Spiny

If it's any consolation, the finish on that black looks better than what I got out of the can for mine, so hopefully you won't have as much polishing to do. Good luck getting these done for the weekend, they're coming along nicely.

Best advice I can give with the decals is to use the setting solutions (I used Microset and Microsol on mine) and don't put pressure on the decals - add a drop of water if it feels like it's sticking. I had to add the solutions a couple of times for the tricky bits like the bonnet bulge and front/rear numberplate areas, but they did eventually settle down with minimal tearing. I think the key is to use minimal pressure and don't try to force it down - the hard part is remembering that when the decal isn't doing what you want it to do!

I just got mine off Amazon, there's a selection here. Make sure you get the 'crystal clear' stuff though. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=crystal+clear+uv+resin&crid=3QDPAZFVI8EAK&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_15 I tend to put a drop in an old camera film contained as that's quite lightproof, but it can still start to set if left too long. Then just use a cocktail stick to apply just like you would Clearfix. I just use a cheap UV torch to cure it - it's not going to be set hard in the 2 minutes or so that they claim, but should be ok to hold in place on a temporary basis before then. Once it's holding, I tend to leave for 10-15 minutes with the torch shining on it and that usually does the job. You can also use sunlight to cure it, but it will take longer, particularly if behind glass. The biggest benefit of the stuff is that you choose when it dries - get it in the wrong place and you can wipe off and start again provided you're quick and no working in direct sunlight. Once in position, put the torch on it and it should soon be ok to let go.

Got to agree that this looks absolutely superb, and the best colour scheme to my eyes too. With one in the stash I'm glad to hear that it goes together so well. And from a purely selfish point of view I'mglad it'll be 2-3 years before I get around to mine as I doubt it will stand comparison with your model.

Looks like significant progress too. You seem to do the indicators the opposite way to me - I'd have done Molotow Chrome first then the clear orange, but the end result appears to work well here as you've done it.

Good to get it moving again, it's the first build I've broken off half way through so it's a relief to get back on it. The front suspension does seem quite robust, and I didn't come across anything which felt like it would snap. But it is fiddly to get it put together due to the fact that nothing is held in place until you glue the subframe in place. And on mine at least (bear in mind I do seem to have bought quite a flashy example!) the steering arm did keep trying to break free of the hubs, hence me supergluing the small pieces of cotton on as retainers. But don't be afraid of it - I've seen other kits you've done and you've done much more difficult bits before.

Putting these two together, I've come to the conclusion that the best way to get some bargain priced kits is to work Mrs. J into a murderous rage...

Glad to be inspiring you to help keep the economy afloat It's a surprisingly decent kit and shouldn't cause you too much grief when you get around to it.

With the Mustang finished, this weekend it was time to get back to the Jag. I know I talked about getting it polished up while doing the Mustang, but that has only half happened - I'vedone the Tamiya Coarse and Novus 2 polishing, but the Novus 1 is still to do. The paintwork won't get any smoother, but hopefully I can get the shine a bit better. It's also a bit annoying that the bonnet appears to be a slightly different shade to the body, even though they were done with the same can (although the difference isn't as marked in reality as the photo makes it look). I guess I'll just have to blame British Leyland build quality for that one Looking at what needed doing, the first thing which struck me on the instructions was that the exhausts have been chromed. To me, this looks pretty yukky, even though the main visible bit will be painted satin black. So into the bleach they went, and after a couple of hours there was no difference. So I put the bleach cup into some warm water to heat it up, and in another couple of hours it was almost clear of chrome (shows how much some heat speeds up that dissolving chemical reaction). They've got some silver paint on now, but still need to get the black on. The chrome exhaust tips are separate pieces, and these have been given the matt black inner treatment, with the attachment points covered in Molotow chrome to allow a week to dry before I need them. The last bit was that other side of the suspension I mentioned before shutting this build down for 3 months. No real drama here, pretty much the same story as on the previous side. I have also got the outer stubs of the axles fitted as can be seen below. And that's pretty much where I am, the chassis is nearly done (jus those exhausts and the diff cover to go on) then I'll be facing the interior which looks like there's going to be a lot of fine painting going on. Thanks for looking.

As I think you can work out for yourself, it looks as though the deadline isn't going to happen but the work here looks good. Especially brave of you to tackle those panel gaps, but it seems to be working. Keep up the good work. As for paint which is safe for acrylics, I can only speak of 3 choices (and all three are reasonably safe for decals too in my experience). First up is the Humbrol you mentioned, which as you said doesn't give a particularly shiny finish (in my experience), but can be polished up to something reasonable respectable. The one below is Humbrol gloss clear over Revell matt grey after quite a bit of polishing: The next suggestion is Revell clear, which does give a decent finish, but has two disadvantages - firstly it's not very robust when handled with bare hands so you'll want some gloves to avoid it going 'sticky' and leaving fingerprints, and secondly it seems to be particularly hard to find at the moment. The Revell clear is what I used for the Mustang in this group build. Final one from me is Pledge Revive It (as Klear seems to be called over here). Not a spray, you need to brush it on, but it does level off ok and two or 3 layers should give you something to polish up. The Stratos in my signature was finished in this. EDIT: If you're clearcoating over Tamiya lacquers, then my preferred is Tamiya TS-13. Haven't dared put that over acrylic paint in case it reacts though.

Thanks, but it's some way short of perfection, there's a few bits there which aren't as good as I'd like them to be, not to mention a couple of areas where the paint isn't as smooth as I'd like. Also, compared to many on here I have had it quite easy as I just did mine exactly as Revell supplied it so no faffing around with extra bits and pieces which may not fit correctly without modificaiton.

Got to agree with you both that the paint definitely looks greyer than it should do. But, just a thought - is that because you used a grey primer? Some colours, particularly metallics (although yellow and red are much worse offenders than blue) can be really affected by the colour of the primer underneath. If you have some plastic spoons, perhaps try white primer on those followed by the Zero paint?

The black glass works really well. I'd been wondering whether to get some black glass shelving when I run out of space int he current display cabinet, and your photos have convinced me it will be worth trying to find some. The model looks pretty good too

That's the great thing about digital, you can take as many pics as you like to find out what works for you and what doesn't without it costing you anything (unlike the old days of film). If you can get a stand for you camera I would definitely recommend it as probably the most important thing in making it look less model-like is to get a good depth of field by setting the f-number (aperture) as high as you can go. Of course, as you've found, you can still get decent results just by setting everything to automatic.

A day with some driving through the leafier parts of the Home Counties usually produces some spots of exotica, and today was no different with numerous Bentleys, Maseratis, Aston Martins etc. and today was no exception along with a Ferrari California and McLaren of some designation. Also a 1990 Porsche 911 (with whale tail spoiler ) plus a few older ones which did come out ok on the dashcam - so I made a small collage of the clearest. Also seen were a Bentley Arnage on the back of a recovery truck and the Amersham Mobile Museum: https://amershammuseum.org/the-mobile-museum/ Speaking of the little dashcam collage, I had presumed that the Ferrari 500 TRC was a replica, but having looked it up and given where I saw it I would say it is probably the real thing, in which case I doubt I will ever see another one on the public road again. The Rolls looked absolutely immaculate while the Volvo was in very good condition for something which is over 30 years old and looked to still be in regular use.