Air Cooled - Porsche 911 GT2 (Taisan Starcard)

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mrawl

11-24-2008, 06:20 AM

I found some time to do a pretty basic build, so I think I'll have a crack at the Tamiya Porsche GT2 race version for the air-cooled group build. Looks like we have a few of these on deck now, so that should be good inspiration.

Mine will be straight oob, with some minor finishing touches like seat-belts I guess. Just shooting for a clean, shiny, colorful model. Like this:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/tamiya_taisan.jpg

Here's a couple of quick mock-ups. I'll do the standard paint job, ie, black on black, with the Tamiya decals. It ought to be fun trying to get a nice black finish. The tape on the front is to protect a very fragile molding up there.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0007.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0011.jpg

Very simple interior. Just what the doctor called for :)
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0012.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0013.jpg

I marked most of the molded body details with a fine drill and knocked them off. Mainly to make painting easier. I'll use pins to mount the mirrors.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0041.jpg

Drilling on a sharp angle to go up into the mirror cleanly.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0042.jpg

Panel lines lightly scribed and everything cleaned up, ready for primer. I couldn't resist removing the refueling cover, I'll do some sort of filler plate (cudos to Andy's superb work).
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0043.jpg

My first taste of black lacquer. Me likes!!! Looks good straight out of the can, just like a factory job. I won't need to polish the interior.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0059.jpg

Tamiya has the rear seat-back separate from the chassis and attached to the intercooler. Weird. I broke up that little affair and put the seat where it belongs!
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0063.jpg

And the roll cage. Wasted a lot of paint here, but it's just so easy straight out of the can to get the right finish, and to get all of the surfaces...
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/IMGP0061.jpg

Ok, someone else's turn now :)

jano11

11-24-2008, 08:05 AM

Nice start.
Hope you'll do some detail painting on that chassis, it looks way to black for now! ;)

klutz_100

11-24-2008, 08:34 AM

I'm looking forward to following this :) :thumbsup:

Porsnatic

11-24-2008, 09:29 AM

Hey, great job so far. A question: what paint you used straight from the can?

Thank you!

sam01contact

11-24-2008, 10:07 AM

This is a beautiful car, I will follow this thread with great interest!

Ferrari TR

11-24-2008, 01:52 PM

"paint it black"
stones
lol

MPWR

11-24-2008, 03:38 PM

Cool, another one! It's a nice kit, isn't it?

Good idea to separate the intercooler from the firewall. Wish I'd thought of that before painting my interior.

Interior paint looks fantastic. TS out of a can? But I agree with jano11, that a bit of detail in there will be good- otherwise it may look very dark and empty.

ddtham

11-24-2008, 03:57 PM

Mark,

Looks like you are off to an awesome start. I know you're going for a clean OOB, however any surprise for us? (opened doors, hood, trunk :D).

mrawl

11-24-2008, 08:24 PM

Thanks for looking guys. I know it's not much yet, but I will be going for a nice finish, so let's see...

Nice start.
Hope you'll do some detail painting on that chassis, it looks way to black for now! ;)
"paint it black"
Lol, yeh, just mockups - it's all molded in black plastic. I'll paint all the details as instructed, like a good little boy.

Hey, great job so far. A question: what paint you used straight from the can?
Tamiya TS14. See below for more info.

Cool, another one! It's a nice kit, isn't it?

Good idea to separate the intercooler from the firewall. Wish I'd thought of that before painting my interior.

Interior paint looks fantastic. TS out of a can? But I agree with jano11, that a bit of detail in there will be good- otherwise it may look very dark and empty.
Yep Andy, the kit is great, pity it doesn't have an engine, but it's good to do something simple. Then again, if our friends at gdesignstudio were to do an engine kit...

The firewall thing is nuts - I wanted to paint it all in one piece with minimal masking, so this was the way to go I think.

I'll put the interior together and if it looks barren maybe add some flash, but black wiring for example would be almost invisible probably!

It is TS straight from the can. I used a light coat of white primer, 2 light finish coats, then 2 heavier coats. I laid down all the finish coats in just 15 mins or so, I've got some vague idea that the volatility of the initial coats helps the final coats to level out(!). So the painting is very quick and easy, but it does take longer to dry fully. I think it helps to keep the can as close to the model as possible - it's obvious right? the spray droplets are closer together, so smoother finish...(lol!) You end up with a very faint, soft ripple that looks ok for the scale. All the new cars have that soft ripple, it's very noticeable when you look up close. I like that effect for the interior, I'll go for glass on the exterior. I know I should try the airbrush, but mine won't hold enough paint for this!

