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McLaren MP4/6

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  • Member since
    October 2020
McLaren MP4/6
Posted by Scale-Master on Friday, August 4, 2023 8:26 PM

I started this kit in September 2009, but I had some interruptions and shelved it for a while.  The kit is being built straight out of the box and will represent the car as it was at the German GP. The only addition will be decals, mostly in the form of composite patterns.

 

The headers were cleaned up and painted, including shading, as individual pieces, then assembled and the seams addressed and blended. Tamiya lacquers (base color) and acrylics (shading/staining) were used.
 
The airbox is mostly covered with C/F decals. Some additional shading was done with Tamiya Smoke.
The transmission color was mixed per the instructions with acrylics. However, the engine block was shot with a very dark gray instead of black. It will be "adjusted" as the build progresses.

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    May 2023
  • From: Elk Grove, CA
Posted by Seven on Friday, August 4, 2023 10:06 PM

Very impressive work, keep it going! The shading/coloring looks great.

Jim

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Saturday, August 5, 2023 9:46 AM

Thanks!!

 

The front wing end plates are finished.  The C/F is ScaleMotorSports Hi-Def decal.  I planned to use only Tamiya paints for the body exterior.  (TS-26 for the White.)  Unfortunately even though I “snuck up” with very light coats of clear (TS-13) over the decals, when the third coat was drying, the Goodyear decals cracked up.  They fractured several hours after the application of the clear.
I created a new set of Goodyear decals and had better luck with the clear.
The wing adjustment holes were drilled out, but otherwise these parts are just the way they come in the kit.

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Saturday, August 5, 2023 12:35 PM
The radiators and ducts are done.  I made the decals for the Calsonic lettering, (had a problem with the ones in the kit cracking), a little wash brought out the depth, and the bright silver plumbing was brush painted using a Tamiya Mini 4WD paint pen's paint mixed with mineral spirts.  Not as bright as sprayed Alclad or Alsa chrome paint maybe, but certainly bright and very easy to work with.  And yes, it does dry fully in a few hours.
 
The trans/rear suspension/engine assembly is growing too.  C/F decals were used for the shock arms; fronts were done at the same time as the rears for continuity.

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Saturday, August 5, 2023 1:26 PM

Hey Mark.  Looking awesome.  Which kit/scale is this?  I've started the MP4/7 1/20 Tamiya kit and am inspired to go back and change a few things.  I've got the Marlboro livery for Senna's car.  Tried the ancient orange/red decals and they are shot so I ordered the Zero Paints McLaren white/red set.  Are you doing this same scheme?  If so, what paint are you using for the red/orange?

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Saturday, August 5, 2023 2:55 PM

Hi John,

It's the 1/12 Tamiya kit.  I'm using TS paints for the white and flourescent red.

 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2019
  • From: New Braunfels, Texas
Posted by Tanker-Builder on Sunday, August 6, 2023 8:56 AM

Okay !

      Darn it! You got me! If this is 1/72 I gotta have one for sure! What incredible molding! Shoot, what incredible Work! Nuff said!!

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Sunday, August 6, 2023 4:03 PM
The injectors are almost done too.  

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Monday, August 7, 2023 6:45 PM
A little shadowing with washes and dry brushing of parts that will be mostly out of sight once the car is completed.  Colors are Tamiya, both lacquers and acrylics.  The calipers and rotor faces were sprayed; the hubs and details brush painted. 
 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 9:09 AM
The basic chassis pan is pretty much done.  I opted to go with paint instead of decals... 
I used the Tamiya kit provided foil for the internal heat shield. 
I also painted most of the cockpit exterior, but will accent it with some C/F decals.  Seat is ready for the harnesses...

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Wednesday, August 9, 2023 5:16 PM
Mostly finished cockpit/seat.  Once it is installed into the monocoque the rest of the interior parts will be installed.

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Thursday, August 10, 2023 9:48 AM
More progress on the tub and front suspension...

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Friday, August 11, 2023 10:29 AM
The rear suspension/transmission is pretty much done...

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Saturday, August 12, 2023 5:44 PM
Airboxes/radiators and driveline are now attached to the monocoque...

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Sunday, August 13, 2023 11:21 AM
Exhaust system is installed...

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    January 2022
Posted by Project510 on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 12:01 PM

Wow, excellent work. Love the detail and painting.

___________________________________________

- James

WIP:

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 3:40 PM

Thank you James!

 

 

The chassis pan is now attached and the engine is almost done... 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Thursday, August 17, 2023 9:30 AM
Tires... Lots of time spent sanding the tread areas...

