Aurora's Super Spy Car: James Bond's DB5 wannabe

[hendie]

Never mind fireproof - I think the previous owner tried to make it bombproof with the amount of glue he used.

I started looking at the exhaust system, and it's full of sinks and warps. I wanted to drill out the exhaust ends but I don't think it will be possible with this as it stands now.

I had some brass tubing of almost the same diameter - close enough, so I started to make some exhaust parts. At this point, I think I am only going to make parts where they will be seen... otherwise I could drive myself crazy!

A couple of pieces of tube for the silencers, and a couple of pieces for the exhausts themselves - still to file the ends at an angle here.

and then I found some small diameter wire which was nice and pliable, so I used that to make the couplings (assuming they are couplings).

Then it was back on to the dashboard which has been driving me nuts all day. I could only work on it for about an hour then I had to take a break as my eyes were going goofy.

After I drilled out the gauges, I found some styrene tube which would fit the holes (lucky!)

My gauges all set to paint. I gave them a quick coat of silver - my plan was to then paint them black and try scratching some detail into the face.

as it turned out, the scratching fascia's didn't work too well.

At this point, I had painted the dashboard a satin black. To provide some contrast, I painted the actual instrument panel flat black.

I found that my silver paint pen slid nicely into the holes I had drilled and left a nice silver ring around the hole - good enough to simulate a bezel.

Photo's this close just don't look good do they?

Once I did the gauges in black it was difficult to see any real detail as it was all so dark... so I decided to go with a dark grey for the gauge faces (I know, I know...) but it's probably never going to be seen anyway.

I then dropped some canopy glue onto the gauges to simulate the glass. It (the canopy glue) is still in the process of drying in the following photo's....

If you look hard enough, you can see the miniscule rivets I used masquerading as switches - I think it works quite well.

I really should have blown the dust clear before taking these photo's.....

I'm still not completely happy with the silver paint around the glove box, but it's so inaccessible in that area, it's really difficult to get anything small enough to paint the raised edge without hitting other parts.

[Pete in Lincs]

Hendie,

If your silver paint pen is an 'Edding' brand,

Then it will dilute with white spirit.

Paint the raised bit then use a small brush

of white spirit to 'wash' away the excess silver.

Or just paint up to there with thinned black

Pete

[hendie]

And today I went back to the exhaust. The more I looked at it the more I began to dislike it. The molding was terrible and it was warped, twisted and full of sink marks. Take a look at this....

I stated earlier that I was only going to replace the parts that would be seen, well, that didn't last long - I just couldn't leave the exhaust that way.

I had some spare styrene tubing that was the right diameter... a quick bend and it looked about right...

Then make up a couple of exhaust brackets....

A little bit of tweaking here and there... and it looks not too bad at all.

I have no idea what the box thingy hanging off the rear silencer is supposed to be. - I am assuming it is Aurora's interpretation of the smoke generator, but I could be completely wrong - but that will have to go also.

Still need a couple of exhaust boxes....

So, cut another couple of pieces of brass tubing... fit them to the styrene like so... and add the rear silencers

and a quick dry fit tells me that the scratch exhaust system should work just fine...

The rear pipes will need a little tweak just to ensure they exit the underside at the right angle but that will be done when the exhaust is actually fitted to the car.

This will be as much as I do for the exhaust - I have no will to try and create the two front manifolds. I think I'll just join the original and the scratch built at the mounting bracket.

and since we are talking about poor molding... take a look at these two figures...

It looks like a 5 year old made them out of plasticine!

I've no idea what I can do with these. Detail is abysmally lacking, and features are pretty non existent.

No amount of detail painting would make these figures look decent. Any ideas ???

[hendie]

As was apparent in my Dalek build, I tend not to follow a "logical" build sequence. Logical to you guys that is.

There are several reasons for this: waiting on parts; waiting on materials; reworking broken parts; and generally not knowing what to do next.

Today's episode begins with the wheels. As with almost all the parts on this kit, there was an abundance of decades old styrene glue splattered all over the place. The insides of the wheels was a classic example.

