Jasonb13 Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 Progress slowly continues... Now that I've done the engine cowling and have a sense of the steps to do a half and half piece, I decided to do the nose next. It's actually cut in half vertically, so I can do one half fully without having to worry about masking the clear half. Just as I was about to start on the nose I decided to make the painting side of things a little more efficient, so I also cut out the reminder of the small clear parts that are going to be painted, to do them all at the same time. I spent a while cleaning all the pin marks, which wasn't as successful as I'd like as some of them are awkward to get to! Then I assembled a couple of parts that could be done before painting. Then I primed the inside black, masked that and then primed the outside pink and the put some red down. Here's the little collection of painted parts... Next up for these parts, hopefully this evening, is some gloss. Then that can dry before I put decals on the outside, and carbon fibre decals on the inside. More gloss on the outside and they're all done too. I have a couple of little touch-ups to do. The Marlboro decal on the side of the engine cowling cracked a little, so I'm going to put another part of a decal over the crack and that should take care of that. I'm also waiting for replacement decals for some small decals that died on me. And I have to clean up, as best I can, the clear halves of those parts painted in the pic above, lots of awkward pin marks there to take care of. I also have to face the fact that then I can't really avoid the monocoque itself any longer. It, and two other smaller parts that attach to it, is the last clear part really. Though it's probably also the most awkward to clean the pins marks from and mask, due to its complex shape. So it's not going to be fun getting that part done. But, all that said, I also have to be a bit positive here, I spent so much time on the carbon fibre decals and the engine etc. as I was avoiding the clear parts. Now I'm actually tackling them and slowly getting through them. It's a while away, but once the monocoque is finished, the back is well and truly broken on this build, and after that it'll be a good bit of *very* careful gluing and assembly and some little jobs. It's funny, after telling myself I'd have this build done for this show, or that show, and missing the deadline every time, I might finally finish it in a year when all the shows are cancelled! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 On 3/18/2019 at 4:43 PM, Jasonb13 said: Ah, but if you work bigger you need better skills! Nothing wrong with your skills by the looks And bigger is far easier to do belive me 😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 Thanks! I tend to advise people not to zoom in too close with my pictures! Got the gloss (for decals) done last night on the red. Next up is some gloss on the inside of those parts and then the carbon fibre decals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 A little more progress and a few more pictures. Hope I'm not dumping too many pictures up here, but seeing the progress keeps my mojo going! Started putting the carbon fibre decals inside the parts I'd painted. Lots of complex curves and awkward shapes, but MicroSol is my friend. Here's a little bit on the rear side of the intake (with MircoSol still drying)... And inside the nose didn't work out too badly, considering how awkward the curves are there... As you can see, there's a clear part sticking out! The nose consists of two halves, and a small section that glues into the bottom of both of them. So I glued it in and then masked one half of it. That clear part needs to be polished a bit more. I also did a quick dry fit with the other side of the nose, which also needs to be polished more! Finally for today, one of the hardest things with this build is keeping track of where I am and what still has to be done, as well as figuring out where do I paint, where do I mask etc., as clearly I'm no longer following the instructions. So, today I noticed that I'd forgotten to put on some red stripe decals along the side of the undertray section. It's basically a transition line from the black of the undertray to the red of the side of the car. So I put them on. Of course, they cracked (as that's what the decals do on this kit) but I can cover the cracks with spares. One advantage of doing half of the build clear is that I have spare decals that I'm not using! That's it for now, work continues slowly! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 So 5 weeks later, and I haven't gone near the bench at all. But yesterday I went to a local club meeting for the first time in I don't know how long, and today decided it was time for Operation Finish the wiffling Ferrari! (Edit: Wiffling? Is that what the profanity check went with? ) So I spent a few hours today finally getting every clear part cleaned up and removing the injection pin marks as best I can. They're not perfect, but at this stage they'll do! I also had a pic on my phone from last month that I hadn't put up, the decals on the nose. It almost felt sacrilegious cutting the Ferrari badge in half! Anyhow, next step, hopefully tomorrow, is masking the clear parts that need to be half painted. I will finish this build! