cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Hi there fellas, want to share this little build with you. I am still awaiting some parts that I need to complete it but here we go. It is based on the old Monogram RX7 kit. A very good friend of mine gave me this model and I have always wanted to put one together. I am discarding the flares, gave them to Dave Zinn, one of the members here, I want to do mine relatively stock with it's Rotary engine in place. I will also be using some nice triangular Mazda rims I had made in resin by my good friend Harold Bradford from Historic Racing Miniatures. I want to keep the originals for another build in the future. I will be working on the body first which I usually leave for last but since I have another one of these kits handy, I will use that body for mock up purposes so I don't ruin the freshly painted one that I will be showing you guys later on this post. First thing I did was smooth out the plastic and re-scribe my panel lines as usual. The biggest problem was the hood, I needed to add a litlle bit of plastic in several places to make it look right, it was pretty bad out of the box. There were some pretty nasty mold lines I had to get rid of also. Added some plastic around the hood to fix the problems around that area and eliminated all of the mold lines around the body, she is ready for primer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 Body is primed, sanded and ready for paint! Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki I have a few bottles of Rainbow Products Lacquer paints which have been with me for quite a while, they each have a sticker on the cap stating the color but it looks like this one is missing it so I cannot tell you what color it is but I decided to use it anyway, thought it looked perfect for this. Hosted on Fotki Shot a few coats with the airbrush and these are the results, I am liking it a lot.... Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 Here is the body cleared with Tamiya TS-13. I have already wetsanded, polished and waxed this baby so the next step is painting all the molding around the windows and body in their proper black color. There will be lots of masking to achieve this but hey, that's the fun part, aint it??? Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki This is a picture taken outside to show the true color, it was not polished at this stage yet though, I will have to take a few pictures of the completed body outside on a sunny day later...... Hosted on Fotki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 After much thinking, I have decided on which tires I will go with, I want the back ones a little wider than the front ones which means that I will have to cut part of the front rim down from the rear part of the tire to make it look correct. The rear tires are from a Fujimi kit I have in my stash, the front ones are from American Satco which I was lucky to have in my spare parts. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki I will either be Alclading these rims or using Testor's Aluminum Buffing Metallizers to get the correct look on them. These rims had kind of a brushed aluminum look to them so I will see what I can do to make them look right. Hosted on Fotki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
made007 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 ese gris yo creo que es limited Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 thats looking so nice already Marcos! i should have asked you for the rear spoiler too, thank you very much for the flares! Dave I might be using the spoiler my friend, I am covering the hood with Scale Motor Sport's Carbon Fiber decal and just might be doing the same thing to the spoiler if I decide to use it. If not, don't worry, it will be yours! Hosted on Fotki Love the fact that it's a copperish color which will blend perfectly with the color of the body!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cotto Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 OMG Cruz, I had a friend that had the exact same color car and rims back in Puerto Rico, wish I had photos. Unfortunately he got killed in that car while drag racing. I will forward this to his brother, I am sure he will end up crying when he sees this, I am not joking. I will follow this build very closely man, thanks for sharing brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 OMG Cruz, I had a friend that had the exact same color car and rims back in Puerto Rico, wish I had photos. Unfortunately he got killed in that car while drag racing. I will forward this to his brother, I am sure he will end up crying when he sees this, I am not joking. I will follow this build very closely man, thanks for sharing brother. Wow Jay, I don't know what to say, sorry to hear that my friend, I will keep this in mind and try to do a good job on it, it has sentimental value now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Sauber Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Here is the body cleared with Tamiya TS-13. I have already wetsanded, polished and waxed this baby so the next step is painting all the molding around the windows and body in their proper black color. There will be lots of masking to achieve this but hey, that's the fun part, aint it??? Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki This is a picture taken outside to show the true color, it was not polished at this stage yet though, I will have to take a few pictures of the completed body outside on a sunny day later...... Hosted on Fotki Cruz, are you sure that paint hasn't been polished at all in that outdoor pic? I can see what appears to be a bit of "burn-through" on the door handle from the polishing cloths...That body sure looks polished to me in the outside pic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spkgibson Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Can I make a suggestion as far as painting the black trim?How about using the Black Bare Metal foil,that would save alot of masking time,and you could get crisp straight lines that way,Very nice paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 Thanks Jeff!! I wetsanded my color coats a bit before moving onto the clear, that's why you see that unpainted. I didn't mind because it will be painted in black later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 Can I make a suggestion as far as painting the black trim?How about using the Black Bare Metal foil,that would save alot of masking time,and you could get crisp straight lines that way,Very nice paint! Steve, thanks a lot for your suggestion, I have used that method before and I really hate it, the color of the BMF doesn't look right, it never sticks as well as the regular chrome BMF and lastly, I have a pretty good method that works for me. Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 You wet-sand metallics prior to clear? How do you avoid getting unwanted mottled/discolored effects in the flake? I have always left the last color coat (I may sand prior ones) free of any sanding until after the clear goes on for that reason. Is there a way to avoid it? Oh man!! You really have to do your homework around these parts!!! Or, you better be a good liar!!! Mark, I wetsanded my color coats because I found a few little pieces of dust in the paint, nothing major but you would have definitely seen it. After that, I gave it another 2 coats and then the clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cotto Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Don't you worry Cruz, these are the kind of questions you get when you are a good modeler! I even learned something new and also something to keep in mind when working with metallics. You know what I like most about your paint, the actual metal flakes are down to scale, not big and toyish looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Great project; one of my friends in high school had a silver RX-7 of that vintage. I always thought those were neat cars. One of the few Japanese cars I wouldn't mind owning simply because it's such a nice piece of design both mechanically and aesthetically. I like the copper-gold color, too. I remember seeing a couple of them in that color around here. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Sauber Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Thanks Jeff!! I wetsanded my color coats a bit before moving onto the clear, that's why you see that unpainted. I didn't mind because it will be painted in black later... You're a braver man than I attempting to wet-sand metallic color coats... I generally have never had good results from polishing metallic/pearl bases. NON metallic is fine, but with metal flake/pearl stuff I tend to shy away from hitting the color coats with the polishing grits...I only do that if theres a dust bunny that needs to go...then I'll re-shoot the car with another light coat to blend it all back together... Anyway to each their own I guess....I wasn't looking to create an issue here but just noticed that the body had to have been polished somewhat.....Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 I only ask because judging from the bronze color, it has the "dark spot if you breathe on it" look to the flake. I'm still surprised there's no staining on the handle area, but if it works for you there's no reason to change! What I'm more interested in is why you chose the Monogram kit over the Tamiya! I'm sure it's probably the full-engine-vs-curbside thing...I just can't get over the Monogram's body shape. I went with the Monogram because I have something special for the Tamiya in the long run, I will be adding an engine to it and yes, the Tamiya is a better, overall proportioned kit than the Monogram. Just wanted to do something with this one while I decide on my next build, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalper Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 project is looking pretty good so far. paint looks nice and smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 I only ask because judging from the bronze color, it has the "dark spot if you breathe on it" look to the flake. I'm still surprised there's no staining on the handle area, but if it works for you there's no reason to change! What I'm more interested in is why you chose the Monogram kit over the Tamiya! I'm sure it's probably the full-engine-vs-curbside thing...I just can't get over the Monogram's body shape. The small amount of dust fell right between the front headlights, the reason you don't see the staining on the handles was because it was in this front area that I needed more paint coverage after wetsanding since it was a little lighter than the rest of the car. I had to cover the rest of the body to make sure that the color would look even with the rest of the car. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why I am going with the Carbon Fiber hood, I am still not too pleased with the way it turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragline Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 This looks great Marcos. Maybe you'll bring it to a MAMA meeting? I'd like to see it up close when it's finished. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meaneyme Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 The small amount of dust fell right between the front headlights, the reason you don't see the staining on the handles was because it was in this front area that I needed more paint coverage after wetsanding since it was a little lighter than the rest of the car. I had to cover the rest of the body to make sure that the color would look even with the rest of the car. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why I am going with the Carbon Fiber hood, I am still not too pleased with the way it turned out. Hey Cruz, there is really no need for so much explanation, I have purchased 2 models from you and we have seen the fantastic work you do around here, we believe you brother. With that said, I have seen some modelers wetsand their metallic paints without covering them with a last color coat or two and have seen great results. I guess there is a way of doing it, probably some people are using a higher grade of sandpaper when doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 I won't be happy until you reveal a secret method for avoiding dark spots in metallic paint when you wet-sand! Just kidding. I don't doubt you...I just always hate it when I get one dust nit in a medium-to-light metallic paint job...no matter how carefully I try to get it out, it always ends up with a dark tiger-stripe running whatever direction the polishing cloth did. Carbon fiber to cover paint you're not happy with? Never done that before! (yeah...right!) You know what's funny Mark and you ain't gonna believe it!!! I don't think I remember shooting a last color coat after covering the car up to even out the paint from the front to the rest of the body I do remember wetsanding the color coat with a 4000 grit sanding cloth at one time but other than that, I think I shot the clear right over that Well, what the heck, it turned out good, I don't see those metallics disturbed in any way..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward smith Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 I don't know guys but I have heard of quite a few modelers having success wetsanding metallics and clearcoating after that. If you look at that paint, the metallics are very small and if you use a 4000 grit sanding cloth like Marcos did, I don't see why you wouldn't get away with it. At least to me it looks great. I see that you polished out your finish already looking at the interior shots, can't wait to see the pictures outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 When I had to wet-sand a metallic paintjob a couple of months ago, I used a 4000 or 6000-grit sanding cloth with and held the body underwater. It developed a noticeable haze, but I simply applied a very light coat of paint over it, and it resulted in a very nice, smooth, glossy finish. I'm probably going to clear it to help seal the foil, but that's about all it'll need to look really nice. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romell R Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Wow Marcos I cant wait to see what eles you have in store keep up the great progress. Oh and Ive polishesd metalics with no issues at all i used to shoot custom flaked paints all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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