Tamiya Honda Prelude XX

[johnlambert]

Between 1998 and 2008 I owned a number of Honda Preludes; three third generation and one fifth generation model.  I've not seen any models of either type although I understand there is a rare kit of the 3rd gen Prelude out there somewhere.  This Tamiya kit of the 2nd generation Honda Prelude was picked up from a small model shop in Evesham when I saw it at a reasonable price.  The appearance didn't change much between the 2nd and 3rd generation models, although few parts were carried over and an uncle of mine had one of these 2nd gen cars many years ago.

 

 

The main parts of the body were sprayed dark blue - a similar colour to my first Prelude.

 

It looks a little grainy, not sure if it's supposed to be like that (IIRC it's a pearl or metallic finish and needs lacquer).

 

Engine bay needs another coat, body was united just to check fit.

 

More grain on the boot lid.

 

The instructions call for the underside to be painted mostly the same colour as the upper body.  Inner wings will get a coat of satin black and I think there's a silver exhaust heat shield to paint and the petrol tank probably needs some colour too.

 

Interior parts mostly painted, the instructions called for two-tone grey, which again is very similar to the car I owned.  I think it was brushed with Tamiya acylics.

 

Bumpers in metallic grey.  Not sure how to do the indicators, it's a pity they're just moulded in.

 

Suspension and dash top, pity about the broken tie rod, not quite sure how to fix.

 

Cooling fan reasonably well picked out against the radiator matrix.

 

Engine, I'm tempted to try adding plug leads to bring it to life.

 

 

I think I experimented with dry brushing silver on the flat aluminium gearbox casing to give it a bit more life, I think it looks OK.

 

Decals and glazing, still in the plastic bag.  I think the digital dash (oh so '80s) was for the Japanese market only.

 

Nice satin-finish for the wheels, but they need some black paint to pick out the surround to the "H" on the centre cap.

 

Where now?

 

Finish the body; light rub down, another colour coat, clear coat. details

Paint the underside

Assemble the interior

Assemble the underside

Final assembly.

 

 

 

[johnlambert]

I couldn't get more of the original paint used, so I've had to go with the closest match I could find.

 

I don't have anywhere else to spray so it has to be done in my back garden.  Everything looks good in the sunshine.

 

Not sure if this colour suits me!

 

Back indoors, it still looks OK.

 

 

 

[Anteater]

That broken tie rod should glue together fine, I wouldn't worry about that. The indicators moulded into the front bumper are easy to do - just use the smallest brush you have and paint them bright silver, then 3 or 4 coats of clear orange and they'll look good.

 

 

[johnlambert]

I've been messing around with other bits on the Prelude.

 

The seat backs are a pretty poor fit.

 

Still that's what filler is for, right?

 

A bit of sanding down and making smooth.

 

Then I got to thinking, both seats are identical and I wanted to see how they compared to photos of actual seats.

 

On the real thing the outer seat bolster is squarer at the bottom and overhangs the reclining mechanism.  I think I'll also need to add the seatbelt clip that is mounted on the inner edge of the seat.

 

I've added some plasticard to try and build up the shape of the bolster to something more accurate.  You probably won't be able to see on the finished car but at least I'll know it's correct.

 

I've also started to assemble the radiator.

[Mr Mansfield]

Looking good. What colour did you paint the body with (and did it cover the orange peel)?

[johnlambert]

9 minutes ago, Mr Mansfield said:

Looking good. What colour did you paint the body with (and did it cover the orange peel)?

Thanks.  The new paint is VW Night Blue, which went on really smoothly over the lightly flatted old paint.  The metallic flakes are a bit coarse really (to be expected) but I was buying blind from Halfords web site and this looked like the best dark metallic blue available off the shelf.

 

I just hope I don't mess it up when I spray on the lacquer.

[Mr Mansfield]

Good luck! I’ve found Halfords Clear does go on really well, just a little thick

[johnlambert]

More work on the Prelude over the last few days.  Underside masked up to spray parts satin black as indicated in the instructions. 

 

 

It's a tricky shape to mask with lots of lumps and bumps but Tamiya masking tape is pretty good stuff.  Painting was with an airbrush and Tamiya acrylic paint.

 

Peeling away the tape, it appears the black has gone where it was wanted.  The exhaust heat shield was painted silver with a marker pen, I've got a finer-tip silver pen on its way to do the missing bit.

[johnlambert]

I also sprayed some lacquer on the body.

 

The bonnet turned out nicely.

 

The main body, not so much...

It's as though none of the lacquer even went near it.  I don't know what I did wrong, suggestions welcome.

