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Post by sylphide on Jul 11, 2021 17:01:44 GMT -8
Had to bench the skyline as its just a bit too far ahead of me for now so I started this one instead. After briefly doing a bit of assembly I gotta say this may be my most favorite Tamiya kit ever. Really nicely detailed and it actually has an engine! I'm really hoping the decal sheet I have is gonna work out as this kit is from 1998 but looking at it the sheet looks to be in good shape. I've got it taped in the window just to try and get rid of a tiny bit of yellowing that I can see.
Pics of the actual Avex car is really hard to come by especially engine bay but im gonna try to base it off later cars that has more photos available. One thing I did discover is that the entire chassis is pretty much aluminum and I thought now would be a great time to try out Aluminum/Duct tape instead of painting it. And I gotta say I'm really loving the result.
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Post by Ben_B on Jul 12, 2021 4:52:33 GMT -8
I love the aluminum tape idea!
These are great kits. I built one a year or so ago and really enjoyed it. The only hiccup I had was putting the headers together. I kept fiddling with them and all of a sudden, they fit perfectly. I chalked it up to “modeler’s error.” Tamiya decals from that era can be a little tricky to deal with. They can be a bit brittle and can crack easily. Solvaset and heat are your friend. Shunko made several excellent decal sheets for the kit, but they’re out of production and difficult to find.
Ben
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Post by sylphide on Jul 12, 2021 6:41:09 GMT -8
I’m hoping the decals work but I am painting most of the blue rather than relying on the decals. I may cut all the blue that i can off depending on how the little test pieces i have go.
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 13, 2021 6:07:27 GMT -8
sylphide
I've totally forgotten about this kit. Your aluminum taping looks fantastic. I'm truly impressed. Not a wrinkle in sight, and every seam is dead on straight.
I did get a chuckle out of your comment that the kit actually has an engine. I'm not a fan of the current trend of no engines nor suspensions. At least some manufactures give us the bottom half, but once in their display case the never get turned over.
joel
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Post by sylphide on Jul 17, 2021 17:53:38 GMT -8
Small update while the body is almost ready for paint. Pinned the mirrors since the markings molded on the body are gonna get sanded away. Chassis pan is all painted and taped where possible. Decided to try my luck at making my own springs for the first time ever and it went fairly well. I just anticipate this part breaking about 100 times while i try to install it...
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Post by 2lapsdown on Jul 18, 2021 4:45:46 GMT -8
The springs look great, how did you get them on there?
John
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Post by Ben_B on Jul 18, 2021 5:45:21 GMT -8
Yes, very cool!
Ben
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 19, 2021 4:36:39 GMT -8
sylphide
I really like your idea of pinning the mirrors prior to painting as it just makes painting both of them that much easier. As for those springs, I'm just blown away. Compared to my paint the molded on ones, mine look horrible in comparison but serviceable. I'd also like to know your procedures involved in producing them. I'd really like to up my game on coil over shocks for formula cars (that I'm finally getting back into) where they will be visible even if I have to remove a body panel, but I'll still live with them buried behind the Wheels/Tires never to be seen on Tin Tops.
joel
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Post by sylphide on Jul 19, 2021 5:27:48 GMT -8
Thanks everyone for the comments!
Making the springs is relatively easy but tedious. First i kept it attached to the sprue to keep the gap and alignment as close to original as i could as the pushrod is angled slightly and gently cut out the spring portion. I took some .6mm copper wire and wrapped it around some 2mm tube i had then adjusted to the length i need and dremeled the ends of the spring flat.
For the inner part of the shock i could’ve just used one piece of 1.2mm rod however i tried to add the larger section towards the reservoir with the rod and some heat shrink. i was going to use 2mm rod and glue them together but it was just too small for me to work with. Honestly however i don’t think i’d do this next time as you can’t even tell i added it. Then just put the rod inside the spring and glue it into the part trying to make sure everything is aligned correctly.
Main reason I decided to add this detail is that it actually will be visible through the rear window which can be lifted open on these kits.
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 20, 2021 5:46:12 GMT -8
Ain't that the truth. You do all this work that turns out simply stellar, and end up with not being able to see it once the model is finished.
joel
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Post by sylphide on Aug 4, 2021 17:19:58 GMT -8
First time painting it some crap came out of my airbrush while doing the gloss white so I had to dump the body in an alcohol bath then a brake fluid bath to get the rest of the primer off and start again which took a week. Decided to attempt spraying flat white instead of gloss white since i feel like its easier to get better coverage and it turned out pretty good after the gloss coat. Really couldn't tell that it was flat to start with.
I've seen a few builds of this car and everyone's I've seen people had had terribly cracked decal sheets, well.......I must've gotten insanely lucky since my sheet is still almost factory fresh (no yellowing!). They are just incredibly thin and need to be handled very delicately which means I can only do a few a day to minimize bumping a drying one and ruining it.
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Post by Joel_W on Aug 5, 2021 5:43:41 GMT -8
sylphide
Sorry to read that you had paint issues and needed to strip off the paint and start over again. The "crap" that came out of your airbrush most likely was dried paint. Best way to keep that from happening again is a good cleaning after each use. Just develop a routine that works for you, and stick to it. When changing colors during a painting session, I do cut corners in my cleaning procedures.
I'm not a fan by any means of Gloss paints, especially Enamels preferring Matt type of Lacquer and Acrylic lacquer based paints. The Clear gloss once polished and waxed will give you that mile deep shine.
joel
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Post by Ben_B on Aug 5, 2021 7:16:34 GMT -8
Looking good! The decals are off to a great start!
My last two builds have been white cars, plus a yellow one going right now. I had the same issue of tiny bits of dried paint coming out of my airbrush, even after I thought I had cleaned it thoroughly. Taking it apart and cleaning it with carburetor cleaner gets it clean. Usually, after the paint has dried, I can gently scrape off the paint specks with a toothpick or knife edge and then polish out any flaws.
Ben
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Post by Joel_W on Aug 5, 2021 8:01:35 GMT -8
Ben,
Interesting that you use Carb cleaner to clean your air brushes. I've always used cheap store Lacquer Thinner. But it does have a order to it. Does the carb cleaner have a order as I clean my AB's in my modeling room
joel
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Post by Ben_B on Aug 8, 2021 6:34:47 GMT -8
I really should be using cheap lacquer thinner because it's cheaper!  I started using carb cleaner years ago when I ran out of lacquer thinner and stuck with it because it's so convenient. I get the cheap auto parts store brand. It doesn't take much to clean out the air brush. You definitely don't want to be breathing any of the fumes, so I leave the paint booth fan on while I'm cleaning and the fumes are exhausted out the window. When I soak the air brush parts, I use lacquer thinner in an ultrasonic cleaner in the garage. Ben |
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I started using carb cleaner years ago when I ran out of lacquer thinner and stuck with it because it's so convenient. I get the cheap auto parts store brand. It doesn't take much to clean out the air brush. You definitely don't want to be breathing any of the fumes, so I leave the paint booth fan on while I'm cleaning and the fumes are exhausted out the window. When I soak the air brush parts, I use lacquer thinner in an ultrasonic cleaner in the garage.