Ebbro 1/20 Lotus 72e

[nearsightedjohn]

Hey Martin,

Thank you for your very timely response to my paint questions. I tried your suggestion and airbrushed the exhaust headers today with Tamiya XF-85 Black Rubber and then rubbed then down with my oily fingers - they look much closer to the black headers shown Cosworth DFV reference photos than semi-gloss black or rubbed flat black Ive used in past builds- much thanks!
 

On the subject of “best base paints to use beneath Alclad metallizers”, I’m still in search of the holy grail. I’ve used Testors black enamel thinned with mineral spirits and shot thru an airbrush for many auto and aircraft BMF’s but it sometimes take a number of days to fully cure and lately it seems like it is still soft/ gummy after even a week depending on the bottle. I’ve switched over to spraying Tamiya TS-14 Gloss Black lacquer rattle can paint as a base Alclad which cures much faster and eliminates the multi day wait to spray - so far so good. My experience with Alclad is that it is forever fragile regardless of base paint, particularly the high shine chrome, polished aluminum and airframe aluminum. Alclad sells a gloss clear coat which I’ve never used and read it can diminish the shine somewhat. My own conclusion with Alclad is try to avoid touching it with finger tips during and after the build. Despite the technical hurdles and fragility, I think Alclad, Barr metal foil or even silver paint looks better IMO than kit provided chrome plated parts which, unless used sparely or of rare quality, generally screams “TOY!!!!” to my eyes on the finished model.

John

[gt6mkiii]

2 hours ago, nearsightedjohn said:

I think Alclad, Barr metal foil or even silver paint looks better IMO than kit provided chrome plated parts

I would agree - it also allows you to remove seam lines - this Lotus kit in particular had a mold seam line across the top of the roll hoop that I couldn't live with seeing. I stripped the chrome and smoothed it out before spraying the Gloss Black/Alclad Chrome.

[dnl42]

Outstanding build! 

[Steve Noble]

Beautiful build and photography, model looks stunning!!