TonyW Posted September 17, 2021 Author Share Posted September 17, 2021 Friday already, the days are flying past. Not much done, modelling wise, all week. A garden wall is nearly done instead. Winter is around the corner and I still have a ton of outside work to do. Digging out the Boss today reveals a bit of damage to the trunk lid. I used the kit decal and it went on easily enough. A coat of acrylic satin clear was added to bring the finish into line with the hood. The decal and clear have been on for a few weeks now and some kind of reaction has taken place in that time. There's no way of salvaging that mess, so it all got removed with a bit of masking tape and it's been re-painted with Humbrol gloss black. That will get a flat off and a coat of satin once the paint is hard enough. The hood and side stripes look fine. As the repair to the trunk stopped me working on the car, I built yet another base instead, this time out of black picture frame mount board with a bit of green card and two Tamiya tape stripes added. I'm aiming at a 60's Pop Art kind of road surface base. Far out. Here's how it looks from the Police Helicopter... More when it happens... Tony. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 Nice to see you managed to fix that so quickly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted September 17, 2021 Author Share Posted September 17, 2021 47 minutes ago, vppelt68 said: Nice to see you managed to fix that so quickly. I got lucky, and it was an easy fix. Had it been either of the side stripes I would have been in proper trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 That's such a shame as this one was look very good (just like the others you're doing). Glad it appears to be an easy fix, but I think we'd all prefer to not have to do the fix in the first place. That base has come together very well too. Like you, I'm looking at the time remaining thinking it doesn't seem long. I think you should make the deadline though, but not so sure I will. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted September 17, 2021 Author Share Posted September 17, 2021 I'm confident I'll make the GB deadline with the current lot. Possibly a foolish tempting of fate, but they are all past the half way stage and I'm still enjoying doing the things a lot. The trunk lid crazing issue is annoying but fixable. It does further reinforce my worries about dissimilar material layers being used on models. I'm not convinced that adding an acrylic over an enamel will stand the test of time for instance. There's all kinds of things that can go wrong over the years. Different expansion and contraction rates might start layers separating at some point. I've not had it happen yet, but there's a nagging doubt in my mind. I try to keep a finish to one brand and one type if possible. I've mixed things up a bit on this build, using Tamiya primer and topcoat, then the decals followed by another brand Acrylic clear over the decals. Possibly a mistake? Something caused that crazing and I've not had anything quite like it before. I'm new to Tamiya acrylics and I like them. I'm finding them a bit soft though. The initial bright gloss seems to get knocked back with handling somewhat. It polishes back but I would rather the hardness of auto paints to be honest. That's countered by some auto paints being a bit hot for modern plastic and occasionally a bit brittle. I'm always nervous adding auto clears over decals as well. The search for the perfect finish continues. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 Always hate to see paint issues and sorry that you're having them Tony. I'm confident that you'll recover nicely with it though bud. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 23 hours ago, TonyW said: I'm new to Tamiya acrylics and I like them. I'm finding them a bit soft though. The initial bright gloss seems to get knocked back with handling somewhat. It polishes back but I would rather the hardness of auto paints to be honest. I don't think that's just a Tamiya issue, as I have the same problem with Revell acrylic clear coats too (and Humbrol to a lesser extent). In fact, handle the Revell too much and it starts to get sticky and you need to repolish it to get it back to near normal. It's for precisely this reason that I bought some cheap cotton gloves for handling bodies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 4, 2021 Author Share Posted October 4, 2021 Rather than get on with the car backlog now building up, with the deadline in sight, I did a bit of probably pointless detailing on the Boss. Nothing much, but it made me smile. The cool dude who bought this car in the first place would never drive the thing without a pair of shades, them's the rules. I've made a pair for him. They were intended for the top of the dash where they could at least be seen. Trying them out showed that there wasn't much room between dash top and screen, so down onto the centre console they had to go. A tiny dab of superglue is holding them in place. Three parts, a double loop of .3 wire for the front with two smaller pieces for the arms. Glue 'n Glaze will provide the lens glass later and a bit of thinned black paint will darken them down. A pair of Aviators or Wayfarers would have been nice, but I'm happy enough with my John Lennons for a first attempt. I'll add a pair of seatbelts as well. Hopefully they will draw the eye into the cockpit and the glasses might then even get seen. Tony. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 5, 2021 Author Share Posted October 5, 2021 The all important sunglasses got yellow lenses added this morning. Black lenses in a black interior didn't sound like a good idea to me, they are hard enough to see as it is. Far out man. The lenses give you a different take on the world baby, or maybe it was the mushrooms.... Or a big boost of colour saturation in Photoshop? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 What was looking like a desperate attempt to get a few builds finished for today, has now turned into a leisurely cruise to the moved deadline. The relief here is enormous. The Boss is nearly there now and I'll be working on it today. Earlier on I had a bit of shed time and rather than beat myself up rushing things, I've been sorting out potential final display options for the builds. The El Mirage backdrop has been improved by a happy accident. I made a boo boo with a paper lamination onto a piece of mountboard, with a nasty wrinkle ruining the thing. I tore it off and was surprised to see the surface revealed underneath looking like a very passable salt flat surface! White and raised in a grainy sort of way. Using the existing background behind the new surface gives this effect... Using a sheet of glass with the underside sprayed black as a base, gives a more dramatic effect. The lighting needs sorting out as the car is over exposed a bit. The reflection isn't too far off though. There's a few more ideas in the pipeline and depending on how they turn out, might well get used here. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dean Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 That last picture made me say "wow" outloud! That looks like a place I want to visit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 29 minutes ago, Mike Dean said: That last picture made me say "wow" outloud! That looks like a place I want to visit. Racing is off until the rain subsides.