phil-east

Hi all, This is my latest effort, It's a Fujimi kit made OOB I'm just trying to get to a level of clean builds before i try anything more advanced. The photos are an improvement on my last ones but i still have a way to go with my photography ! I had a couple of issues with the side decals and the windshield but other than that i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The photos don't really do justice to the shiney paint Thanks for looking and as ever constructive criticism is most welcome. feel free to PM me if you don't want to offend me in public !

that is cool, i love the carbon fibre decals, it's the first time i've seen them.

that van looks fantastic, it makes me want to build one.

i have used an airbrush a few times but i'm average at best with it, i use rattle cans whenever i can but if the colour i need isn't available i use the airbrush. when i use the masking fluid i always put it on really thick, did you get nice neat lines using the liquid ?

i have just started using 6mm Tamiya masking tape and love it ! before i was using poor quality masking tape from a pound shop and had nothing but trouble. the tamiya stuff has been fine for me in terms of not pulling paint away and i am now getting nice clean edges too. I have only used masking fluid for small intricate details so i'm not sure about using it on a larger area. I'd expect it would be fine as long as you keep the edges neat and tidy.

no problems at all, i'm pretty new to building and i've picked up a lot from the guys on this forum, i'm just happy to help for a change ! usually it's me asking for advise. Good luck with the colour, let me know how it turns out, the wet sanding gets me some much better results so i now do it with every coat of paint i apply regardless of if it needs it or not.

i use a 1500 grit wet and dry paper, i make sure the area to be sanded stays wet throughout and i lightly sand it down in a circular motion. i then clean it off and respray. Have you tried doing lighter coats with the spray and building it up more gently ?

i'm the same as cruz, i just keep checking and wetsanding untill i'm happy. I also never move the model when the paint is wet and i leave the room whilst the paint drys. I paint in a shed in my back garden so dust particles can be an issue but i'm just thorough with my sanding and carefull with cleanliness around my painting area.

thanks a lot gents, i found a couple of places where the decals were not stuck down too well so i scraped off any loose parts with a toothpick and replaced them with paint. (at least colour matching white is reasonably easy !). I'll let the paint dry and gas out then i'll let you know how well the clear turns out. Massive thanks to both of you for the help, You might well have saved this build from being shelved ! It's by far my cleanest build yet and i'd have been gutted if i ruined it at the final hurdle.

it is TS-13 in a rattle can, i think i may have a decal left over that i'm not going to use so i'll lay it on an old part and see how it turns out, have you ever had any experience with yellowing when using TS-13 ? I have a slight split in one of the decals that bubbled a bit so i had to touch it up with white paint. I'll make sure i'm carefull with that area. thanks a lot for the reply and help - Phil

i've never used tamiya clear over decals before, have any of you guys used it over white decals ? i really don't want to ruin the look of the car as its my best paint job yet. The decals are quite large and are plain white. will a clear coat "yellow" or ruin these white decals ? thanks for reading.

looks great, i also love what you did with the interior.

that looks awesome, i'm also looking to get my hands on one at some point, this just makes me want one more.

that looks absolutely brilliant, it certainly deserves the case !

thanks a lot, do you mean the bright red areas looking particularly blotchy ? It was my first attempt at drybrushing and i'm planning on getting the finemolds version when finances allow it, I want to do the finemolds one to a good standard so any tips or criticisms you have will be appreciated, i'm already much improved with my model making so getting better with drybrushing should lead me to making an improved version.

thanks a lot for all the advise, over here in england we don't have access to any testors stuff unfortunately, i'll try out some black marker pens, i've heard sharpies mentioned a fair bit on these forums so i think i'll get myself some.

brilliant, thanks a lot i'll give it a try. i don't have a sharpie but i'm presuming any black permanent marker pen will suffice.

I'm having trouble getting perfectly straight lines when painting the outer edges of the clear windscreens, What do you guys use for this ? any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. I don't know wether to use Brush or spray, tape or masking fluid etc etc. thanks for reading - phil.

they are awesome, the detailing must have taken some serious time and concentration !

thanks mate, one day i'll treat myself to the finemolds version, i've heard really good things about it.

it was the 1/48 kit, thanks for the advise, i didn'teven know such a thing existed ! Over here in England it's very hard to come buy testors paint and things. I'm sure some other brands will do a similar product though, next time i'm going to the model shop i'll try to get myself some dullcoat. I actually wanted the effect you have described so if i find something i'll be delighted. again thanks a lot for the help, - phil

i love it, i've been thinking about doing some transformers cars and this is making me even more keen, thanks

thanks for that, it's good to know i've just been a bit unlucky, the bad AMT kits were all lisenced (slave 1, General Lee and Star Destroyer) maybe thathas something to do with it. I'll keep a more open mind when i see them for sale and hopefully i'll get my hands on some good ones.

that's amazing, as a bit of a newbie i've never seen anything like it, I'd love to get to that level of customizing one day !.

looks great, i've just got a can of tamiya bright blue for my current build, if it turns out like yours i'll be delighted.