Steve Noble

If I was struggling with something I think it would make me even more determined to conquer it, not sell up on eBay

I agree, an Escort Mk2 'proper kit" is much needed. The Esci, Revell, Italeri offering is okay, but it needs a fair bit of work to bring it up to modern standards. You know some of those 'smaller' companies are our only source now. I really can't see Tamiya getting back into 1/24 rally anytime soon. It's a real shame as they used to be the best for rally models..

I asked this very question and was told that radio control and military are the 'bigger' markets for them. Apparently 1/24 rally cars don't have as much of a following and are less cost effective/don't produce as much profit. I think the investment to make the tooling for a new car kit runs into the 100's of thousands of pounds and they believe that they just won't sell enough of them to recoup their outlay..

I think it's Platz/Nunu now who are producing the Peugeot Maxi. I can't not have the Metro 6R4!! If it's one only it'll have to be the Rothmans version of Jimmy McRae. I'm looking forward to the Ford RS200 as well, a real must have for me and there's a new Audi Sport Quattro on the way, also from Platz/Nunu which is a must as well. Very expensive times, but a good time. I've almost got every rally car in 1/24 that I've ever desired

Yes, just noticed that too. £5 more for the kit but the postage at Hiroboy is about £10 cheaper, so works out better than Spotmodel for me. I think £50 seems reasonable but fairly high to me for a 1/24 scale kit? I was expecting somewhere around £35 - £40, but it does have engine detail, so I suppose the extra cost is probably for that. It also looks like it has photo-etch parts and night stage lamps, so not a bad price for the extras that you get. Only problem is I like three colour schemes, Rothmans, Computer Vision and Belga, so I'd be running at £150 for three kits!! Starting to get expensive

It's pre-order status at Spotmodel. They're on a boat I believe on the way to the model shops. Doubt anyone has one yet...

Shunko do a few as well..

I've used both Tamiya Fine Surface primer and Halfords primer over white metal parts and had no problems whatsoever with adhesion of the primer to the surface. I've never used any special primer for either white metal, resin or photo etch parts and never had any problems

You could try some rubbing compound very lightly to polish the paint back..

People sell the stuff for extortionate prices, the mind boggles. I don't know why people pay those high prices. In my opinion it has it's uses, but it's not as good as it's made out to be. I'd sooner use a dedicated auto clear or model clear. I find they airbrush much more easily and I get a much shinier finish a lot quicker. Klear seems to just soak in and go dull, needing several coats, but still can't match the shine of a 'proper' clear coat. It's also not ideal for polishing either and the 'self levelling' properties can be said of any clear coat if it's applied correctly with the appropriate thinners..

I read a lot about people who struggle with Vallejo paints, getting tip dry, clogging, blocked airbrush etc and it is frustrating. I never had any problems using Vallejo Air, but the main difference I think is that many who struggle are maybe painting aeroplanes/armoured vehicles with camouflage schemes, where they may need to close the nozzle and use really low pressures to achieve very fine lines/coverage. I believe that is the situation when acrylics can become troublesome as they can dry in the tip and clog the airbrush due to the paint coming out through an almost closed nozzle. Myself I used Vallejo for larger car model parts, so i never needed to spray fine lines and stuff. My tip was always 0.5mm and way open to get good coverage. I'm sure this is why i never suffered the same problems, the paint never dried in the tip because it was always wet and flowing and practically couldn't dry. Enamels by nature dry slower than acrylics so I would assume that may alleviate some of the issues associated with faster drying acrylics. I've moved over now to mostly Mr Color lacquer paints and these do spray perfectly and easily. However the smell and stronger nature necessitates use of an extractor and a good mask. They're not something you want to spray inside your house for example without the right kit. I would say to anyone using an airbrush to keep trying. It's a tool, that's all, and one that when mastered can truly give some amazing results. I'm lucky. I used to paint full size cars as my job, so when it came to airbrushing models I had the basics nailed down already. The transition from spray gun to airbrush was pretty straightforward. But I know that using an airbrush to many can be a real trying experience and I always say that if those first few attempts are a disaster, you'll probably not carry on using an airbrush..

Nice work despite your problems. I always use a little rubbing compound on a cotton bud to go around the grill openings once painted. It can remove any excess black paint and really neaten up any mistakes with the black. Or I sometimes use a wooden cocktail stick and simply scrape the excess black away..

My personal opinion is that the tip size at 0.35 could be a little larger, I normally use a 0.5 for painting car bodies, however, I think the pressure is too low. 12psi is simply not enough pressure to suck up the paint, atomise it, then spray it onto the model surface. That's why you're getting that dusty effect. Low pressure is fine with a fine detail brush maybe doing some mottled camouflage on a German aeroplane, but for heavier application of a solid, wet, gloss coat you need to be laying some paint down. Personally I use 25 psi minimum with spraying a body of a car for example. People will come now and say they use 10-15 psi and if that works for them that's okay, but it doesn't work for me...

In my experience of Zero 2k it's never been affected by handling or lost any of it's glossiness. It's rock hard when cured and seems indestructible...

I would highly recommend the Werther Sil Air 15A compressor. It's slightly over your budget at around £280, but I've had one for 30 years and it's still working as good as the day I bought it. I change the oil once a year and replace the filter every year also and that's pretty much it. It can go up to 80 psi which is more than you'll ever need, I spray at anything from 20-30 psi. It never runs out of air, you can spray all day with it. The bonus is it's practically silent in use. I've sprayed at 2am with my wife and young son asleep in the next room with them hearing nothing. I would recommend it wholeheartedly for the quality and reliability. Buy one once and it will last you a lifetime if looked after.