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 I do like that black glass - the reflection works much better than the mirror I tried. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Oh my LORD man!!! That last pic is just the "cat's meow". Looks like the real deal in that pic. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 Sunday was spent adding windscreens to my builds. My preferred clear plastic, the overhead projector stuff, wouldn't co-operate. I used some quite soft plastic in the end as it was the only material I could get to stretch enough to be able to cut out the required areas. It's not ideal but it will work. Fitting it is very frustrating as it marks easily. Cotton gloves help a lot but the failure rate is a bit on the high side. Superglue seems to be the only one that will hold the plastic and using that brings its own problems. Fogging and cotton gloves sticking to any stray residue being the main annoyances. Gluing tiny areas at a time seems to work best and as each part is glued I move onto another build. It's more than a bit annoying for something to go wrong right at the last bit, but it happened more than once. Here's how the car bodies look this morning. There are still area that need gluing in place on a couple of them and I need to mould up yet more replacements for the failures. The rear screens of the Monogram/Revell kits are especially difficult to get right. The Boss 302 and the GT350 are closest to being fully glazed at the moment so I'll concentrate on those two for now. In the picture below, the upper corners on the yellow cars screen still need fixing in place. The Shelby in the background is done. The glass fits nice and tight, which is what I'm aiming at. Easy enough to say, a bit more problematic to do, as I'm finding out the hard way. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 (edited) The El Mirage bases both look great, as does that lineup of bodyshells. Could you just slow down a bit so you're not making the rest of us look bad though? 🤣 James Edited October 11, 2021 by 81-er 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 I feel like I'm slacking James, I've never got to this point in a GB before without at least a completion or two . I always enjoy a GB, there's not much point in joining in otherwise, but this particular one really pushes all the right buttons for me. It's got me right back in the car building saddle, which is quite fitting given the Mustang nature of the build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 4 hours ago, TonyW said: It's got me right back in the car building saddle, which is quite fitting given the Mustang nature of the build. 🐎 Britmodeller already has a Mustang emoticon, they knew this was coming 🐎 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 With a bit more leeway granted to us with the time extension, I thought I could have a go at an area of the Boss that has been niggling me ever since I saw Mr Linns drop dead gorgeous Hertz build. The windscreen wipers he used just blew the kit supplied effort right out the water. I want some of that! I've removed the screen, shaved off the moulded on wipers and redone the outer stripes on the cowl panel. It's too late to change my mind now. After making up a couple of sub atomic sized hood pins on the blue car build, I'm not anticipating a couple of wipers giving me problems. Ha! Here's how things look as of half an hour ago. I should have a bit more to report later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I admire your dedication, Mr. W 🙇♂️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 A bit of forward movement took place this afternoon, not much but better than nothing. BOSS number plates got made up using kit decals and aftermarket etch surrounds. Yet another front windscreen made but not yet fitted. Cowl painted black, awaiting wipers. A bit of Molotow chrome added to the screen surround to see how it looks. Rear panel made up. I can't fit it yet as the body would never fit over the chassis if I did. The rear window louvred panel got fitted and finally, the rear view mirrors got painted black on the inside. Jobs till to be done include side glass, then the tires need dulling down a bit along with a satin finish for the black parts of the wheels. Chrome trims for the drip rails and door furniture need adding. Side mirrors need painting, the interior mirror needs fitting, along with the steering wheel and of course the front screen and wipers. Hood pins will be added along with wires. Not factory fitments but I like the look of the rather long wires on these hoods. Door handles need sorting as well and at that point I think it's a done thing. No doubt something or other will crop up along the way, but I do believe the finish line is in sight. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 I'm full of admiration for your glazing Tony. I'm just trying to do the same thing on another of my builds and it's not easy! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 The glazing is frustrating and satisfying at the same time Cliff. Get it right and it looks brilliant. Getting it right is the hard bit. There's another knock on effect to having glass that is crystal clear though, everything behind the glass is now centre stage and tightly focused. The fit of the dash panel becomes more critical and things like speaker grills or air vents are right on show. The screen framing seems to be a bit more prominent as well and I'm still not happy with any methods for reproducing that so far. Molotow ink is a bit too bright for stainless trim and foils look a bit grainy in some light. Something that has a bit of shine but doesn't catch the eye too much is needed. Once your eye is drawn to the clarity of the glass you can't help but notice the moulded on wipers either. It never ends. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 It's getting close now. New screen fitted, along with side glass. Interior tub fixed to the body and the chassis fixed to that. It's now sitting as it should, loosing the raised nose it's had up until now. Tires have had a satin clear added and that seems to have dialled back the over glossy look they had before. I ended up using good old Humbrol silver for all the framing. The base of the windscreen needs tidying up a bit and it will get that in the morning. The side mirrors are painted and drying overnight. The rear panel is fitted, with the bumper still to add. It was a fiddly fit but it went on in the end. I've also just noticed I've not fitted a rear view mirror. Ooops. It might not get one now, as the thought of marking yet another screen and having to prise everything apart is more than I can bear. The screen in there now is OK. It could be better but I'm happy enough to run with it for this build. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dean Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Outstanding! Other words are superfluous. I might think of some more later................. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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