Jump to content

New FIAT 500 - Lights in!


Alan R

Recommended Posts

This is something that my 19 year old daughter wants in real life, but as I can't afford anything more, I came up with this:

DPP_0047_zpshqk5smzb.jpg

 

It's a pretty good representation of the car, with a few simplifications. The door handles are moulded on and not separate. I don't think it'll look too bad when finished. I might cheat and make them the body colour.

 

So, progress.

After some initial prep, like careful sanding with very fine went-n-dry, I primed the body and chassis with Zero Paints light grey primer using my trusty Badger 200 air-brush. This was the first time that I had used the Zero paints. I was really impressed with the finish of the primer. Really flat and smooth.

 

DPP_0050_zpsykyhcqlz.jpg

 

DPP_0052_zpsdst8aaxj.jpg

 

DPP_0048_zpssl615dt5.jpg

 

DPP_0053_zpsuibklczd.jpg

 

DPP_0049_zpsoutaimwq.jpg

 

DPP_0051_zpsbsp2eurk.jpg

 

DPP_0054_zpsc6alampr.jpg

 

My daughter wanted a mint-green car. Fortunately, Hiro-Boy had the right colour already in it's range (Fiat Smooth Mint).

 

I am really impressed with these paints. I will definitely use them again. Next stage the lacquer coat. Hopefully in the next day or two.

 

I hope you like it.

 

All the best, Alan.

 

Edited by Alan R
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Some more progress.

After a long break on this model, I finally bit the bullet and tried to gloss coat the body. To be honest it didn't quite go to plan.

I couldn't get the pressure quite right, I think that the lacquer coat (Zero paints 1K ) is a bit thicker than the colour coats or primer.

This resulted in me using too much pressure when applying the 'wet' coat, resulting in runs on the sides of the body. (The floor-pan and dash-board were fine...)

So, after a bit of a wait for the top coat to cure, I carefully sanded the runs out. However, this resulted in me sanding through the gloss lacquer AND the colour coat down to the primer! :( 

I think that the problem lay in the fact that I tried to rush the lacquer and I tried to do it when it was too cold! Apparently, Zero paints 1K lacquer should be applied at between 16°C and 20°C. It was only about 8°C...

 

Anyway, after a another session with the airbrush, I have got the colour coat back on. Just needs another go at the clear!

Anyway, in the meantime, I managed to get the underside complete.

OK, less waffle and more pictures:

The floor-pan and cabin (as far as it goes):

IMG_0055_zps7ztxqrru.jpg

The floor-pan:

IMG_0056_zpslsj84gri.jpg

Notice that the fuel tank and drive-train have been painted up. The black is Citadel Miniature 'Abaddon Black', and the engine (sump, & gearbox) are Revell Aqua Aluminium. Hand painted, as my masking skills are rubbish...

The floor-pan and front seats. They are only placed in-situ for the present.

IMG_0057_zpstx2rlu8h.jpg

I have subsequently tidied it up a bit more to remove areas where the paint has strayed into other places.

The silencer (or muffler). This comes pre-chromed, but looks obviously toy-like. I stripped off the chrome in caustic soda, re-primed with zero paints primer, followed by a top coat of Revell aluminium.

IMG_0058_zpsumgmzcpq.jpg

The tip has been covered in 'chrome-effect' parcel tape, the kind that you use to tape up birthday or Christmas presents. I don't have an bare-metal foil, but I do have this stuff. It seemed to go on really well. Only time will tell... A touch of matt black in the exhaust tip makes it look a bit more realistic too.

 

The floor-pan fully assembled:

IMG_0059_zps5ai9lrrn.jpg

IMG_0060_zpsy4wkavwt.jpg

IMG_0061_zpsgt58ucdh.jpg

The disc-brakes are little marvels, each is made up of at least five parts, and they go together well. There are some very small parts, but such is the quality of engineering of those parts, it all fits well.

