General Model Kit Building Thread

[wfooshee]

Started on the decals on this one - man, there are a lot of decals on this kit.
Also, if anyone is thinking of grabbing this kit, be aware that the decals are very thin and delicate.
Which is fine for the small to medium size decals, but the larger ones can be a real challenge to
apply without damaging them. I've had to repair a couple and one or two that I've left "damaged".

That decal set reminds me of my Tamiya Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 I've had for a while.

I actually purchased another of these kits and a set of Castrol markings as used in IMSA in the states, haven't got that built, yet. Or even started.

I've just realized that every so often I jump into this thread to compare something I've seen to something I have. What the hell, here's my race car kit collection as it stands, mostly Tamiya, with the Ford GT40 #2 being the Fujimi kit.

These are the busted-ass ones, that have been damaged over the years, including the McLaren I mentioned in post 1250, with yellowed clearcoat. They've all been either dropped or got crushed during shipping while moving.

And here are the kits either still in progress or not yet started, including replacements for the 3 smashed ones. These are all any day now... Missing from this for some reason is the Tamiya 1/12 Porsche 93 turbo, the orange Jagermeister car.

 

[barryf1fan]

That decal set reminds me of my Tamiya Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 I've had for a while.

I actually purchased another of these kits and a set of Castrol markings as used in IMSA in the states, haven't got that built, yet. Or even started.

I've just realized that every so often I jump into this thread to compare something I've seen to something I have. What the hell, here's my race car kit collection as it stands, mostly Tamiya, with the Ford GT40 #2 being the Fujimi kit.

These are the busted-ass ones, that have been damaged over the years, including the McLaren I mentioned in post 1250, with yellowed clearcoat. They've all been either dropped or got crushed during shipping while moving.

And here are the kits either still in progress or not yet started, including replacements for the 3 smashed ones. These are all any day now... Missing from this for some reason is the Tamiya 1/12 Porsche 93 turbo, the orange Jagermeister car.

Nice collection you have there!! Built and un-built. 👍

I will say that the Tamiya decals are a crap-ton better than these Hasegawa decals, even old Tamiya kit decals are better than these. These rip and try and rip sliding them off the paper backing. I too, have been spoiled by building, almost exclusively, Tamiya kits. . .

 

[barryf1fan]

Here's one side done, and the top pretty much done (couple to go, like names and the windshield topper) and I have about 5 or more hours in just the ones on here.

Still a long way to go on this one.

 

[barryf1fan]

Man you are good. I'd love to build race cars but my larger exterior decal skills aren't up to par yet. I have the Tamiya 1999 WRC Toyota Corolla and I'd love to build it. It was one of my favorite cars to drive in Gran Turismo 3.

Cool kit - I had the HPI 1/10 scale RC car of that car!! Wish I had that 1/24 car kit... been a while since I did some WRC cars...

You can do it Volks!! Just take your time and study where the decal placement is. Tamiya decals are pretty forgiving, even the non-Cartograf ones.
Also, so you use Micro-Set and Micro-Sol? Or Tamiya Mark Fit decal solutions...? I use a lot of Micro-Set, and once the decals have dried I use Micro-Sol to give them the painted on look. Micro-Set helps set the decals, makes the glue better. Micro-Sol and Mark fFit solutions really soften the decals to get them into body lines and to conform around curves, etc... takes some practice but if I can do it anyone can. 👍

 

[Volksauto]

Cool kit - I had the HPI 1/10 scale RC car of that car!! Wish I had that 1/24 car kit... been a while since I did some WRC cars...

You can do it Volks!! Just take your time and study where the decal placement is. Tamiya decals are pretty forgiving, even the non-Cartograf ones.
Also, so you use Micro-Set and Micro-Sol? Or Tamiya Mark Fit decal solutions...? I use a lot of Micro-Set, and once the decals have dried I use Micro-Sol to give them the painted on look. Micro-Set helps set the decals, makes the glue better. Micro-Sol and Mark fFit solutions really soften the decals to get them into body lines and to conform around curves, etc... takes some practice but if I can do it anyone can. 👍

I usually do use Micro-Set and Micro-Sol for my decals. They work great.

 

[Volksauto]

Time for some automotive model kit history:
The Revell “Highway Pioneer” kits were a series of 1/32 cars ranging from 1900 to 1953. The series was introduced in 1953 and was an instant hit and is considered the first line of mass produced plastic model car kits.
In the 1980s, MiniCraft Models revived the Highway Pioneers series. They reused the original molds and in the instructions, it is explained that since these molds were old and were heavily used, they developed rust and created bumps and excessive flash on many of the plastic parts but these issues can easily be taken care of.

