DocRob

I´m thinking the same like Carl, Xtreme Metal colors are more durable than Alclads, but I wouldn´t trust them as a base for extensive masking. But what´s even worse is the Xtreme Metal black base. I had only bad results with this stuff. sticky forever and just a bad base and possibly the cause for your bad results with the NMF. I would strip the stuff, using thinner and start from the beginning. I binned my Xtreme black base and use Tamiya LP gloss black instead, which is perfect for the job, sprays well, dries fast and is durable and truly high gloss. I thin it with 2/3 of leveling thinner. Cheers Rob

@Spitfire beat me to it, my first 1/32 Spitfire and after browsing through the box content, I have to say, I´m very impressed with the quality of molding. The low parts count should make for an easy build with half of the total effort going into the cockpit. The kit seems a bit pricey for a plane sans engine, but I appreciate the seemingly well researched background, great manual, Cartograph decals and in my case, resin figure I will build it oob with the only addition of 3D printed exhausts made by Eduard. I will use AK Real Colors and may try to spray the camouflage freehand, using my new Infinity Giraldez´s edition with it´s spraying guide. Cheers Rob

Take care with Mr. Color GX100 mixed in plastic jars with leveling thinner. I had very bad results while spraying, with kind of a frosting effect. I guessed, it had to do with using a plastic jar for mixing, because after using a glass one, it sprayed beautifully. I never encountered similar probs with lacquer colors, only with the clear gloss GX100. Cheers Rob

Exactly my thinking Hubert, sacrilege, I will burn in hell, if I dare and I´m still not decided, but hell ain´t a bad place to be and this conversion is somehow so cool, that hell freezes over . It´s only plastic in the end, I won´t do something like that to a real one. Cheers Rob

Thank you Carl and Peter, the exhausts were even worse with the 1/12 Tamiya Renault, it seems, it´s the phase of the build, which you have to master with F1 kits. With airbrushing the different shades, I went more for depth, then for heat coloration. The pictures of used engines didn´t show many heat induced colors, but a brownish silver look and that was what I tried to reproduce. If there is not a lot of heat color staining, it is a sign for well designed components without too many heat traps involved. Cheers Rob

You´re welcome Carl. I guess, the PE is designed by Top Studio, like with other Hasegawa car kits. And this is the assumed fiddly process to put all these grilles together: Cheers Rob

This bike kit by CSM is a gem. It has the finest spokes, I ever saw on a model kit. The parts are 3D printed and luckily they are mostly cleant up, I hope, I doesn´t blow parts away, while airbrushing, this is extremely fragile. To test my paitience even further, I received the Hasegawa Lamborghini Miura kit, along some Streetblister colors. This edition of the kit has oll the venting grilles made up from tiny PE parts, not only theese on the hood and behind the doors, but also the intakes around the headlights , we will see, how this works out. Cheers Rob

This kit is fighting me back all the way. I start to think, I´m the problem and this doesn´t feel good. Oh yes, this should be a mojo restorer feelgood project, Argh . Like always with my F1 builds, the exhaust assembly was a pain and I didn´t help myself, by adding the PE seals. The engine is not glued into the body pan, I only added it for the exhaust´s alignment. The exhausts were ´puttied´with CA and painted with AK Extreme Metals colors. First stainless steel, then metallic blue for the shadows and finally with pale engine exhaust for general highlighting. The effect isn´t too visible on the photo, but looks stainless to my eye on the kit. Cheers Rob

Indeed the world has changed a lot, Peter. But to me it´s not all bad. On my tiny island, the problem would have been the same twenty years ago, albeit without the possibility of online shopping . Like you, I miss the stroll to the LHS a lot and I do this, when I´m visiting Berlin. but here there were no LHS and there still are non. The nearest one, a tiny shop on my neighbor island went awol some years ago. In general, I have good experiences with online retailers, mostly good prices and service, but like you said, it can be difficult to receive all the goods from one hand. I have lists for planned projects, where I see, what I need and can buy it in advance, when I shop for other things. I have to plan even more, because we buy VAT free under 150€. The VAT is not the problem, if you shop for more, it´s the fees, which make it unattractive. On the other hand, to me this is not only about modeling and counts for all other goods, which need to be `imported`, it became normal and is the price for living a bit more remote. I´m willing to pay this price, but sometimes, it can be a pain. Cheers Rob

