wgflatliner

so um.. heyyyy... question.. where'd you get the turbo? i need to get some lol

yeah. i'm a little disappointed that Tamiya never opted to have an R34 model that had the separate motor. maybe it's some sort of licensing agreement thing they have going on or something? i dunno.

this is sweet! keep it up it does look like the frontal pics of the grille.. that there's a pair of eyes in the windshield area looking like 'yeah, i'm cool.'

Among the two build-off things i have going on, I also have some other models i'd like to get opinions on, and seek advice with. keep in mind i'm too scared to jump into air brushing so i tend to stick with the rattle cans. Today i present to you, the beginnings of my Tamiya Nismo R34 GTR Z-tune, item #24282 my reference photos link: http://www.rsportscars.com/nissan/2005-nis...ne-gt-r-z-tune/ I want to keep this one with the colors that come with this car as it was on the real thing, which conveniently is that color coding right out of the box. After doing a little research i finally understand the macro setting on my camera, so i hope they turned out ok. I do know they started showing some faults with the interior work which i'd like to get some input on how to correct it as much as possible.. i want to make the paint more uniform, as you will see in the pics. i also plan on trying to go about the buffing paint as demonstrated in the model building 101 thread, hopefully with favorable results. Please, let me know what you think. If you want to point out a flaw, please do. I will not be offended and would love to correct any flaws that should be presented. Here you go: painting aluminum over a gray primer can be kinda tricky as it all blends in. but i think i got it mostly, with the exception of near the oil pan which the oil pan conveniently covers anyways.. and on the rear trunk lid I hope you guys enjoy. Again, criticism is welcome. I apologize if i'm posting up a lot, but i will say that i've got the itch to doing this hobby again after many years, so my enthusiasm is pretty high. There is lots to learn here, and i look forward to building more things. I want criticism so that i can better myself. Thanks everybody!

if i can find an FD3S mazda RX-7 that actually has the fully detailed rotory motor, then count me in. i THINK tamiya makes one. Not entirely sure though. It's the RX-7 R1 Tamiya Item#: 24116 This should only put me in two build-offs. This and the street trucks. p.s. anybody able to tell me where i can find "upgraded" turbos? from a semi-truck model or something maybe?

I don't see anything against the rules about cross-breeding (if that's a term considered tolerable? lol) so i'm sure you can put a hemi in a chevy or whatever. my ideas are pretty interesting with my build, as you will see in due time.

just a little status update. got the cab and hood sanded down about 60% complete. I just need to move to finer grits until i get it just right and can start applying primer. got pics of that, plus i'm seeking opinions on the stance: let me know what you think on that. after i get the bed disassembled, it'll be next on the sanding list, then re-assembled. it looks like i may have to purchase another model kit just to get the windows, but that's ok since now that i have a lot more experience now than i did when i built this, that i'd prefer a clean set of windows, and i'm missing a tailgate. i'm also contemplating getting some slicks for the rear tires, and tubbing it, etc. it's not a new kit out of the box, and i've never done a restoration so i hope it ends up well.

some progress: i remember when building this truck a very long time ago, that the paint didn't like to stick to the body, so i tried something. i took the back edge of an exacto and chipped away a little spot. the paint just chipped right off! so i decided to go about this route to remove the initial paint. there's still sanding to be done, so it's still in the works.

thank you for the advice on bleach, etc.. after looking online, you are correct with the year. what are the differences between the 55 and 56 stepside?

ok i'm going to TRY to get this done. i have a lot of work to do in order to get it the way it needs to be, as it was one of the first models i did. it's a 56 chevy stepside, discontinued model. i will work on it pretty much every day and hope to get places, first step with sanding all the existing paint off and prepping for new paint. here's what i have to start with, and consider me tentative.

thanks! one more question i just thought of: if a person is using a metallic flake color, do they spray the clear, and then do the polishing, and how many coats of clear would be recommended??