The current project I’m working on is the Revell/MiniCraft 1/32 1903 Ford Model A Rear Entrance Tonneau. Since the mold dates back from 1953, the model is extremely simplified. So I’ve decided to take some steps to detail it a little.

I started off removing flash and bumps from every part to clean them up. Then on to the detailing. I started with the headlamps. The kit’s headlamps are completely filled in and give it a very toy-like look. I drilled them out and made the hollow and I’m contemplating to make lenses for them. We’ll see. The lights also lack the handle rings on top of the lights so I created those with some copper wire.

The steering wheel is another crude piece. It had numbs on the sides so the figure that came with the kit can hold onto it but since I’m not using the figure I sanded those off. I shaped some plastic and create a steering wheel hub so it looks a little more realistic.

1903 Model As have a two-speed planetary transmission which is controlled via a lever in the driver’s side of the seat. The lever is missing so I took some styrene rod and added it in it’s correct spot.

I started creating the ignition switch which is located behind the driver’s legs which is a little cylindrical shaped object.

I plan on scratch building some pedals since the kit’s “pedals” are very crudely molded into the floor. I was thinking of cutting off the fenders and foot/entrance steps and replacing the over-scaled molded brackets with some styrene or brass rod but making those pieces any smaller they already are risks the structural integrity of those attachments so I’ll just have to live with those.

 

[Volksauto]

Pedals are mocked up. They’ll be glued in once the body is painted.

I think the early Model As have the same pedal layout as the later built Model Ts.
Left pedal: Clutch
Middle pedal: Reverse
Right pedal: Brake

 

[Apok]

Cool project Volks. I think my "oldest" kit is a Revell H.M.S. Bounty. The mould for that one being from the 50s as well, but then added to in the 70s. The re-release I have is from the early 2000s I believe.

 

[barryf1fan]

Some great looking mods there @Volksauto - this is gonna look so cool when you get her done. 👍

 

[barryf1fan]

Got a bit done on the Tom's Toyota LeMans car...

Decals all but done (both sides and top anyway), wheels done, dash and seat ready to go. Just a bit of detail painting on the chassis left.

Hope everyone is staying in and staying safe.

 

[barryf1fan]

Happy Easter everyone!! Hope everyone is enjoying this day! My Awesome wife told me to go do something (in other words, "get out of the kitchen") while she was making Easter dinner (filet, twice baked potatoes, and baked zucchini 👍 ).

So. . . . got some more done on the "Yoda".

Sanded the tires down a bit - didn't turn out perfect but they look a lot better than they did. Couldn't completely get rid of the seam, but much better. They actually look like rubber tires now and not shiny plastic.

Also got the wheels/tires finished up - turned out pretty nice!! 👍

Also, was able to mask the windows. And even though this kit didn't come with "pre-cut" window mask, I think I did pretty good for the first time trying this.

Take care all!!!

 

[Venom800tt]

That Toyota is looking pretty hot! 👍

Anyway I took some outside pics of the Supra at a scenic overlook:

 

[AerodyManiac]

That Toyota is looking pretty hot! 👍

Anyway I took some outside pics of the Supra at a scenic overlook:

Damn that Supra looks great. Excellent choice on the blue colour, it goes well with the yellow calipers.

One thing I’ve noticed with Tamiya kits (which I can’t unsee on this Supra and on my DBS) is that they can’t seem to accurately recreate that thin tyre profile on modern sports cars, and this is particularly obvious to me with the front wheels, whose tyres just seemed too thick, making the wheel well less spacious than it should be. This, along with the chrome on the wheels on many modern Tamiya kits, is one of the slight imperfections that I find with them, which are otherwise perfect. I have the Aoshima SL 63 kit coming up next, and from what I can see their tyre profile is narrower, which seems more accurate, although I’ll have to assemble them to get the true verdict.

 

[Apok]

I've decided to really get cracking on building all the models I've stockpiled. I have 23 models that need building, so I've started work on a 1/72 scale Jagdpanzer IV. The model is by Hasegawa.

I started by removing a bunch of the moulded in details from the rear of the tank. I replaced them with photoetched parts.

Very fiddly work, but it helps make the details pop once the tank is finished.

I also decided to remove the moulded in tools at the rear of the tank. Here it is mid process.

And after everything was removed. There's also another photoetched piece visible. It has a nice metal sheet pattern to it.

I fabricated a tiny shovel and enhanced the photoetched axe by adding an actual circular handle and, although it's not visible on the picture, dabbing a bit of glue on the axe head to give it depth. For scale, those are 5mm squares on the cutting mat.