Great work on your Fury, Carl. I just caught up and learn about your very effective trouble shooting. She will be a beauty. Cheers Rob

Thank you Carl, I tried to use the non removed plating to my advantage, after the frustration. I used a toothpick to scratch the black away for silver details and used different coverage layers of black for adding some depth to the mostly black engine. The engine looks more worn on the pics for whatever reason, I´m after a 90% new look with the McLaren. I can feel your happiness about having a LHS in your area. I enjoyed that a lot, back in my Berlin days. Here, I order stuff sometimes, and when it arrives, I sometimes half forgot what I ordered . Projects involve a lot of planning ahead and a well stocked cave on my island, nothing is more mojo draining than waiting for a jar of needed color for two or three weeks. Cheers Rob

The SL 300 will be build more or less oob or using the Fat Boy conversion from MGSF, which looks loke this: Cheers Rob

Very nice and skillfull build Mike. There was some extra work involved, but it payed. The little dio is an eyecatcher. Cheers Rob

No Peter, I will look in my stash, if I had to buy a new jar, it will took me two weeks to get here minimum, that´s too slow, even for my pace at the moment . Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter, I looked at some photos of real engines and they mostly had a slightly used look. That goes as well for the exhausts, which look to be made from stainless steel. I have to find the right color for these. Cheers Rob

Some more car kits from Japan: Ebbro´s Lotus Type 49c, a nice 1/20 kit and as a highlight has tyres with printed pinstripe and Firestone logo included. Looks a lot like a Tamiya kit. I added MFH aluminum funnels and MFH meshes for the funnels. These will be very prominent on the finished model. I couldn´t resist the Tamiya Mercedes 300 SL, which will be build oob or maybe heavily pimped. Cheers Rob

My work with the engine continued. After a lot of cleanup, I sprayed the block with Tamiya LP5 semi matte black and added some details here and there. I thought about using the plating to my advantage, after it caused so many irritations and scratched the black color away to let some details show through in silver. I think, I will omit wiring and tubing with this build. 1/12 kits are better suited for that, so on with adding engine details. The cover under the cylinder trumpets, was decaled with one of the Top Studio carbon decals, which unfortunately broke and I have to do some re touching. The engine without the exhausts is more or less ready now. Cheers Rob

Nice little Birdie, Peter. Your interior work looks spotless. Sometimes quintaed cokpits look a bit strange to my eye, but that's not the case with yours. All blends in perfectly. I also use self made oil washes more and more, as the effect is much more controllable. With Tamiya's panel liner, I sometimes had problems with removing unwanted stains. Cheers Rob

Your superstructure looks fantastic, Kevin. so many details to attract the eye. Cheers Rob

Fantastic work and a great how to, but I won't do, because I lack the talent . Chapeaux

I read somewhere, that the coming NUNU MP4/4 should have normal AND rain tyres.

Thanks for your confidence Andy, I'm not so sure about the outcome of this build after the frustrating beginning. I start to scratch some planned detail options in my head . Cheers Rob

This book is actually available with one of my retailers. Maybe I will bite. Unfortunately the shipping usually takes two weeks. Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter and Carl, you are both absolutely right, I should have stripped the plating, but I naively anticipated a reasonable fit. The opposite was the case, not one single part fitted like it should, without some manipulation. Carl, I hope mine will not take that long, earnestly, I have to get it from my bench fast, one way or another to stop the annoyance. The Top Studio stuff looks very nice, it's the first time, I use it. The manual for the PE is tiny and bad copied though. Placement is therefore a bit of guessing. I know about the recent 1/12 incarnations, but had the Fujimi kit in my stah for a while. Model Factory Hiro has produced some tyres for the 1/12 Tamiya MP4/6. I have no idea, if they are still available, but they go with the number P-1158. Cheers Rob

Nice Carl, I'm still toying with the 1/35 Tamiya kit, but not before I built their Archer. Cheers Rob