Tamiya 1/24 Alfa Romeo GTV (1996) Twin Spark 16V

[Italianhorses]

Well, I'm bored so I'm starting another build - another Tamiya wonderful rendition of the cool Alfa GTV. After all, I was dreaming of having this time to stay at home and have the time to build all these kits, so now is my chance! Maybe the pile won't look so big when I'm done...

If at all possible, I always try to get original release of the kit. For authenticity, best copy of the parts, etc. This one is no exception - an original 1996 release in a beautiful slightly worn box:

IMG_1032 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1033 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

This is a full detail (with engine) kit , there will be some tasty bits to look at after.

IMG_1034 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Decals are slightly yellowed, but not bad overall:
IMG_1035 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

No detail sets available for this kit, but it does come with these small metal stickers
IMG_1036 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

The color would be Alfa Rosso Proteo Metallic.

[OldNYJim]

I like these cars!  I’ll be watching! 

[Funkychiken]

I always wanted one of these, but they are rare on eBay - or pricey! will be looking forward to your build...!

[jaymcminn]

Can't wait to see your touch on this one Alex. I'd love to find one of these kits for a reasonable price someday. 

[Italianhorses]

19 hours ago, CabDriver said:

I like these cars!  I’ll be watching! 

Thanks!

4 hours ago, Funkychiken said:

I always wanted one of these, but they are rare on eBay - or pricey! will be looking forward to your build...!

I didn't realize these become rare. I had this kit for a while.

3 hours ago, jaymcminn said:

Can't wait to see your touch on this one Alex. I'd love to find one of these kits for a reasonable price someday. 

I need to check eBay to see what they are going for!

Some progress on this one. Too late to pack it up and sell, I guess!

Cleaned up all the mold lines, etc

IMG_1041 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Overall, the casting is pretty good, only pin marks were on the back of the hood, which I filled:

IMG_1042 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Primed:

IMG_1043 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1044 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1046 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Entire body had very vague panel lines, so I had to re-scribe it in its entirety. The toughest was around hte side windows, it was so faint, I guarantee it would get lost under the coats of paint and clear.

IMG_1047 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Ready for color!

IMG_1049 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[Italianhorses]

The body was painted in Alfa Rosso Proteo Metallic:

As usual, 2 coats of paint, 2 coats of clear, light polish after 8 hours.

IMG_1059 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1060 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1061 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1062 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1063 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1064 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1067 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[OldNYJim]

Oh wow ?. Beautiful!!

[Matt Bacon]

Very nice indeed... whose paint is it? You’re almost tempting me away from my plan for gunmetal grey over deep burgundy upholstery for mine... Great to see you back in action as well, Alex... your database and builds were an inspiration to me when I switched from mostly big grey jets to Ferraris a decade or so ago.

best,

M.

[Italianhorses]

15 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Oh wow ?. Beautiful!!

Thank you!

14 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

Very nice indeed... whose paint is it? You’re almost tempting me away from my plan for gunmetal grey over deep burgundy upholstery for mine... Great to see you back in action as well, Alex... your database and builds were an inspiration to me when I switched from mostly big grey jets to Ferraris a decade or so ago.

best,

M.

Matt, its Zero paints. I was actually considering that color scheme for mine!

Thanks, I need to refresh that site at some point - any web designers here?

[jaymcminn]

Beautiful paint work. I need to try Zero paints at some point...

[kelson]

Pretty flawless looking paint!

[Italianhorses]

12 hours ago, jaymcminn said:

Beautiful paint work. I need to try Zero paints at some point...

They are great to work with. Highly recommended. 

10 hours ago, kelson said:

Pretty flawless looking paint!

Thank you!

[Italianhorses]

All tiny bits were cleaned up and painted in base colors:

IMG_1078 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1079 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Detail painted and washed parts of the engine. Decided to paint cam cover into classic Alfa Rosso instead of boring silver.

IMG_1083 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Assembled the motor:

IMG_1091 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

And test fitted to see how it looks inside the engine bay:

IMG_1088 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1086 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[Dave Van]

Cool to see this one built.......I have two....a unusual kit for sure.  

