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Hello everyone! I've literally just started building my first car and have obviously ran into some problems. It's a Lotus Europa 1/24 from Tamiya and the main shell that came off the sprue is white. After the first base coat, I had some tiny paint holes and build up, like bubbling or mounds, one area near the front fender, and one under rear bumper. This is the part where I think I began to get overcomplicated and ahead of myself. I tried sanding down and filling the holes with Tamiya basic putty which is grey. I waited a day for the putty to settle then sanded it so was smooth and in the shape of the shell, and the holes were filled out. Then, since I sanded the first basecoat (because clear coat is not recommended to go on a sanded base coat IIRC?)I tried spraying another (2nd) basecoat of the pearl white, and to my dismay, I found out that the pearl white spray (TS-45) I was using was very translucent, and showed the grey putty areas. So, I sanded the car again trying to get rid of as many grey areas as possible. At this stage I have ran out of spray (100ml can), and am too eager to finish the shell. Now this was probably another rookie mistake, I tried hand painting the more difficult grey areas with Tamiya flat-white enamel because I couldn't wait to buy another can of the pearl white. Now I've bought 2nd can 100ml can of pearl white and sprayed the other parts (bumper, back engine cover, spoiler) and then on the main shell yet another basecoat (3rd). There is still some orange peel from my amateur spraying, one or two grey putty areas (3-5mm in size) you can see when it is well lit, as well as some scribing scratches. You can also see slightly raised patches where I've used some enamel in my amateur attempt to cover up the grey putty areas. Now I've used two cans of Tamiya pearl white spray, and still have a pretty mediocre shell. Please refer to the photos. So now, do I buy third can of the pearl white and spray to cover up the grey regions and fill scribing mistakes? Do I sand down everything and start again? Or should I just clear coat it now, polish, and just build the car. Regards LG

Hi everybody, hope it has been a good Christmas for you all. Sometime early in the new year I shall be using Liquid Blu-Stuff to produce moulds for casting 1:24 scale engines, and if all goes well I would like to mould and cast a complete body shell. The product used for the casts will be Black Milliput epoxy putty, and I have studied videos showing the use of a box assembled from Lego bricks. My question is what do forum members recommend to pack out the interior of the body shell for the second mould? They appear to use some sort of plasticine type material that is white or brown in the videos. I understand the process for producing the first interior part of the mould, so it's just the process for the second mould of the body shell exterior. Already practised by casting a radiator grille and a wheel and tyre assembly, but using Oyumaru instead of Liquid Blu-Stuff. Thanks for any helpful replies., David

Whenever I buy 2-part polyester putty, it always goes 'bad' before I can use it. I am looking for the smallest amount of this stuff I can buy. I think I saw an ad for such a small package by 'Bondo'. Any suggestions? Thanks

Okay, I am intrigued by this product and it's effectiveness. I can see it being possibly being useful for minor fills and seam correction, such as engine block halves or seat halves. Maybe even being used as a spot filler for say... errant marks left behind after panel scribing for deepening door lines. I know there are two types. Which would be the best all around to have on the workbench? How well does it finish down? What paint products react adversely with it? And lastly, where would be the best place to source it? Thank in advance!