Tamiya 1/24 Alpine Renault A442B Turbo #2 24H LeMans (D. Pironi/J.P. Jaussaud)

[Italianhorses]

With Skyline done, time to start on another pretty box...

Tamiya 1/24 Alpine Renault A442B Turbo #2 24H LeMans (D. Pironi/J.P. Jaussaud) this time - original 1979 release in a shelf-worn box!

This one will be strictly box-stock - only parts that come in the box will be used. Building this for a box-stock contest on a Russian website.

[Scalper]

this will be cool. .decals still look good from here

[Italianhorses]

4 minutes ago, Scalper said:

this will be cool. .decals still look good from here

Yeah, the decals are my only worry. They do look good, but you never know. Might just fall apart the second they hit the water. Will find out I guess.

[GeeBee]

13 minutes ago, Italianhorses said:

Yeah, the decals are my only worry. They do look good, but you never know. Might just fall apart the second they hit the water. Will find out I guess.

You could always get a replacement set of decals

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1978-Renault-Alpine-A442B-1-24-water-transfer-decals-replacement-for-Tamiya-/273379241918

[Tommy124]

I have seen this kit being built before, it's a nice one. And with regards to the small number of parts, this box stock build should be a piece of cake for you... As far as the decals are concerned, someone told me they always give the decals a mist of clear from the rattle can. That should make them less brittle and yet more flexible with regards to their application. I haven't tried that myself so far though. Will follow your build!

[Italianhorses]

14 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

You could always get a replacement set of decals

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1978-Renault-Alpine-A442B-1-24-water-transfer-decals-replacement-for-Tamiya-/273379241918

Thanks, I know there are aftermarket decals. The thing is, per contest I'm building this for, can't use aftermarket decals. Only what's came in the box.

6 minutes ago, Tommy124 said:

I have seen this kit being built before, it's a nice one. And with regards to the small number of parts, this box stock build should be a piece of cake for you... As far as the decals are concerned, someone told me they always give the decals a mist of clear from the rattle can. That should make them less brittle and yet more flexible with regards to their application. I haven't tried that myself so far though. Will follow your build!

There is a solution that Microscale makes called liquid decal film. You can spray it over decals and it creates an extra layer that hold decals together. But! It makes them thicker, and you'd have to trim these very close to the edge, as there will be one constant clear film in-between.

[OldNYJim]

I can't wait to see what you're going to do with this.

Besides your normal super-clean building style, what do you have planned for this to really push it over the edge to do well in this contest?  Lots of paint detailing, I assume?  Interested to see how you tackle it

[Italianhorses]

33 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

I can't wait to see what you're going to do with this.

Besides your normal super-clean building style, what do you have planned for this to really push it over the edge to do well in this contest?  Lots of paint detailing, I assume?  Interested to see how you tackle it

I think this will be pretty much as out of the box as it comes. Some detail painting, yes, but no aftermarket of scratchbuilt anything. Just a clean box stock build.

[OldNYJim]

Brilliant!  I can't wait to see some progress - get building! ??

[Dann Tier]

I've never even heard of this kit.....it looks cool though!!…..look forward to following it!!

[Italianhorses]

Thanks,

Dann, Tamiya did release some jewels back then...I think this kit is under 60 parts all in including tires.

[Rider]

Great looking car, I've always liked this class for the out landish stylings. Looking forward to seeing this built up. Your WIP inspires my to want to dig these two out and build them up.

[Dann Tier]

2 hours ago, Italianhorses said:

Thanks,

Dann, Tamiya did release some jewels back then...I think this kit is under 60 parts all in including tires.

Like their Countach kits....VERY few parts, but with a bit of extra help, turns into a fun, pretty decent looking build!

[Italianhorses]

21 minutes ago, Dann Tier said:

Like their Countach kits....VERY few parts, but with a bit of extra help, turns into a fun, pretty decent looking build!

Yes, their Countach kits I believe have numbers #5 and #6, so very early in the lineup. This one is #11.

2 hours ago, Rider said:

Great looking car, I've always liked this class for the out landish stylings. Looking forward to seeing this built up. Your WIP inspires my to want to dig these two out and build them up.

 

These Porsches are kits #4  and #12, so right from the same alley. I believe they are very simple, but buildup into very cool models.

[Italianhorses]

Time for an update!

The scoop halves were painted flat white on the inside, as this is the color they should be, and there is no way to do it once it is assembled.

