Belkits Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car

[Windy37]

I have got the brake discs detailed and put into position . For the grooves I used a cocktail stick and Tamiya metallic grey . The Brembo decal is a little fuzzy to read . I’ve noticed a few of the really small decals are the same unfortunately .The discs seem somewhere like straight and true , hopefully when I get the wheels on they will be ok . As normal the camera makes things look overpainted ; the naked eye doesn’t see this !



 

I have also been spending time on the bodyshell . The green stripes are topped with black pin stripes . Now , I could either hand paint these stripes or cut off the black edge on the green decals provided . I chose a bit of both . I delicately cut the long black stripes and managed to position them and the lines of the V I drew in with a Sharpie . A steady hand was needed for both cutting and drawing . The front and rear black pinstripes are proper thin , but I managed to get them applied , cutting them in the middle to make the job a bit easier . I also applied one of the bonnet stripes, mainly to see how the decal green looks compared to the spray can green . I also painted the front bumper air vent ; this was a decal . Imagine getting that to conform to the rectangle shape !

 

Thanks for looking 

Gary .

[keefr22]

Looking the part Gary, coming on very well

 

Keith

[Spiny]

3 hours ago, Windy37 said:

 I also painted the front bumper air vent ; this was a decal . Imagine getting that to conform to the rectangle shape !

 

 

Don't know what you're worrying about, it's not as if Belkits decals are thick or have a tendency to crack or anything like that 😆

 

Good work on the suspension - as you say the camera shows so much more than you can see with the naked eye, and once more parts are added it becomes even more the case. Keep going, it's looking good so far.

[Windy37]

Thanks to both of you  . I forgot to mention after the pin stripes had set , I over coated with some clear as they wouldn't stay down . Another frustration to add to this week's list .....

Gary .

[Toftdale]

Great progress, it looks fantastic - Andy 

[Windy37]

I know when I build Belkits cars I should by now except trouble and that I seem to grumble about them a lot during a build , but the latest update is a happy one . It’s the small detail on these kits that impresses me , even if , like their never ending ways of creating steering does make things hard for the builder . Take the interior that I have been busy with . Although most of the details will be hidden by seats and rollcage , it is there in its correct position . Things like jacks and wheel nut guns , a tiny fan floor mounted display panels and fire extinguishers . Having said all that , the extinguisher decal is probably the worst I have ever come across !

 

I added the wiring using some black , well , wire ! The silver and black thing on the bulkhead I think is a heater . My research shows the piping is silver flexihose , so I coiled wire around the pipes like this  

 

Then wrapped  some sticky backed foil around it and smoothed it down . End result 

 

More interior shots 

 

Thanks for looking 

Gary 

[Hamden]

 

More great workmanship on display this really raising the bar!

 

            Stay safe         Roger

[Windy37]

12 minutes ago, Hamden said:

 

More great workmanship on display this really raising the bar!

 

            Stay safe         Roger

Thanks , Roger .

Gary .

 

[Bengalensis]

You are doing well here! I think your approach to mask and paint the green and then cut the black pinstripes from the decal is the right approach. I would have done exactly that myself.

[Windy37]

On 6/11/2022 at 8:23 AM, Bengalensis said:

You are doing well here! I think your approach to mask and paint the green and then cut the black pinstripes from the decal is the right approach. I would have done exactly that myself.

Thanks . Cutting the black stripe required a steady hand . Luckily I managed it OK I think  .

 Gary. 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Windy37

[Windy37]

After the easy bit of fitting out the interior floor , back to the complicated build of seats and spare wheels , which of course means harnesses . Firstly this is how I tackled the carbon decal for the seat backs . My advice for decaling  is don’t be afraid to cut the decals into smaller sections that are easier to work with . Once halved , these decals , with a little hairdryer heat ,  went on a treat . 

