Tamiya Evo 6.5 Tommi Makinen Edition Conversion

[lghtngyello03]

Super excited to get this one on the bench. I saw a pic of one completed online with the detail-up kit from Hobby Design and knew I had to build one. 

The kit is a Tamiya Evo 6, And the detail-up set is from Hobby Design. I will also be adding a Hobby Design Muffler. The color is going to be Mitsubishi WRC Passion Red from Zero Paints topped with Zero Paints 2k Clear. 

The detail-up set includes the TME front bumper, TME wheels, TME decals, and photo etch parts as well. 

I am very impressed with the quality of the resin front bumper and wheels. Not very much work had to go into the front bumper to get it ready to be mounted on the car. I did so using some 5 min epoxy after completing all necessary body work. 

I also sanded out all of the high spots cause from molded dimples on the inside of the kit on the trunk, roof, and hood (as seen circled in red) and went over all of the panel lines with my scribing tool. 

I Hope for this to be a nice easy build as with all Tamiya kits. 

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[lghtngyello03]

I managed to get a good bit more completed this afternoon/evening. 

The rear bumper has molded bolts that I have marked with a Sharpie. These must be sanded off as the TME car doesn’t have these. 

I also got the body/chassis/wing primed in white since the color will need a light base coat.   I primed everything else as well in grey primer. 

I have a little work/sanding to do on the resin bumper that didn’t show up without primer. So, I’ll have to do that and prime it once more before I can lay down some color. 

[89AKurt]

Just because I built this very kit last century, look forward to seeing how this turns out.  Typical Tamiya quality is excellent, other than lacking the engine.  What tool are you using to scribe with?

[lghtngyello03]

I too built this kit probably 10+ years ago,lol. It was before my skills were that great and all rattle canned, no tape on the window trim, but still holds up well.  

I use a bare metal foil tool as pictured below. 

[89AKurt]

Thanks for answering.

[afx]

Always liked the Lancer, I'll be following.

[lghtngyello03]

6 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Thanks for answering.

No problem, thanks for sharing your build!

1 hour ago, afx said:

Always liked the Lancer, I'll be following.

Thanks, I have a soft spot for them as I have an Evo 8 that has been fully built.  That is why I disappeared for a year, lol.  I spent the last year building the engine and getting it sorted out after a rod decided to vent the block. I can't say much, after 10 years of 500hp and 31psi of boost it was time the stock rod gave up, lol. 

Now I'm ready to hit the chassis dyno whenever I can get the chance, and get tuned after my new setup. I'm hoping to crack 700hp on some E85.

 

Edited September 12, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[espo]

I have always enjoyed watching this type of machine in racing so this build looks like a lot of fun. As for your 1:1 all I can say is wow. Now you have to build a copy of that unless you already have. 

[lghtngyello03]

18 minutes ago, espo said:

I have always enjoyed watching this type of machine in racing so this build looks like a lot of fun. As for your 1:1 all I can say is wow. Now you have to build a copy of that unless you already have. 

I love any Evo, lol.  I would love to have anywhere from a Evo 4-6, but they are super hard to come by. 

The 1:1, I started one a looooong time ago. Again, my skills were nowhere near what they are now.  So, that is planned in the future, to maybe strip that one down or buy a whole new kit and give it a go again.  Zero paints sells the color matched factory Mitsu paint that will match mine, and I know where to get a set of rims that match as well.

[89AKurt]

Wow, so you have the real deal! ?  I've seen a few in their natural element, on rally stages. ?  Won't show you the one that crashed near the end of the last stage, when they led by a wide margin.

Cheering you on, I'll get off your lawn!

[lghtngyello03]

37 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

Wow, so you have the real deal! ?  I've seen a few in their natural element, on rally stages. ?  Won't show you the one that crashed near the end of the last stage, when they led by a wide margin.

Cheering you on, I'll get off your lawn!

Yes sir I have an 03 Evo 8. I’ve never seen one it’s its natural element in person. Plenty on tv lol. Awesome pic by the way ^ Judging by what little of the front bumper I can see, it looks like an Evo 7. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[89AKurt]

Maybe this picture will help.  ?  It was a blast to hear and watch them in action.  And will throw another one in from the same 2015 Prescott rally.  I got to ride in a 5 (I think) at the Ramada Express Rally, for demonstration runs, the sound of the dirt hitting the bottom was really something.  This was after he fixed his car after ditch-rolling on the first stage, which I got video of.  Ok, sorry for hijacking your thread, back to the regularly scheduled program.

[lghtngyello03]

Sick pictures. I bet the ride in that was awesome! Definitely something to experience. The neon one is an evo 9 and the red and white one is an evo 8. 

[lghtngyello03]

Didn’t get too much exciting stuff done today.  But I did get all the parts that need to be sprayed semi gloss black sprayed today. I also got the rear diff, transfer case, a-arms, and the transmission painted aluminum. 

Hoping to get all parts that need to be sprayed aluminum completed tomorrow as well as the suspension sprayed in yellow to replicate some upgraded Bilstein Struts. 

 

[lghtngyello03]

Update, super bummed about this paint from Zero Paints. I had all my body work perfect and primed and ready to go.  The body was sprayed in Tamiya White Primer .