I had to figure out how to clean this up a bit at least. A quick search found this electrical connector and the diameter matched the internal diameter of the wheels. I found a hole punch that matched and punched out a few discs of sandpaper.

Some white glue on the rim of the connector... add the sandpaper disc and we have this useful little tool...

A few minutes later and we have the wheels cleaned up nicely - or nicely enough to continue with.

As we all know, the rear wheels on the Bond car come fitted with tire shredders.

The kit parts were broken when I dismantled the original. They were the usual badly molded rods and looked terrible - even if they weren't broken, I still would not have used them.

Ratching around the basement, I found my old riveting gun, and a few handfuls of tucker pop rivets.

Looking through the tucker pops and as luck would have it, there were a few that had a mandrel that was perfect in diameter. A quick tap with a hammer and the mandrel popped out of the rivet with ease.

I just had to ream out the center hole in the wheel a tad, and the mandrel fitted like a glove.

It even has a nice bulb on the end to prevent the mandrel from sliding all the way through the wheel.

Then it was a simple matter of cutting the mandrel to length, and opening out the wheel knock off slightly to accept the mandrel, and we have a fully working tire shredder.

The mandrel also has the benefit of being made of steel - won't bend, won't break, and is the right color - I don't even have to paint it! Success!

I am toying with the idea of replacing the kit knock off's with photo etched parts. However, the tire shredder's on the original car are quite substantial so I may just stick with these. I don't think they are too far off in terms of size.

After reading Brianl's post on the E-Type (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234949240-revell-125-jaguar-e-type/?p=1478990), I do like the look of the wheels when done with Alclad Chrome.

I had intended to keep the wheels and use "as is" - the chintzy chrome has dulled down a bit and doesn't look too bad, but BrianL's wheels look great, so now I think I have to get my hands on some alclad. I have to do the bumpers and a few other parts anyway.

Next up was some replacement inserts for the rear light clusters. The original parts were missing form the kit. They can be seen on Figure 9 on this post http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234949840-auroras-super-spy-car-james-bonds-db5-wannabe/?p=1476054 and are needed to allow the rear light clusters to operate.

You can just see the recess they fit into in this photo. Just how awkward can they make this kit?

So, starting with some 0.030" styrene sheet, cut a small rectangle... file to the right width, radius one end, try the fit.... keep tweaking and filing until the darn thing fits in there.

Then repeat for the other side....

That was the easy part!

I now have to cut a hole in each one to allow the rear light cluster to operate, and I have to find something to replicate the boss on the original part.

I'm not sure of the function of the boss on the original, but am assuming it's for smoke or oil or something of that ilk. In that case, I need to make it a small tube, and have to order some materials as my stock has been depleted with the Dalek build.

[hendie]

One of the materials I had been waiting on was carpet for the interior. I had purchased a "scale" grey felt carpet, specifically for 1/24/25 models from ebay but when it arrived it looked way to over scale. The felt was thick and hairy and just didn't look right for this scale.

I then found and ordered some smoke colored felt from etsy at 1/5 the price of the scale felt.

The smoke colored felt (normal and cheap) is on the right here. I think it looks much better.

It's difficult to see from this photo but the normal felt thinner and looks much more like carpet in this scale.

Well, there's nothing to lose so lets see how it works.

First carpeting was done around the gear tunnel.

The gear tunnel carpeted and finished. Not looking too bad.

You can also see that in between carpeting the interior, I had also started to paint. The color was supposed to be a medium grey with just a tinge of blue. It looks very blue in this photo.

I went as far as taking it outside to view in natural light and it looks much better. It is actually grey with a tinge of blue... and not blue with a tinge of grey as it looks here.

I toyed with the idea of repainting it, but since this isn't (technically speaking) a model of the actual James Bond DB5, I feel that I can maybe get away with it. - though I may change my mind later!

... and the driver's side carpeted...

I used Humbrol enamel paints, mixed and with just a few drops of thinner. The paint has been on for about a day and a half and the paint is still tacky - is this normal?

How long should Humbrol enamels normally take to dry?

I would have assumed that the paint would have been fine after 24 hours, especially in a heated basement (little humidity since it's winter'ish)

And since we are on the subject of paints.... this is my first attempt at model painting for decades... what is the best way to bring out the detail in the paint? I keep reading about "washes" and weathering.

