The 2015 /16 Red Hot and Rollin Automotive Group Build--Ended

I have the mp4/4 set and it's much more extensive! I don't have the courage or skill for that one yet. The yzr m1 09 set I have is more complicated too . If this goes well ill try the yzr one next.

Good luck with it Misty.

I hope to finish painting of all components of my Porsche today. If I can manage that, a finish on the weekend is a possibility. There's just some masking and spraying of the chassis and roll cage to be done now. The construction hasn't progressed since my last photo.

Cheers

Tony

taxtp

The construction hasn't progressed since my last photo.

Great work in here, I gotta get my butt in gear soon. Love the mix of kits and vehicles.

Taaron, nice engine - it reminds me of.a Springsteen song: "I'm an all-set Cobra Jet creepin' through the nighttime". 

Misty, seems we're in tune across the waves. Also stumpled across one lone MP4/4 set a few months ago. Wow, that thing is super impressive. The bike one I have is also impressive, but not as much as the MP4/4 - I have the 04 Yamaha.

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would post the starting point for my Ford Sierra whilst I wait for the apint to dry on the Porsche.

As I said earlier, I bought it at a swap meet. I thought it was new, but didn't check inside. In most cases sellers are trustworthy, in my experience. Maybe he just forgot, or he bought it like that and never opened it.

Anyway, the body, interior and chassis had been painted. The chassis is acceptable, and I can make use of it. The body and interior were terrible, so they've been stripped and are almost ready for some primer, with a bit more clean up.

The remainder of the kit is as new.

This is the third Sierra I've built, but the first for about 25 years or so. I'll show a photo of all of the mwhen I complete this one.

Seems that I am picking out some of those annoying kits from the stash, and finally getting them done...

Cheers

Tony

made a start on the brakes, well ONE anyway. a bit of filler needed where the casting block was attached is all, and painting obvs. the kit one isnt too bad but compared to the top studio its a bit lacking.

Steve: Looking forward to your progress!

Tony: You've got a nice start there!

Misty: Man that brake setup looks awesome! More please!!

Well folks todays update comes in the form of exhaust muffler color correction and interior finalizing. I still have to apply matte aluminum BMF to the hanger straps on the mufflers and chrome BMF on the exhaust tips.

and here's a shot of the interior wrap up with the IP test fitted( I still have a little touch up here and there but this is gonna be the way it's gonna be)

mustang1989

  I painted my windshield washer reservoir bottle up like yours up as well with one minor difference(this is for future builds BTW) in finishing. I started with a white bottle and painted the blue as you did. After that I mixed up some flat clear coat with a drop or two of white mixed in and shot the reservoir again. This gave the fluid an "inside the plastic container" look.  Your build is going to look great man! Keep up with the pics!! 

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that next time.  Turned out okay tho, I was surprised.  That is Vallejo sky blue as well.

Misty-Those brakes are really pretty.  Well done.

Great updates guys, keep em comin'

Gordy

elass0wyp0

That is Vallejo sky blue as well.

 

Tony interesting build.

Misty nice brakes

Joe getting closer to your final assembly. Can't wait to see it.

 I've got my fingers crossed that all goes well right to the end! Thanks Dan! 

Good Lord you fellas have been busy, and the workmanship!?......man, where do I begin?

Mopar - sweet work on that interior, and the hydraulics really add a lot. Great stuff!

Eric - those valve covers are just nuts! Not even on my best day brother!   Hope you get some warm weather so you can chrome 'em!

Tim - great work on the engine and interior, and that finish!....geez, just looks flawless! The chassis looks like the real deal too!  No idea how you car guys do it!

Misty - that McLaren is gonna be sweet!  That's quite the AM set you have there, and I swear I saw brake dust coming off those calipers.  Just unbelievable!

Gordy - fantastic work on the '66! Love the way you did those springs. That engine is amazing too, as well as everything else under the hood. That undercarriage work look so dang real, and those 5-spoke Cragars gotta be my all-time favorite rims. Excellent work!

Joe - just want to jump into that interior and take it for a spin! Looks perfect!  The finish on the exhausts blows me away as well man!

I'm learning a ton from you fellas, and having a blast at the same time!

....and Joe, in addition to producing the amazing results on your models, how the heck do you manage to run two GB's as easy as some people manage one?  Hat's off to ya buddy! 

