I painted with the automotive lacquer line from gunze sangyo. Simon

Another possibility the use of those fine tiped Q-tips, the special ones women use to apply cosmetics. Just put a little bit of thinner on the Q-tips and carefully "touch" the lettering on the model. It have to be carefully, so the thinner won't run over the script. If you use this technic the right way, it's impossible to go through the bare metal because you're not sanding anything, but, like I said, it has to be carefully. As in any tip, use any scrap of plastic to practice. I think this way it's faster than the sanding, but, everyone has it's own technic that work better to him or her. Simón

The one that I have, is made by Mr Coffee. There 2 advantages from this one to the Nesco's. One is it's see-through plastic design that ables you to see what has been dried up,...a must!, believe me,....you don't want to take off the lid, a get the surprise of see a model warped up after some hours of heat. http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?s...ntrypage=search Simon

For those who would like to have extra trays, here's a lik where you can get them and NESCO dehydrator as well. http://www.nesco.com/products/?category=30...t=100&id=42 Since I'm a dehydrator paint drier freak, I highly recommend the use of this device. There are a lot of uses that you can apply with it. In 2001, Model Cars Mag did a report on it's use. Since I've seen the good comments on the nesco and I saw that one when the magazine report was done but I didn't knew the maker of it, I decied to buy one. Another real strong reason is that from the heavy use that I exposed it, I have to buy a new one, because the one I have it's already history! Simon

Puurrrrrrfect!!!! Keep up the good work! Simón

A perfect example of an orange peel less paint job! Nothing like lacquer for those detail covered bodies like this! Keep the good work! Simón

Where is that hobby shoplacated at?, since I'm considering the next year's GSL. Simón

Jmmm...like you said: "It is by no means perfect, "...but at least for me it's almost perfect!...real impressive paint job, this guy that makes the Cobra Colors should be proud of all the marvelous things you can do with his products.....Dale pa'l otro!(go to the next one!) Simón

It looks real good so far...keep us updated on the progress of this awesome model. se ve bien conco...! Simón

Yes, I'm the one who brought the 1/43 Ferrari 312T, the red Formula 1 Ferrari in the Small Scale Class. Simón

Being a musician make me think that everything has to be "fine tuned" all the time. This time with the interior tub, I won't make the exception. You guys remember that in the last post I told that I will add some details later, well, here are them. These are the detailing bolt heads from Model Car Garage that I will add to match the ones from the real car speakers picture. Now it looks a little bit like the real one. If you guys look carefully to the second picture I posted in part one of the interior tub, you guys will notice that at the sides of the dash there are some handles. These handles are included in the kit but, are hold in place in the parts tree by the middle of the part, so, when you cut them they will be badly noticed. To fix that, I rechromed the part with Alclad II and made from plastruct the plate that holdsthem in place. This is another error from the kit, the part is supposed to be just glued with out any hole or anything, you just have to imagine where it will be placed. I made the base plate and also added the bolts that holds that plate in place. How it looks already mouted in at the side of the dash. To improve the look of the dash, I shaved the plastic knobs and added real metal knock off swithches from Sakatsu. Also. I made a computer generated "300SL" script using the Testars decal maker kit. Another detail was, the clock decal that I took from the Heller original kit I messed up. Another detail that makes the difference it's the floor carpet edge. This was made from a simple black ignition wire, painted white first to lighten it up, then red. My favorite part of the interior details. A modeler have always to have his or her eyes wide open in any place that one goes. This was my case in my most recent visit to the Orlando parks. When I went to Sea World, I saw a pirates vault that has some old decals from hotel in different part of the world. What I did, I took close up pictures of them and scale it down to be glued at the top of the luggage. I know that this fine car has a luxury luggage set that it was not supposed with something like this, but, I think makes the interior look differet. I would likt to hear your opinion! I made belts from masking tape and added claspses from the Sakatsu Bonnet fooks. Here it's a general view of how everything looks until now. Simón

Thanks for the question, I forgot it at the beggining. It's a 1/24! Simón

Let's go to the inside! While the body clear coats dries for a few days, I'll go to the inside tub. First, I will post some interior pictures of the real car from were I will start on. Like you guys can see, this is truly special car indeed. This dash it's real impresive with all that chrome all over. I started first selecting this red color for the interior. The reason was some pictures I saw of it in some books, that I actually like the contrast with the Gull gray metallic, and beceuse this one was one of the original combos on the actual car. For this color, I chose Bright Red from Finishers. A red that it's almost the sameas the Porsche's guard red color. This was flated a little bit with some Model Masters Acrylic semi-gloss clear. I was lucky that I have the testor red flocking that match perfectly with it. Everything it's being prepared for red-black of the carpets color separation as you can see in the pictures below the interior tub. After I painted the tub, I start to add some details that will match the real car. There is a little bar where the luggage belts will wrap. This was made out of some piano wire across the tub. Here it's a picture of the real dash and how it will have to be detailed. After the dash, seats, and added the steering wheel and the shift stick; this is the way how it's look until now. Here there is another detail not to be missed...the interior side speakers. Like I told at the beginning, I had an original Heller kit that I messed up. From that kit I took the speakers... But..there is something still to add...the speakers grill. I got'em from the detail master speaker detail set. A real nice touch!...it will be later completed with some tiny bolts from the Model Car Garage nuts 609 Bolt head details set. Fom the Aston Martin DB4 Revell kit, I got the luggage set. Real differet from the one that came with the Gullwing, but,...it's the only one in hand at the moment since it's real hard to get one likt that. Here is how I finished it. I will add some other detail to them later. Here it's a mock up how it will look when completed. Like you guys can see here, the engine it's already fitted, but I remeved it to do the detailing, and that ovbiously will be another chapter. to be continued!!!! Simón