Can someone suggest a good link to applying washes, or explain it to me? thanks

Another area I have to tackle is the battering rams in the bumpers. The model comes complete with working battering rams in both the front and rear bumpers - but one of the parts was completely broken (surprise!).

After looking at the remaining part for a few minutes, I realized that I could make a replacement part quite easily. I am using the rear ram actuator as a template as it is still in one piece.

Starting with a piece of 1/8" thick styrene, I cut a bar.

Then, going back to my rivet stash, I found a couple of rivets with the correct diameter mandrel. Pop the rivets off the mandrels...

Drill a suitable diameter hole in the styrene bar, like so... and insert the mandrel. Perfect!

Measure out the spacing, drill another hole in the bar, and we have something approaching a battering ram system.

Trim the mandrels down to the right length...

and we now have a working battering ram system... the over-riders are just held in place with blu-tac for the photo. And like the tire shredders, the rams don't need to be painted as they are already steel colored!

I will need to paint the over-riders though. In fact, there is one missing so I'll either need to mold and cast one, or try and fashion one from some styrene.

I still need to refine the actuator a bit so it will operate once fitted into the car, but the concept works. That's the rear bumper taken care of, now I just need to sort out the front bumper system.

[cmatthewbacon]

I assume, after all this, that you're going to wire in a couple of phone vibrate motors and some electronics so that you can operate all these working features remotely? ;-P

Seriously... fantastic work. I'm so impressed with the lateral thinking and variety of solutions you keep coming up with...

bestest,

M.

[hendie]

I assume, after all this, that you're going to wire in a couple of phone vibrate motors and some electronics so that you can operate all these working features remotely? ;-P

Seriously... fantastic work. I'm so impressed with the lateral thinking and variety of solutions you keep coming up with...

bestest,

M.

Now there's a thought! That would definitely be ultra cool, but way out of my league

thanks for the compliment - very much appreciated and rewarding coming from someone with your skills.

[Pete in Lincs]

Hendie,

Humbrol should dry a lot faster than that. Overnight at most.

One problem with the formula is that it separates in the tin.

So you MUST give it a good stir before use. Stir enough, then a little more.

That may be your problem.

You didn't say what you painted, looks like that rear seat though.

You should be able to wipe off the paint with a rag & white spirit if it won't dry.

The carpet does look good. Dolls house carpet is also used (cheaper!)

Washes, Thinned dark grey or black. Onto a gloss surface.

dip the brush, touch to surface. Capilliary action makes it run in the panel line.

Practice does make perfect but mistakes can be easily removed & redone.

Pete

[hendie]

I gave it a good stir before I began. It does appear to be dry now - it just took a while.

I have used satin and flat enamels so far. So, I need to apply a gloss coat - does it matter if the gloss coat is enamel or acrylic?

and from what I have read, if I use an enamel gloss coat then the washes must be acrylic, to prevent a reaction between the two. Is that correct?

[Pete in Lincs]

You could use a barrier over the enamel gloss, Future/Klear.

Then an enamel wash. Matt or Satin needs a barrier first, really

Or, use acrylic gloss & enamel wash.

Or, just to confuse matters, Use either with an oil wash.

Whichever you are happier with.

As I said, practice on an old kit first.

All of the above, I have tried, with mixed results.

Never anything disastrous, I might add.

Others may know better than me though.

And if it does get Fubarred, Oven cleaner, start again!

Edited December 7, 2013 by Pete in Riyadh

[hendie]

Well, it's just as well I wasn't 100% on the color.... it's oven cleaner I'm afraid.

I had a can of aerosol crystal clear acrylic gloss spray left over form the Dalek build so I gave that a whizz... and here's the strange part - the rear seat reacted immediately and the paint started cracking, but the two front seats were fine!

I can't believe it - painted at the same time with the same paint mix (Humbrol enamel) over the same primer, yet some react and some don't. Wassup with that then?

Oh well, you live and learn - filed away under "must remember in future"

I have now acquired some crystal clear gloss enamel, so once I have stripped the seats etc. I'll just start again. It's a bit of a bummer as I was just about to begin building up the interior.

