Marvel's Hydra coupe 1/12 scale full scratch build

[François]

With the rear wheel covers done, that concludes the body printing phase of this project. I think I'll do the rear seat before priming the body. 

Edited May 10 by François

[François]

I did the rear seat today. Here's how it was done. 

I first made a paper template of the back rest.

Which was then transfered to a .015" thick plasticard

I 3d printed a bunch of domed strip to create the back cushion shape 

Which were glued to the plasticard

Next came the leather 

And once glued 

I then cut a piece of white foam for the seat cushion 

And covered it with leather 

But I didn't like the gap between the back cushion and the body so glued a 1/16" dia styrene rod to create a lip that will hide the gap. The rod will be painted the same color as the bodywork. 

I'm very happy with the result even though it's not final since I have to remove the seat for painting. 

And the last project for today was to make a new bigger spray booth. The hydra body didn't fit in the old one. At 28" wide x 14" deep, it will accomodate bigger parts.

[Mattilacken]

Looks good as usual! Great work with al of it!

[François]

All body parts have been primed,  wet sanded and primed again. They are now ready for final color. 

[Bugatti Fan]

This flight of fantasy is really going places now!

[François]

Did the leather on the door's inside panels. It's not perfect but I should be able to get it close with a bit of tweaking here and there and a bit of shoe polish.

[François]

Ok so I painted all the body parts with Tamiya's german gray spray paint.

As mentionned before, tamiya spray paints are no longer available in Canada but I was lucky enough to find 5 cans of the same color that was close to the gray I wanted. It took 4.5 cans to spray all the body parts (including the previously painted blower, wheels and front light brackets) so not much room for a error there (absolutely no pressure !!).  Next step is to clear coat the parts with Tamiya's LP-9 clear lacquer diluted 50/50 with Tamiya's lacquer thinner (the orange capped bottle, apparently it has a retarder in it). But before clear coating the actual parts, I did a test on a extra trunk lid. I laid 3 light coats at 5 minute intervals followed by a last wet coat. Once it's cured (no clue as to curing time but I figure an overnight cure should be good), I'll do some buffing tests with and without wet sanding. Hopefully,  I won't need to much wet sanding. 

After 2nd light coat (forgot the take a picture of the first)

After 3nd light coat 

And after wet coat

 

Edited Wednesday at 02:22 AM by François

[François]

I'm on a fairly steep learning curve with the paint and clear process.

I cleared all parts except the fenders,  the rear trunk lid and the body. The result is ok, no more. I need to better control the dust (I got a tack cloth for this) and to better degrease the parts. After testing on a spare part, I decided to sand the cleared parts with a 3000 grit tamiya sponge pad first and then with a 5000 grit polishing pad (dry and wet). I will then re-apply a wet coat of clear. Once this coat has cured 48 hrs, I will see if another 5000 wet polish is needed or if I can just wax it as is.  It's a very slow process.

Tamiya 3000 pad

5000 polishing pad 

Second clear test on spare part 

I finished the of day by painting the shield on the inside of the trunk lid.  Still need to do a few touch-up and to apply the clear but I'm happy with the result. 

[Mattilacken]

Looks great!