Sprayed 2 light mist coats on the mirrors and body giving 5 min flash time, and on the 3rd coat on the body, the paint reacts with the primer and crazes. ?. I stopped on the body and tried the spoiler. Immediately crazed the primer going through to the plastic and ruined the spoiler. 

So today I get home from work and dig through my Tamiya TS spray paint and find I have an Italian red which is super close. So I sprayed the chassis while the body is in a brake fluid bath

I’m pretty mad about the Zero Paints thing. I have sprayed many bodies with an airbrush and Gravity paints or Scalefinishes and never had an issue.  Not to mention I bought a good bit of other colors for upcoming projects.

Now I have to buy a whole new kit just for the spoiler and possibly the body of it crazed the plastic on it too. 

So it looks like this project is on hold til I can get another kit and see if my body is salvageable.  Also looks like I’m in for a color and clear change. Going to be Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red with Gravity Colors 2k clear. Hopefully those won’t have a weird reaction 

Edited September 17, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[martinfan5]

Dont feel bad, you are the not the only to have issues with Zero paints crazing, even thru primer,  what primer did you use?, and you might be able to sand those areas and repaint and salvage that paint job, but, you risk crazing again using the same paint, darned if you do and darned if you dont.

Edited September 17, 2019 by martinfan5

[lghtngyello03]

4 minutes ago, martinfan5 said:

Dont feel bad, you are the not the only to have issues with Zero paints crazing, even thru primer,  what primer did you use?, and you might be able to sand those areas and repaint and salvage that paint job, but, you risk crazing again using the same paint, darned if you do and darned if you dont.

Sorry thanks for asking I included that in my edit. It’s sprayed with Tamiya White Primer 

[martinfan5]

7 minutes ago, lghtngyello03 said:

Sorry thanks for asking I included that in my edit. It’s sprayed with Tamiya White Primer 

Yeah, Tamiya primer is pretty good at stopping hotter paint from crazing. 

[lghtngyello03]

Alright. After a day in the brake fluid pond after the Zero Paints mishap, I managed to get the body stripped down to the plastic. The body wasn’t ruined but the spoiler was completely done.

I had to prime it all again and do my body work on the resin front bumper as well. I decanted some Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red, and shot it through my airbrush. It turned out pretty good but has a slight orange peel, but it should cover up with the 2k clear. 

I have do a test panel with Tamiya lacquer base, some of the hobby design decals and the Gravity Colors Clear to make sure it’s not gonna destroy all my work again. 

I also got my wheels done which were sprayed with decanted Tamiya TS-26 Pure White. In addition to this I got the front and rear suspension completed and mounted on the chassis. 

 

[lghtngyello03]

Well, I got the body all decaled up tonight. I’m just waiting on my other kit to get here so I can get the spoiler out of it, then I’ll have to spray it as well. 

This is my first “big” decal job and am very pleased with the outcome. Micro set and Micro Sol are definitely must haves for this process.  I now feel confident in laying down the decals on my next project, as long as the clear turns out good that is.

I’m going to let the body sit for a couple of days in order to make sure that the decals are fully dry, then shoot it in some 2k clear. 

 

 

[Shelby 427 1965]

Looks fantastic, and fair play for carrying on through the struggles. That would've been enough for me to shelve the project for a long time! 

I've built this kit a few times over and have a few more in the stock pile. It's typical Tamiya excellence, jiggle the box and it'll come out complete

You can see one of 'em here.
https://scaledworld.net/wanderlust-evo-vi-time-attack

 

Can't wait to see the end result - very interested in doing a T.M.E. version to go alongside my 22b. 

 

Keep at it  

[lghtngyello03]

4 hours ago, Shelby 427 1965 said:

Looks fantastic, and fair play for carrying on through the struggles. That would've been enough for me to shelve the project for a long time! 

I've built this kit a few times over and have a few more in the stock pile. It's typical Tamiya excellence, jiggle the box and it'll come out complete

You can see one of 'em here.
https://scaledworld.net/wanderlust-evo-vi-time-attack

 

Can't wait to see the end result - very interested in doing a T.M.E. version to go alongside my 22b. 

 

Keep at it  

Thank you very much.  It was very difficult to not shelve this one.  I almost started on my next project while I was waiting for the paint to strip on this one, but I knew if I did this I would never go back to the Evo.

 

The decals in this Hobby Design detail up set are awesome by the way.  They hold up well to a lot of Micro Sol.

[lghtngyello03]

I did get the body clear coated today with the Zero Paints 2k clear. I’m not very impressed with it. I have had great luck spraying and not getting any orange peele or anything with other brands, but not with this clear. Maybe it needs more thinner, but I mixed it according to the directions. I haven’t decided it’ll I wanna chance it on my next build or buy some more Gravity clear or try some Splash Paints clear. 
 

I also got the interior sprayed for the red in the TME seats. Which will get shot with some flat or Semi Gloss clear tomorrow after work.

Edited September 30, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[Modlbldr]

Excellent work your doing on this, even considering the paint mishap. I love the look of these Evos and will have to pick me up one soon. Keep at it! Looking great!

Later-

[lghtngyello03]

1 hour ago, Modlbldr said:

Excellent work your doing on this, even considering the paint mishap. I love the look of these Evos and will have to pick me up one soon. Keep at it! Looking great!

Later-

Thanks man! I'm pretty satisfied with it so far, just hoping this 2k isn't horribly hard to polish out.