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Friday, August 18, 2023 3:26 PM
Just a reminder, this project is 14 years old.   The painting of the body started in 2010.  These posts are a recap of that time frame.
Finally the body has the paint on it.  Tamiya Pure White and Fluorescent Red.  The nose has the decals and final clear coat on it...
The lettering on the wings cracked several months after being clear coated with the Tamiya clear, so I hand painted the lettering and re-cleared with urethane.  This picture is before clear coating.
 

 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Monday, August 21, 2023 10:28 AM
I had some paint issues that necessitated stripping some parts and sanding out others and repainting them.  The rear wing end plates had to be stripped and I had to make replacement decals since they are not available from Tamiya. 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Monday, August 21, 2023 9:25 PM
And now the front wing is done…  I had to hand repaint the Shell lettering after the decals cracked under the Tamiya clear.  C/F is SMS.  The Goodyear decals are a pair that I made.

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 10:51 AM
The rear wing is assembled.  Tamiya paints and SMS C/F decals…

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Thursday, August 24, 2023 12:22 PM
Now we're getting to what ultimately sidelined this project for a decade.
I used Tamiya Fine White Primer as the base, and then applied TS-26 over all parts that were to be white or Fl. Red.   The white was allowed to dry and cure fully before the TS-36 was applied. 
Once the TS-36 was built up, I sprayed a few light "sealer" coats of TS-13 over all the white and Fl. Red areas.  Not moderate, not heavy coats, and within the standard recoat safe timeframe. 
All was fine, for several weeks while it sat in a closet to dry/cure. 
Then it went wonky and I had to chase the problems as they presented themselves...  It sat again for quite a while.
 

 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Thursday, August 24, 2023 4:26 PM

Something like this happen?  Tamiya Blue over Tamiya White primer and then Tamiya TS-13.  Strangest thing.

 

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Friday, August 25, 2023 9:59 AM

Kind of like that, but more like cracks and fissures that developed weeks after the paint was dry to the touch.

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Sunday, August 27, 2023 6:40 PM
Months later...
I was finally able to fix the paint that was not drying correctly.  I sanded out the cracked areas on the nose section and repainted it.  You can see it was being problematic for a while and that I had tried to repaint it before by the "tree rings".  Here is how nasty it was looking while being sanded out and reworked…
 
As for the main red section of the body, I sanded out part of it and found that TS-36 can be successfully blended into finished areas of the same paint, so I only had to paint part of that big area.  I applied the paint very, very slowly this time only by airbrush over an 8 hour period, lightly building it up and paying close attention to the blend lines.  Once it proves to me that it is stable, I’ll move onto decals and clear coat…
 
 
 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Sunday, August 27, 2023 6:48 PM
I left the body to dry in a closet for a more than five months due to the paint wrinkling issue.   It seemed like it had cured and might be stable…
So I sanded out the defects and reshot a white base let that dry/cure for a while and then built up and blended the TS-36 Fluorescent Red into the rest of the rear section.  It looks like I may be on my way to saving it as it still looks like this after about 24 hours…  Only time will tell… 

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

Moderator
  • Member since
    September 2011
Posted by Tim Kidwell on Monday, August 28, 2023 1:06 PM

Test. Test. Test.

 

--

Timothy Kidwell
tkidwell@firecrown.com
Editor
Scale Model Brands
Firecrown Media

 

  • Member since
    October 2020
Posted by Scale-Master on Thursday, August 31, 2023 10:00 AM
OK, this thing has been sitting for quite a while (many months) due to the paint fighting with itself on the main body.  Most of the car is done; I just need to finish the body.  A few times I sanded out the wrinkles (on the right rear) and touched up the paint only to have the issue come back a month or so later, so I stopped touching it up but continued to sand out the wrinkles as they appeared every few months.  I thought I had won the battle back in April 2012, but sadly the same thing happened a little while after I painted it once again.
I continued to sand it as problems manifested, but I noticed it has been pretty stable all year.
It’s been about 6-8 months since I last sanded the problem area and it looked the same as when I last checked.
First I had to blend the white base in, and I found by tinting white primer with yellow and pink I could apply less paint and get an even blendable base.  Then I started building up the Fluorescent Red. 
 
You can see what I painted yesterday does not match, (it is too pale and lacking vibrancy, and not 100% uniform), but it is all the paint I can apply this round.
Today I built up some more TS-36.  Still not there, but getting closer…
It still needs another round of paint, but I’ll probably let this dry for a while to make masking easier…

Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Towson MD
Posted by gregbale on Thursday, August 31, 2023 2:35 PM

Superb level of finish overall. Really beautiful work! YesBeerYesBeer

Greg

George Lewis:

"Every time you correct me on my grammar I love you a little fewer."
 
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