And finally, I also decided to model the zimmerit coating used on German tanks produced between 1943 and 1944. It was used as protection against magnetic mines. Here's what it looks like for reference.

The way I decided to reproduce the look is with extensive poking of epoxy putty with a small screwdriver.

It is a pretty slow process and the final look is a bit exaggerated. Certainly not to scale, but it looks better than there being nothing. And I find that details that are exaggerated in certain ways can really bring a lot to a model. Techniques like pre-shading or washes work similarly.

Here it is with all the "zimmerit" applied to the body. The brown metallic epoxy putty does it no favours. It'll look much better when cleaned up a bit and painted.

Coming along nicely, but still a fair bit of work to do.

 

[Ferraridriver27]

As there isn't that much that can be done these days I decided to get back into model building. Here's a 1:24 Revell Sambabus. It turned out not that bad for being painted with brushes:

It is a level 5 kit with lots of little parts. The toughest thing was to get the door trim decals to all line up.

 

[barryf1fan]

As there isn't that much that can be done these days I decided to get back into model building. Here's a 1:24 Revell Sambabus. It turned out not that bad for being painted with brushes:
View attachment 911173
It is a level 5 kit with lots of little parts. The toughest thing was to get the door trim decals to all line up.

Love this!! And a fantastic job - especially being brush painted. Nice! 👍👍

 

[Volksauto]

As there isn't that much that can be done these days I decided to get back into model building. Here's a 1:24 Revell Sambabus. It turned out not that bad for being painted with brushes:
View attachment 911173
It is a level 5 kit with lots of little parts. The toughest thing was to get the door trim decals to all line up.

If you never said it was brush painted, I never would have thought it was. That’s honestly one of the best looking hand painted model cars I’ve seen. I don’t even see any brush strokes! Q: Did you also brush paint a coat of clear? How is it that glossy?

I’d love to finish my 1/16 Revell Samba Bus but since my paint booth is too small for it I have to paint the remaining parts outside and the current weather hasn’t been so nice to do so so I’ve been building smaller cars in the meantime.

That Toyota is looking pretty hot! 👍

Anyway I took some outside pics of the Supra at a scenic overlook:

Beautifully well put together. With the correct angles, the way the light hits the paint along with those crisp details and textures it looks like a real A90.

 

[barryf1fan]

I've decided to really get cracking on building all the models I've stockpiled. I have 23 models that need building, so I've started work on a 1/72 scale Jagdpanzer IV. The model is by Hasegawa.

I started by removing a bunch of the moulded in details from the rear of the tank. I replaced them with photoetched parts.

View attachment 910805 View attachment 910806

Very fiddly work, but it helps make the details pop once the tank is finished.

I also decided to remove the moulded in tools at the rear of the tank. Here it is mid process.

View attachment 910808

And after everything was removed. There's also another photoetched piece visible. It has a nice metal sheet pattern to it.

View attachment 910807

I fabricated a tiny shovel and enhanced the photoetched axe by adding an actual circular handle and, although it's not visible on the picture, dabbing a bit of glue on the axe head to give it depth. For scale, those are 5mm squares on the cutting mat.

View attachment 910809


And finally, I also decided to model the zimmerit coating used on German tanks produced between 1943 and 1944. It was used as protection against magnetic mines. Here's what it looks like for reference.

View attachment 910815

The way I decided to reproduce the look is with extensive poking of epoxy putty with a small screwdriver.

View attachment 910820

It is a pretty slow process and the final look is a bit exaggerated. Certainly not to scale, but it looks better than there being nothing. And I find that details that are exaggerated in certain ways can really bring a lot to a model. Techniques like pre-shading or washes work similarly.

Here it is with all the "zimmerit" applied to the body. The brown metallic epoxy putty does it no favours. It'll look much better when cleaned up a bit and painted.

View attachment 910821

Coming along nicely, but still a fair bit of work to do.

I don't know how you guys do it..? Meaning you armor guys!! You guys that build armor kits, especially tanks/trucks, are really special. And don't mean that as derogatory or flippant - I mean you guys have a special skill to build these things up. I've seen so many that are just incredible. Unbelievable levels of detail in them, and building the tracks for the tanks, omg, I would kill someone - so tedious and finite.

This is looking great, and that netting on there looks very cool, or zimmerit... ??? That's what I'm talking about right there, crazy details!!
Keep up the great work, Apok!!

 

[Ferraridriver27]

If you never said it was brush painted, I never would have thought it was. That’s honestly one of the best looking hand painted model cars I’ve seen. I don’t even see any brush strokes! Q: Did you also brush paint a coat of clear? How is it that glossy?