Looks like you are off to an awesome start. I know you're going for a clean OOB, however any surprise for us? (opened doors, hood, trunk :biggrin:).
Ha ha, no, not without an engine. However, I have a few plans coming down the pipeline which I'm really jazzed about. Hope they come to fruition.

360spider

11-24-2008, 08:55 PM

Great start.

Robi J

11-26-2008, 09:23 AM

I still remid the epic work you did on your 360. I'm tuned to follow this :iceslolan

Robi

MPWR

11-28-2008, 10:00 AM

While I'm thinking of it, consider filling in the slot for the rear tow hook if you haven't painted the body yet. It's on my list of things I would have done if I had realized beforehand. The front tow hook is great, but the rear is kinda strange looking and doesn't agree with my references at all.

On Club Sport cars, the tow ring is actually a loop of steel cable in the corner of the license plate well. Make it out of heavy duty sewing thread or the like.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Qj-lItieeqk/RwzYghS955I/AAAAAAAACEI/Fz9ZDTBF2zw/s640/92829_96993GT2SYellow7_123_379lo.jpg

For dedicated race cars, the tow hook is usually a welded rod loop on centreline that passes through the bodywork. Brass rod, stretched sprue or similar will do nicely.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Porsched_993_GT2.jpg/800px-Porsched_993_GT2.jpg

Hope I'm not too late to suggest this- I've had to come up with a creative patch idea on mine. :uhoh:

mrawl

11-29-2008, 05:18 AM

Nice pics, I agree those hooks look better. It would be interesting to know which car they actually modeled initially. The kit has two wings and a few versions, so I have no idea, but I'm guessing whatever it was had a hook like the one they used.

I Googled for hooks and found this one, which I'm sure you must have seen - the Tamiya hook could be easily converted into something like this.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/towhook.jpg

The GT3 Cup's hook is vaguely similar to the Tamiya one (ok, very vaguely!). Anyway, I don't mind the hook so much, but the vacant license plate well does look pretty bad. You should definitely go with a nicer version - your model deserves it. Mine doesn't, lol, :iceslolan

mrawl

12-02-2008, 08:42 PM

Got most of the under-chassis stuff painted. Not quite finished yet, but getting there...

No PE this time. I shaved the surface of the rotors to get them nice and flat - they're just too rough and wavy otherwise, even from Tamiya.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010001-1.jpg

Damn, I see I missed a mold line on my clean-up. Oh well, not visible :)
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P10100041.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010003-3.jpg

Initial engine job. The gold covers are from an earlier Porsche, but I like 'em. No accounting for taste :screwy: Can't see it here but the engine is all black below a certain point to simulate the mounting bucket thingy that Porsche uses.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010002.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010004.jpg

Yeh, I agree - that engine looks boring, so I went at it with the weathering gear. The biggest problem with the weathering make-up is that it rubs off pretty easily. I might try paint next time.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010002-2.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010007.jpg

You can see the rotor wash - to bring out the holes. Tried to keep it subtle.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P10100071.jpg

Made a start on the wheels too. Roughed 'em up a bit. Now - how to paint the gold??...
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010011.jpg

This is the best I could come up with. It's just a ring of masking tape pressed lightly against the wheel, edge-on.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010001.jpg

But it's a mess you say :) Not so... (!)
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010001-2.jpg

I compared various gold paints and concluded that Alclad had the nicest gold color. It's amazing the difference between them - they vary from too dark (Testors), too green (Talon, though this is *excellent paint and will have plenty of uses) and too-pale (Tamiya).
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010006.jpg

I'll probably do some more weathering, esp on the wheels. Not sure about the body yet.

tuned.by.twenty

12-02-2008, 09:12 PM

The wheels are great! I love the classic gold/chrome combo.

mrawl

01-23-2009, 09:43 PM

mrawl

01-23-2009, 11:46 PM

Btw, can anyone suggest suitable tire markings for this car? As in brand logos and other race markings used in JGTC, 1995. Or should they be left plain?

Bartak

01-24-2009, 02:51 AM

They used Bridgestones most probably, but I don`t have a picture with this car though. But is very common to have a brand of tyres sprayed on the side. Other cars in 95 had it...

klutz_100

01-24-2009, 04:15 AM

Looks good :thumbsup: There's nothing "worse" about an OOB build.

I see your point about the embossing on the steering wheel but it looks pretty good in the photos and the arm's length/3foot rule is not to be underestimated IMHO (that's why, for example, I prefer using craft ribbon for seat belts as opposed to flatter material - even though the weave is "out of scale" in a true sense, the effect when viewed still looks realistic)

Robi J

01-24-2009, 04:43 AM

Not so... (!)
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP2/P1010001-2.jpg

Mark sorry but I did not fully understand the jig above, could you please give us more details? Thanks.

