Aston Martin DBR9 Airfix

[Johnny Tip]

49 minutes ago, johnlambert said:

 But don't worry, 009 will return (OK, that's a bit tenuous but I'm sure some of you will get it). 

I certainly don't want to hijack your thread, but now I just can't resist to show what I did with the kit.

Tamiya's 1/24 edition was too great a model to destroy, so I reworked the DBR9...

 

On with the racing version, like what I see!

[johnlambert]

@Johnny Tip no problem, I like that! 

[Cooper645]

@johnlambert I am currently working on (have been on and off for some time) on this very kit myself. Its nearing completion and will likely get a detailed RFI post showing the parts before assembly as detail will be lost.... any how I digress. I too found the wheels a total nightmare, I started trying to make straight lines go round corners and quickly realised a different approach was needed at this scale.

 

I ended up purchasing a £7 circle cutter off Fleabay and then simply sprayed the whole wheel the silver and then circle masked the centres and sprayed the tyres.

 

Still a WIP at the moment but here's a pic to show how that method is working out for me.

 

Great stuff with the build and look forward to seeing it finished.

 

[johnlambert]

@Cooper645 thanks for the advice, I have a circle cutter so I might try and use it.

 

For now, I've tried touching in the wheels manually.

 

They don't actually look as bad in real life,  I'm not sure how long to keep fighting with these?  I've also got to apply the Michelin decals, so I guess the wheels will need some gloss or satin varnish?  Then a matt varnish over the top.

 

Other jobs include adding the glazing and headlamps. 

 

Surrounds were Halfords generic gloss black and the lenses are Molotow liquid chrome from a pen.

 

I've also sprayed the spoiler and front bumper with gloss black.

 

I must admit the temptation is to try and get this one finished and out of the way as quickly as possible.  I'm not sure it's going to represent my best work.  It was always more of an experiment to see how I got on with the kit, rather than a model I was keen to build for its own sake.

[Windy37]

Hi John . You mentioned using a  Molotow pen . Was it easy to use , and does the finish look silver / chrome enough ? Thinking of getting one for the wheel rims on the Manta I’m building . Good work BTW . 
 Gary . 

[johnlambert]

13 hours ago, Windy37 said:

Hi John . You mentioned using a  Molotow pen . Was it easy to use , and does the finish look silver / chrome enough ? Thinking of getting one for the wheel rims on the Manta I’m building . Good work BTW . 
 Gary . 

 

Hi Gary,  Thanks for the comment.

You can get an excellent, almost mirror finish from the Molotow pen.  The main things to consider are; a smooth surface on the part, apply a single coat and leave it well alone until it is thoroughly dry.  You can also apply the chrome with a brush, which I've done where the pen nib isn't fine enough.  I've not tried airbrushing but I believe others on here have.

[Toftdale]

Hi John, I bought this kit years ago as it was cheap, but quickly dismissed and it's now lingering at the bottom of the stack (at my current build rate, I estimate I be about 107 when I tackle it).  However after seeing this it might be going up a few places.  It is probably almost too late to tell you this (hopefully your already aware), but on all the built ones I've seen the Aston badge on the main stripe decal does not line up with the raised detail on the bonnet.  From what I seen the easiest way around this is to file off the detail.  Andy

[johnlambert]

@Toftdale thanks Andy.

 

First decals are on.

 

I've also got the rear lights in place, these are a pain to mask but it helps that you can paint the clear red on the inside and it still looks quite effective.  I'm less impressed by whoever thought it was a good idea to make that orange decal a single piece.  Oh and I don't think the badge on the boot lines up with the decal either (I didn't file that one off although I have on the bonnet).

[johnlambert]

A few more little bits to move this forward.

 

Mock up with the wheels,

 

And the other side.  It always feels like a good step when you can see the car with the wheels on.

 

Adding some of the decals that might be hard to reach when the body goes together.

 

Sill decals.  The side windows don't want to fit.

 

The sills are a complex shape, which doesn't make decal placement easy.

[Sabrejet]

Looks lovely but I think your lens needs cleaning!

[johnlambert]

8 minutes ago, Sabrejet said:

Looks lovely but I think your lens needs cleaning!

Strangely enough I looked at my phone today and spotted the state of the camera lens. I've cleaned it now, so I hope the photos (if not the modelling) will improve as a result.

[johnlambert]

Another tiny increment.

 

The painting guide suggests the windows have black surrounds, so I'd better try and represent this.

 

I've also added a little gloss clear as a base where the tyre decals would go.  These have also been copiously coated in setting solution   Tomorrow I'll spray over some matt varnish or something.  The wheels don't rotate so I've tried to place the decals to give a suggestion of movement by adopting a slightly different placement for each one.

