Collectible Cars

Great work. The wash on the fuel tank etc really gives it depth!

Cars are a pain in *! I'm the same as you, haven't built one in ages and having nightmares with a Fujimi Shelby Cobra right now! I'll stick to bikes! This does look great though, you should be proud!

Oh wow, even more so then, this will look amazing!

Oh wow that is stunning work! If it wasn't for the grass I'd think I was looking at the real thing!

One evening got all the parts put together so far. The Panigale has a wonderful subframe, with all the main parts hanging off the engine. It makes for a very simple construction. Colors here are Alclad pale gold and the block is white silver with a Tamiya Panel Line Wash. Next step, all the Top Studio bolt heads need to be glued every where!

Hi Scotty, it's not problem to offer advice, it's what we are here for. The paints are used straight out the bottle, no thinning required. It's important to get the initial metal finish right, and chrome needs a really shiny black primer to work with and stick to. It will rub off when you touch it if it isn't applied to the right surface, so I use shiny black Alclad primer. You can only hit the part with one coat too when you use chrome, so you need enough paint applied in one hit. A second coat will end up with a matt finish and powdery. I covered the previous colour when I moved on to the next but looking back now I wouldn't, which means the blue & red would be brighter.

Looking great, and like all the others I'm so happy you stripped that chrome off the wheels!

After about a week of filing it's time to start laying some paint on. First off is the exhaust. I've gone for MotoGP race spec for this which is heat stained titanium. The idea being where the metal is welded the heat of welding changes the color significantly. Normally the exhaust is a pretty dull pale gold all over, so it was fun to get creative! This was all the Alclad Hot Metal colors sprayed over Alclad Chrome.

So after my super detailed last attempt I have a few nice spare detail parts lying around (Radiator grilles, brakes, various nuts & details) so I am planning to do another quicker build of the Ducati. I also want to practice a few more airbrushing techniques before moving onto my next bike which will be a MotoGP machine. This one will be in the Tricolore paint scheme, but with some mods from stock. Gold Wheels and in what I've self named 'Vietnam Spec' which is a nod to these guys who build their bike models super glossy!

Looking really, really good. My advice, if you are brave, would be to redo the chrome with something like Alclad chrome. These trucks look toy like when they keep the kit chrome, which is simply too bright and can look plasticy. If you have an air brush and feel brave, I'll be here to help!

Stunning work going on here! A great subject too!

Meanwhile the engine and ancillaries are moving on. Anything chrome was stripped using bleach and then sprayed using Alclad chrome over gloss black, including the wheels which as you can see above have also been masked and had Alclad Steel Grey sprayed as their centres.

After another failed attempt to lay the silver on and then the red (Tamiya tape pulled all the paint off down to primer!!!) I've decided to lay the red on, then the silver. This is Zero Paints Liquid red which is designed to dry matt. A gloss coat then brings out the pearl effect. Inspiration for the colour scheme came from this car...

It's taken me a while to get to a good point with this one, experimenting with different paints has taught me much. The base coat which was also going to the stripes is AK Design dark aluminum and as you can see I put it on too fast and so it exposed the mold lines again! So I had no choice but to file the silver off and take the mold lines down to plastic once again. Then instead of Zero Paints primer I used Tamiya primer.

Those door shut lines are amazing! I didn't believe they opened until I was the first shot with the doors ajar! Outstanding work my friend!

I also agree a no no on the BBS. You just can't beat a Stratos on it's original rims!

I like this one a lot! Very pretty little model. What is the clear box behind the seat?

Well it looks great, nice crisp finish! As above, well done for seeing it through as it's so easy to move onto other stuff and not finish!

Really clean end result! Great work. Man these bikes are fun aren't they?

I love this car, the crazy days of Turbocharged F1! You did a nice job. I agree the tires would look better sanded down so they lose the mold line and it gives them a stickier look. It looks like you attach the photo etch to the outside of the tub? That looks really, really good!

Wow, this is some stunning work! Beautifully crisp and detailed! Keep up the good work!

Fascinating read, and loved the crisp photos. I had the pleasure of building an MFH Lancia S4 and they are awesome kits!

SO after an evening's work the body is prepped. Another part donated from the Revell kit is the windscreen, it just looked so much better than the Fujimi part which was too thick, too high and too steep! I wish I had worked this out before I opened up all the holes for it but there you go! I also opened up the side vents with a 0.5mm PCB drill bit and a round pointed file and removed the molded in oil cooer from the bottom front vents. The wheels have had the offset reduced a little but they need more. I may also go a little lower with the suspension still.

So I started in the order of the instructions for the Revell kit...and it lasted one evening! What a pile of rubbish! Just the rear diff took numerous cuts, filing and butchery to fit, and even then it needed filling and more filing! So I pushed the Revell kit to one side and opened the Fujimi kit! Oh what a pleasure to work on! Much more what I'm used to after Tamiya kits. The Revell Cobra will now donate various parts I need for this build. One of the first things I do is get the stance right and here the Revell kit has donated the tires. You can tell Fujimi don't build many American cars, they have no idea what the tires look like! Top pick is the Revell rear tire, the bottom the Fujimi! There is barely any difference between front & rear and it just looks really off! I didn't use the rear suspension spacers in the instructions and the wheels will need the offset reducing so the wider Revell tires sit under the arches nicely.

This one is at the wife's request. After a bike she wanted to see a car on the bench and we both decided on a Cobra in red (she always insists my models match the house decor!!!) After working hard to talk myself out of the Model Factory Hiro Kit in 1/12 as I didn't want a project tying me up for the year, the 1/16 Monogram kit as I heard stories about poor fit, I ordered the Fujimi kit from Spot Model. Usual box shot... As I waited for it to arrive I did all my project planning and research, where I also read the shape of the Fujimi kit is almost hilarious! So I also ordered the Revell kit from Hiroboy as I read the shape was much better. This leads us to the first picture where both are side by side. Revell on the left and Fujimi on the right. It's the radiator intake that is mostly at fault on the Fujimi kit.