Then, very very nice cockpit. Let me say the seat belts look a bit "flat" ...maybe the photo light, maybe the contrast with the embossed seat, anyway once closed in the car they should look okay.

As far as I know, the GT2 running in Japan were usually wearing Hankook, Yokohama or Bridgestone tires.

Robi :)

mrawl

01-24-2009, 05:49 AM

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Bartak, yeh, I did see that a lot of those cars were on Bridgestones, I'm just a bit confused by the Advan decals - are they for wheels or tires? I'm starting to think this thing might have been on Yokohama Advan slicks.

Klutzy, I do agree with the seatbelt thing - the fabric here is coarser than I would normally use because it was from a random set I had lying around, but I wasn't worried about it because the texture looks fine to the naked eye.

Robi_j, I'll show you the masking rig if you explain "flat" belts"! :) The lap belts are short and a bit difficult to set, but I can still rearrange them, maybe I should pull them through a bit further. I might have a play. The color is fine I think - it has a decent sheen to it in reality. And did you see those shoulder buckles? :smokin: I'll use a softer/finer material next time. I'll take a side shot of the masking rig. To try to explain it - the metal ring is a spacer that sits in the corner between the face and the rim, where it spaces the tape out so that its edge falls exactly over the paint line. The tape is stuck to the metal ring, and rests edge-on against the face of the wheel - yes, literally edge-on, at right angles to the face. The tape does not stick to the wheel at all. There's probably a thousand better ways but this worked well for me.

Tibi Keke

01-24-2009, 11:19 AM

The tires are Yokohama Advan, not Bridgstone. I did not found any reference for your model just something nearly:
http://www.endurance-info.com/2006_Le_Mans/00_Pre_Taisan.jpg
is a new version of the Porsche Taisan but like your's without Advan logo on the tires.

ales

01-24-2009, 11:27 AM

Mark, looks good! Hate to be saying this, though, but the crotch belts go through the seat pad (pretty much through the middle), not around the front, but this is something for your next builds.

builder77

01-24-2009, 01:53 PM

A beautiful build.
You have inspired me to finish this kit myself!
Chris

mrawl

01-24-2009, 03:25 PM

Here's that wheel masking setup. Once I had this thing it was zero work to paint the wheels, literally 30 seconds for each wheel, but it was a bit fiddly to set it up. All I can say is YMMV!

The tape sits inside the ring...
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP4/P1010010.jpg

...and it just drops into the wheel. Held in place by the 4 small tape tabs on the back (or by hand). You need to keep it shallow so you can spray on an angle into the center, otherwise you won't get get coverage of the sides of the spokes and hub.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP4/P1010009.jpg

Something about my indoor lighting setup makes any flat or semi-gloss color look a lot more washed out than it really is. My camera makes reds look a bit soft too. Anyway, here's a couple of outdoors shots - you can see the wheel and seat really are black, not light gray(!), and not as rough as those indoor shots made them look.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP4/P1010021.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP4/P1010022.jpg

Ales, tx for the tip. I wasn't sure if I should do the through the seat thing, and the crotch belt would have been difficult to position with that stiff material so I whimped out on this one! I'll get it right next time :)

Tibi, excellent! So I'm going with Yokohama Advans now. Not sure if I'll do any markings, the real car probably didn't have any, but we'll see...

Chris, go for it, it's an excellent kit, a real joy to build.

Robi J

01-24-2009, 05:54 PM

...The lap belts are short and a bit difficult to set...

I know Mark, this was my meaning of "flat" :)

Thank for the rig explanation and photos, you always have some brilliant ideas for the tricky duties.

Don't get me wrong: seat is a beauty, it is now evident that the indoor photos emphasize the contrast. Anyhow, very very nice work !
As usual :iceslolan

R :)

ddtham

01-25-2009, 01:16 AM

Mark,

That interior is to die for. I liked how clean it is.

mrawl

01-27-2009, 03:20 AM

Ok, some real painting for this update. I tried to do this as efficiently and cleanly as I could. So here's a run-through of the body painting.

