Spiny

It might be simple, but it works very well. Nice to see a GT40 in something other than Gulf colours too.

Thank you, but I'm afraid it's been slow progress this weekend. First up, and the only quick job, was to assemble the various parts from the last post to make up the interior tub. As has been the story for most of this model, it went together really well - all fitted together beautifully: Next step was the dashboard, which isn't particularly tricky but does have quite a few bits of different coloured paint. So most of my modelling time was spent waiting for the paint on this to dry (actually not quite true, most of my modelling time was spent trying to work out why the spray can which worked fine two weeks ago on my next project suddenly seems to have lost pressure this week). But all the painting is on now - just a couple more decals to add and an attack of Microsol to finish it off, then I can stick it all together and move onto fitting it onto the body. So, here we are now, and yes those two empty dials will be filled next time I'm on the bench!

That was pretty much my thoughts when I did the Mustang which was my first spray paint and first car build on returning to the hobby, so I was surprised to see all the details as well as mould lines look so much sharper in primer than in bare plastic. The body looks so much better now, not just in terms of lacking mould lines but also in that the paint looks much smoother too. From the photo it looks like you may well get away without polishing it, but if you do decide to I can understand you wanting to get it polished and see the finished appearance. However, I would recommend leaving it at least a week before doing so to let the paint harden up, two weeks would be even better. You can always concentrate on the other parts of the build if the build order allows.

I agree that the colour suits, and you have a good covering with the beige, particularly from one coat. Well done on avoiding getting runs too - that was something I was guilty of with my first couple of paint jobs, If you'll permit a couple of comments (you did ask after all!), it does look as though there are still some mould lines on the model - the most noticeable being on the front wings behind the headlights and along the edge of the roof which I believe on the Beetle are meant to be smooth curves. It's not too late to sand these back and you will end up with a much better model in the long run. With these, it's often the case that they show up much more when you prime a piece than when it's bare plastic, so after priming is usually a good time to check you haven't missed any. If you do decide to sand these back, I expect you will be back to bare plastic where you've sanded, so I would recommend giving it a light spray of primer in these ares before going with the colour coat again. The other bit isn't a comment on the paint as it's come out ok apart from the orange peel effect which you can sand and polish back if you want. However, you say that you've achieved that colour with one coat of beige which is impressive, but in future if you have amore agressive paint it might pay to lay down a couple of 'mist coats' (very light coats which don't give full colour coverage) before you apply the main coat(s). That will help prevent the top coats reacting with the plastic. Please don't let any of this discourage you, you have made a good start after all and it has the makings of a model you can be proud of. But I would hate you to make all that effort and then be bugged by the mould lines once you've finished when you still have a chance to sand them back relatively easily now.

If only I had my own to take down there too - sadly the Grand Prix went many years ago

Blatent bit of cheating going on here as these are actually "Spot of the Week" as I haven't had access to the PC. But apart from the GTO which was on our campsite, all were on the roads. Lots of other nice metal on the roads and on show too - far too much to mention so these are just some highlights: 1929 Bentley 1966 Pontiac GTO Opel Manta 400 Jensen S-V8 - among the other cars I saw on the roads over the weekend were four more Jensens - a couple of Interceptors plus a C-V8 and 541R

Those decals have really made this van. Did you work out why the paint worked ok with the masking tape this time or was it just third (or however many) time lucky?

Clear-coated the bonnet today - I'm pleased to say that it has worked this time and looks just the same as the pic above. I also did the chrome strips, and it's got me wondering whether the colour is a mistake. For some reason (which isn't demonstrated very well in the photos), it just feels as though it dominates a bit too much. Hopefully that's because it's just a shell at the moment, and once the interior and other brightwork is in place it will look better. One things for sure, whether it suits the finished car or not, this one is staying metallic grey! First job was to mask around the strips. Fortunately very easy as it's quite straight so the tape went down pretty well. As with seeming any photo, the flake in the metallic is a lot more pronounced than in real life. And this was after I went over it with the pen. This time, the chrome is less noticeable in the photo than in reality. I think I've also pretty much got the seats beaten into shape so hopefully the seats and door cards will be in place by tomorrow.

Great job, particularly with all those opening parts. I bet they took quite a bit of lining up during construction.