Been moving along steadily on the dragster. With the major areas completed, the pace is going to pick up dramatically now.

First, the engine. She's all done and I'm happy with the results. The braided lines and hex fittings from Pro Tech were a breeze to work with and really add a lot to the big hemi. The belt made from .010" x .156" styrene strip fit like a glove. To measure it, I made a belt from Tamiya tape, wrapped it snuggly where the belt goes and then just cut it into one long piece to use as a guide......

The chassis is painted up. I tried using Krylon Fusion gloss black out of a rattle can and wasn't disappointed. Went on like a dream.  Added the differential (painted with Alclad dark aluminum), but still have yet to glue around the roll cage so the seat can be installed......

Lastly, work as begun on the front axle and the oil filters.  Lots of parts to clean up here, but the chrome is stripped off, sink holes are filled with CA and all are ready for sanding.......

That's pretty much it for now.  I'll be finishing up the front axle next and the getting to work on the cockpit.

Thanks for lookin'.  

Awesome engine, Mike. I thought it was real for a second.

Rudratt,

The plumbing on that engine is most awesome. I agree with Raven, it looks very realistic. You knocked that one out of the park.

Is that gloss black enamel? Have you tried it with Alclad? If it does I'll go pick up a can tomorow before I start hehehehe

We're supposed to have good weather in the 60's tomorrow so I hope to get the black sprayed on the stuff needing to be chromed. The wheels I ordered for the 66 are a wee bit to big. I ordered 1/25 and the ones I got actually scale out to 1/20. Hopefully I'll have some progress shoot tomorrow.

Later,

Eric

Ruddratt, superb engine - really well done!

I got some of the wiring done tonight and mocked up the engine on the chassis.  Since this kit didn't come with a coil so I made one, and I added the relay to the engine bay for power.  I wired the alternator, battery and starter and will hopefully have that completed in the next few days.  I fixed a small imperfection on the hood paint and sprayed a couple of coats of clear orange and its in the dehydrator now.  Wheels are done, so not much left but to wetsand and polish the body, install glass, mount the body on the chassis, wire everything up, BMF, mount front and rear bumper, then that should be it.  Here are a couple of update pics.

That's an engine and a half, Mike!

Mike: Dude that engine looks as if it would pass for the real thing! Great detail and great weathering bring out the best in that assembly man! As far as the group build thing goes , it's all you guys in here that make a successful group build and it looks like you all are gonna set a record in the auto section for GB's. My hat goes off to all the participants and my co-host,  Raven728 (aka Steve) for making this happen. Thanks guys! It's a true honor to be your host.

Tim: Man what can I say here? Your attention to detail and finish work are nothing short of amazing. I'm learning a ton here of what acrylics in the hands of a guy with working knowledge of how to handle and apply them are capable of. You are the true acrylic finish master! I will offer one piece of advice on your alternator wiring. It looks to be a tad over sized. Most of these cables off the back of the alternator like this are about the size of a spark plug cable. Maybe using a section of what you used for spark plug wires painted red and dulled a little would be the ticket. Other than that this thing is perfect!!! 

Hats off to you Mustang for your dedication to this craft we all love!!

Joe, I kind of thought the same thing, but that was the smallest red wire I could find.  I originally thought maybe the distro wires were a little small, but I will come up with something today.  Thanks!

Tim

This should look a little more scale.

Tim your smaller wire looks much better. The Mustang is looking real nice looking forward to seeing it altogether. 

Joe thanks for your support on this GB 

The seams on the fuel tanks have been bugging me so I have reworked them.

Awesome updates.  

That Hemi.  Wow.  It really does look like real metal parts.  So well done man.  Especially that trans.  It looks like it would be heavy in the hand.  lol

Taaron - I'm no expert and I'm not really sure it matters but I think you may have the tread on those tires mounted backwards, they look to be directional.  They look really nice.  I love boxy pro stock style tires on older models.  Very nice.  I think you should also give us less fortunate painters some tips on how you did that.  Your gloss is ridiculous man, so nice.

I got 2 days off in forty minutes so I hope to have some progress to share by tomorrow.

Keep at it boys, best GB on the site :)

Gordy

Hello everybody!

Mike - that engine is beautiful, your model is coming along really nicely!

Tim - Great looking model! I'd add a little of a black wash at least to the engine block to highlight some recessed detail. As for the wire - what are you using? Things to try are thin soldering wire - they come as thin as 0.01 inch or wire known as kynar wire - just below 0.02 inch overall but they come in nicely coloured plastic insulation - both to be bought at electronics supply stores. Also, try to show the wire fixed at close interval - loose cables in an auto are a big no-no! Hope this helps.

Dan - The more I look at that truck the more I like it. What engine is that? Those seams on chromed parts sure can be a pain!

I for myself only make a slow progress on my VW bus. I'm working on the underside - I deepened the wheel wells and drilled the holes for the shock columns. I also scratchbuilt the engine deck in the rear - it's missing from the van kit, although it's there in Hasegawa's bus kit. The floor now looks like this:

Hope to be able to put the front suspension in soon - thanks for reading and good luck with your builds, have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel,

I applied black wash to the engine already, but you just can't see it because of the light.  Once its finished, I will take proper pics with a real DSLR, versus my iPhone for update pics.

I'm not sure what the size of the wire is, but I just salvaged some from old wires around the house.  I'll pick up some wires from an electrical store or something in the future.

I'm not sure I'm sure I am following what you are saying about the wiring being fixed at close interval?

I fixed the tire rotation issue... easy fix.

Tim

Gordy,

Here is a post from another forum on my technique.  I am getting ready to drop some cash on a new airbrush compressor with a tank attached, but other than that.... nothing special.

_______________________________________________________________

Here is my technique with pics included just to let you know that it doesn't cost millions of dollars to spray a glossy paint job on hobby car.

I used a couple of different Bagder airbrushes.  One single action and one dual.  No rhyme or reason for using one over the other, other than paint control with the dual action badger.  I'm using a compressor that I've had for over 20 years that my Mom bought me when I was a kid.  I am getting ready to buy a really nice one, but it can be done with a cheap one.  I have no idea what PSI I'm paint at, but the manual said this compressor was good to about 40, so probably somewhere in-between 25-35.  One of the reasons I can't wait to purchase my new one next month is better flow, and regulated.  

I only use Tamiya acrylics when I paint, its just easier for cleanup and I feel really comfortable after using them over the last 5 builds.  I just started using Tamiya lacquer primer and I love it.  If the primer goes on super smooth, I generally won't sand it, just scuff it real quick.  I thin the 23ml size bottles with 7-8ml of denatured alcohol and the 10ml bottle with 3-3.5ml of denatured alcohol.  That will vary depending on what sheen you are using, too.  I actually used closer to 9ml of denatured alcohol on the Gold Leaf because it was coming out very blotchy.  I added another ml of denatured alcohol and it was perfect.  Again, trial and error.  I also use a spray booth since I paint inside.

Nothing crazy about my technique other than I try to make sure each coat of my gloss coat is glossy and not a lot, if any, orange peel.  I probably put 3-4 good coats of gloss over the base coat since that is all I've ever needed in order to achieve that smooth-wet look before sending it to the food dehydrator to cure for a day or two, or even just overnight.  After about 7-10 days, I will start to wet sand and polish.  This is one of the most crucial steps, but to be honest, wet sanding and polishing has never taken me more than an hour, tops.  I know people spend hours and hours wet sanding and polishing, but maybe mine takes less time since it is very smooth and wet looking once it's dry?  Not sure, but what works for one person, might not work for another.  I just use microfine wet/dry sand paper and that seems to do the trick for taking out any imperfections, dust, or orange peel.  

I'd be happy to answer any questions if it helps anyone get over the fear of painting with acrylics or an airbrush.  There are a ton of excellent painters on this site that come away with amazing finishes as well.  I did a lot of reading prior to diving in with acrylics.  Hope this helps...

Tim

A couple of updates... It got it polished and mounted the bumpers and remaining lights.  That'll do it for today, but hopefully I can start the BMF process tomorrow.

I'll post better quality pics once it finished and in the photo booth.  Unfortunately, my iPhone doesn't give my paint job a whole lot of credit.

Tim

Tim thanks for sharing your air brush painting technics. Your iPhone pictures look pretty good showing a very nice smooth shine on your Mustang.