ismaelg Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 Hello, First of all, this is Peter Lombardo's fault! The IMSA GTLM class is very popular and have been growing in recent years. Factory teams like Corvette Racing (my favorite and the best ever), Porsche, Ferrari, etc. compete for top honors. In 2016, the RLL racing team (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) debuted the GTLM BMW M6. It ran for 2 seasons and was eventually replaced with the current M8 GTLM for the 2018 season. The team had 4 class wins in 2017: Watkins Glenn, Mosport, Laguna Seca and the Petit LeMans in Atlanta. Petit LeMans was the last race of the season and the last race for the M6 as it was replaced with the M8 for the following season. It also marked Bill Auberlen's 400th race with BMW. Winning that race was a great way to close the car's 2 season career in IMSA GTLM. This is the subject of this project. Platz/Nunu released the 1/24 BMW M6 GT3 model a while ago. The kit has been very popular and it will be my starting point for this project. Our forum member Peter Lombardo has built a few of these kits and they all look Great! Peter also pointed me to a decal maker in Germany. I contacted them and long story made short, after several email exchanges, pictures and reviews, they made me a set of decals for this car. See why this is Peter's fault? This is the car we are talking about. Yes, there has to be a Corvette connection somewhere in here: By the way, the Corvette clinched the championship by finishing 2nd. This is the kit I'll start with: The Falken version which is basically the same original kit except for the fender louvers and decals. Already started with the front suspension. The kit's one-piece shocks are nice but plain on top so I added a metal tape valve body. It was painted golden yellow and added some leftover decals. I thought for a moment about scratchbuilding working shocks but that would be a waste of time. Progress will be slow until I finish the current project. Then this will most likely be the next main project. Thanks,,
Belugawrx Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 I'm gonna love seeing this come together Ish ! Don't do working shocks, just a real wire wrap around a smaller diameter rod, would look the business... I don't see room for an engine in this one..? Cheers
Peter Lombardo Posted March 23, 2019 Posted March 23, 2019 You are off to a great start.... the shocks look very real, too bad they will be hidden once the build is complete, but since you will apply the same level of care and precision to the entire build, I know it will look great. I will be following this for sure. Later.
ShawnS Posted March 24, 2019 Posted March 24, 2019 Good start so far Ismael. I've been considering buying this kit so keep us updated with lots of pics and let us all know if any construction issues pop up.
Italianhorses Posted March 25, 2019 Posted March 25, 2019 Excellent start, can't believe you are building a BMW.
ismaelg Posted March 26, 2019 Author Posted March 26, 2019 Thanks guys! As I mentioned this will be very slow until I finish my current main project. Tested replacing the kit's exhaust tip with my own made from aluminum tubing. This is only a test. Some tweaks will still be needed eventually. Thanks,
ismaelg Posted April 3, 2019 Author Posted April 3, 2019 Hello, DISCLAIMER: I'm using flat black instead of wasting a ton of money in carbon fiber decals that will not be seen. But 99% of what you see in flat black should be CF. Small update: Radiators, heat exchangers, coolers whatever you wanna call 'em... Thanks,
Italianhorses Posted April 3, 2019 Posted April 3, 2019 Good progress. Weirdly shaped radiator. Good call on CF decals.
martinfan5 Posted April 3, 2019 Posted April 3, 2019 8 hours ago, ismaelg said: Hello, DISCLAIMER: I'm using flat black instead of wasting a ton of money in carbon fiber decals that will not be seen. But 99% of what you see in flat black should be CF. Small update: Radiators, heat exchangers, coolers whatever you wanna call 'em... Thanks, I use what I call faux carbon fiber paint, its Testors Graphite Met, the shade is very close to that of C/F, those pieces would be something I would use the paint on, gives that "appearance" of C/F, just FYI for you.
ismaelg Posted April 4, 2019 Author Posted April 4, 2019 Thanks Jonathan! Interesting! Is that bottle, spray can? enamel? lacquer? Thanks,
935k3 Posted April 4, 2019 Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, ismaelg said: Hello, DISCLAIMER: I'm using flat black instead of wasting a ton of money in carbon fiber decals that will not be seen. But 99% of what you see in flat black should be CF. Small update: Radiators, heat exchangers, coolers whatever you wanna call 'em..." Ismael try TS-40 Metallic Black for a carbon look. Martinfan 5 gave me the idea. It looks better than plain black. Here is a car I used it on. Edited April 4, 2019 by 935k3
Dann Tier Posted April 5, 2019 Posted April 5, 2019 Off to a great start, bud!!! I too use a similar way to paint CF....there are at least 15 different kinds...all with different looks, and sheens.
beeRS Posted April 6, 2019 Posted April 6, 2019 Great work so far. CF; I love and hate it in equal measure. I have so many projects that have stalled because of the huge amount of work/time/money that goes in to CF. I'm going to borrow some of the paint alternatives mentioned on this thread to get them going again. Keep up the good work.
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