[Sabrejet]

Ooh clear as a bell and looking good even through frosted glass

[Pouln]

Becoming a really nice model, John. You’re making good progress (and cleaning the lens made a big difference 😉

[johnlambert]

We're approaching a crucial part of the build.  The wheels are on, so it will soon be time to unite the body and chassis.

 

Said wheels have a coat of matt lacquer (Halfords rattle can).

 

Wheels dry fitted to the chassis plate.  The wheels are static and there's no real attempt to replicate the suspension, but it does hold the wheels securely and you can tweak the positions slightly to get the car sitting on all four tyres.

 

I wasn't completely happy that the wooden block was actually square, so I substituted a glass shelf as a (hopefully) level surface.  Humbrol Liquid Poly was used to secure the wheels, mainly because it's thin and gets drawn into the mountings under capillary action.

 

Before gluing I loosely placed the body on, just to make sure the wheels didn't stick out too far or do anything silly like that.

 

I am a bit worried that it will need clamping down firmly to ensure the body and chassis fit without any ugly gaps.

 

Final pit for now was adding the wheel arch liners and you can see where I masked and painted some satin black on the inside of the car's driver-side window.  I'm going to leave the plastic to set over night before I go any further.  I must remember to put the interior on the chassis before I glue the body in place  

[Cooper645]

progressing nicely, looks like the matt has taken the shine off the tyres a treat in that last pic. still got some more decals to go as well huh, that front one is a bit of a pig. 

 

much better images with the clean lens.

 

coops

[johnlambert]

I think we're round that last corner and into the final straight.

 

Interior added to the chassis.  I also discovered that the front inner wings too far inboard (pay close attention to the instructions if you are building this kit).  Thankfully it was easy enough to break the bond of the glue and re-attach the inner wing panels.

 

While trial fitting the body the windscreen fell out, which gave a perfect opportunity to mask it up and paint the edges.  I used some Tamiya masking tape for curves and some X18 Semi-Gloss Black paint, applied to the inside of the glass.  It looks quite neat, I think.

 

Glass installed.

 

It takes a bit of effort but the glass does actually pop right in to the body to sit flush, which I didn't manage before.

 

Finally, uniting the upper and lower halves of the car, the body is not a great fit so I've done what I can to hold the halves together while the glue sets.  I've used Revell Contacta cement.

[Spiny]

Looking good there,albeit a bit brutal in holding the body down. If it doesn't work with the Contacta you could try CA - that's what I had to do with the XJ220 as the polycement didn't hold it. Fingers crossed once dry it's held since so obviously quite a bit stronger bond

[Toftdale]

16 hours ago, johnlambert said:

Very ingenious,  you need to Patent this! Here's hoping the glue holds 🙏 

[johnlambert]

It is time to go through the last few steps to finish this build.

 

First thing this morning, the glue didn't hold.

 

Superglue and squeezing to the rescue.  I decided that this was as good as it was going to get.

 

More superglue was used to hold on the rear wing.

 

Headlamp covers added, these don't fit terribly whell.  I should have test fitted the complete lamp assembly before fitting the body.  Ah well, you live and learn.

 

Then there's that front decal.  I'm not even sure I want to talk about that decal, it's just too traumatic.

 

The orange stripe above the doors is also tricky to apply.  The Hackett decals really seem to complete the look of the rear wing.

 

Door and front wing decals applied, they went on pretty well.

 

The windscreen decals weren't too bad to apply.

 

Other side and the roof antennae added.  The antennae broke really easily and the holes needed opening out.

 

The windscreen wiper also snapped and had to be glued back together.  The dashboard is covered in swarf as the hole in the windscreen had to be enlarged.

 

Rear three quarter view is quite pleasing.  You can just make out one of many tiny yellow arrow decals and also see that I've managed to rub off part of the orange stripe.

 

That bonnet decal and more of those tiny yellow arrows.

 

I'm not sure it's my best work but there is a certain satisfaction in completing the build.

 

I think this might be the better side.

 

Definitely happy to see the back end of this build.  I'll probably try and apply some more setting solution to the front decal and take some more pretty pictures tomorrow.

[Cooper645]

A nice little build. Came together well. Plenty of micro sol did the job for me, and I also had dramas with the decals. Tamiya orange was a pretty close match and I used that to touch up the areas I had problems. 
 

i normally leave the wipers etc till the end so good to know I need to test fit it before mating shell to chassis. 
 

 

[klubman01]

That looked like a somewhat traumatic build?  Despite the problems you encountered, the end result looks really good.

Trevor

[Pouln]

John, you created a very nice looking model. I gather it was not easy but the result is fine. You should be content/satisfied with it.

[johnlambert]

Trying out my old digital camera instead of my phone camera and looking at the decals on the Aston.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've attacked the decals with setting solution and nicked some of the edges of the carrier film with a scalpel blade to help them settle around some of the tight curves.

[johnlambert]

I've taken some pretty pictures of this one, I think I've done all I can.