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 Next bit done. With some of the clear parts cleaned up, I was able to glue them to their painted halves. Here are a couple of them... As can be seen, the clear parts are nowhere near as clear as I'd like, and I don't think they're going to improve much more. But to be honest, at this stage I just want this build done, so standards are dropping. I also got the monocoque and the headrest section masked, with the half that's gonna be clear covered. This was pretty awkward with all the complex curves and shapes on the inside. Since taking that picture I also got the left hand side primed with black. Well, the inside of it anyhow, the outside on the left was further masked before the black, as pink primer will be going there. So as of tonight I have the inside primed black, and next is to mask that off and then prime the outside pink and then put down some red over it. I'll hopefully get the masking done tomorrow, not sure about the primer/paint though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Have you had a go at the clear parts with Micromesh and/or polishing paste? Granted it will be a good bit of work, but either or a mix of those could help you get that clarity you wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Spiny said: Have you had a go at the clear parts with Micromesh and/or polishing paste? Granted it will be a good bit of work, but either or a mix of those could help you get that clarity you wanted. Yep, I've been micro-meshing the hell out of them! Unfortunately the shape of the parts make it quite hard to get a great finish on them. But Ultra Gloss etc. will help. I got the monocoque primed and painted today, and unmasked the lot, and here's how it looks... Just one issue that I can see. The demarcation line from about halfway along the top of the monocoque back to the cockpit is off centre, it goes a bit too much to the left (from the front). It's not by much, maybe a mm at the cockpit sill, but it's noticeable. So I'll be doing more masking and a little more spraying to get it back on centre. It could have been worse, it could have been to the right and then I'd be trying to scrap away paint! So I thought I was finished painting the red, but not quite yet! However, a little bit of dry-fitting shows the rest lines up nicely (and also shows the difference the gloss can make on the nose)... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 Another day, another bit done! Got the templates made for the Carbon Fibre sections inside the monocoque (you can see them on the left on the cutting mat) and also some Ultra Gloss on lots of pieces. The Monocoque only has one coat, as it'll be getting decals before the final coats. As can be seen below, the Ultra Gloss has really helped the clear parts. However, it has also rather annoyingly highlighted a 'rough' area on the top front of the monocoque that isn't as clear as the rest (why is it always in the obvious places?). As much as it means more work, I just don't think I can live with it, it's too obvious, especially as the rest of it is nice and clear. So, I think the next step is more micro-meshing, just on that section (though I'm not even sure if it's on the inside or the outside!) and then I'll do decals and more Ultra Gloss. I won't get near the bench next week, but I'll get what I can done this weekend. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 And another update! Am really trying to make good progress on this! Have spent most of the day working on the monocoque. I sanded/polished the inside AND outside of that front top section of the monocoque, and I'm not certain, but I think those marks are still there! I might just have to live with them. I also got all the decals on it, first the outside ones... and also all the carbon fibre on the inside... I remember ages ago discussing on this thread if I'd bother putting carbon fibre on the inside. Well, I did. It wasn't too awkward, as I realised that it didn't have to be perfect as it will only be viewed through the clear plastic from the outside, so it will be a little distorted. Which means I could cut it into easier sections that didn't have to have the pattern matching up perfectly. Anyhow, that's where the monocoque is now, I've put more Guazy over the recently sanded section to seal it against the Ultra Gloss. I also did carbon fibre decals on some little bits (onboard Cameras, a side mirror etc.) and they're currently drying. And, while doing some gloss on a, I don't know, lets call it a side spoiler, yesterday, it dropped and landed in a pile of dust, which I didn't notice stuck like hell to the wet gloss. So I sanded that down again today, masked it carefully and repainted it, ready for gloss. All that means that I should be in a position tomorrow to spray the final couple of coats of Ultra Gloss on the monocoque and the little bits and pieces, and then leave it for a few days as I'm not going to get near it. Which means, when I do get back to the bench next weekend, it's time to start assembling the whole bloody thing! Still a good bit of work to do, but let's face it, the back is broken in this build. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 Ok, last update for a little while as I'm away from the bench for a few days. I always take a pic of a certain point of my builds, when I've most of the stuff made/painted etc and it now 'just' needs to all go together. I've actually managed to reach that part of this build (or at least I will once I've done the last coats of Gloss today) so here's the pic... Still a lot to do here, and I'll need to be very careful about adding glue to all these painted/decalled/glossed parts, but the finish line it almost in sight! Who knows, maybe in a week or two, depending on how much time I get at the bench once I'm back. Can't believe this will soon be done, I started it in July 2018! