DocRob

The interior is done so far, with the added engine. Sneak peek Cheers Rob

Nice progress on the Yak's obstacles Kevin. I built one many moons ago in 48 scale and always got distracted by the plain, but correct way, the non-paneled wings look. Cheers Rob

That's a very interesting way of layering up the colors. The pics show the progressing steps very well. Lifting colors over HS is always possible, with the reduced adherence, there is wanted and unwanted chipping. Cheers Rob

Very interesting Peter. I have to admit, I was to lazy to test image stacking for a better depth of field and use mostly my phone for pics, but using an app for better manual control of the parameters. The other issue, why I use the phone more than my Panasonic Lumix GH3 with good prime lenses is, the color rendition. It is nearly impossible to get the processor of the camera to reproduce correct colors under artificial light conditions, without heavy tweaking. I know, I could post process, but I learned to take pictures analogue on 35mm material and to me the moment of pressing the shutter is the moment of truth. I don't like the idea of post procession and do it only for artificial reasons. Anyway, I'm always interested in new approaches to get better pictures, as I find photographing models seems to be extra challenging. Cheers Rob

Thanks for offering your help Kai. It sometimes is very complicated and time consuming to get goods here to my island in general, but all these toxic brews, needed for modelling, seem to be harder to get, every time I try. Cheers Rob

Muchas Gracias Wolf, I managed to break one stripe, while dabbing it on. I tried my best, to hide the breaking line and I'm not about to tell, where the fault is . Cheers Rob

Thanks Gaz, I used the polishing compounds for the first time on paint, but it works great and the three different grainings are noticeable while working. There is no real car parts store here, but a friend has a car workshop and repaints cars and I will ask him, if there is a possibility to get the needed stuff through him. Cheers Rob

Thank you Gentlemen, I always liked the White Stripes - err - bad pun, the band I mean . Cheers Rob

I live on El Hierro and all parcel private or from shops will be revised at the customs in Tenerife or Gran Canaria, because we have different taxes here from the Spanish mainland. That means, if they identify goods there, they will not be send here, because all the parcel is transported by plane to El Hierro. There is a ferry too, but you can't choose this as a shipping option. For the future with more and more strict regulations, I see the only possibility to get these goods transported to Tenerife by ship with a transport company and pick it up from them and deliver it by ferry/car to my island. We are speaking of one or two month delivery time here, not to mention time and cost. To travel to the transport company, I have to stay overnight in Tenerife, as there are not many ferries. There are no LHS's on Tenerife, I know of, to shorten the process. In the moment, I have Spanish companies as a supplier of thinner and lacquer paints, but as I said, this is limited to 30ml jars max and it always cost extra at the customs. I have to admit, I'm a bit worried by the situation and I'm used to having trouble to get goods transported to El Hierro. Will I leave my island because of that, NOOOOOO, NEVER . Cheers Rob

Don't mix 'em up, the kits I mean . Cheers Rob

Today, I polished the mica blue body with the three differently coarse Tamiya polishing compounds, and really like the result, which looks better and shinier in reality than on the pics. The color is hard to capture on photos, the first pic was taken in the light tent, the second outside in light sunshine and the third with decals applied on the bench (hey it's a WIP at least ). The third is closest to what my eyeball captures. Cheers Rob

As said in the building thread, great and skillful build. Painting and weathering are spot on and well thought through and the cobblestones turned out great, I have to save your tutorial somewhere. Cheers Rob

You absolutely can be proud of your Lotus, it's a stunner and looks totally perfect. You achieved a great job on this classic, thanks for sharing in general and for keeping us in the loop about building and the painting process. Cheers Rob

My only Kitty Hawk kit is the T-6 with a heap of AM and I planned to build it soon into a Portuguese version and give it to a friend as a present. Now, that I read your comments, I'm a little worried, I was not expecting a perfect kit, but no complete desaster either. Is it really so bad? Cheers Rob

Sweet, so sweet. Cheers Rob

I've seen that too, and Marks Lotus sport the blackest black of all blacks, I hope I can achieve something similar, when I build mine. It's not a plan in the moment, there will be at least one or two other car builds before, but I'm a Martini guy , so it will be hard to wait for too long. There is a lot about distinguished understatement to that design . Cheers Rob