[Anteater]

This might sounds obvious, but perhaps it needs more coats of lacquer? If you were spraying from a rattle can and outside, it doesn't take much breeze to blow lacquer off-course. With it being clear coat you can't always see when it's covered sufficiently.

[gt6mkiii]

My 2 cents on car body painting is that I've now switched to lacquer for every stage - primer, colour and clear. I'm not familiar with what kind of paint Halfords is so I don't know if there's an issue with it and the lacquer top coat. 

 

[johnlambert]

10 hours ago, Anteater said:

This might sounds obvious, but perhaps it needs more coats of lacquer? If you were spraying from a rattle can and outside, it doesn't take much breeze to blow lacquer off-course. With it being clear coat you can't always see when it's covered sufficiently.

Thanks.  I sprayed the parts one after the other and I use a big cardboard box as a makeshift spray booth to try and give shelter from the wind, but it's possible.  I'll give it a gentle rub down and try again.

[Spiny]

Assuming that you did get enough paint on it, the other possibility is that it may be temperature related. Did you spray it mid afternoon in the sun when things are at their warmest? Just asking as if it's too warm the paint can dry before hitting the surface (or just after and before it smooths out) leaving a rough gritty texture.

[johnlambert]

4 minutes ago, Spiny said:

Assuming that you did get enough paint on it, the other possibility is that it may be temperature related. Did you spray it mid afternoon in the sun when things are at their warmest? Just asking as if it's too warm the paint can dry before hitting the surface (or just after and before it smooths out) leaving a rough gritty texture.

It was around midday yesterday, so maybe just a bit too warm?  Still not sure why the bonnet turned out OK.

[Spiny]

It does seem odd that it only affected one and not the other. I have to admit that I try to keep spraying down to when it's below 25 degrees in the garage (although on one occasion I did try it at 28 degrees and it was ok). The main reason I've avoided that goes back to one of the earliest episodes of Wheeler Dealers (the one with the Capri) where it was too warm in the garage and it ended up with dull wings - I've tried to apply that lesson to my models but have no idea what an upper temperature is.

 

I usually find that high humidity can be a bigger threat to a good paint job, although unsurprisingly I believe the effects of that don't match what you've experienced.

[Mr Mansfield]

Nice work on the undercarriage. It’s not easy to tell 8n the pictures, but as someone who’s used Halfords Clear a few times, I would say it looks like it needs a few more coats 

[johnlambert]

I'm making progress, slowly.

 

A little more work on reshaping the seats.

 

It's going to take a coat of paint to see how well the reshaping has gone.

 

I've also waved an airbrush of semi-gloss black at various parts.

 

A few more bits of detailing; chrome to go under clear orange for the indicators and semi-gloss black for the transmission quadrant.

 

And chrome on the door mirrors.

 

I know it's not terribly exciting but it's better than nothing.

[Alan R]

I had this kit a very long time ago. Wish I had never thrown it out, but tried to restore it . Ah well...

 

Cheers,

Alan.

[FunkyChiken]

Looks like a cool kit, it's coming along nicely!

[Mr Mansfield]

That's some dedication on the seats! It's one of those things that make the whole car feel right when you build it

 

What are you using for your chroming? Its a good finish for small areas

[johnlambert]

2 hours ago, Mr Mansfield said:

That's some dedication on the seats! It's one of those things that make the whole car feel right when you build it

 

What are you using for your chroming? Its a good finish for small areas

Thanks for the comment

 

This is what I use, it's my favourite new "toy" for modelling jobs.

[Mr Mansfield]

16 hours ago, johnlambert said:

This is what I use, it's my favourite new "toy" for modelling jobs

Ahah! I have one these too, but my last build didn't have much chrome. Haven't tried it over masking tape yet

[Alan R]

3 hours ago, Mr Mansfield said:

Haven't tried it over masking tape yet

Hi Mr Mansfield,

 

I masked up the brightwork on my BMW 750iL and then decanted some Molotow Chrome and applied with a micro-brush. It doesn't do anything to the tape and I got no leak-through.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

 

[Mr Mansfield]

18 minutes ago, Alan R said:

Hi Mr Mansfield,

 

I masked up the brightwork on my BMW 750iL and then decanted some Molotow Chrome and applied with a micro-brush. It doesn't do anything to the tape and I got no leak-through.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

 

Thanks Alan, good to know

[Spiny]

Sorry for dragging this further away from the Prelude, but just to confirm that it (Molotow Chrome pen) works pretty well up against masking tape, and if you do get a bit creeping under a lifted bit of tape a cocktail stick should be able to scrape off the extra without damaging the paint, particularly if you soak the end of the stick to soften it a little. For photo evidence of how well it works with Tamiya 2mm masking tape, here's one I made (a lot) earlier: