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Two for one; Tamiya Fiat 500 and Fiat Abarth 695 esse esse


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Didn't you buy some of that sticky backed felt stuff for your Jaguar build? Having owned several cars with stripped interiors, a bit of thin carpet goes a long way to damping the noise just a bit without reintroducing too much weight.

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4 minutes ago, Anteater said:

Didn't you buy some of that sticky backed felt stuff for your Jaguar build? Having owned several cars with stripped interiors, a bit of thin carpet goes a long way to damping the noise just a bit without reintroducing too much weight.

I've not bought any carpet for my Jaguar although I'd like to get some.

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13 hours ago, johnlambert said:

 I'll have a think about how to put a floor mat in at least for the driver.

Hi John, great progress (you've obviously enjoying the build).  I believe it would be easier to make rubber mats as opposed to carpet; and probably more in keeping with the car.  My suggestion would be make a paper template,  transfer to the thinnest styrene sheet you have, or preferably lead foil or similar and just paint it rubber black (tamiya XF85) if you've got some. You could try flocking if you really wanted carpet (this to me is something of a dark art and I have never really been satisfied with my own results) - Andy

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23 minutes ago, Toftdale said:

Hi John, great progress (you've obviously enjoying the build).  I believe it would be easier to make rubber mats as opposed to carpet; and probably more in keeping with the car.  My suggestion would be make a paper template,  transfer to the thinnest styrene sheet you have, or preferably lead foil or similar and just paint it rubber black (tamiya XF85) if you've got some. You could try flocking if you really wanted carpet (this to me is something of a dark art and I have never really been satisfied with my own results) - Andy

Hi Andy, funnily enough I was thinking the same thing about styrene sheet, I have some stuff that's very thin indeed and I have Tamiya rubber black paint.  I'm about to try something, so I hope I'll have an update by the evening/night.

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18 hours ago, johnlambert said:

I'll have a think about how to put a floor mat in at least for the driver.

 

In our real life hillclimb/rally cars we've used self adhesive anti slip skateboard covering, it's quite rough and in 1/24 is well represented by fine wet'ndry - it comes in all sorts of colours and if you give the wet and dry a coat of white primer you can paint it the same.

 

Keith

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In all of my (about 10) rally cars I've retained a cut down element of carpet, sometimes due to regs and sometimes due to the pedal positioning being designed for a thick layer of carpet below the pedal (and not wanting to fit a false floor made from ally sheet). Horses for courses. That skateboard tape is certainly useful for navigator footrests though.

 

For a hillclimb Abarth, any solution will look right. A few strips of wet n dry to represent anti-slip tape could be good.

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Well, after all that talk about carpets, what could I do?

 

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This is my thinnest styrene sheet, and I had the standard 500 without seats, which I could use as a template.

 

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Conveniently the floor of the 500 is about the same size as a big square on my cutting mat.

 

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I thought I'd try and give the plastic some depth by heating it in nearly boiling water and pressing it into the floor of the 500.

 

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That didn't work, and neither did heating it over the gas hob, the plastic is so thin that it seems to set as soon as the heat is removed, it just doesn't have the mass to hold any heat.

 

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Plan "B" then, just cut flat bits of sheet to the right shape.

 

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The left mat was cut to fit around the wheel arch, then used as a template to make the right mat.

 

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Checking that the mats will clear the base of the seats.

 

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Another check for fit, it's is easier to do when the seats aren't fixed as I've done in the Abarth.

 

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Rather than Tamiya rubber black, I thought I'd try this Halfords spray.  If nothing else it saved a load of airbrush cleaning.

 

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Sprayed up the mats look quite effective, I think.

 

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The mats fit nicely and provide a nice colour difference with the seats and other interior parts.

 

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Test fitting the body.  Not sure what to do with the engine cover?

 

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At least the engine looks good in there.

 

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Getting the Abarth interior together.  It looks like the door pull needs a bit more paint, but it's looking pretty good to me.

 

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Another interior shot, because, why not?  You can also just see a representation of the ignition coil in the engine bay.

 

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I'm really glad I drilled out the spokes on the steering wheel.

 

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I've also masked up and painted the windscreen rubbers with Tamiya rubber black (rather than the indicated matt black).

 

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Body shells have been polished with fine rubbing compound and washed in diluted car shampoo and warm water.

 

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And finally for now, a couple of dry fits of the Fiat interior.  The seats have a little blue-grey wash in the crease between the back and the base, just to add a little depth.  The driver's seat needs a little tidying up of the piping and they all need a bit of satin varnish to tone down the shine a little.

 

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With a door panel in place as well, I like how colourful the interior is on what is quite a basic model.  It feels like the end isn't far away for these builds.

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Just a quick update, in case I don't have time to do another one later.

 

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A significant point for the Fiat as the wheels are on now, I like how Tamiya has captured the stance of the real 500 with slightly positive camber on the rear wheels.  I've also applied the metal transfers to the engine covers.  I had to use a little PVA to get the shield on the Abarth to stick for some reason.