[Italianhorses]

Yeah, not often seen built. Its a great kit though!

[beeRS]

Great work so far Alex. That red looks wonderful. Ive always liked the GTV, and consideted buying a 1:1 one once.

I've yet to use Zero paints, and can't wait to try. A quick question. Are you using Zeros 2k clear? And did you put fewer coats of the clear on the underside to achieve a less 'glossy' look?

[Italianhorses]

8 hours ago, beeRS said:

Great work so far Alex. That red looks wonderful. Ive always liked the GTV, and consideted buying a 1:1 one once.

I've yet to use Zero paints, and can't wait to try. A quick question. Are you using Zeros 2k clear? And did you put fewer coats of the clear on the underside to achieve a less 'glossy' look?

Thanks! Zero paints are all flats (base coats), so chassis plate just painted with the base and not clearcoated at all (except for underhood area). If you notice, I also primed chassis with darker gray primer, and did not cover it completely with paint to have faint see-through effect that is similar to what you see on the real car chassis. I use automotive clears (Advantage brand these days), but Zero 2K clear is essentially that, just packaged into smaller containers.

Untitled by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[ATHU]

Wow nice!! Beautiful paint job and great color choice??

[beeRS]

16 hours ago, Italianhorses said:

Thanks! Zero paints are all flats (base coats), so chassis plate just painted with the base and not clearcoated at all (except for underhood area). If you notice, I also primed chassis with darker gray primer, and did not cover it completely with paint to have faint see-through effect that is similar to what you see on the real car chassis. I use automotive clears (Advantage brand these days), but Zero 2K clear is essentially that, just packaged into smaller containers.

Untitled by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Thanks Alex. These are great tips. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[89AKurt]

Cool subject.  Scribing is great touch, I've been enjoying my Tamiya tool.  Great photography, that's what I'm looking at.  I'm taking pictures on my disaster zone workbench. ?

[Funkychiken]

The chassis is definitely darker than the body, and the paint looks flawless, looking good!

[Italianhorses]

9 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Cool subject.  Scribing is great touch, I've been enjoying my Tamiya tool.  Great photography, that's what I'm looking at.  I'm taking pictures on my disaster zone workbench. ?

I take pix at my bench as well. Just get some white and grey poster paper, cut it in half, and use as a background. I scribe with back of my knife. Never gotten the hang of the scriber.

9 hours ago, Funkychiken said:

The chassis is definitely darker than the body, and the paint looks flawless, looking good!

Thank you!

[Italianhorses]

Masked off and painted chassis plate:

 

IMG_1105 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1103 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Brakes:

 

IMG_1111 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Detail painted and washed suspension bits

 

IMG_1109 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Assembled:

 

IMG_1131 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Rear suspension:

 

IMG_1114 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1132 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Completed chassis:

 

IMG_1134 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1137 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

The wheels were stripped of chrome and re-painted in more appropriate aluminum color.

 

IMG_1077 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Masked the body shell for trim painting:

 

IMG_1095 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Painted the trim:

 

IMG_1142 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1144 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Attached hinges to the hood, and painted all black inside:

 

IMG_1146 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

Body was also painted black inside:

 

IMG_1151 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1150 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

And mocked it up with the wheels and chassis:

 

IMG_1119 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1121 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1123 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

 

IMG_1126 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[DiscoRover007]

Once again Alex you are putting on a clinic. It's looking flawless. Curious as to what black you used for the trim and engine bay? 

Also, have you used Vallejo acrylics since you've been modelling again? There brush paints flow quite well and don't usually leave brush strokes. Their model air paints are also pretty amazing. BTW I'm just throwing it out there but I'd love to see you take a stab at one of Aoshima's kits in their Lamborghini series. I think you'd find their Countach quite enjoyable. 

Edited April 27, 2020 by DiscoRover007

[Justin Porter]

I'm always psyched to see one of your builds, Alex, but admittedly this time I'm following primarily because this is one of those "just what DOES that one look like built up?" kits. I always vaguely recall it being in the Tamiya catalog but I never saw it on a shop shelf or saw pictures of build-ups like some sort of mirage.