The 2014 Automotive Group Build

This is the one.

I may be breaking your heart however, as since I'm an Irishman, I'll be putting Ireland plates on this with an Irish flag on top and doing it up like a guy who races his driver on the weekends in Ireland.

Being a brit i have a soft spot for the mini and have been considering getting one. Could you plz post a pic of the box so i can see what one you are doing?

Well then for now, I'll post my only progress pic.  I'll have more done this weekend, and more pics.  Hopefully he'll get it added to the roster pretty soon.

Great! Cant wait to see the mini!

I realize I said I have enough group builds going, but since I'm already building this, and I just started it, throw me in for a Tamiya Morris Mini Cooper racing.  Which probably won't be done as a racer except maybe the owner uses it as a weekend cup racer.  I might write a backstory on the ficticious owner as well.

hurry and post some pics, im getting bored of looking at mine 

while the black is curing  i thought id better do the wheels. Nothing special, just masked off the rims and sprayed gunmetal straight on. the PE hubs are a nice touch.

the uninspiring exhausts

and the full effect

Starting to look great! Awesome CF work (passable?!) on very difficult surfaces there, Talentless. Well done.

Slow progress this side, we're starting to approach races again, so bit more time on the bike.

the gloss black is on, everyone knows what gloss black looks like dont they? so no pics required. its enamel, its on thick, its gonna take aaaagggeeesss to cure.  cue days of waiting and sniffing of the body to know when its cooked.

Thanks, Dale.

Im a bit annoyed i used the wrong silver paint. Its very "bitty" . I should have used mr color super metalic instead of tamiya. Still its all learning for me. I will do a better job of the hamman volcano conversion i hope.

Talentless, I hate to keep repeting myself but that is looking great! Are you sure you didn't just photo-shop a picture of a 1:1 dash board.

the doors scub up well! a lot of this will need masking so i can spray the body colour on it.

finished the dash and centre console. the cf decals are passable, the pe details make a big difference though. 

Won't be able to see it inside the car at the end. Nice job Talentless.

Tony, build what you feel motivated to build at the time. Don't go into it long-toothed, because somewhere along the way, you loose the drive to continue and shelve it.

I have the Lauda car to build - in 43rd (Tameo WCT). I will have to seriously improve my 43rd skills before attacking one of those WCT cars. The T4 I also have is even more detailed! But agree with the sentiments that the other will likely follow from Fujimi.

I thought it would be a good idea, knowing my masking skills, to clearcoat the gloss alu before masking. Turns out it also detunes/dulls the gloss alu. Hmmm, so it may be followed by another layer of gloss alu and hoping to not bugger up masking!

I can see where they broke Talentless.

Just kidding, you can't see it at all, nice work.

I built the MP4/4 back in 1990, believe it or not. It was just out of the box, but it's still on the shelf.I think it's time it got a partner. I'd love to see you do the business with yours Talentless.

Fujimi are releasing an MP4/2 in February, which means we'll probably get an MP4/2B and MP4/2C as well, which will cover the championship cars from the middle eighties. It will also allow me to get on with building all of Lauda's championship cars. Might be a good time to sell my Studio 27 MP4/2C, I think, I'd prefer to build a plastic one, the one I have is white metal and it' so heavy you could use it as a shotput.

Cheers

Tony

dash on the way. again, tamiyas decals SUCK B£$%S, they all broke. thankfully you wont be able to tell when its all in. the pe airvents are nice tho.

I have a tamiya mp4/4 plus the top studio upgrade set, i keep looking at it, ill get round to it one dsy when i think i can do it without making a mess of it

Many thanks for the information Talentless, I've stored that away in my little file of useful tips. I actually have many of those products, except the C1 powder. It's looking exceptional, and very clean.

Eric, you keep making rapid progress, I don't know how you do it. I'm looking forward to seeing those photos.

I've been thinking a lot about an F1 Mclaren MP4/5 . It's the car that Senna used to beat Prost in the 1989 championship. Fujimi released it 3 or so years ago, and I detached the parts from the sprue as soon as I've got it. Trouble is, I've got the guilts about my Ferrari F186 and 53 Vette, and really should progress them a bit first. I might add it to this GB once I do just that.

Cheers

Tony

talentless,

That's looking great. If I didn't know it was a model I would think it was real.

I finished cleaning up the parts for the '40 Delivery. Also started working on the body. Had some issues with the hood not lining up . It had a hump on the back edge that was shifting the hood and not letting it line up center. After removing the hump, the molded in hood hinges no longer lined up with the slots in the fire wall so I removed them and the hood sits where it should and the side moldings now line up. We have some more cold weather coming in for the next few days so I probably won't be able to get anything done until next weekend. I'll post some pics once I start putting it together and painting.

