Chillyb1

You'll be glad you did. I was trying to use an old sheet of Scale Motorsport carbon fiber decal yesterday and the first piece in the water just disintegrated. For the next piece, I coated it with the decal film and it was usable maybe ten minutes later. It went on in once piece and looks just perfect, and that's on a racing dashboard of some complex shapes. Awesome stuff. By the way, when you brush it on a decal don't be alarmed by how uneven and thick it looks. When it dries you won't even be able to detect it on the decals. it is some kind of magic fluid not of this Earth.

I'm afraid I can't make any sensible comments just yet. There's a lot to take in here. Man, you are one brave modeler to take that on. I've got to go now and study these pictures more closely.

I'm going to second Chief Joseph's recommendation of Microscale's Liquid Decal Film. The best and most fool-proof solution to your old decal needs. I've tried several clears and have not found any that really work perfectly every time. Liquid Decal Film does.

Welcome to the forum. Now show us some pictures of your work! And where are you located in Ohio? I grew up in Sandusky and my brother still lives in Columbus.

I'd use some Tamiya acrylics in a variety of very light grays thinned to a very runny consistency and shoot it through my airbrush at low pressure close to the model in a spattering pattern.

It does have its uses but it is no replacement for BMF. Here are two examples of useful applications:

I'm choking on my jealousy! But thanks for the pictures.

While I've never done so, I assume that there wouldn't be any problem doing so. Tamiya paints aren't all that "hot" and the Testors's lacquers are just as durable as Tamiya's.

I can't see any pictures. I remember checking out Norev diecasts when I was living in France. Man, they are nice. My most fervent hope and desire is to see a 1/24 scale of the DS, preferably coming from Tamiya. Please, oh, please, styrene gods won't you deliver unto us a DS?

So perhaps the Birch Perch would be a more suitable sobriquet.

Try to make it look like this:

And I can see it winning many more competitions in the future. That thing is really outstanding. And very inspiring for us modelers.

Wowsie doodle dandy! That is something else.

I haven't tried them myself, but I've heard lots of good things about them. They are made for the market you mention: the fantasy/creature world. I've seen them sold individually in hobby shops though they are usually more money than I want to spend without knowing what I'm getting into. I hope someone here can give a good overview and recommend some colors specifically that would be of interest to us car modelers.

I agree with Futurabat. It shouldn't be happening at all and if it is, then you are doing something wrong. I've gotten great results shooting it over Alclad's black base and it has never worn or rubbed off. Lately I've been using Tamiya TS-14 gloss black and gotten equally great results and durability.

I'm getting that broken-link thingy.

Good eye, Steve. I'll get around to that one of these days. I was anxious to take pictures because I really, really like this model. Such a cool car. And I'm really pleased with how it came out. Apart from the decal disaster almost nothing gave me a problem with this one. Everything fit perfectly and final assembly offers no kind of resistance. And thanks for the comments, folks. Go out and get yourselves one of these and you'll be glad you did.

This is one of Tamiya's kits of the CLK-GTR. I highly recommend this kit to anyone with even a slight interest in such cars. I used Tamiya paints and enhanced the kit with Studio 27's photoetch set, which included and very nice looking windshield wiper and that cool Mercedes star hood ornament. Special thanks goes out to fellow member FordGuy1984 (Grant) who supplied me with much needed backup decals to complete this project. I had two of these kits and one had perfect decals and the other had useless, fall-apart decals. Hope you like it. More here, if interested: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v230/ChillyB1/Tamiya%20Mercedes%20CLK-GTR/

I'm glad you are working on this. I love these little Jeeps and miss seeing them here in the US. Looks like lots more work than I'd be willing to put into the job.

You could try performing a search. There have been a lot of threads that recap common procedures of this sort. I think most modelers sand/polish after color coats if necessary, then apply clear. There are to distinct camps that divide the community of modelers concerning clear and decals: 1) Clear then decals, and 2) Decals then clear. It is up to you. Personally, I detest any sanding and/or polishing involved in modeling. It is tedious and annoying. So I try to eliminate the necessity of doing those nasty tasks by shooting paint that doesn't need any such treatment: It is further worth nothing an important distinction regarding the use of ###s (that's not an oath, but literally means numbers) and "grit" when describing these procedures: There are standard grit ratings for sand papers and sanding films, and there are other separate numeric notations for MicroMesh abrasives (and still other for international systems and those indicating microns, et cetera). For example, if you sand/polish/abrade your paint job with 2000 grit paper and then follow up with 2400 MicroMesh you are actually moving backwards and you'll find bigger scratches in your paint and will subsequently be disappointed and discouraged. (Ask me how I know this.) Look here for clarification: http://www.sisweb.co.../conversion.htm So, when someone says start with 2400 and work up to 12000, they mean start with 900 grit and work up to 4000ish, or start with 12 microns and work up to 2.

I've been waiting for this. Since the release of the kit I figured there would be a bunch of intrepid modelers out there to undertake the project. I am not among them, but I'm dying to see some of these. It is a very cool car and, if the 1/24 version is any indication, I'm sure the 1/12 kit is just mega-awesome.

I bought a tube of that glue a few years ago because I'd heard high praise from some modelers. However, I found it to be impossible to deal with and more trouble than it is worth. I don't remember whether or not it was stringy. I like the Testors stuff because it doesn't take much and it does dry clear and with a very strong bond. I think some modelers have a tendency to overdo it in application and that's why they don't like it. And Microscale makes a very nice white glue that dries clear. That is an excellent choice for clear parts if you can find it easily at your local hobby supplier.

What took you so long? Just kidding. I watched your ongoing build on a couple different forums. You really nailed it with this build. I love this car and this kit (I've built a couple and have several more in my meager stash). I couldn't get the roof to meet the rear window without a gap either. I hate to think of all the work you had to put into that finish. I detest having to polish paint! And I see you solved the problem of getting the hood/bonnet to stay closed. I'd love to see more of these and had hoped to since Revell released their version.

Actually, that is 64% off. In any event, that's a great deal. I've seen the same thing at regional Hobby Lobby stores that I visit.

Thanks. This was a fun build. And everything came out more or less the way I wanted it to.