shood23 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Looking great Caterham. A real great idea over tissue paper with pva for the inside of the body parts it looks really good, I would say I may have to use this idea but I think in 1/20 it may be a little too out of scale but one day I will have a big mfh kit (when the other half gives the ok) so I many use it then as the mp4/4 is very high on my wants list with the xjr9lm. Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Thanks Shaun, appreciated. I have read about the tissue paper elsewhere (on MP4/4 kits!) - it is by no means a new thing - but new for me, and a bit of an impulse as I had these laundry clothes on my hand doing chores! The weave is certainly a bit large for smaller scales, but normal tissue will surely work - I know that you do have to be careful 'painting' on the diluted PVA as the normal tissues will tear easily... You will love the MFH kits - but hard to 'hide' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 I'm so close to finishing now, and as I progress I come across bits I'd do differently, bits I should have spent more time on, c*ck ups etc etc...this is a learning process (I guess all builds are) as my first model (finished) for a very very long time, and first mfh. So - almost done: Rear wing - complicated! Front wing end-plates - recreate as I seem to have lost the PE ones! Wing mirrors All the bodywork fittings. Polish! 'stance'... So - that rear wing. These are all the rivets that stick through to insert into the hole son the wing elements - waaay too short for any meaningful support! They are enough to 'locate' but that is about it. Although the PE wing end plates have recesses for the wing aerofoils, I have managed to 'round them off' quite a bit with the paint and lacquer - the blue colour required about 6 layers to get the dark colour, which has built up - no big deal in the end. I have used two-part epoxy to glue - CA would not have been strong enough - in fact i have gone back to a few parts and re-glued with the epoxy due to breakages... I also admit to doing this 'by eye' (and used a steel rule for the 90 degree bits initially) - I had plans to make a jig etc, but in the end I trusted my designers eye and I seem to have got it pretty good! (in terms of being square) The most time consuming part of this was colour coding the rivets! About a dozen white and blue, and one red (Fila logo!) Of course, have to balance in place to see how it will look! That top element is only wedged in to place for now - for reasons that will become apparent... BIG ERROR: So, when applying the decals to these wing elements, I thought I was being clever by positioning the top half of the parmalat logo up slightly on the thin top element, so that when it was in position, slightly tucked behind the next bigger element below it - the letters would line up. Of course all this was done waaay before the wing was being assembled - and is all nicely lacquered. On fitting this top element I see that MFH allowed for that overlap, by 'overlapping' the decal coverage. If I had simply lined up the decal along the bottom edge of the top element, all would have been well....it is all much clearer in the picture below! arrrrrgh!! Most obvious on the 'a's. So - plan is to try and get a replacement decal part, strip that side of the top element, and re-paint etc - but just not now. I'll loosely fit the wing as it is now for 'finished' photography then replace in the future - I'm not going to wait a couple of weeks at this stage. You can't see it from any other angle, and I may well even photoshop the completed photos for now! :shock: Next stage is all the wire supports and the end winglets... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 Lots of nice precision fittings - as long as you cut the wire to the correct length! No real issues here - I did the end plates and small wings by eye again...one tiny thing I noticed after glue had dried, was that the black tube that runs across the front of the wing assembly is possibly 1-2mm too long, so it is spreading the front of the main side wing endplates slightly...will only be visible on a directly-above shot - next time! Those wires are also going to make any final polishing of the wing elements a bit of a b*gger to do... Coloured rivets! Had to add a slick! ...or two. Just the front wing end plates to do now - which I have lost (the risk in having to unpack/pack everytime I want to do any modelling - oh for a shed!) I'd obviously popped them out of the PE sheet and probably painted them when I di the rest of the wings months ago - but cannot find them anywhere...I thought about using the 'spare' main wing endplates as cutting new ones, but settled on using very thin plasticard - they are so tiny. The PE worked as a perfect template - width of the biro accounted for the thin split line that there had been... Painted the blue side last night - white tonight, lacquer, decal and fit. Then wing mirrors....and that is almost it - except I keep forgetting about the windscreen! Have to cut that out of the vac forming provided, and tint blue! It seems the first few kits had blue screen provided - not sure why later ones didn't - I ordered mine pretty early on! I may contact MFH and ask... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PC2012 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Superb work Caterhamnut, despite the problems you've had. I've been following this for ages and the techniques you have used have really helped me with my own build. Keep up the good work . It will be great to see it finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpfiend Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Fantastic progress, looks amazing. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Just wonderful Ian. You are doing beautiful work at the sub-atomic detail level. You should be hired by the factory to build their box art models. Superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Who's Ian? Thanks mate - again, very kind, but I still aspire to be way closer to some of the guys out there, who do incredibly clean builds - Suber etc...need to learn/practice using oil washes next I think... Still - its a start! I'll just be glad to finish something!! Question to all - I want to cut back some of the bodywork clear cote (Zero Paints 1K lacquer) as there are some lines - can I 'wet n' dry' sand it back (need to cut down slightly - more than just polish) or will it forever be frosted? I have some Tamiya fine rubbing compound, but this feels too delicate for what I need... And - will Alclad clear blue airbrush directly onto the vac. formed clear plastic windscreen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 4 minutes ago, caterhamnut said: Who's Ian? Question to all - I want to cut back some of the bodywork clear cote (Zero Paints 1K lacquer) as there are some lines - can I 'wet n' dry' sand it back (need to cut down slightly - more than just polish) or will it forever be frosted? I have some Tamiya fine rubbing compound, but this feels too delicate for what I need... And - will Alclad clear blue airbrush directly onto the vac. formed clear plastic windscreen? Sorry mate - mistook you for a different 'Nut'. I think a Micro-Mesh polish kit (cloths) used wet will get back your gloss level. I'd start at 2400 grit and work up to 6 or 8000. You can go coarser to start if you still have haze - say 1200 or so. Works well for me on automotive lacquers. TEST on scrap first. Dunno about clear Alclads...again I'd test on scrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Thanks mate - I'll certainly do a test piece! I guess if there is a 'clear' blue used for those lexian RC car bodies, that would work also... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borez Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Looking superb mate, really lovely work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shood23 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Looking very nice caterham. The premixed clear is a very good clear and you can cut into it but nowhere near as much as 2k so a little care is needed but I can confirm with most of my cars being painted with it that it gives a great shine when polished up. Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 The balls-up's are coming thick and fast If you look closely at the picture below, you will see that I had sprayed up these two end plates both as 'left handed' - they are blue on the other side so cant be reversed - anyway, corrected now - but grrr! Here are a few pics of the extra wiring I have added - first shows quite a big pipe - a breather I think - that you see on a lot of pictures, but wasn't detailed in the kit....I've also added some 'ground' wires - and wired the wet-weather light! Once I get the dust off all these, I reckon these will actually look like the 'real' version 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 The knurled shock bodies are amazing............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 So close... Right - needed quite a dark blue tint for the windscreen, so I used airbrushed clear blue Alclad on the 'inside' - went on fine, taking care to keep it even. I'd cut the screen out with shark small scissors - needs to be 'riveted' in place...test fit before colouring: Wing end plates went on...I also added the gurney flaps. ...and you know what - that is ALMOST it! Need to fit the wing mirrors, rivet screen into place, fix rear wing (in any shots here it is just resting in place) - go over the whole model and tidy it up - touch up the chips etc! I also want to give a little depth to elements with VERY light highlighting etc. But it is SO close I couldn't resist taking some nice pics - I'll post them here, finish the last bits and bobs and then do a 'finished' thread hopefully at the weekend!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 So - remember, not finished - quite! Spot the loose rivet! ...I expect that is almost that for this thread! YEAH!!!! Thank you SOOO much for following...my first MFH (and indeed finished kit for decades!) and I have learned so much from loads of you guys on here, wither through looking at your superb models, or from you guys answering my questions - cheers! I will do a 'conclusion' post as well - highlighting any problems with the kit, issues I had, tips, errors, corrections etc etc... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy vd M. Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Wonderful work (and nice photos too!), this really is a one of a kind model you created. For the record: loose rivet spotted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_1984 Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Simply beautiful ! One of the most realistic renditions I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyD Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Great looking build Sir !!! Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnkm13 Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 This is stunning build and great photography to match! Regards, Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoly Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpfiend Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Outstanding work there. im looking forward to the finished pictures Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver911 Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Congratulations on finishing this superb project/build. A tour de force of skill and patience. Nice one Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Jampton Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 (edited) This is such a great thread and you have built such a gorgeous model. John Edited April 28, 2017 by Hugh Jampton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borez Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 That's a build you should be proud of really. Great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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