e30lover Posted September 16, 2021 Posted September 16, 2021 (edited) Hi everyone, my latest build is Honda NSX from Tamiya. It's one of those Tamiya kits that never seem to go out of stock. The factory wheels look too pedestrian so I decided to use 18” BBS LM from Aoshima. Like many other Tamiya kits from the same era it's got the full suspension and engine detail. Gotta watch out super thin A-pillar.. and the wheels are fantastically detailed along with Bridgestone Potenza sidewalls. They're also staggered so perfect for NSX. First step was to clean up the body with 600 grit and 1200 grit sandpaper and added Tamiya surfacer. I don't have photo but I wet sanded the body with 1500 grit after spraying surfacer. I glued all the pieces that I’m going to paint in same colours and smoothed out the glue line. Wheels were painted in Mr Color’s aluminum and suspension parts were painted in chrome silver and stainless steel colours. I painted the valve cover with smoke clear over silver, then masked off the middle and painted semi gloss black. The underbody was painted in TS gloss aluminum, then I masked the inner fender and fuel tank to paint semi gloss black. Front suspension was also masked off to paint black & silver. On muffler and oil pan, I added a wash with panel line accent. All these different shades of silver becomes noticeable when I put them all together. NSX did come in variety of interesting interior colour options but as I’m planning to use some flashy exterior colur, I decided to keep it simple. I just added flocking and also airbrushed dark grey to bring out the shine on the texture of those leather seats. I wanted to make something similar to NSX’s midnight purple, so I coated Mr color’s XC04 Amethyst purple on top of black. The paint itself looks like pearl clear in a bottle, but the colour becomes more vivid based on the base colour below it. It’s a touch brigher than actual midnight purple, but I decided to keep it as is instead of making it darker. I added three layer of clear coats but it this colour eats up clear like nothing else, so the orange peel looks pretty bad in the photo. I dried the paint for about a month and started polishing process. I wet-sanded with 2000 grit and 3000 grit - my focus in this step is to make sure I completely eliminate all orange peels through every nook and cranny(such as creases on the hood, edges across side window sills, etc) without damaging the clear coat. I then proceeded with Tamiya’s 3 stage compounds. The polishing process takes about 6~10 hours by hand. Here’s the polished body. NSX has some complex shape so I didn’t polish too aggressively this time - just enough to get the even shine without orange peels! Then I moved onto window masking and taillight. I masked off the reverse light and turn signals, airbrushed clear red, removed masking then lightly airbrshed clear red to simulate the real car. I added the backing with BMF. Then I glued the glass. Not quite happy with Tamiya’s window stripe.. I’ll use the actual paint next time. I assembled the rest then put the brakes and wheels - just need to do a proper photoshoot now! Edited September 16, 2021 by e30lover 3
stinkybritches Posted September 16, 2021 Posted September 16, 2021 Very nice. The body paint and components paint is very well done. Really clean.
Nacho Z Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 She looks great! I’m really looking forward to some glamour shots of this one!
Cool Hand Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 Excellent work on all the detail painting and that paint job is very impressive. Well done
Zippi Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 Like everyone else said.....nice detail work and the paint came out nice.
Funkychiken Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 Superb build, looks so easy in these steps, but I bet it was a lot of work, especially the shiny paint job! Cool colour too, one of my favourites.
Pierre_tec Posted September 19, 2021 Posted September 19, 2021 Although I like more the aoshima bbs lm with separate wheels lip, you did a fantastic job with the wheels. And the body, just wow and 6-10 hours for polishing the body, I take my hat for that. That’s why I use 2k clear, don’t have enough time and patience. Waiting for the photo shoot!
e30lover Posted September 19, 2021 Author Posted September 19, 2021 (edited) On 9/15/2021 at 8:37 PM, stinkybritches said: Very nice. The body paint and components paint is very well done. Really clean. Thank you! On 9/15/2021 at 8:45 PM, 4mula1fan said: Top notch job! Appreciate it! On 9/15/2021 at 8:46 PM, FLHCAHZ said: Very nice. The paint is incredible! Thanks a lot! On 9/16/2021 at 8:16 PM, chris chabre said: looks amazing!!! Thank you! On 9/16/2021 at 8:32 PM, Nacho Z said: She looks great! I’m really looking forward to some glamour shots of this one! Thanks! Stay tuned! On 9/17/2021 at 12:40 AM, xs650shawn said: Gorgeous build! Thank you! On 9/17/2021 at 2:21 AM, Beamerman said: So beautiful...love it Thanks! On 9/17/2021 at 4:03 AM, Cool Hand said: Excellent work on all the detail painting and that paint job is very impressive. Well done Thank you! On 9/17/2021 at 5:34 AM, christian-w said: So beautiful! Thanks! On 9/17/2021 at 7:06 AM, Zippi said: Like everyone else said.....nice detail work and the paint came out nice. Not my best paint job (overcoating clear colour is always tricky) but at least I didn't make any major mistakes! On 9/17/2021 at 7:27 AM, David G. said: Absolutely Gorgeous! David G. Thank you! On 9/17/2021 at 1:10 PM, Mattilacken said: Looking very good! Thanks a lot! On 9/17/2021 at 6:21 PM, Funkychiken said: Superb build, looks so easy in these steps, but I bet it was a lot of work, especially the shiny paint job! Cool colour too, one of my favourites. As with most of Tamiya kits it was very easy to put together which made the process lot simpler. Thank you! 12 hours ago, Pierre_tec said: Although I like more the aoshima bbs lm with separate wheels lip, you did a fantastic job with the wheels. And the body, just wow and 6-10 hours for polishing the body, I take my hat for that. That’s why I use 2k clear, don’t have enough time and patience. Waiting for the photo shoot! Agreed. I also like wheels with separate lips which saves time cutting up masking tapes. The first round wet-sanding and polishing (image that has Tamiya compound right next to the body) which looks maybe 70% good, takes only about 2 hours, but it's always the last step that takes forever to get mirror finish on all body panels and remove all micro-scratches - NSX has many dips and sharp edges on the body which made the process really time consuming too. To me 2k clear feels too thick (e.g paint building up around the panel lines) but I had seen pro modelers laying a very thin 2k clear with Finisher's Urethane GP2 so I might try that in the future! Edited September 19, 2021 by e30lover
doorsovdoon Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 Beautiful paint. Very well designed looking kit.
e30lover Posted October 19, 2021 Author Posted October 19, 2021 On 10/3/2021 at 11:36 AM, doorsovdoon said: Beautiful paint. Very well designed looking kit. Thank you it was very fun to build one! On 10/5/2021 at 12:03 PM, slusher said: Gorgeous paint! Thanks!
TransAmMike Posted October 19, 2021 Posted October 19, 2021 I don't know how I missed this one. Beautiful car Chang, love the color. Gonna do the Tamiya Porsche GT3 Club Sport in similar color. Great work as is the usual with you?
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