BMW 2000tii finished at last!

[beeRS]

I started this one near the beginning of Covid19 lockdowns as a quicky (laugh). This was finished recently, and I've been waiting for perfect dry overcast day to photograph it. You can see the build thread Here

 

Here are some of the things I learned along the way...

1. This was my first time using a Tamiya TS aerosol. The paint is lovely, but I did not find it as tough as others. I did not clear coat over the top, but if I had it would not have been an issue. The paint finished seemed to pick up micro scratches very easily during the final stages of the build.

2. All the extra work put into modifying the interior door trim was mostly wasted. You can barely see it and it held up progress a lot.

3. This kit has a lot of trim to add to the body. It’s extremely fiddly and drained the fun out of the build towards the end. If I were building it again, I may be tempted to build as a modded car without the trim, or actually fit the trim before paint and then apply foil afterwards.

4. Although many have had good results with embossing powder for carpet, it did not agree with me. I will be using flocking from now on.

5. The biggest hold-up with this project was figuring out how to do the front and rear window trim. They should be chrome trim and black rubber seals (like most cars of this period). I just could not figure out how to replicate this in an easy way. I could foil it and it would all be chrome, or I could paint it and it would all be black. In the end I used the kit supplied decals, which are okay, but they are silver/black not chrome/black.

I’m constantly trying to learn, so your comments, criticisms and advice are welcome. Here is the end result. I hope you like it. Thanks for looking.

 

 

Overall this kit is a joy. Despite the fiddly bits, things like the self-adhesive chrome badges and multi-piece tail-lights make this kit stand out. You won't be surprised to know that I have now purchased the Turbo version of this kit and it is waiting in my stash for a future build.

Edited August 4, 2023 by beeRS
Correct link

[stitchdup]

turned out very nice in green. i may have to add one to the stash now. If you have a decent art supply shop nearby archiatects drawing pens are useful for the rubber around chrome. They come in sizes down to 0.1 mm and are safe to use under acrylic clears. I'm going to be using them when i do my next mk1 golf as a gl spec. The pens aren't the cheapest but as long as you aren't rough on them they will last a while.

[Jim B]

Great looking BMW.  really well done.

[drodg]

Very nice build.  I do like the green btw what Tamiya color is that?  I think you did a great job.

 

[happy grumpy]

You managed to do a very good job on beautiful kit. I have built it and I confirm that the most difficult part of this kit is the trim. Lots of delicate parts . Once you cut them from the sprue, it's very hard to trim the spot where they 're attached to the sprue. I think they went a little overkill on the trimming side. They should have molded with the body. Foiling would have been easier I think. Despite the issues your model looks really nice. This car is such a classic.

[jdhog]

Very clean build.  Love the green color.  It looks real sitting there.

[70 Sting]

What a great build!  Realistic wheels. Love the partially rolled down windows. 👍👌

[NOBLNG]

Sweet looking little Beemer!👍

[atomicholiday]

That looks great.  Nice clean build.👍

[SpikeSchumacher]

Beautifully done!

[1959scudetto]

You did a very nice job with this classic BMW. I have mine not built yet but I too had the impression that Hasegawa overdid it with thes ultra-thin trim parts.

[JollySipper]

That turned out super nice!

[ea0863]

Such a beautiful tribute to such a classic car. Well done!

[espo]

Beautiful looking color and finish. I have had your same experience with the TS paints, they seem to need a clear coat for protection if nothing else. Like the cleanly done body trim. 

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Fun to see this classic.

Like that it's a replica of the factory optional Tii and it has the factory optional Chromadora alloy wheel option. Good color! One like this used to be in my neighborhood.

[StokeModels]

I think despite your critiques of the kit, you've turned out a fantastic replica. 

I've built the Turbo version of this kit and agree that if I build another, I would strip the trim, glue it in place and then apply Bare Metal Foil after paint and polish. FWIW, I've been applying embossing powder overtop of a very wet airbrushed coat of lacquer. It provides a smoother final surface better than using glue and I can respray and add more powder if there's any thin spots.

I've also been looking for a way to replicate window trim and I saw a video by A4Garage on YouTube (https://youtu.be/-ZuEDGtinhU?t=2318) where he uses Hasegawa Stainless Finish foil to do a thin strip over the black painted rubber part of the window. The Hasegawa foil is more of a vinyl than metal but it can flex around corners without breaking - definitely finicky but a pretty good result when it works. 
 

 

[karbuildr]

I agree with everyone else, you've done an excellent job on this build and it looks great. I like the green you chose and the wheels look really nice, very realistic.

Edited August 3, 2023 by karbuildr

[Pete75]

Great job. Really impressive chrome trim!

[Dragonhawk1066]

It looks fantastic! I think I see what you mean about the trim, that had to be a pain indeed!

[Rattlecan Dan]

A nice clean well detailed build. Great job.

[peteski]

Looks great, but as you said, the dark interior  color hides all the details.

Thanks for the "lessons learned". I have this kit and those are very helpful.  You confirmed what I was afraid of - that the separate chrome trim will be a pain to deal with.  I also bought the transkit with full engine detail  and the 3D-pritned door panels, so mine will be even more complicated (when I eventually got to building it).  I'm thinking of painting mine light metallic blue with tan interior.

Edited August 4, 2023 by peteski

[Mittagskind]

Very nice done, looks great.