[Pete in Lincs]

Tricky blighter, yer paint.

Can't trust it at all.

Not the first time I've heard of this happening though.

Good luck.

Pete

[hendie]

thanks. The stripping has been done, parts are washed off and waiting to dry. I hope to get everything primed (again) later today.

Other than that I am at a standstill as I am still waiting on parts.

[griffsrw]

top marks for your perseverance, you have probably learned more in one kit than than you could learn by reading all the model mags in smiths. i look forward to seeing it completed.

[hendie]

griffsrw - I'm not sure if it's perseverance or sheer bl**dy stupidity that keeps me going.

Most times I feel it's the latter!

[hendie]

With my little disaster yesterday (or was it the day before?), there was very little I could do to progress the build.

The parts have been stripped, primed and I am waiting for the primer to cure. It's supposed to dry within 10 minutes, which it does, but I want to leave it at least a full 24 hours before applying anything else to it.

This was the result that caused me to strip everything back.... not very nice at all.

Still, we live and learn.

Looking around the model, I decided to try a dry fit of the radiator grill, such an iconic symbol of the Aston Martin's.

Ouch!

The fit, like it seems with every other part in this release seems to be pretty awful.

Surprisingly, it actually looks better in this photo than it does in real life!

There are gaps both above and below the grill, and the profile at the sides does not match the curvature of the grill at all, so I definitely need to try and rectify this somehow.

I began by applying some small strips of styrene at the most critical areas.

That was followed by a liberal application of filler.

Some careful sanding ensued... slowly!

It was very much a case of sand for a few strokes, the offer the grill up to the aperture and see where further refinement was required... many, many times.

This is the current state of play.

The bottom of the grill is actually covered by the front bumper so I'm satisfied with that area. The top of the grill is looking good, but the sides still need a little bit of refinement - another application of filler and sanding back again.

But I am happy that it is looking better than it was to begin with.

The other issue I will have to deal with at some point is that the grill sits flush with the front of the bodywork. On the real vehicle, the grill is recessed slightly. That should be reasonably easy to accommodate with a few spacers. You can see that I have also decided to remove the chrome finish from the grill (oven cleaner is wonderful stuff!)

The headlamp apertures are another matter, they are truly awful. I have heard that this kit was based on the DB4. Well, for whatever reason, Aurora really did not capture the shape of the front wings and headlamp apertures at all. They are completely off.

The kit supplied headlamps are the completely wrong shape, and don't include the glass cover which gives the front end of the DB5 so much of it's characteristic shape.

However, I do have plan A and plan B in hand for resolving that issue. I don't think it will be 100% perfect but will definitely be an improvement over the base model. (Says he hopefully!)

I have been looking at the Aurora DB4 kit on ebay. It definitely looks as though these two kits are based on the same molds, with a very few modifications.

However, the DB4 has some enhancements which would have made this kit a killer. The DB4 has opening doors, engine, gearbox and suspension parts, as well as a few other, minor items.

Had Aurora included those parts with this kit, it could have been a modellers dream.

I'm not sure what their thinking was in this instance.

I started toying with the idea of purchasing a DB4 so I could steal the transparencies to use on this kit.... but then the mind started working on... if it has opening doors etc..... could I combine/modify the two kits to make a really killer DB5? - that may be a future project.

Edited December 9, 2013 by hendie

[hendie]

Snowed in today

... View from the front door

View down the drive... yes, I got down but couldn't get the car back up again!

and I can't do a thing on the Aston as I am waiting on paint to dry... arghhhhhhhh

[georgeusa]

Hendie,

Just discovered this wonderful build. I remember watching the Bond movie and then going out an buying this kit when it first came out. It was one of the first car kits I ever build. And, of course, loved the working features. Used tube glue and I cannot even remember if I painted it. I would assume that is what has been used on this kit as well. And, with tube glue, can't be real precise in application and amount applied, especially if you are a young boy trying to get this build up so you can eject a green army man from the passenger's seat!!

