Tamiya Mitsubishi GTO

[Xingu]

Box is dated 1991. This was my first Tamiya kit and it turned out to be a nice weekend project. I would guess it is only 60-65 parts and makes a nice curbside display. It is painted HOK Kandy Apple Red over Silver with a black and red two-tone interior. You have the option of doing right or left hand drive. I made a few mistakes. Some I could correct or cover, some I have to live with. Overall I am happy with this one, especially the paint.

[Xingu]

[maltsr]

Nice, clean build.

[Harry P.]

It looks to me like you maybe freehanded the black trim on the windows... the edges look pretty rough. You should always use tape to mask off things like that... never try to freehand a straight edge. Even the best of us can't do a perfectly straight edge by hand. Other than the ragged black edges, a pretty nice job.

[Xingu]

It looks to me like you maybe freehanded the black trim on the windows... the edges look pretty rough. You should always use tape to mask off things like that... never try to freehand a straight edge. Even the best of us can't do a perfectly straight edge by hand. Other than the ragged black edges, a pretty nice job.

I did. I tried taping it off, but had trouble with the radius corners. I also didn't get the tape edge down well and it bled under. I made do and decided to practice a steady hand.... I need more practice. I actually had a very hard time seeing the edge on the clear plastic. I tried a dark background as well as a light one. Any tricks on making the frosted edge stand out to make it easier to tape?

[Mike C]

Looks really nice! I just saw one of those on the road the other day.

[slusher]

Super nice model..

[Harry P.]

First of all, don't try to do tight radiuses with tape. Put the tape over the area you want to mask and then use an X-acto to cut the tape along the edges/curves. Sort of like covering trim with a larger piece of foil and then trimming the foil away.

To mask off the black areas on either the body or the glass, you can use clear Scotch frosted tape. Cover the area, then use a sharp blade to cut along the required lines. After you remove the excess tape, use your fingernail or a toothpick to gently rub along the taped edges to make sure the tape is down solid and you don't get any bleed along the edges. The Scotch tape will obviously allow you to see through it and allow you to make your cuts accordingly. If you do happen to get any paint bleed along the edges of the body, use a small pointed brush and some body color to fix any boo-boos. If you get any bleed on the glass, use a toothpick dipped in some paint thinner to rub away the mistake. If you use acrylic instead of enamel or lacquer, any mistakes can be cleaned up even easier with a toothpick and water.

Also... don't spray the black–brush it on, using a fairly dry brush. That way, A, you can more easily control the paint application... and B, you don't have to mask off the whole body or glass. If it doesn't cover the first time, add another coat, again using a fairly dry brush. You don't want to lay the black on too thick or too fast... that's generally what will cause bleeding past the masked edges. Take your time, lay down just a little paint at a time, re-coat as necessary, and you will cut down the chance of any bleed dramatically.

[Hubert Rollins]

Nice.

[GTJUNIOR]

Other than the rough edges on the glass, it looks great.

[Plastheniker]

Very clean and great colour choice!

[花火]

Very clean and great colour choice!

X2 great color！

[Rider]

Very nice looking paint, I really like that red.

Best thing for paint trim is tape it off and approach it like BMF, cut it with a sharp knife, then a light clear coat to seal the edges, then light repeated dustings of your trim colour. 

[Xingu]

Thanks for the kind words.

I had a brain cramp and never even thought to use clear tape. I was taping the straight edges and painting, but it bled under my Tamiya tape on the first two that I tried. I am sure I didn't get the edge down well enough as I have not had any other issues with this tape. I tend to learn from my mistakes by the fourth or fifth time I make it, so I will have perfectly painted glass sometime next year One thing I did learn by building this model is that it is very satisfying to knock one out over a weekend. I am going to try and acquire a few more quick and easy kits for when I just want a quick weekend project.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Xingu

[Dann Tier]

Turned out great! -love the color as well!!

[nutboltu]

First of all, don't try to do tight radiuses with tape. Put the tape over the area you want to mask and then use an X-acto to cut the tape along the edges/curves. Sort of like covering trim with a larger piece of foil and then trimming the foil away.

To mask off the black areas on either the body or the glass, you can use clear Scotch frosted tape. Cover the area, then use a sharp blade to cut along the required lines. After you remove the excess tape, use your fingernail or a toothpick to gently rub along the taped edges to make sure the tape is down solid and you don't get any bleed along the edges. The Scotch tape will obviously allow you to see through it and allow you to make your cuts accordingly. If you do happen to get any paint bleed along the edges of the body, use a small pointed brush and some body color to fix any boo-boos. If you get any bleed on the glass, use a toothpick dipped in some paint thinner to rub away the mistake. If you use acrylic instead of enamel or lacquer, any mistakes can be cleaned up even easier with a toothpick and water.

Also... don't spray the black–brush it on, using a fairly dry brush. That way, A, you can more easily control the paint application... and B, you don't have to mask off the whole body or glass. If it doesn't cover the first time, add another coat, again using a fairly dry brush. You don't want to lay the black on too thick or too fast... that's generally what will cause bleeding past the masked edges. Take your time, lay down just a little paint at a time, re-coat as necessary, and you will cut down the chance of any bleed dramatically.

I've found if you spray very very light mist coats, the black will lay on very neat without bleeding.