L8TR,

Eric

The metalizer powder is from C1 models. i bought mine from and online shop but cant find it now. the only place i see it is on Ebay. search for c1 models on facebook, they have a page there.

Ok, Im calling the enine bay done. had a marathon session on it. Added the cf decals, headlights, breather tube, metal shrouds on the cylinder head, and put the PE mercedes badge on instead of the woeful decal. tried to put the sensor and wire on the white bottle but couldnt do a convincing job of it so skipped it.

Talentless, where do you typically find that metalizer powder - hobby shop? Just want to know where to start my search.

My chrome worked out very well - used it on the exhaust exits. BUT... I tried to shine it a bit more, it turned flat grey. I tried some TS13 (Tamiya clear) on it, it turned silver... I also tried a floor polish on a section... which left it interesting. Quite chromey, but from certain angles not so shiny. So that might turn out to be an option still. Will be for 43rd, so brushing on the floor polish is an option, for sure. I have also seen a hobby clear spray yesterday of the same manufacturer as the chrome - stated that it had many percentage less solvents, so that might be something to try. At the price... I just wanted to do some reading of the product beforehand!

Some progress on the body, all done in the gloss alu. This morning started looking at the decals - and then my eyes widened a bit. It is indicated that you must paint the sections behind the driver head red. It is indicated that you must paint the outside of the one "fin" on the sidepod red - I specifically left it off to complete the main body colour, paint that separately and glue afterwards. But the rest of the sidepod is indicated as J - which is base body colour of (in my case) gloss alu. From what I see on the decal sheet, however... it seems that whole red section on the sidepod must *gulp* painted... Can you guys with the kit please confirm whether you interpret it the same? That will be a bit of a mission for me, who positively hates masking and painting a second colour. Esp with a curvy body like this where the particles can get in ANYWHERE!

If so, this will make me very happy that I started the body earlier than suggested!

Tony, hit that Ferrari!

I've been itching to get my Ferrari to completion too. Somehow I'm very into Formula One modelling again right now.

I am trying to finish off a couple of builds that I think are quick, so I can spend the time on these longer builds without feeling the pressure to co complete these smaller projects. However,  I think a little progress is in order.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks Tony. I did a little clean up and mold line removal on it today. We're supposed to have decent weather tomorrow and the other half will busy so I plan to get a lot done.

L8TR,

Eric

Ni Ni Ni

I've added the 3 stooges to the roster Eric, should be fun.

The Mclaren is looking brilliant Talentless.  Would you mind describing how you did the finish please.

Cheers

Tony

thanks 65ss

bit more plumbing done, dont think i will put much more in it looks ok as is. brake calipers have also been put on.

The car is looking great Talentless!

Tony,

I haven't really did a lot to the Chevelle since I'm spending most of the time on the Vette for the other GB. I would like to add an AMT Three Stooges 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery I picked up so I can get something going for this GB. It doesn't have a lot of parts so while I'm waiting on stuff to dry on the vette I can tinker with this one hehehehe. HEY MOE!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Talentless, I like the engine work.

L8TR,

Eric

the body is still bare plastic. the front bumper was primed, gloss blacked and then coated with C1 metalizer powder. (as will the rest of the bodywork eventually)

Talentless, if I recall correctly, that body is finished with Alclad? Or not? Is it clearcoated? (and if so, with what?)

Excuse the dumb questions, but I am looking for a finish to go with modern-day McLaren F1's. Just gotten hold of (yet another!) high-gloss chrome, which I hope will end up mirror-like. Past few I've tried ended up silverish and nothing more. Will try out this one over the weekend.

I have alclad chrome, but have heard that most clears but the Alclad Aqua clear (which I can't get hold of!) basically "lifts up" the chrome finish into the clear, also rendering it... almost silver. And obviously need to clear for decals and handling.

airbox in, a bit more plumbin done. body is only dryfitted to make sure it all fits. 

Hey Tony, you guys are looking awesome at the moment. Will be an interesting series! Still can't believe Kallis decided to retire right before this series.

All I did to the R10 was adding some panels to the body and then last night giving them base, plus doing some metallic black on some of the main chassis/floor sections, some SGB to follow at places. Yes, early on the body work, but I like not to be rushed for that - rather allow proper drying time and just be ready for assembly when it comes to those steps. So will most likely slap on some alu over the weekend.