 

There are lots of brand name decals to place on the seats first ,  then I decided to use the supplied harness decals as they are well detailed . I have experimented with white masking tape coloured with a red Sharpie for the harnesses that I have stuck from the shoulders to the anchor points . With an added PE buckle I think they look good , the wash effect of the Sharpie giving a fabric effect and much easier to handle than the supplied red ribbon . Incidentally the co driver must be a larger chap than the driver as his seat is wider ! 

 

This is the first rally car I have built with two spare wheels . Their securing straps are the same masking tape method as the seat harnesses and as the wheels are placed face down in the car , I have used aluminium paint to try to create a scuffed effect on the inside of the rim as I am still to see a rally car inner rim that hasn’t been attacked by gravel and therefore stripped the paint off .

 

Next was the very delicate build of the steering column . Modern rally cars have their columns fastened to the rollcage  , so lots of dry fitting of the tiny bars was needed to make sure the column was dead centre when eventually glued . The sequential gear-lever rod  and the other pieces took a deep breath to cut from their sprues ! Luckily all survived removal intact . 

 

The cross bar behind the seats has a some kind of electronic control box mounted on it that I haven’t seen on photos . So I added some black wire from the box along the bar for a bit of detail . 

 

And finally for this update I added the seats . My bug bear of being no proper mounting point for kit  seats continues with this model , the seats sliding around on the floor pan until the glue gripped . Why kit manufacturers can’t use hole / pin methods for seat fitting I don’t know …. Anyway they went in , with some masking tape across them and the rollcage to pull it into the correct position . 

 

Thanks for looking 

Gary . 

[keefr22]

Nice work Gary, that's a really tidy, busy looking interior!

 

I've also long used tape or similar material for harnesses, as you say it's easier than ribbon, and tbh I've never relly liked the look of ribbon as I think the texture is well overscale - look at real harnesses (or the seatbelts in your road car) and to me they wouldn't really show any texture at 1/24 scale.

 

Skoda is coming along very nicely!

 

Keith

[Windy37]

Thanks Keith  . I've normally used electricians tape for harness making , but often find it hard to work with , too sticky particularly  . The masking tape was easier to work with and once the bodyshell is on will look as good as ribbon .  On a recent Salvage Hunters : Classic Cars episode Drew was  at Willans harness factory having some made up . Very interesting to see how they test them for strength . 

 Gary

[FunkyChiken]

Super cool build! Fantastic masking and body work painting and pin stripe detailing, the rest of it's coming along nicely! 

[Windy37]

The interior of the Skoda is now complete . The various connecting points of the complex rollcage took a bit of manipulation , masking tape and clips to hold it in place while the glue set . There’s still a couple of joints that haven’t probably pulled into position , but it’s the best I’m going to get it . As usual , there’s lots of details that will now become hidden ! I have added a coil of wire to the steering wheel buttons and a brake balance control lever . 





Door cards at the ready 

 

Then it was onto decaling . Not too many by modern standards , the decals sheet is far too small though . Cramming too many onto the sheet meant cutting around each one took a steady hand too avoid nicking the decal next to it . A sheet for the green basic colour scheme ( which I haven’t used, ironically ! )and then a sheet for the sponsor names would have been much better . The decals aren’t particularly sharp in contrast , having a soft focus feel to some of the smaller names when applied . 

 

A problem for me has been the green roof stripes . I decided to use the supplied decals , rather than spraying them on . Wished I had masked and sprayed now , though , as they are a  noticeably lighter green than the spray I have used elsewhere . So I decided to paint over the stripes with some metallic green enamel I have in my paint box . 

Stripes painted over , not happy though as the paint has lifted them 

 

So back to basics , I removed the decals , masked up and repainted . Much happier with the result now . 

 

The gloss black next to the green went on easier , the result looks really good and the black seems to tone down the green which is still a bit too light . 


 

Thanks for looking

Gary . 

[Bengalensis]

Good progress, rally car interiors are very rewarding to build with a lot of equippment in a relatively spaceious area.

