I've really enjoyed watching people's WIP feeds on builds they are doing, and have learnes loads from there.
So here goes.... my first WIP post I'll be posting in reverse order - so new updates are at the top)
FINAL BUILD PICS
I have also posted this as a separate topic, but here they! The final build. I've glued on the roll cage, and added a bit of weathering to the car. To get the splash and mud effect, I mixed some Vallejo pigment powder (Old Rust) with water and then flicked it on with a paintbrush. Made a bit of a mess, and I had to clean it off a few times before I had it right, but end result is pretty cool.
I am also VERY glad that I spent almost a week careafully digging out and opening the side gills. Its THE feature of this wonderful car, and I think having them open changes everything.
And here is the final build in all its glory!
And the interior
And that, fellow modellers, is a wrap. Thanks for being part of this journey - I think its amazing as we have seen to many times on this forum how even the dodgiest kit can be turned into something decent with some hard work, imagination and quality products.
UPDATE 3 (The Final Update):
Having painted the body with the Splashpaints Miami Blue, time to add the racing edge! Start with masking off the body. I have to be honest, I probably used the wrong masking tape for this. It had very slight texture, so the circles were not perfect.
Lesson learned, I will be using sheets of masking next time for this job for sure.
Next up - decal time! Always fun for a racer. A quick conversation with Wifey, and the decision was made that the number should be "lucky 7" ...
Also went through some old decal sheets from other kits and gave it a bit more of a racing feel with sponsors. And a name.... Patrizia. Perfect.
Next up is some weathering... the wheels were way too clean. So I applied some Old Rust pigment made by the always reliable Vallejo. Makes a huge difference for the tire and the wheel and gives it a much more realistic feel.
Same thing for the under-carriage.
Looking at the interior, racing cars need racing seatbelts, so pulled out some of the Eduardo Sparco 5 point seatbelts.
And also applied some weathering using Tamiya Weather master and some dry brushed soot black.
Next up on the weathing is the windscreen. I cut out a shape for the winscreen wipers and rubbed some Tamiya Weathermaster around the screen. Gives a nice wiper effect.
(the eagle eyed among you will have noticed the very prominant hairline fracture in the screen. I don't know if there is anything I can do about that! But hey - we always knew this was a rubbish kit!
Next up - a lovely 2K clear coat to make the whole thing SHINE.
And finally - mostly because the chrome and shape of the front lights was horrible (this kit!), I decided to make some webbing for the front lights out of thinly sliced electrical tape. Looks pretty decent I think!
UPDATE 2:
Following on the heels of the first update, here is the second update... and things are looking good (ish!)
This week, I layed down the top coat colour - there are still a few bits where the molds show, so i am going to have to do some more sanding and filling, but the colour looks great. What do you guys think?
Second big job has been the undercarriage. Again a reminder for those of you who have not started with the first post. This kit is HORRIBLE. Its basically 10 pieces of ill fitting plastic that apparently form a car.
So there is really no detail.
I tried to make the most of it:
Firstly, after painting the base a semi gloss black, I used most of a roll of masking tape to isolate some details:
Then laid on a fat cover of high gloss black primer.
and a bit of a detail pic:
Finally a laid on a misting of metalic paint.
and the what is literally the most satisfying thing about buidling... removing the masking tape to reveal...
Looking good!
UPDATE 1
OK, been a bit slow on this one due to other commitments (don't you hate it when that happens!), but made some progress.
Firstly, I have finished cutting out the grills, looks decent enough and certainly better than the closed grills. A lot of drilling, cutting and sanding between the lines, and some not-so-great marks on what will be the chrome. But looks ok.
Also sanded the whole body (yes, the eagle eyed among you will notice that I missed a mark - I will need to fill that and resand). and applied the base coat.
Finally, chucked out the original hub caps (beyond repair on this horrid kit) and found some from the spares box. Had to cut the tires out (made a proper mess with that).
...also have applied some panel liner to take the edge off the chrome.
Finally, I have made a start on the roll cage for this racer. Started with cutting out some parts from some old frames, painted in high gloss and then misted on some metal.
These ones are for the head-rests, i bent some of the piping with a short burst of heat from a lighter...
I don't have photos of it, but I've also painted the interior red.
So with all that done, here is an initial mockup... obviously the roll cage isn't there yet as its still in bits.
ORIGINAL POST
This is the kit:
And it is AWFUL. Sorry, I have to say. Its the worst kit I have bought. I actually nearly threw it away, but then I figured: NO.... I shall take it as a challenge to make a super rubbish kit look amazing!
Here it is in all its non-glory:
Thats it. All of it. It has about 20 parts. The interior has 3 parts. There is no engine. The axels are made of plastic (like THATS gonna work)...
The chrome parts are a distaster. I mean look at these hub caps! They are a total mess!
The one on the left is passable I suppose, but the one on the right? Honestly without the magnification its not even recognizable!
As a result, I'm going to go with a heavily modified car with custom wheels. Not much choice with this mess.
To add insult to disappointment:
Yeah, thanks for that.
Anyway, so first step - fix the kit. Nothing that a little application of heat from my trusty lighter could not fix:
Next step. sanding and removing the copious amounts (and they are EVERYWHERE) bits of excess plastic from the molds.
Panel lines deepened on the front, sides and back.
The side vents look awful (of course)
So first bit of detail I'm adding is to cut these out. I started with drilling small holes, then removing the excess with the blade and then looping a small piece of folded sandpaper through the gap to smooth it out.
Not perfect yet, but getting there. Lots more to go.
Finally, decided on a colour: Splashpaints Miami Blue. Let's see how things pan out.
I think its going to be along time before I am even close to getting to this stage!