I tend to use Revell Contacta, or Humbrol liquid cement, as they both come with an almost hypodermic needle of an applicator. They both suffer from the same problem though. They tend to spill out of the needle rather too easily and can go everywhere.  I finally hit on the solution. Create a small pool of cement on a suitably hard surface (My polythene mixing palette is quit good as it resists the cement. i.e. it doesn't melt...), then dip the tip of the cocktail stick in the pool, and apply the cement to the mating surfaces. It uses far less cement, and the likelihood of it going everywhere (Usually my fingers, thus leaving finger-prints that need to be cleaned up afterwards... Don't ask, I've been there...)

 

I am really pleased with the way the kit has gone together so far. The fit is exceptional, and the detail is more than adequate.

 

Next step, dash-board and cabin...

 

Thanks for looking, Alan.

 

Edited by Alan R
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

More progress. Not a lot but some none the less.

 

Having looked at real FIAT 500s on the street, I noticed that the dash-board had a panel painted in the same colour as the car body. So, I painted the dash in the body colour, then masked it. Once masked, I painted around the masking tape with diluted Humbrol clear acrylic varnish. I tried this out after someone in Britmodeller suggested it was a good way to prevent  paint creeping under the masking tape. Once that was set, I covered the unmasked areas with Citadel Abaddon Black. I let it set overnight. This is the result:

IMG_0063_zpsfirmx8nj.jpg

Not too shabby, I think. No leaking behind the masking tape.

I also decided that the rear-seats needed a bit of attention, so I re-painted the rear seat base with dark grey, thus:

IMG_0062_zpsi6apx2uc.jpg

It's a bit difficult to see here, but I think that it looks better.

Finally, I have started priming the door panels.

IMG_0066_zps7go5ffvq.jpg

A bit of a way to go yet, as my home-brewed primer is quite thin, since I mostly spray it.

Thanks for looking, Alan.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some more progress. While I summon up the courage to have another go at clear-coating the body, I have been getting on with the cabin.

I have put the speedometer into the dash, and the centre boss into the steering wheel. Also, the gear lever is in place...

Like this:

IMG_0074_zpsfntf3ke7.jpg

Not the sharpest of images. I must have moved while taking the picture.

Thanks for looking.

 

Alan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hello Chaps,

I finally found the ideal time and conditions to apply the clear lacquer to the body.

It's been quite sunny and warm today, so I decided to take the opportunity to spray the lacquer.

I realised that there were two problems that I had encountered last time:

1. The temperature was too low (about 5-8°C)

2. I forgot to put the sealing washer on the lid of the air-brush bottle. Without the seal, the airbrush wouldn't spray properly.

 

This time the temperature was more like 15-16°C, and the seal was in the cap of the bottle.

I fired up my compressor, and applied two fine mist coats first, with a 5 minute gap between them, followed by a heavier 'wet' coat.

The end result was much more pleasing.

So here are the pictures:

IMG_0186_zps6nvz5eak.jpg

IMG_0187_zpsasksvsps.jpg

IMG_0188_zps20a8uwv2.jpg

IMG_0189_zpspw9tydxe.jpg

Now that I have got the technique right, I am really pleased with the Zero Paints 1K clear coat.

The finish is so much better that the last time.

This gives me hope for all my other cars that nead clear coating.

 

Thanks for looking,

Alan.

 

Edited by Alan R
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I test drove one of these last year while I was car shopping.  I was shocked that I actually fit in the little beastie. It was a white and red Abath, that was a complete delight to drive around town.  I had to pass because of the nonexistent back seats.  Great fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Chaps,

Well, the cabin is complete. All the seats are in and it's attached to the floor pan:

IMG_0190_zpspwak9x2q.jpg

IMG_0191_zpsr7tyextf.jpg

IMG_0192_zpsnjfbrckc.jpg

IMG_0193_zps1m9wll7u.jpg

The side panels are also attached, and attached to the floor:

IMG_0199_zpsb5cxngyu.jpg

IMG_0201_zps3nfdopln.jpg

IMG_0202_zps3ybtjrfb.jpg

The next thing that I need to do is to mask the windows to put the black framing in.

