Technics Posted January 18 Posted January 18 (edited) Jeep Cherokee I need some OOB builds that aren’t fussy to offset the difficult Airfix and Monogram kits I am wrapping up. A golden era Tamiya Jeep is the ticket. I’ve had this in the stash a good while. A era of SUV’s that are kinda special if you look back at them now. Manual gearboxes, V8s, and lots of character! I will definitely take the opportunity to go with a two tone paint job on this exterior. I have the urge to use my newly acquired paint. I feel a metallic red would feel believable. Otherwise a black or dark metallic shade of grey is a no brainier but that works so well on anything I am willing to go outside of my comfort zone to make something unique ( maybe ) . I love the extra rugged look of modified ones but I want to keep the rabbit hole shallow in the name of progress and ultimately completion. It gets out of hand quickly otherwise 😃. Edited January 18 by Technics 2
Technics Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 I won’t be ready to shoot until midweek if I’m lucky but right now my first choice as boring as it may seem the Aston Martin Arden Green again with a silver bottom half . The colour is very appropriate for the maturity of an OEM Jeep and will look realistic I feel. straight out of a dealer catalogue. My second choice is the BMW Iceland Green. 3
Mattilacken Posted January 18 Posted January 18 Nice! I am a huge Grand Cherokee fan and have had 8 in total. Mostly second gen, and come to think of it, first gen is the only one I haven’t owned (except for the 5 that I can’t afford and don’t want). I also have this kit.. but it’s kind of chopped up 😉 will follow!! 1
NOBLNG Posted January 18 Posted January 18 Any of those colors would look good on it.😎 I am a big Jeep fan too and there is no way I could build it stock. I would have to give it a lift and bigger tires.😬 But that’s just me. 1
Technics Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 (edited) @NOBLNG I’m with you, I love a lifted off roader, crawler, pre runner etc…. I just need some really simple OOB builds in parallel to offset my nerves of challenging builds and setbacks of other projects 😃 I have the Lindenberg Cherokee in 1:20 which I will build one day, caged and on my 1:24 crawler chassis with knobby tires and all the things. @Mattilacken oo sounds awesome! i wish the first gen existed in scale form. It’s such a nice body. Black primer on. Worked on removing seams and blemishes I could find. I love the feeling of Mr Surfacer. Edited January 18 by Technics 5
Mattilacken Posted January 22 Posted January 22 (edited) On 1/18/2025 at 11:15 PM, Technics said: oo sounds awesome! i wish the first gen existed in scale form. It’s such a nice body This is the first generation Grand Cherokee launched in 1993 model dessignatjon ZJ. Before that Jeep had Jeep Wagoneer which was the closest to a predecessor to Grand Cherokee. That body is availible in 3D files. There was also the Jeep Honcho from Revell that have the same body style but pickup. And then you have the Cherokee that was availible mid 70's which was a a 2 door Wagoneer. The later got replaced with the XJ Cherokee in 1984. I am a Jeep Enthusiast as you might have figgured out So it got to be a long post BTW, here is my favourite ZJ which i need to build in the future. Its a Jeep concept from 2017. Edited January 22 by Mattilacken 2
Csaba aka felhasznaaloo Posted January 22 Posted January 22 Will be watching this build, as an XJ owner...😉 BTW more and more Jeep kits are now available in 3D printed full kit format, if you don't mind the price. 1
Mattilacken Posted January 22 Posted January 22 12 minutes ago, Csaba aka felhasznaaloo said: Will be watching this build, as an XJ owner...😉 BTW more and more Jeep kits are now available in 3D printed full kit format, if you don't mind the price. I hapen to have the Jeep XJ 2 door and Jeep WK2 Trackhawk. + Gladiator and Wrangler that you can download for free. But I would like to have the non Trackhawk, like my own 2015 WK2 Summit. As well as the SJ Cherokee and wagoneer. 2
Technics Posted January 22 Author Posted January 22 I made a colour choice, I went with the Iceland BMW Green. I will have bumpers and running boards in this nice satin Porsche colour I found. It’s warmer and less Arden Green then it appears on photos. Unintentionally it ended up being sort of box art vibe haha. Actually thought about going full box art and finish it off with a finely painted gold stripe of tape. Feels very OEM anyway I am debating attempting a weathered peeling clear coat in areas. I do plan on having a light road use feel. It’s a parked runner / survivor. I have not airbrushed for a while so I made the mistake of shooting in a bit too low psi, and I had not cleaned it properly so it resulted in needing to wet sand after a few base coats. But with newly cleaned disassembled hardware and psi 25-30 it shot beautifully. So inspiring to use, I’m on my 8th or 9th. “Full pot” of paint. I will let it rest and gas out now. 4