A bit more progress with the S600 this weekend, in three separate branches which should all come together in the end. First up was that bodyshell. Having had two weeks for the clear coat to harden and cure, I set about buffing it to a better finish. Amazingly, I managed to do this without burning through the clear coat (apart from one place which will be hidden by the bumper), let alone the colour coat. I'd say I have about 90% of the final shine on here now, having gone through the buffing down to 12,000 micromesh, only the polishing compound and was to go which will be added later. The dust is just loose dust, and not stuck to the model, easily removed with a camera cleaning brush or lens cloth. The second branch was the bonnet I sprayed last week. The clear coat will go on next week, but this weekend I re-added a wash to that grille. Personally, I feel that has also gone better second time around: Finally, it was back to the instructions, and onto the interior. The outside of this had already been sprayed previously to provide the underbody, so most of the work on this was in painting the floor vinyl. The only parts added were the handbrake (which is kit chrome) and the gear lever (which required the Molotow pen). And after that, it was time to look at the seats and door cards. Nothing wrong with the door cards, they just need some detail painting. But the seats don't appear to have a back to them (I gather this is a weakness of Tamiya's) which to me is a bit of a problem in an open top sports car. So I've added a little bit of polystyrene sheet to fill the back, and have added filler to the gap around. After sanding back, it looks as though I will need a second go at filling before next weekend as there are still hollows in there. The one in the foreground is probably the worse of the two, but both still need work. The only other thing to happen with this model this week is that I noticed that I'd used the un-numbered radiator top which was next to the correct radiator top, hence that decal not fitting. Oh well, it still looks ok and I'm certainly not going back now.

I was thinking that I hadn't masked and sprayed before, then remembered a bit of the Cuda where I had to. The bit masked was using Humbrol matt black which is also labelled primer, so I can't guarantee any great knowledge of how Halfords paint will react based on that. But looking at the Halfords spray cans, they do say to allow 2 weeks before finishing and removing overspray after you've used it - it's just a thought but maybe the paint hadn't fully cured before you added the masking tape, even after a week? The other thing I did was to mask the edges of the area, but cover the bulk of it with kitchen foil, fully sealed around the edges with (Revell 6 and 10mm) masking tape. Admittedly that doesn't fully cure the problem of the tape reacting with the paint, but it does save on tape and also gives less of an area at risk of reacting or where the paint might pull off with the tape. That tape was on for 4 weeks, so plenty of opportunity for things going pear shaped - I may just have been very lucky.

If those are your first two models since your return, I think you've made a great start. Despite zooming in on the Subaru (couldn't seem to with the Escort), there's only a couple of small suggestions I can add, although I've only been returned for a similar amount of time myself. Firstly, get hold of some Microsol (or equivalent) - it would have helped no end where that side decal has struggled to go down. And secondly, if there is a way to get the body under cover for the first few minutes until the paint hardens it would reduce the amount of dust (although I can never seem to get rid of all of it). But great start, looking forward to the Manta

Hope it's not too late, but another vote for spray cans if you have somewhere to use them. Hycote and Halfrods paints are made by the same people, so don't be afraid to pay a visit to Halfords if that's easier for you than tracking down Hycote, or you can't find the colour you want. What I don't know though is whether or not the formulation of the two is the same. I've also used Humbrol acrylic spray with good results, so if you've bought one of their spray cans don't be afraid to use that. Just remember to spray the primer first - I go with Halfords again, white for light colours, grey for the dark or as directed on the can. As has been said above, you can just stick with the colour coat, but I prefer to add a gloss coat as it has the added benefit of sealing in the decals. Just remember with all coats, it's worth doing a couple of mist coats (very light coat which doesn't give full coverage) before you add the thicker layers. And if you really want to build up that shine, Micromesh and/or buffers (I use the Ultimate thinny ones) will make a big difference, and I also use Tamiya fine compound and hard car wax to give that final shine. Of course, to do this on your first model does imply a bottomless wallet - it wasn't until my third car that I got everything sorted. And, since you wanted pics of results, here goes. Although I'm actually going to be lazy and just link to my Ready For Inspection threads. Porsche 959 - this was my third car on returning to the hobby, and the paint is Halfords grey primer, then Halfords Volvo Dark Grey, and finally Revell Clear Gloss, all out of the rattle can: Plymouth Cuda - my fourth, and most recent car, shows that Humbrol spray should also give you a decent finish. This one has a Halfords white promer base, then Humbrol Lime Green acrylic spray, with a Revell Clear Gloss final coat, again all out of cans. The best advice I can give with paint though is to take your time and don't try to get everything done at once - 4 thin coats will give a better finish than one big thick one. But most important of all, have fun and enjoy yourself.

This one is the only one I can get (not very good with pre-war cars I['m afraid) - I think it's the original Fiat 500?

Saw an E-Type out enjoying the sun on my way home which the dashcam did pick up and a BMW i8 in amongst some trees which didn't register so well. I was also followed home by what looked to be a very nice '86 Mercedes 500SEL, but being behind me I never got a shot of it. That said, the one which sticks in my mind from today was a lowly Peugeot 208. Nothing special about the car, but I did like the number plate