 

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And here we have the Fiat 500 golf buggy ;) the seats were given a coat of satin lacquer and glued in place.  I've also been doing more painting of the window surrounds, but they aren't very exciting.

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10 minutes ago, Fnick said:

Good progress John. Those red seats really make the interior pop!

 

Nick

Of the three factory options for the interior, the others being grey or tan, I think red is the most attractive.

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9 minutes ago, Marco F. said:

Yep, real good process!! I like what you show us, both modells look real good so far so keep it coming 

Marco F 

Thanks Marco.  

 

One thing I meant to say about the build process is that the fitting of the dashboard assembly and centre tunnel is a bit tricky.  The front end of the tunnel sits over the end of the toe board that is part of the dash assembly.  But the tunnel is slightly longer than the gap between the dashboard and the step on which the rear seat is mounted, so you have to angle it in.  I nearly messed up the Abarth by putting the tunnel in before the dashboard.

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One last update for today.

 

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Glass in on the Abarth, front window frames are a mix of Bare Metal foil and Molotow Chrome.  Rear window rubbers are painted, I thought they would show up more against the grey paint.

 

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Rear view mirrors are installed.

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The Fiat is really starting to look like a car now.

 

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Interior assembly complete.

 

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Glass in.

 

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The distinctive face is coming together.

 

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And the engine cover.

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We have a big moment in the Fiat build.

 

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The body is on.  IT goes on quite easily, thankfully the Fiat body doesn't tuck in too much at the bottom, so you don't have to flex it too much to get it over the interior and chassis.

 

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The engine cover seems to fit quite well and the body to chassis just snap together snugly.

 

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Peek through the sunroof.

 

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Applying the bodyside decals to the Abarth.

 

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Tricky getting the decals to fit as they wrap around the engine opening.

 

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You can just about tell that I managed to tear the decal on the door.

 

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Nose and tail Abarth badge decals.

 

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Headlamp lenses are in and test fitting the folded sunroof.  I'm glad the kit comes with the option to have the roof open to better see the interior.

 

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It's nice how the door handles and window winders are visible.

 

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It looks so unfinished at the back without the tail lamps, but I like the little latch, the older-style badge and the fancy cover for the number plate light.

 

I think I'll get the tail lamps painted tomorrow.  Who knows the Fiat could be finished before the end of this weekend?  The Abarth might take a little longer but it shouldn't be far behind.

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Chipping away at these builds, a little by little.

 

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Starting work on painting the lights; orange for the rear indicators and front indicator repeaters.  I've also added chrome to go behind the clear front indicators (or are they side lights).

 

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Abarth has more of a "face" now and windscreen is installed.  

 

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Rear window is also in.  I also wanted to highlight where the decal has broken up slightly.  It's quite difficult to get these decals to sit cleanly on the curved surfaces of the Fiat body.

 

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More close-up of the decal flaws.

 

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Micro Sol has done a great job of helping the decal conform to the surprisingly tricky shape but I think more applications are necessary.  I might try cutting the decal to help it follow the panel lines for the door and luggage compartment.

 

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As for the 500, I've added door handles.  these were a bit tricky to add as they are a tight fit.  For the Abarth I'll fit these before attaching the body.  I've also picked out the strap on the sunroof, there is still a little tidying up to do.  Although the instructions call out satin black for the outer fabric and frame, with tan for the inside surface; I went for NATO black for the fabric and satin black for the frame, I also think I accidentally got a lighter colour on the hood fabric, which actually seems to have given quite a pleasing effect (I think, at least).

 

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement.

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9 hours ago, johnlambert said:

I might try cutting the decal to help it follow the panel lines

I've seen a few modellers do that with a super sharp blade and then use microsol to push the decal into the panel line. Definitely helps.

 

Nick

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Back to standard, albeit model, Fiats.

 

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Getting ready to mate the body and chassis.  The engine cover is in place and I decided to fit the cosmetic clips before fitting the cover to the car (the instructions suggest otherwise).  I'd already opened out the blind holes that are moulded for the purpose but the holes needed further enlarging, even if by a fraction of a mm.  It's a lot easier to manipulate everything in place when it's just the "bonnet" you're manipulating.  The "glue" incidentally, is Humbrol Liquid Poly because you only need a little and it flows easily into the joint without making a mess everywhere.

 

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At the front I've fitted the indicator lenses.  I think it really helps the car's "face" when the empty holes in the kit are filled with the appropriate parts.

 

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And the body has joined the chassis, doesn't it look good?

 

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Abarth and Fiat together.

 

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Working on the tail lights, this was last night.

 

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Starting to add the chrome surrounds, these are a mixture of Bare Metal foil and Molotow chrome paint.  Be warned, these parts seem magnetically attracted to the carpet and will escape from the workbench at the first opportunity (or maybe it's just mine).

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