gman Posted January 22 Posted January 22 That's a nice paint job. It would almost be a shame to distress it, but the heart wants what it wants. Having some Jeep history myself, I'll stay tuned on your build. 1
Technics Posted February 5 Author Posted February 5 (edited) Sharing some more inspiration images which I am using as a reference for dirt accumulation and body colours. I made a test of a few colours for the lower half as I am now not 100% certain which one to go for. I will give it a bit more time before I make a lower body colour pass. Now I’m leaning towards rubber black. I feel It will contrast nicely with the green. Edited February 5 by Technics 3 1
Technics Posted February 5 Author Posted February 5 Four coats of clear, last two were wet sanded with 3000 grit. If I applied a bit more pressure it would have been perfect. This is by far the best finish I’ve managed it’s significantly more “Mirror” reflective gloss like then the Espirt :) . I guess a fine grit cut and polish would make it completely glass. Very pleased!! I had to remove finger prints from the second layer and small dust speckles from all layers but the last. I will let it rest for a few weeks to a month+ before I dare to tape the next stage. I have let it dry 4-6 hours before handling it for these photos. 6
dino246gt Posted February 6 Posted February 6 You know that I love Prugna, but you made the right color choice and did a fantastic paint job, looks great! 1
oldcarfan Posted February 7 Posted February 7 Nice looking build! I have a long story, so skip it if you want. We bought a 96 Grand Cherokee in that dark green color about eight years ago for our son when he started driving. Had to rebuild the transmission and the A/C never worked which sucks in 110 degree Texas summers, but it carried him through High School. About that time I came across two of the Tamiya Grand Cherokees and bought them with the idea of building a model of his, but I never got around to it. Maybe I need to dig one of them out some day. Eventually we passed the real one on to a friend whose 3 year old Rogue puked up its CVT transmission. She used it for two years until she could afford something new and then passed it on. The last I heard it was still trucking along. 2
Technics Posted April 11 Author Posted April 11 I had the nerve to mask the body and shoot two coats of XF-69 Nato Black thinned with MLT. I was on and done in one sitting, tape went off after 15 minutes without a hiccup. I’m happy with the finish, the masking and the colour. I spent a good hour or two masking. Fresh tape out if the package. Shot two light layers of vallejo game air. Carefully removed the masks almost directly after. This was the first time I airbrushed the black trim. I guess I will never go back to rattle can for this as I had no flaws, a first for me! Very inspiring. Interior will black over light tan / beige. I look forward to adding carpets to the front and rear compartments. Will feel very oem and period correct. Realized I overlooked the front grill when masking the other day and had it now black. Unless it was heavily modded it doesn’t fit for me so I cleaned off the Vallejo Black with 91% isopropyl on a Q-tip in a matter seconds. I brushed on the BMW green to enhance the colour as it felt a bit faded now. I will likely brush paint mr hobby super clear just to the raised green grill area. It is incredibly smooth even when brushed on. Complete game changer this new to me brand. Side mirrors and door handles on. Thinned the forever self thickening Tamiya X/XF jar paint and brushed on the headlamp/taillamp faces. I am not in love with how ordinary the tires look. But this is to be a simple OOB for meditation purposes.. I brushed on some paint, cleaned off the face of it afterwards. And did a quick pin wash. I think it looks super box art ! I’m pleased with this didn’t think of how I’d do it prior . I will weather and soot the imperfections away toning it all down a bit. 4
Technics Posted April 11 Author Posted April 11 A sigh of satisfaction as the vehicle can be seen standing upright. I normally like to do this early on to get motivation but the kit suffers from some overly engineered hub / wheel fitting gimmicks so it needed the crude hot glue option to move forward and some what finished wheels. I also detailed painted the roof rails by brush. Begun building layers of colour on the lenses too. 4
Csaba aka felhasznaaloo Posted April 12 Posted April 12 Very nice progress! Looking fwd to updates. 1
NOBLNG Posted April 12 Posted April 12 The trim and paint finish look great and you did a marvellous job on the wheels too.👍 1 1
Valvefloat Posted April 12 Posted April 12 Id like to see this as a showroom build, tags from rearview etc... Hard to find in A+ condition. 1
Technics Posted April 13 Author Posted April 13 Roof rack on, headlamp lenses painted, panel washed and in place, smal touch ups all around. Loved photographing two wildly different builds together. Noticed now the rear cross brace rail is outside its rail. 3
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