Thank you Paul, that was exactly why I started it , being a rook and needing a lot of input on the subject of painting cars the right way. I knew, I could count on you Hombres . C'mon Hubert, now there is a civilian scheme and you are ripping me apart . Besides, the body is not gold plated or covered in Swarovsky crystal, are we getting old Señhor? To excuse myself, the blue has a violet ting on the pic which is not there in reality. I tried to picture it as good as possible with my phone, using light temperature and white balance adjustments, but to no avail. The orange applications are understatedly called 'Launch Control' in the Ford GT configurator, Fisher Price orange wouldn't have had the same sound to it . As I've said before, the Ford is only a mule for learning how to paint cars with you all, in reality, I don't like modern sports cars at all. It's all preparing myself for a future Hippie Citroen DS build, some classic Formula One cars and the huge 1/12 Porsche 935. Thank you Peter, these Tamiya car kits are pure fun to build and are a great change in approach from planes and armor. After a lot of Lozenge clad planes lately, I needed a break, and then maybe back to the PZL P.11. Cheers Rob

Thanks Gaz, I figured, I couldn't respray it in the same tone and shine like the rest of the dashboard and decided to do it noticeable different. My semi matte black has not arrived yet, so the interior blacks were mixed. It's a real pain to get lacquer colors to my island. Most of the suppliers don't ship at all and few only bottles up to 30ml and one liter in all, like the IATA regulations say. I can't get a decent bottle of thinner here, I have to buy micro jars and you need lots of these for lacquer paints and the shops, which deliver don't have everything in stock, which is needed. I feel more and more, that the supply problems with toxic liquids like paints, cement, not even to mention spraycans, may put an end to my hobby, short term . Cheers Rob

If you ask here in the forum, you will get an answer which will be way different from what I call the sane rest of the society. For example, If I would reduce my stash, which I see as 'normal', by 90% my not modelling wife will react in a similar way, like your mother. You will notice, it's not about being 'normal', being different is why we are here. Cheers Rob

Besides sanding the body and applying another coat of mica blue, I managed to build the dashboard and seats into the interior tub and added front and rear axles and brakes. The fit was exceptional again The only problem arose, when I added the upper cover onto the dashboard and applied some glue to a wrong, but unfortunately visible place. I decided against completely respraying and masked off only the part with the glue and now have the appearance of a different material used for this panel. It's the part, which is a bit more shiny in front of the dashboard. I will leave it as it is, as I like the look. Cheers Rob

Nothing to say against some nice B&W pics. They show the subtle layers of dust on the surfaces perfectly. A great build all around, congratulations Gaz. Cheers Rob

Thanks again Mark, I will remind your tips. I have to be careful with the colors, as they are hard to get to my island, because of safety regulations , so I can't afford to mess up. Cheers Rob

Thank you mark, I understand you perfectly. English isn't my real strength either . The great thing about starting a WIP here, is that you are not only giving input into the forum, you also receive a lot of your condensed experiences, which is just great. I have to admit, that I started this WIP, mainly to rob your ideas . The finish you achieved on the Lotus is perfectly glossy, almost unreal. I will follow your tutorial and will start with polishing the base color, and continue with polishing after each new coat of gloss. I will use the Tamiya polish compounds for the first time with micro fiber cloth. Luckily we have a high humidity here normally, which reduces the risk of dust settling into the drying color. Cheers Rob

Looking mighty good Peter, well worth the fight and your result will be stunning. Before you cut the bristles, you should check, if the head of the toothbrush is really moving or just mildly oscillating with a lot of leeway tolerance. I tried it with mine and what is sufficient for cleaning the teeth, was not enough for sanding. The paper actually didn't move on the plastic and I didn't apply force or used 80 grid paper. Cheers Rob

Looks like a piece of modern art Gus, right with the others, great job with all the masking and thanks for reducing the world Kabuki resources, the stuff will be expensive soon. Cheers Rob