Yes, indeed it is!...I though to paint this mode with the German Silver Metallic from Model Masters, but, this mix I did has more of the gull gray I was looking for. It also could be better if I use bron as a base for the silver, but....too late! Simón

Thank a lot, Bill! Like you will se in the next thread, it'll be a custom mix of Humbrol Metallic and Model Masters Gloss Gull Gray thinned with PPG Lacquer mid-temp thinner. Simón

Since I've been very deep with Finishers paints with my ferraris and any red color model I 've been painting in the last 2 years, I have read that they make a color named Foudation Blue, that is specially designed as a base for metallic color like silver. This blue, makes silver looks more metallic as I read from the Finisher description color list. Due I didn't have on have this blue at the moment I paint my model, instead, I used an old mix of light blue from model masters paints that I did to paint a Porsche 917LH like 8 years ago, It was so much time ago that I thought I can't use but for my surprize, it was in great shape. I just add a little bit of Krylon Gloss White to light it up a litlle bit. To make my "Foudation Blue" mix more lighter, I shoot first a Krylon gloss white first, then, to our real hot summer Puertorrican outside sun of July to speedup drying time. After a couple of minutes outside(this paint dries real fast, like 10 minutes or so), I airbrushed the base light blue. Here you guys can see the what important is to take some time on the body work, there it's no marks of the sealing after the panels gluing. The color base coat was also custom mix. I mix 5:1 ratio of Humbrol metallic with Model Masters Gloss Gull Gray. After studying again the finishers catalog, I saw that also metallics can have a brown base that I guess could be closer to the final silver of this Mercedes that typically has an amber tint finish. It's real rare the use of enamels by me as a base on a body, but, this time I did an exception. I always prefer lacquers, but, I already had these colors. The only difference was the way I thinn them. Since I prefer lacquers because it's real fast time drying time, and because it's thinn consistency, I thinn my custom mix with PPG lacquer mid-temp thinner. Unlike when you use the Testors enamel thinner, in about 10-15 minutes the body was ready for handing, something you can't take the risk when you use enamels. The body after the custom silver coats. After a couple of days for drying time, I clear coated the model with PPG urethane clear. This was the one I could use for this job because this model almost has a complete rounded shape, and you guys knows that when you shoot paint or clear to any ronuded shape on a model, the gloss you obtain in that part it's perfect. Using this as a rule of thumb, I though after I clear coat the model with this I won't have to sand or polish anything else and that's the way it was. Here you can see the results. Simón

The body building it's quite similar on this Italeri Euro models You have to put together the body that usually it's made out of 3 parts, main body, front half, and rear bottom half. It also will include 2 inside body panels at the sides. Both rear and from sections were glued to form a straight solid body.The inside were sealed with a good dose of super glue. Instead of putty, I treated the seal lines with Gunze Sangyo's Mr Surfacer 500, a liquid semi-thick primer that also doubles as liquid putty. This kind of primer from Gunze it's so great, that you don't have to sand anything else after it dries...highly recomended! After the primer-Putty was dry, proceed to open the doors. It already started to looks like the gullwing. Everything was sealed with my favorite primer, Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer 1000. Contrary to the Surfacer 500, this one it's pretty thinn, but, like the other, no sannding after drying time. You can see the flush and even surface on the model. Because I glued panels or like when you shave any detail on a body, chances are that you can see "Ghost images" after the paint coats are shooted, not like with the primer coats. To avoid that, I airbrushed those glued spots with Dupont Variprime to seal everything up. This one just requires a little sanding like the moon mud primer from Cobra Colors, for those that are familiar with the product like my good friend Imaelg. Everything was again sealed with Mr. Surfacer 1000. Simón

Hello everyone, although I always share my build ups with local modelers via private emails, this is gonna be the first time I share something like this on the web, so, any one here that want to advice me on anything to improve the model or anything you guys think it's not correct, please feel to tell me. Ok, first of all, this kind of model it's not easy to find except for the 1/25 AMT version. I was so lucky that after mess up an original Heller kit from the 70's, I got another three, the Heller from 1989, the "Prestige" series kit from AMT, and the rare version from Italeri. I think the most complete for the buck it's the AMT, but, to me after finished it looks to me more to a toy than anything else. The Heller version(both are the same, just the art box changes) it's very accurate, but, tooling it's too 70's and some extra work have to be done, specially when you have to glue the two halves that makes the front of the model. For me the Italeri has the most of avantages, starting with the idea that I built the cabrio version last year(some of you guys that went to the 2005 GSL saw it), and it's the same model with the only difference this one has a top and another dash. Also it has more room to any alteration I like to do. The only "dislike" I can mention on this model it's the subject that if it's named 'Gullwing" it's supposed to have gullwing opened style doors, and this one doesn't have them open, but....the makers of this model looks like though on it and engrave wide lines on the body panels and interior detail on doors inside panel were ready for it. So....I picked up the Italeri. I kept the other two versions, the Heller and the AMT, if some one are interesed on them, just tell me and I will sell them. The AMT "Pretige" Series Kit The Heller-Humbrol Version The Italeri Version Simón Rivera

Real nice model you did indeed! Let me ask you a pair of questions. Which paint you used, and where you got this upholstery for the seats? I will start soon to post the build up of it's cousin..the famous 300SL "Gullwing" by Italeri.