The main window glass is a single piece affair, with the bits to be blacked out slightly frosted. It's a real challenge to hand paint that. Fortunately, Fujimi have printed a series of masks but not on any masking film...

 

So here goes an experiment.

I photocopied the masking templates off the instructions.

Then I put strips of 18mm Tamiya masking tape onto the shiny side of some baking parchment, butting each strip up to the last. I covered the joins with 6mm Tamiya masking tape, then glued the template onto the non-sticky side of the masking tape. So far, so good, now I have to cut out the templates and see if the templates stay in one piece.

Here they are:

IMG_0203_zpsf6acpeaq.jpg

Underneath that lot is several 'bonded' strips of Tamiya Masking tape stuck onto baking parchment with the templates glued on with 'solid' PVA glue from a glue stick.

 

More to come.

 

Thanks for looking, Alan..

Edited by Alan R
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello All,

More progress over the weekend and today.

The masking worked, to an extent. I forgot to seal the masking with clear to stop some bleed under it. This was especially important as the mask was made up of strips of masking tape, and therefore more prone to bleeding.

The end result was that I needed to do some remedial work. This is what it looked like immediately after removing the masks:

Fiat500_0001_zpspbnzosuo.jpg

Fiat500_0002_zpsibgtw5ig.jpg

Not the best, but not a disaster.

I used the sharp end of a cocktail stick to gently remove the 'bleeds' which on the whole was a success. The paint was still a bit soft, so it came off leaving no marks.

However, since it was a bit soft still, some came away wit the mask! Still, I carefully restored that with a very thin brush and a steady hand. On the whole, it was worth the effort. I must remember to seal it first!

One thing that did surprise me was that the Tamiya Masking tape left a bit of residue on the glazing. However, I was easily able to remove it by using a fresh bit of tape to 'pull' the residue glue off.

Next came the window frames. I saw that someone on Britmodeller used a sharpie black permanent marker to paint the window beading. It worked for him, so I thought I would try the method. This was successful. There were places, mostly to do with the slightly thick nib, that didn't get covered, but I managed to touch those spaces up with Humbrol Satin Coal Black, an almost perfect match. In fact I can't tell the difference. Anyway, cut the waffle, more pictures:

Fiat500_0003_zpsumsldoxx.jpg

Fiat500_0004_zps2i02grdx.jpg

Fiat500_0005_zps5unmrenk.jpg

The 'white' bits on the black are highlights. That's my story and I'm sticking with it :) 

The last bit I have done on it so far it gluing the glazing in. I use the Zero Crystal Clear PVA glue as it doesn't attack the clear polystyrene, and it's easy to clean up if you do manage to get some on the window surface. I clamped it for about 20 minutes to allow the glue to cure, thus:

Fiat500_0007_zpsltij1qc0.jpg

Fiat500_0008_zpsdxhxqlet.jpg

Fiat500_0009_zpspogamaol.jpg

Well, this nearly appears to be getting near the end. Only the interior to paint, the light fittings and the wheels to fit,and final assembly to go ... oh, wait! That's quite a lot!

 

Thanks for looking, Alan.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello All,

I have put the lights into the body, but no glazing over the lights, yet.

Again, this proved to be a simple task with the chrome parts that make up all the lights fitting perfectly.

Here are the pictures:

FIAT500_0011_zpsyjnvy9gq.jpg

Sorry about the fuzzy image, the camera focussed on the wrong place, and I had set the aperture to wide (about F4).

FIAT500_0012_zpsaqqmoac1.jpg

FIAT500_0013_zpsuhcqlg0b.jpg

 

I haven't taken a picture of this bit, but after a small amount of effort, I have put the body onto the floor-pan.

 

Thanks for looking, Alan.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello All,

Another update.

The wheels are on, not without an awful lot of trouble.

No matter how hard I tried, the little poly-caps would not fit over the pins in the brakes. At this point, after a fair amount of time (about a hour and a bit), I almost threw the damn thing in the rubbish bin. After some calm consideration, I tried to enlarge the holes in the poly-caps, but to no avail. The wheels still did not fit.