Awesome write-up Bill! now some questions for the buffing.. i apologize in advance for the amount of questions asked. hehe does the same sanding/polishing method work for spray paint? when sanding, you say you start at 3200 grit, and work your way to the 12k grit.. do you put much pressure on the sand paper at all or just let the paper slide over the paint "naturally"? What are all the increments of the sandpaper in terms of grit? where do you get this sandpaper and for cheap? where can i get balsam wood, how would a person use it, and what makes it so great (not asking in a sarcastic way)? please let me know if i understand this right: you do each layer of sanding, and when you get finished with the 12k grit, you then start the liquid polish/shammie polishing and keep polishing with more wax/buffing until the scratches are gone? do you wash the car after each layer of sanding? you definitely have awesome tips with this write-up and will definitely make good use of them. thanks again - now get to writing that book!

if i had the windows for a 56 chevy stepside.. i'd be all over this. Alas, i won't be anywhere near done in time with the deadline. and i'm not sure i want to butcher an enzo ferrari to turn it into a truck althoughhhh i could...... just kidding. i look forward to seeing the finished products. IF (and that's a big if) i can get my stepside done, i'll get a last minute photo in. as of now, it's at work disassembled and ready for me to take home. anybody have any idea where i can source windows for this?

i know this is an old bump, but i'd like to make a suggestion with the motor - that is if you're going for realism: i would have both exhaust manifolds having a down pipe collecting at one point and then going into the turbo at the side facing the engine. on this pic, the port in the very back at the 12 o'clock position is where you want any/all exhaust going in. the port facing 1 o'clock is where you can feed a pipe to either an intercooler or straight to the intake manifold as you have right now. having it go to a front mounted intercooler would be a very nice touch. so, turbo - intercooler - intake manifold, should you decide to do that. the last port facing the camera where you can see the compressor blades you want to have a pipe going to your air filter. if you want to go for the ultra realistic you could attach a wastegate piece with the actuator arm, and run a vacuum line to a "blow off valve" on the intake pipe close to the intake manifold. the wastegate actuator is the brass piece with the rod going to the darker gray piece. To hook into the exhaust, on the back of the turbo facing the wheel, you would want that to go to the rest of the exhaust pipe that goes to the back of the truck. overall it's a nice build so far and i think it has potential. now my question: where'd you get the turbo? lol

as you could probably guess, i was going to go for a fade type of paint job. I decided to go with Tamiya TS-50 Mica Blue and after a couple coats it wasn't exactly as transparent of a blue as i thought it'd be. either way, here's a general idea on how the putty work turned out. let me know what ya guys think.

the weird thing is as i was typing out these replies and what-have-you, the gassy putty (lol.. pun?) was drying.. i sanded it down pretty carefully and it appears to have finally sanded fine. not saying that it's 100% perfect, but way better than what it was. another quickie question: for little curved/dented in areas that need filling, what tools would you guys recommend for filling little tiny imperfections? i mean like.. the little curved areas next to the headlights: this is the headlight that had the 1mm gap between it and the fender/bumper:

thanks for the help guys. now to find the right stuff.. btw i'm a tamiya enthusiast. i would love to see them make drift/drag/tuner series!

my apologies, forgot to get into specifics: MMD Squadron white putty orange/white tube

are there any products that would help restore plastic? some clear on one of my models has clouding effect on it. apparently i was trying to remove windshield trim paint.. sanding didn't work, so i tried thinner, now there's clouding. anybody? thanks

I'm building up an Aoshima C-West FD3S RX-7 1/24 model, and have come across some problems, mostly with the kit. (i'll be providing a review on this in a minute) Alright, so i'm starting to work on the body, and think i'm slightly above average when it comes to this kind of stuff. So, the basic things come off the parts trees and i'm starting to test fit everything to see how it'll look and what will need to be done, etc. I mock up the bumper and headlight assemblies, and there's a good 1mm gap between one of the headlights, the fender, and bumper... x 2 so, i've been working on getting this all put together, and need some advice on the best ways to prep and use the white putty. i've put on thin layers into the gap, sanded, primed, look for imperfections, fill, sand, rinse and repeat. i'm not appearing to get anywhere though. the putty comes out and when i go to spread it, it starts rolling up into little balls of putty instead of being a smooth wipe over a slight dimple just to fill the dimple. and i'm not even waiting before trying to spread it over an area. would anybody be so kind as to give me some tips/advice with this product? for what it's worth, i have been waiting longer than the specified 10 minutes. i've even gone as long as 24 hours before sanding.