 

Couldn't agree more on decal sheets, it's annoying to save a cm or two in size to make them hopeless to cut into...

[Windy37]

Thanks , the cutting tolerances on this cars decal sheet were ridiculously thin . Seems to be a thing with kits that have lots of decals . 

 Gary . 

[Noel Smith]

This model looks great Gary!

 

Since VW sorted them out nobody makes Skoda jokes anymore!

[Windy37]

The lights on the Skoda were the next job , the front headlights are very simple . Just a lense and a circular LED . Strangely no chrome finish for any of the lights so I used a chrome pen to get the effect . There are two types of lense units in the box , this the later Evolution unit , obviously a simpler development compared to the all chrome and multiple light units used on the first evolution and road Fabias - big expense to replace in a crash ! 
  The trademark Skoda front grille I painted with a chrome pen and as I couldn’t get the PE front grille mesh to stick , I used some fabric mesh and then stuck the PE to it . 

 

The rear lights were chrome pen backed , the lenses red Sharpied . All the lights pressed in with a tight fit . Nice touches are the PE bumper fixing points on the top edge of the bumper / wings and the orange heated rear window strips . 

 

The windows fit easily , masks are provided but I now prefer to use a Sharpie for edging and fill in the bigger areas with paint . I struggle to get masks in the correct position . At the top of the rear windows are air vents as decals , but as these show the white backing inside the car , I have duplicated to match the outside . 

 

So finally the two halves are fitted . This took some delicate prising and I certainly wouldn’t want to take it apart again ! 


 

Nearly done now , thanks for looking 

Gary.

[Vesa Jussila]

Looks really good. I am tempted to get this kit.

[Windy37]

23 minutes ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Looks really good. I am tempted to get this kit.

Thanks Vesa . As usual for a Belkits , once the suspension is complete the rest of the build is relatively straightforward . 

 Gary. 

[Bengalensis]

It's coming together very well 👍

[keefr22]

Really good looking Skoda Gary!

 

Keith

[galaxyg]

Looks very smart. I'm also tempted by this kit.

[Windy37]

Thanks for the interest everyone . Regular readers of my builds will know I have a love / hate relationship with Belkits models , well the hate has struck again .  When I was building up the suspension I thought it odd the usual kit method of using poly caps inside the hub/brake disc assembly wasn’t used . “How are the wheels attached ? “ I asked myself . Well I found out yesterday when I started to fit the wheels . The wheels are just pushed into a hole in the hub and are held precariously in place with glue . The problem is there is too much room around the wheel so a good accurate fit is hard to achieve . The wheels have a small peg , but this doesn’t push into anything . The wheels are probably from another kit , where they will push into something ….. So it was a case of putting the wheels on and then leaving to dry and hope the wheels are lined and tracked up properly . 

 

So all was ok , I grumbled about why the wheel’s didn’t fit properly after all this work  and contemplated adding the final few details . Then while I was handling the car , I managed to knock off both right side wheels , suspension , hubs , the lot …..

All because the wheel fitting part hasn’t been thought through properly . Maybe displaying on axle stands would be a good option . 

 

I stripped the broken parts down and rebuilt it and ,  it being the hottest UK day ever at 40 deg outside my back door , left it to dry once again . Today has been the final day of the build and only 24 deg outside . The underbody protection plates fit well and obviously if glued in place hide all the detail work , so I have used tiny bits of blue tack to secure them , so I can still admire my handy work . 

 

The final few details , mirrors , the rear wing and roof communication paraphernalia . Photos show a wire running from some of these parts which I have included . Spot the mistake I made with the IRC decals on the door mirrors  . I didn’t realise til too late , but I must say they fit better the way I have placed them ! 

 

Final photos in this section of completed Skoda Fabia S2000 . The spotlights are blue tacked , so removable . 


 

A relatively quick build with not so many complicated decals , I have enjoyed this one . Thanks for looking and more photos soon in the RFI section . 
Gary .