[beeRS]

16 hours ago, stitchdup said:

turned out very nice in green. i may have to add one to the stash now. If you have a decent art supply shop nearby archiatects drawing pens are useful for the rubber around chrome. They come in sizes down to 0.1 mm and are safe to use under acrylic clears. I'm going to be using them when i do my next mk1 golf as a gl spec. The pens aren't the cheapest but as long as you aren't rough on them they will last a while.

Thanks for the great tip Les. I have purchased some thin permanent marker type with 0.2mm tips to try out next time. You need a steady hand I guess. Good luck with your Golf project.

16 hours ago, Jim B said:

Great looking BMW.  really well done.

Thanks.

16 hours ago, drodg said:

Very nice build.  I do like the green btw what Tamiya color is that?  I think you did a great job.

 

Thanks. It's Tamiya TS-9.

16 hours ago, happy grumpy said:

You managed to do a very good job on beautiful kit. I have built it and I confirm that the most difficult part of this kit is the trim. Lots of delicate parts . Once you cut them from the sprue, it's very hard to trim the spot where they 're attached to the sprue. I think they went a little overkill on the trimming side. They should have molded with the body. Foiling would have been easier I think. Despite the issues your model looks really nice. This car is such a classic.

Thanks. Yes - sanding those bits of trim was tricky.

16 hours ago, jdhog said:

Very clean build.  Love the green color.  It looks real sitting there.

Thanks.

15 hours ago, 70 Sting said:

What a great build!  Realistic wheels. Love the partially rolled down windows. 👍👌

Thanks. The wheels are the standard kit parts. I did the windows down so that you could see a b=the interior a bit better, however black is not the best for that!

15 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Sweet looking little Beemer!👍

Thanks.

15 hours ago, atomicholiday said:

That looks great.  Nice clean build.👍

Thanks

15 hours ago, SpikeSchumacher said:

Beautifully done!

Thanks.

15 hours ago, 1959scudetto said:

You did a very nice job with this classic BMW. I have mine not built yet but I too had the impression that Hasegawa overdid it with thes ultra-thin trim parts.

Thanks Helmut. It's not too bad. I was fitting one piece of trim per evening and it took more than a week.

[beeRS]

14 hours ago, JollySipper said:

That turned out super nice!

Thank you 

14 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Such a beautiful tribute to such a classic car. Well done!

Thanks Emre.

14 hours ago, espo said:

Beautiful looking color and finish. I have had your same experience with the TS paints, they seem to need a clear coat for protection if nothing else. Like the cleanly done body trim. 

Thanks David.

14 hours ago, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

Fun to see this classic.

Like that it's a replica of the factory optional Tii and it has the factory optional Chromadora alloy wheel option. Good color! One like this used to be in my neighborhood.

Thanks. Those are the kit supplied wheels. I did toy with the idea of Minilites, but I'm glad I stuck with these.

11 hours ago, StokeModels said:

I think despite your critiques of the kit, you've turned out a fantastic replica. 

I've built the Turbo version of this kit and agree that if I build another, I would strip the trim, glue it in place and then apply Bare Metal Foil after paint and polish. FWIW, I've been applying embossing powder overtop of a very wet airbrushed coat of lacquer. It provides a smoother final surface better than using glue and I can respray and add more powder if there's any thin spots.

I've also been looking for a way to replicate window trim and I saw a video by A4Garage on YouTube (https://youtu.be/-ZuEDGtinhU?t=2318) where he uses Hasegawa Stainless Finish foil to do a thin strip over the black painted rubber part of the window. The Hasegawa foil is more of a vinyl than metal but it can flex around corners without breaking - definitely finicky but a pretty good result when it works. 
 

 

Thanks Martin. Thanks for the tips on the embossing powder. I think it may be worth another try - it's so cheap compared to the flocking powders. I checked out that video. WOW! That looks like just the ticket. I looked on ebay - gosh that's expensive stuff! I will probably order some from Plaza Japan on my next order with them as its much cheaper from there. Great tip - thanks for that.

11 hours ago, karbuildr said:

I agree with everyone else, you've done an excellent job on this build and it looks great. I like the green you chose and the wheels look really nice, very realistic.

Thanks David.

11 hours ago, Pete75 said:

Great job. Really impressive chrome trim!

Thanks Pete. The chrome on the side windows was a challenge as I got some of BMF's infamous non-stick stuff.

10 hours ago, Dragonhawk1066 said:

It looks fantastic! I think I see what you mean about the trim, that had to be a pain indeed!

Thanks.

9 hours ago, Rattlecan Dan said:

A nice clean well detailed build. Great job.

Thanks 

5 hours ago, peteski said:

Looks great, but as you said, the dark interior  color hides all the details.

Thanks for the "lessons learned". I have this kit and those are very helpful.  You confirmed what I was afraid of - that the separate chrome trim will be a pain to deal with.  I also bought the transkit with full engine detail  and the 3D-pritned door panels, so mine will be even more complicated (when I eventually got to building it).  I'm thinking of painting mine light metallic blue with tan interior.

Thanks. You have your workk cut out there Peter. This kit can really benefit from super detailing. Light metalic blue sounds good! I think I'll go the whole hog when I do the Turbo version.

4 hours ago, Mittagskind said:

Very nice done, looks great.

Thanks Hanjo.

[afx]

Very nice.