Jump to content

Tamiya 1/24 Ford Mustang GT4


Recommended Posts

Just starting a WIP thread for the new Tamiya Mustang GT4. I picked the kit up locally yesterday - I'll probably build this pretty much out of the box but not as a racer - just change colours and decals. 

 

Mustang1_1920x1080

 

The kit itself is pretty amazing - super tight fit, crisp moldings, nice glue tabs and all of the aero add-ons and splitters etc. are all molded as separate pieces, so masking will be reasonable. It would be nice if Tamiya made a street version but I'm not expecting it as the AMG GT3 has never had a companion road version. I think I can make this a roadish version but the glass is definitely race only - large black areas to cover the roll cage and molded in vents in the side windows and a reinforced rear window.

 

Mustang2_1920x1080

 

More soon hopefully.

 

Martin.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the aftermarket will jump on this one as there could be a lot a variations to build - the body is a good, clean base to start from and there's room to add a stock interior, photoetch mesh grills etc.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Progress! Started with a coat of Mr Color Surfacer 1500 and then Mr Color super white on the centre section of the body:

 

Mustang3_1920x1080

 

I wanted to do a double stripe like the factory Shelby GT350R so I scaled it out to 8mm wide per stripe with a 1.5mm gap down the middle. I cut a strip of tape to 1.5mm and ran it down the centre:

 

Mustang4_1920x1080

 

And used that to align the 8mm wide piece of tape for each stripe:
 

Mustang5_1920x1080

 

I had some Tamiya Light Blue Metallic TS-54 from the Prius build but I wanted to tweak it slightly to match a colour of a GT350R I saw online. I wasn't trying to match the factory color, just get closer to a steely blue that I saw in a photo. I decanted the spray and added some silver and a little bit of black and ended up with this:

 

Mustang6_1920x1080

 

And the moment of truth:

 

Mustang7_1920x1080

 

Not bad - definitely some paint build up at the edges of the masking tape, but I'm hoping a very gentle wet sand will clean that up. Good news is there was no bleed through or lifting of the white paint.

 

Mustang8_1920x1080

 

I'll let it dry for a day, wet sand and prep it for clear coat.

 

Martin.

  • Like 16
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That looks amazing, good to see it in a non OOB scheme (which are a bit uninspiring IMO)

 

I’d like to start mine but need to clear some builds first :(

Ill be using the livery editor on Gran Turismo to pick a scheme on the similar Grp.4 Mustang 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, chrisrope said:

That looks amazing, good to see it in a non OOB scheme (which are a bit uninspiring IMO)

 

I’d like to start mine but need to clear some builds first :(

Ill be using the livery editor on Gran Turismo to pick a scheme on the similar Grp.4 Mustang 

Good point re the stock paint scheme.  Dont really understand why Tamiya quite often go for understated scheme's. Their P38 comes to mind.  Fantastic kit but a bit dull.  Good luck with your builds!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, chrisrope said:

Ill be using the livery editor on Gran Turismo to pick a scheme on the similar Grp.4 Mustang 

I looked at the liveries people had done on Gran Turismo and there were definitely some cool ones - old Motorcraft style ones from the fox-body era would be pretty neat.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

Nice!!! What clear coat did you use? It doesn't look like it really needs any polishing.

Thanks Ben, I've been using the Mr Color Super Clear III - GX100, although I'm down to my last bottle and haven't found another reasonable supplier.

 

I've been working on getting my clear as smooth as possible on the final coat so that areas that I can't sand and polish - vents and scoops etc. are still shiny but I still polish the other areas, starting with 8000 grit to get rid of the fine orange peel in the surface. I've also got 2 dust specks on this one to get rid of.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, that clear coat look absolutely stunning, especially considering it's not been polished yet.  I can't get anywhere near that even after polishing!

I see you are using Mr Color Super Clear III - GX100,  can I ask what you use to thin it, and at what ratio?  I've recently purchased some Super Clear III and some Mr Colour Leveller Thinner, but haven't tried it yet as I'm unsure what mixing ratio to use.

 

Mark R

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, rtfxwp said:

can I ask what you use to thin it, and at what ratio?

Hey Mark,

 

Thanks for the comment! I've been using the Levelling Thinner at mostly a 3:1 thinner to clear ratio. I usually start with a couple of mist coats over the whole body to set the base coat. I then will do a couple of wet coats with my airbrush at around 10-12 psi. I've found the lower pressure stops the clear from drying too fast. The biggest thing I've had to get used to is how much you need to spray on to get a fluid wet coat of the clear - it's a bit of a balance between getting a wet coat and not getting runs. I'll usually do the last coat with the clear thinned at 3.5 parts thinner to 1 part clear to get it as smooth as possible. I've seen some people on youtube going to 4:1 but that was a bit hot for me and the thinner started to activate the previous paint layers.

 

I would recommend lacquer for your base colour as well to prevent any weird reactions between the lacquer clear and acrylic etc.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Martin.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Martin,

 

Thanks for the info on ratios and airbrush pressures and techniques, just the sort of info to encourage me to get in the shed and try out that Mr Color Clear and Levelling Thinners combo.  

Who knows, I might even manage a paint job worthy of showing on BM!!

 

Thanks again,

 

Mark

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Small update on the chassis so far. I'm building this pretty much out of the box with the exception of colours. I don't usually spend too much time on the undersides of my models as I hardly ever photograph them, but on this one I'm just trying to paint and assemble cleanly according to the instructions.
 

Mustang11_1920x1080

 

 

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paint has been lightly wet sanded with 8000 and polished but it's hard to see the difference on camera - also, the panel lines look huge in this shot but I think it's just because of the blur.
 

Mustang14_1920x1080

 

Masking and painting the side window frame next, which is the only masking on the body! Chassis has been completed, again, out of the box. The skid plate and diffusers cover up a lot of the painting I did but oh well. Also, these are some parts bin tires to replace the slicks so it feels more street oriented.
 

Mustang13_1920x1080

 

And the interior is done, again, just painting the kit pieces. There's a lot of room for added detail in the interior and Tamiya has modelled a lot of the pieces with plumbing hookups to make it easier to add tubes and wire. I kinda like how the dash looks lit up in this shot. 
 

Mustang12_1920x1080

 

Glass masking and painting and body assembly left. Thanks for looking.

 

 

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, this one came together pretty quickly in the end which is kind of what I wanted - a nice, clean, straightforward build. This is a pretty amazing kit, I haven't built any of the other recent Tamiya road cars but the attention to detail on this for assembly aids is awesome. Large glue tabs for windows and headlight covers, separate door handles with unique nub locations so you can't put the wrong one on the wrong side, I can't recommend this one enough - I think one completely blacked out would be awesome. 

 

Mustang15_1920x1080

 

There's also some cool features like decals in behind the turn signals in the front to simulate the orange bulbs behind the clear lens. This wasn't quite a blitzenbuild, but 10 days is the fastest I've finished a car since I've been building again. Here's a completed photo, I'll put some more over in the RFI section.

 

Mustang_Outside-1_1920x1080

 

Thanks for looking.

 

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...