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I love seeing all the model parts laid out like that. I'm looking forward to the assembly and seeing the finished model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 Thanks! Got the Ultra Gloss done and now it's all drying. Have spotted one snag though. The side of the intake pod is made up of two parts, and it's hollow between them, and open at one end. For the clear parts, I have to coat them in normal gloss first, or the Ultra Gloss makes the clear plastic opaque. Can you see where I'm going with this? I had the two parts stuck together, and the outside glossed before the Ultra Gloss, but not the inside, and Ultra Gloss got into the hole at the botton. So now a section of the inside is a little opaque. I've left it alone for now, and I'll see how I feel about it when I'm back at the bench. I reckon it should be possible to just separate the parts again (hopefully the UV Resin hasn't suddenly become really strong!) and clean them both up and then gloss and Ultra Gloss them separately before gluing them again. That will give me a clear section again. As it happens, it's not really bad, but it's noticeably cloudier than any of the other clear parts, so it'll stand out. Anyhow, not a big issue really, and I'll deal with it next weekend! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 Back at the bench this evening, and I've made a little progress. Actually started gluing some bits together, which was nice! Have started with the monocoque, and its internals. 'Cos once they're all added, I can glue the monocoque to the base and then build all the rest around it. So here's how it looks now... Have decided that I'm not happy with the two clear halves of the side pod, so I'm stripping them back again and then glossing them again, it shouldn't take too long apart from waiting for them to dry. Have also put some matt on one half of the front suspension pieces and more gloss on the other, to match with the rear ones. And I realised I'm actually missing a part, just a small rod that connects the front underside of the monocoque with the upper side of the underboard (if that makes sense). I must have accidentally thrown it out at some stage. I should be able to make one out of brass or aluminium rod easily enough, with some carbon fibre decals on it (thus basically making it an inanimate carbon rod! ). Next up will be gluing the monocoque onto the rest of the base to make it one unit, hopefully tomorrow! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 More work done, less parts remaining to be added! After some touch-ups, and respraying the clear side pods, I figured out that adding the side pods first and then adding the lot to the chassis was the best way to go. Am trying my best not to rush things now and to take my time and not miss anything, or mess it up! I also covered some aluminium tubing with carbon fibre decals for the missing rod, and that finally meant I could attach the monocoque to the chassis... With that finally done, I was able to finish the engine bay, gluing the electrical boxes (i.e. to small pieces of styrene with the cables going into them) onto the back of the monocoque, and tidying up the cables/tubes a little. Then I moved on to the front suspension, which was a little finicky, but I have that done now too. I dry-fitted the wheels for the craic, and here's how it looks... I must admit, it's very strange seeing it on wheels! Anyhow, next step is some more touch-ups and small fixes, and then adding the front nose and front wing. Then it's the back wing and various little pieces. The end is nigh! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 Hmmm... Got more done yesterday, but it wasn't a smooth day. I noticed that the four wheels didn't all touch the ground. After some careful consideration I managed to disconnect one of the suspension arms and shorten it a smidge, and then carefully connect it again. It's now sitting properly, so that's good. I got the side barge boards fitted (if that's what they're called?) and the intake. I then fitted the nose. After I fitted it, I noticed two issues. Firstly, some paint has smudged on the top of the nose, and the secondly a section of the inside of the nose on the clear half has fogged up! I'm not sure how either happened, maybe using superglue to attach the nose caused the fogging, I don't know. The inside of the clear part was coated with gloss, so not sure why would it fog up. Anyhow, I decided to step away and look with fresh eyes in the morning. And today I'm going to decide if I'm going to try to remove the nose again and work on it, or just live with it. Either way, here's how it looks right now... Apart from dealing with those issues, I'm going to need to put some extra red and carbon fibres decals along the edges of the car, where bits have rubbed or cracked off. I'm going to leave that until near the very end though. I'm also thinking of reapplying the foil inside the engine cover, as it got rather scrunched the last time. And I've ordered some polishing solution which was recommended here on BM, as with all the handling I need to do to glue all these parts on, the shine is losing its lustre, even if I wear gloves. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 A little update on this. Managed to get the nose off without causing any issues. If I had to guess I'd say the paint smudge was a fingerprint with some glue on it! Thankfully it's small, I'm polishing it out as best I can now and as the nose is off I can respray the gloss too. As for the fogged up part, a coat of Gauzy hasn't fixed the issue. I might try to clean it with WD40, and if that doesn't work, it might need to be re-glossed. Which effectively means splitting the nose in half again so I can get to it. I'll see what I end up doing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share Posted July 30, 2020 So here's where the nose is now... The WD40 didn't help, and I could actually feel the inside of the nose was rougher where it was fogged. So I bit the bullet and separated them again. Then began the long process of cleaning up the clear part of the nose. The 2K Ultra Gloss actually comes off in little sections of thin sheet with some persuasion, like carefully using a new scalpel blade, so I've started working on removing all the Ultra Gloss, and I'm hoping that will take the rough section with it. Then I'll sand/polish it all down again, and the gloss it again! At least now I will be glossing it on its own, not attached to the other half, so it'll be a lot easier to do the inside evenly etc. Having the painted half of the nose on its own again also gives me a chance to try to fix some issues there too, like the remnants of the aforementioned smudge and the small chip on the very bottom left of the nose in the picture above, with the primer showing through. If I'm very careful (as there are decals on that painted part!) I might be able to do some light sanding/polishing, a little respraying of some red and then more gloss on that as well. It's a bit frustrating having to deal with this when I'm probably only a couple of days from the end of the build, but the fogged part was really annoying me, especially in such a prominent place, so I might as well try to improve it, and hopefully not make it worse! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 From bad to worse! With the clear half of the nose, I now have it soaking in an IPA bath, which is apparently the best thing to remove all the Ultra Gloss, and once that's done for a couple of days I'll try to get it cleaned up as best as possible. As a backup, I'm having my LMS check on the availability of a spare sprue from the kit if needed. But, another wrench in the works! While at the LMS, I actually managed to lose the painted half of the nose! It's so strange, we had a good look for it, and it's like it literally disappeared, we just couldn't find it. On the off chance that maybe I didn't actually bring it with me, I came back home to check, but it's not here. So I've to head back to the shop tomorrow and search again. So much hassle so close to the end of the build! 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Tough luck. I hope you will be able to retrieve it from the shop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 Thanks, hopefully I'll find it tomorrow. If not, I'll have to try to get another sprue with the nose section on it, AND more decals as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Well, some good news, I finally found the painted half of the nose, though it took a while and I'd given up and just decided to poke my head in one more place before leaving the LMS! Back home with that piece, I masked the decals carefully and gave the rest of it a bit of a sand/polish and respray to fix some areas that weren't great. Took the masks off and it all looks good, and ready for gloss. I also put some decals on the car chassis/underbody where the carbon fibre/red body decals had rubbed off or cracked off after being handled for a couple of years, so that's looking much better. And the clear half of the nose is in its IPA bath until probably tomorrow or Monday and then I'll see if I can get it coming up lovely again or not. If I can, I'm back on track! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 A little bit of an update. I took the clear half out of the IPA and gave it another good sand/polish/gloss/ultra gloss etc. It came out pretty well, but there was a little bit of 'white' or less clear section, on the inside corner between the top section and the side. You can kinda see it here... I thought I'd give it another go, so yet another round of IPA/sand/polish/gloss/ultra gloss followed. I think I was able to remove some of that section of unclearness (if you know what I mean!) but at this stage I'm not sure if I'm scrapping away old gloss that didn't come off as it's stuck in that corner, or if I'm scrapping away plastic! I only got the Ultra Gloss done today, so I will look at it again tomorrow. Chasing up alternatives with my LMS tells me I can get a replacement sprue from the kit that comes with the nose for about £8, but there's a 3-4 month wait for it. I've also found the full kit, unopened, for about €60 online, which is a lot of money when all I want is one piece! So, my plan is to see how the nose is tomorrow, and then unless I'm really not happy with it, I'll go with it and stick it on with the resin glue, which is easier to remove again, so that if I end up getting a new clear half, I can remove the old one! That way the build isn't stalled for 4 months (I don't think I could handle waiting that long!). So that's where I am. Hopefully the nose isn't looking too bad tomorrow (though at this stage so much work has been done on it that it's showing little stress marks in the plastic) and I can make the final push to get this finished! While waiting for the nose, I did some checks to make sure the side mirrors, aerials etc, will fit without any issues. More soon hopefully... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Well, I think the nose actually turned out pretty well, considering what it (and I!) have been through! Here's how it looks this morning... It's not perfect and there are issues if you look at it the right way, in the right light, but ain't that true for every build? I'm happy enough with it anyhow. The finish line is definitely in sight, if the front wing goes on without being too awkward then my next post will be the link to the RFI post! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoolioPaulio Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Looks awesome, can't wait to see the RFI for this. I think your hard work and persistence has paid off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now