Then I realised what the problem was, the hubs on the disks were flanged, and the axle on the wheel was supposed to fit inside the flange. That was where the problem was, the diameter of the axle was just a teeny bit too wide!

After some effort, I managed to increase the diameter of the hollow in the flange so that the axle fitted. Bingo! Or so I thought.

I had enlarged the holes in the poly-caps too much, and as soon as I had put a wheel on the pin, it immediately fell off! :angry:

Another near bin (death) episode...

However, after further calm thought, I realised that I had some 1/32" evergreen styrene tubing, that nearly fitted the hole in the wheel where the poly cap went. The hole in the tube was definitely too small to fit over the pin, but could be carefully drilled out to be the correct size.

I cut four lengths of tube the same size as the poly-caps, then carefully wrapped and cemented .005" evergreen card around each section of tube. A fiddly operation, not made easier by the card wanting to uncurl at every opportunity.

Still, after some effort, I had wrapped .005" card around each piece of tube and had carefully drilled out the hole in the tube to fit the pin on the disk brakes.

I cemented the thickened tube into the hole in each wheel and let the cement set for about 2 hours.

Once set, I then carefully cemented the wheels onto the pins. Fortunately, the wheels did not fall off. The wheel axles fitted the flanges and the cemented in tubes fitted over the pins snugly. On the principle "Quit while you are ahead", I cleaned up my work bench and left the car sitting on my work-mat to allow the cement to cure overnight.

That was last night. This morning I went into my workshop and took a look. Success! The wheels are on solidly, and what's more they still turn as they should. A cherished project rescued. I couldn't face letting my daughter down. :(

So, here are some pictures:

FIAT500_0014_zpshlvfo6o8.jpg

FIAT500_0015_zpspxjmjpw9.jpg

FIAT500_0016_zpsnrbgehzu.jpg

FIAT500_0018_zpsi8uy6fjo.jpg

 

There's still some work to do, mainly the decals (not many) and mirrors, number plates and the radio aerial (that's a diddy little thing about 2.5mm long).

 

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel ... (or is a train coming the other way?)

 

Thanks for looking, Alan.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Robin Lous said:

Lovely looking little car and a nice clean build

Hi Robin,

Thanks for your kind comments.

 

It hasn't been plain sailing all the way, as you could see with the wheels. I actually like it (afterwards mostly!) when I have a problem to solve. Not all of the problems get solved satisfactorily, but I get great satisfaction rescuing a 'lost cause', so to speak. This was a satisfactory conclusion.

I couldn't fail on this one as it is a build for my daughter, so the stakes are higher than usual.

 

Kind Regards, Alan.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎03‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 0:36 AM, Thud4444 said:

I test drove one of these last year while I was car shopping

They are really popular here in the UK. You can't move on the roads without seeing at least five or six on any journey!

I don't think the rear seats issue would be a problem for my daughter as she would only be using it for short journeys and the occasional forays home from wherever she will be living. She's still a uni student and can't afford to run a car. We can't afford to sub her either. more's the pity.

 

All the best, Alan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello all,

Well, that's it. All done. I finally got the last bits done, the mirrors in, the decals on and the little stingy aerial on the roof. Pictures in Ready for inspection, here:

 

Thanks for your interest, Alan.

Edited by Alan R
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Robin Lous,

I have posted the FIAT in 'Ready for Inspection', but I'll post the images here as well.

FIAT500_0019_zpsjqfsckon.jpg

FIAT500_0020_zpsds5vrnhi.jpg

FIAT500_0021_zps8vygoqqv.jpg

FIAT500_0022_zpsgh6kjzno.jpg

 

I hope you like what you see. I was very pleased with the result!

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Regards, Alan.

.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh...I missed that....I'm glued to this forum section.

I really must step outside the workshop more often to see what's happening outside also. :think:

 

Really lovely and I'm sure your daughter will be very happy with it!

 

Robin

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Robin,

Than you for your kind comments.

I am really pleased with the way it came out, and my daughter was really happy with it.

 

Regards, Alan.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...