No clear coat applied. I did put 4-5 coats of paint on it before wet sanding and putting on another 2 coats. After one the paint looked dull and I thought I screwed it up completely. The most obvious point is the roof, you can see some strokes on there.

 

[Venom800tt]

Damn that Supra looks great. Excellent choice on the blue colour, it goes well with the yellow calipers.

One thing I’ve noticed with Tamiya kits (which I can’t unsee on this Supra and on my DBS) is that they can’t seem to accurately recreate that thin tyre profile on modern sports cars, and this is particularly obvious to me with the front wheels, whose tyres just seemed too thick, making the wheel well less spacious than it should be. This, along with the chrome on the wheels on many modern Tamiya kits, is one of the slight imperfections that I find with them, which are otherwise perfect. I have the Aoshima SL 63 kit coming up next, and from what I can see their tyre profile is narrower, which seems more accurate, although I’ll have to assemble them to get the true verdict.

I dunno, the tire profile seems close enough to me, but then it is hard to be 100% to scale the smaller you go, lol
Anyway thanks!

I've decided to really get cracking on building all the models I've stockpiled. I have 23 models that need building, so I've started work on a 1/72 scale Jagdpanzer IV. The model is by Hasegawa.

I started by removing a bunch of the moulded in details from the rear of the tank. I replaced them with photoetched parts.



Very fiddly work, but it helps make the details pop once the tank is finished.

I also decided to remove the moulded in tools at the rear of the tank. Here it is mid process.



And after everything was removed. There's also another photoetched piece visible. It has a nice metal sheet pattern to it.



I fabricated a tiny shovel and enhanced the photoetched axe by adding an actual circular handle and, although it's not visible on the picture, dabbing a bit of glue on the axe head to give it depth. For scale, those are 5mm squares on the cutting mat.




And finally, I also decided to model the zimmerit coating used on German tanks produced between 1943 and 1944. It was used as protection against magnetic mines. Here's what it looks like for reference.



The way I decided to reproduce the look is with extensive poking of epoxy putty with a small screwdriver.



It is a pretty slow process and the final look is a bit exaggerated. Certainly not to scale, but it looks better than there being nothing. And I find that details that are exaggerated in certain ways can really bring a lot to a model. Techniques like pre-shading or washes work similarly.

Here it is with all the "zimmerit" applied to the body. The brown metallic epoxy putty does it no favours. It'll look much better when cleaned up a bit and painted.



Coming along nicely, but still a fair bit of work to do.

Really nice work on that Jagdpanzer! I have thought about getting into armor myself, though probably modern armor. Been eyeing a Tamiya 1/35 M1A2 Abrams at the hobby shop lol...

As there isn't that much that can be done these days I decided to get back into model building. Here's a 1:24 Revell Sambabus. It turned out not that bad for being painted with brushes:
View attachment 911173
It is a level 5 kit with lots of little parts. The toughest thing was to get the door trim decals to all line up.

Really nice job brush painting that bus! I have heard of people who manage to make brush painted models look as good a spray painted ones, which is really impressive

Anyway figured out a way to get the Tamiya TS-39 Mica Red closer to Soul Red by throwing a couple coats of TS-74 Clear Red over it, and I think it looks good so far. Will need to polish it up a bit after I let it cure for a day or so...



*EDIT*
Another coat of the clear red, it is pretty damn close now, along with being a bit smoother:

 

[Volksauto]

I've decided to really get cracking on building all the models I've stockpiled. I have 23 models that need building, so I've started work on a 1/72 scale Jagdpanzer IV. The model is by Hasegawa.

I started by removing a bunch of the moulded in details from the rear of the tank. I replaced them with photoetched parts.

View attachment 910805 View attachment 910806

Very fiddly work, but it helps make the details pop once the tank is finished.

I also decided to remove the moulded in tools at the rear of the tank. Here it is mid process.

View attachment 910808

And after everything was removed. There's also another photoetched piece visible. It has a nice metal sheet pattern to it.

View attachment 910807

I fabricated a tiny shovel and enhanced the photoetched axe by adding an actual circular handle and, although it's not visible on the picture, dabbing a bit of glue on the axe head to give it depth. For scale, those are 5mm squares on the cutting mat.

View attachment 910809


And finally, I also decided to model the zimmerit coating used on German tanks produced between 1943 and 1944. It was used as protection against magnetic mines. Here's what it looks like for reference.

View attachment 910815

The way I decided to reproduce the look is with extensive poking of epoxy putty with a small screwdriver.