Like what you are doing. Was watching some old Sean Connery Bond movies this weekend while being trapped by the ice storm here and I wondered if I could pick up a kit of this car now. I am now a fan of this build and will follow it with bated breath. You know, cause there is actual modeling going on here.

[hendie]

georgeusa, they pop up on ebay quite regularly, in fact there was one, still sealed, sold just two days ago. You can get them quite easily... all depends upon how much you want to pay.

I think I got mine for less than $15, but you can still get good unbuilt examples for less than $30 if you keep your eyes open.

It's not a bad kit at all, - I always thought the airfix kit to be the better of the two, but the more I look at them, I believe the Aurora kit to be better - let me qualify that ... I think the Airfix kit captures the DB5 shape better, and has slightly better quality molding, but the Aurora kit has more working features - and that's what this car is all about, isn't it?

[Pete in Lincs]

cause there is actual modeling going on here.

George! You rascal you. Sarcasm?

Erm, Ice storm? Cancel my flight to Texas.

Mind you it's turned cold here.

And I'm off home to chilly England tomorrow night!

Parker! The heated gloves!

Hendie, I think you are right, shape versus function.

Pete

[hendie]

georgeusa, if you are in the market for one of these, a couple have just gone up on ebay

nice (unbuilt) example starting at auction price of $9.99

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=281224771664&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

[Nigel Heath]

Hendie,

I have only just go around to looking at your latest build - how selfish of me - I seem to be doing that a lot at the moment.

You must be nuts to take on the basket case you started with.

I haven't read all the text TBH but I can see your self evident skills and craftsmanship coming to the fore on this build. What a remarkable effort. Are you going to vacform the front windscreen? It might be the best way to go. Transparencies are always one of the most unforgiving sort of parts - you can't hide under filler and paint.

Be careful posting those snowy scenes pictures - they could be considered dangerously off-topic and you will have the mods after you.

Edited December 16, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[hendie]

You must be nuts to take on the basket case you started with.

Are you going to vacform the front windscreen?

Only because I couldn't afford the Airfix kit to start with..... then I got one, although, with a few minor bits (like the engine) missing!

Regarding vac-forming... Hopefully, yes... I have a cunning plan which involves ebay... sometimes it's nice living in the USA (actually pretty much all the time) - there are so many more options available to us... like all those toys I wanted as a kid but never knew existed.

I could go the easy route and buy a DB4 kit and use the transparencies from that - but then I'd be left with a DB4 with no windows. One way or another I am going to beat this kit into submission (or vice versa!!!)

The build has stalled somewhat over the last week or two. I've been attacking some of the smaller issues which aren't particularly photo worthy, and making some of the missing parts.

I also tried my hand at weathering for the first time... it wasn't pretty and I have tried to undo as much as I could without a total repaint.

Originally, I was going to weather the interior, and as my weathering attempts went south, I realized... this is an Aston Martin, not only that but it is Bond's Aston Martin (well, some other spy according to Aurora!), so the interior would be pristine. But I'm now at a stage where the interior is covered in gloss enamel, so I need to tone it down a bit.

I have just ordered my first airbrush and compressor, and they should be here by the end of the week. So I am holding off on the paint jobs until that arrives.

Of bigger concern are the front headlamps... Aurora seem to have cut more metal from the mold in order to try and replicate the DB5 headlamp set up (which didn't work) but have supplied the DB4 headlamps. I have a slightly less cunning plan to try and remedy the headlamp issue but it won't be anywhere as neat as the DB5 set up... we'll see how it turns out. I am still waiting on parts for that.

I will no doubt have many questions concerning airbrushes, compressors and alclad over the coming weeks

Edited December 16, 2013 by hendie

[Nigel Heath]

I have just ordered my first airbrush and compressor,

I thought you had an airbrush for some reason, was all of your Dalek done with rattle cans then? Even more impressed if that's the case.

I am sure much better models than the thing you started this with have ended up in landfill, you have done your bit to save the planet and I am pleased by this.

Regards,

Nigel

[hendie]

yup, all rattle cans I'm afraid. They will probably end up being better than my attempts at airbrushing.

Y'know, I never thought of this as recycling, but I guess it is... and more recycling to come as I have an old helicopter lined up after this.