 

 

The body was assembled, panel lines scribed, flaws cleaned up, and light coat of white primer sprayed:

 

 

 

Since headlights buckets supposed to be white on the real car, and decals do not cover that area, they needed to be sprayed white. I also sprayed the louvers on the front fenders, as I wanted to cut the decal in those spots, and wanted to avoid touching up much. Decanted some white paint:

 

 

Painted headlight buckets and louvers, then masked it off for the base coat:

 

 

Painted all the panel lines and hard to reach areas first:

 

 

 

Basecoat done and masks removed:

 

 

Also painted and primed bunch of other parts:

 

 

Wheels were stripped off their gaudy chrome and mounted for paint:

 

 

Primed and painted with Model Master aluminum plate buffing metalizer, buffed, and mounted on tires:

 

 

Centers and bolts were painted. Since contest is strictly box-stock, I will stop here, but possibly add some more detail to this later on:

 

 

Once the paint was dry, I lightly wet-sanded the body, and started decaling the body. What a nightmare. Decals held up, but were really tough, and it took a lot of effort, setting solution, and heat to make them conform to various curves and crevices.

 

In the middle of decaling session:

 

 

Finally, after almost 2 hours, I was done. Ready for clearcoat:

 

 

 

 

 

Clearcoat next!

 

[afx]

Very nice paint and decal work.

[935k3]

Looks good so far. That looks like the second issue because the original issue decals turned very yellow and were not opaque. I built the Porsches and this car.

 

 

[Tommy124]

12 hours ago, Italianhorses said:

Clearcoat next!

Looks good already and the clearcoat will surely eliminate the decals' roughness!

Btw, I just noticed on the photo with the Tamiya can that there is a German newspaper beneath it... Any particular reason for that?

[Dann Tier]

15 hours ago, Italianhorses said:

Time for an update!

The scoop halves were painted flat white on the inside, as this is the color they should be, and there is no way to do it once it is assembled.

 

 

The body was assembled, panel lines scribed, flaws cleaned up, and light coat of white primer sprayed:

 

 

 

Since headlights buckets supposed to be white on the real car, and decals do not cover that area, they needed to be sprayed white. I also sprayed the louvers on the front fenders, as I wanted to cut the decal in those spots, and wanted to avoid touching up much. Decanted some white paint:

 

 

Painted headlight buckets and louvers, then masked it off for the base coat:

 

 

Painted all the panel lines and hard to reach areas first:

 

 

 

Basecoat done and masks removed:

 

 

Also painted and primed bunch of other parts:

 

 

Wheels were stripped off their gaudy chrome and mounted for paint:

 

 

Primed and painted with Model Master aluminum plate buffing metalizer, buffed, and mounted on tires:

 

 

Centers and bolts were painted. Since contest is strictly box-stock, I will stop here, but possibly add some more detail to this later on:

 

 

Once the paint was dry, I lightly wet-sanded the body, and started decaling the body. What a nightmare. Decals held up, but were really tough, and it took a lot of effort, setting solution, and heat to make them conform to various curves and crevices.

 

In the middle of decaling session:

 

 

Finally, after almost 2 hours, I was done. Ready for clearcoat:

 

 

 

 

 

Clearcoat next!

 

I'm glad your decals didn't fall apart on you!....its looking GREAT!!

[Italianhorses]

2 hours ago, Tommy124 said:

Looks good already and the clearcoat will surely eliminate the decals' roughness!

Btw, I just noticed on the photo with the Tamiya can that there is a German newspaper beneath it... Any particular reason for that?

Thanks! I got a package from Germany which had these newspapers as a packing material, and this was the first thing I grabbed when I needed something to cover the workbench when I was decanting paint. No particular reason  

22 minutes ago, Dann Tier said:

I'm glad your decals didn't fall apart on you!....its looking GREAT!!

Couple did, but were saved. Thanks!

[Italianhorses]

Another update, as I’ve been able to work on this model over the weekend and the past couple of evenings and get the body clearcoated, sanded, and polished. Turned out great.

Dashboard was also detail-painted and installed together with the firewall:

 

Some detail of the decals/clear and dash:

The back of the body shell was painted flat black by hand. I have also attached the rear part of the body previously sprayed flat black:

Then I switched my attention to the chassis. The bottom is molded as one piece, and calls for some creative detail painting to make this look like a real thing, but I think I succeeded for the most part:

I have painted separate engine parts in various shades of aluminum, steel, and magnesium, and drybrushed the molded part of the engine before assembling everything together. Not quite like actual separate engine, but convincing enough:

The front and the rest of the chassis plate was painted black, then scuffed, then raised parts drybrushed, then it was painted with very diluted flat black, and brushed with a wide brush while it was still a bit wet to create worn-looking surface:

There is not much to the interior on this kit, and since this is a box-stock build, this is just what this is:

And then I temporarily married the two for a mock-up:

Edited October 11, 2018 by Italianhorses

[Gramps46]

Looking very good Alex.  I especially like what you have done with the bottom of the chassis.

[afx]

Impressive paint detail Alex.

[Tommy124]

Looking great! Clear did work out exactly the way it should imho. Details on the chassis bottom pretty much go to show what can be done on such a simple kit!

[Scalper]

Wow very nice.. looking really good