View attachment 910820

It is a pretty slow process and the final look is a bit exaggerated. Certainly not to scale, but it looks better than there being nothing. And I find that details that are exaggerated in certain ways can really bring a lot to a model. Techniques like pre-shading or washes work similarly.

Here it is with all the "zimmerit" applied to the body. The brown metallic epoxy putty does it no favours. It'll look much better when cleaned up a bit and painted.

View attachment 910821

Coming along nicely, but still a fair bit of work to do.

Great technique. The detail I see put into a lot of military based models is extraordinary.

 

[barryf1fan]

Ready for final assembly... Clear coated, all the glass in and the last small details done.

 

[Apok]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! And plenty of good work all around. Honestly, I find warplanes and armor easier than cars simply because I'm hopeless at getting a nice glossy finish on my cars.

Various bits and bobs have been glued onto the tank. I've also assembled the main parts so it looks like one now. Even more zimmerit applied behind where the tracks will eventually sit. Still a bit more work to do before I can paint it. Including even more zimmerit...

 

[barryf1fan]

Finished up the "Yoda"

Thanks for looking!

Up next. . .

 

[Apok]

Assembled, painted, finished.
Fun build apart from the horrible vinyl tracks. As if they aren't normally awful enough these were too long, so I had to cut out an entire track link. I also had some issues with the aftermarket photo etch set, but that's almost par the course with them. The tank is missing any markings as I decided to depict the Hermann Göring panzer division, which was part of the Luftwaffe, which had a unique marking system. Most notably, most of their vehicles did not have the large numbers on the sides/turrets that were standard on other german vehicles during WWII.
A few mistakes were made... or as I like to call them, lessons learned. I'm not too happy with the zimmerit. I should've been more careful in making sure the layer of putty is thin enough. I also accidentally dropped the tank on the floor right when it was 95% done. Oops. The decals were yellowed, so I decided to hand paint the cross, but in hindsight I really should've opted for an aftermarket decal sheet instead.
I am happy with the scratch built details. The exhaust on the very back plus the shovel, hook and axe look much nicer than the parts in the kit.
I'm also pretty happy with the subdued weathering. I only did a sparse wash, a few paint and zimmerit chips and a light dust application. I wanted it to look like it had been driving on a gravel road. Might make a base for it in the future with some gravel to complete the look.
All in all, fun build!

 

[Apok]

Started work on a new kit. Little known car, don't know if any of you have heard of it.

I've more or less just been priming painting, masking and painting again. Not much work on the parts needed at all, because the kit engineering is excellent.

The engine is moulded into the bodywork piece which I'm not a huge fan of. It'll be a massive pain masking everything off for individual colours.

One of the rare pieces that actually needed some work before painting. Ejection pin marks on the underside of the hood.

Masking the front was fun.

I also have an optional PE extras kit for it. The brake disks look nice. Fingers for scale.

I've already painted maybe around 80% of the parts. Assembly still needed plus painting the bodywork, which is a longer process. Unfortunately my compressor broke just yesterday, so that'll be a few days of downtime.
EDIT: Or one day. I don't know if corona has shipping services on their A game, but it's already here.

 

[wfooshee]

With that, I would probably just glue the hood down.

 

[Apok]

With that, I would probably just glue the hood down.

Seems a shame to just close off all the detail. Moulded in detail is still detail. And the kit isn't the cheapest out there, so I might as well use all it has to offer.

 

[barryf1fan]

Started work on a new kit. Little known car, don't know if any of you have heard of it.

I've more or less just been priming painting, masking and painting again. Not much work on the parts needed at all, because the kit engineering is excellent.

View attachment 915427

The engine is moulded into the bodywork piece which I'm not a huge fan of. It'll be a massive pain masking everything off for individual colours.


View attachment 915428

One of the rare pieces that actually needed some work before painting. Ejection pin marks on the underside of the hood.



View attachment 915429

Masking the front was fun.



View attachment 915430

I also have an optional PE extras kit for it. The brake disks look nice. Fingers for scale.

I've already painted maybe around 80% of the parts. Assembly still needed plus painting the bodywork, which is a longer process. Unfortunately my compressor broke just yesterday, so that'll be a few days of downtime.
EDIT: Or one day. I don't know if corona has shipping services on their A game, but it's already here.

Love the GTR's and like where you're going with it. I still have yet to do a PE upgrade set.

Got going on the Pramac Ducati...

Having a good time with this one.

 

[barryf1fan]

Got one of the fairings done... I'm so slow at doing the decals, but just trying to get them positioned right.

I think this bike will turn out nice... as long as I don't start rushing it.