Body cleaned, scribed and scrubbed.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010001.jpg

I chiseled out the tail lights. Not sure if I'll actually do anything with this or not, but I will do some experiments to see what looks best. (inspired by Andy's perfect tail lights of course)
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010015.jpg

That amazing Tamiya fine primer again. Outrageously expensive, but it's great stuff. Actually, I must say the price is really quite offensive, so I'm gonna look for an alternative I think.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010021.jpg

TS-14, 2 light coats, 3 medium coats, straight from the can, < 5 minutes apart (as little as 1 minute in fact) - just long enough for it to tack over, so I don't get any runs or pooling near the edges. Entire finish coat job < 20 mins. As you can see, no real orange peel, just a very light ripple in the surface. I doubt I could avoid this without sanding the intermediate coats.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P10100041.jpg

Now the polishing. First, I believe paint looks best if it is "cut", I wouldn't use only compound myself for fear of distortions in the finish. So I cut it with 3200 micro-mesh, this was a very quick job under running water (~10 minutes), VERY LIGHT pressure (the mesh was brand new, it cut nicely), I went NOWEHERE near the edges, because the final work will get them anyway. Btw, I prefer to dry-sand paint in nearly all cases, but this part is a water job for me. Note, you can't really get into the crevices, so if you have peel it will show up here and drive you nuts - the finish must be smooth or you will be in for a lot of nasty work in the corners.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010004.jpg

I'm trying to remember (this was a couple of weeks back) if I used 4000 as well. Hmm. I don't think so, but if I did, it was just a quick brush over the surface - the 3200 got **all** of the texture out of the paint. There is no point in using it otherwise - you have to get it ALL. Only faint sanding marks left at this stage.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010002.jpg

Previously I used micro-mesh all the way, which gave a breath-taking finish, but it is really hard, tricky work. This time I tried the Tamiya compound. Here it is after polishing with Fine (which is the middle compound). It's good stuff, it's enough to get all of the sanding marks out, so I didn't need or bother with coarse compound. The trick (as others have noted) is to switch to a clean part of the rag as soon as the polishing has done its work, but **before** it has dried out on the surface/rag. If it has dried out before you switch you can end up with a hazy finish. If it's got just a little bit of juice left from the polish then it comes up like glass. This is only Fine, I didn't use the Coarse or Finish compounds.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010007.jpg

Some outdoor shots. These are not overexposed (I think), the white splashes are mainly reflections off the white board that it was sitting on.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010013.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010010.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010011.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010003.jpg

I'm now a compound convert! It took it from 3200 to finished in one step. Amazing. I think it's because the lacquer is a pretty soft paint. The other thing I will do is try as hard as possible to not touch it or mark it in any way while I do the decals and finishing work.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P1010029.jpg

Now I have an interesting decision to make. I haven't done decals before, so I'm not sure whether I'll want to clear over them or not - I'm not even sure how they look "raw". I was initially expecting to clear it, but now I think maybe I won't need to. Hmm, I have to decide because no clear means I should paint the window trim now. Well, I think perhaps no clear (why bother?)

Well, sorry for being a bit long-winded here, but I thought I would describe it as best I could. Just for giggles, you know... :p

jano11

01-27-2009, 03:40 AM

:eek2: That paint finish is impressive! :worshippy

Tibi Keke

01-27-2009, 04:24 AM

Great how you did this painting! Excellent!
If you decide to clear over the decals take care what brand you use!
Can wait to see more!

Robi J

01-27-2009, 04:49 AM

Dazzling shine, Mark ! How many days passed between painting and polishing?

Interesting approach on the taillights, I'm curious to see the result.
Thanks for sharing your compound experience, always precious :)

Robi

mrawl

01-27-2009, 06:02 AM

Dazzling shine, Mark ! How many days passed between painting and polishing?
Ah, good question. Previously I might have rushed at it the next morning, but I'm a bit wiser now. I think it sat for about 3 days. I can only work on it periodically, but that's ok - it let the paint get a bit harder and reduce any effect of the ongoing shrinkage after polishing. You could probably justify waiting a week, but I can report that this was stable enough - it's still shiny and still gives undistorted reflections. It's not final anyway, I'm sure I'll go over it again (lightly) after the decals. Btw, I don't think the application is that critical, even if it had horrible orange peel, I'm sure you could still get it out quite easily, as the lacquer is so forgiving, but then you'd have to scrape it out of the panel lines somehow to get a perfect finish.

builder77

01-27-2009, 06:08 AM

Awesome finish!
Thanks for the step by step.
Chris

Robi J

01-27-2009, 08:44 AM

Wow !

I had terrible experience with a 4-days painting&polishing process with automotive lacquers, 7 years ago. Nowadays the paint on the model is totally cracked, despite I used the sealer at that time.
It’s a long discussion every time, with some friends modelers. We came to the conclusion the humidity (nearly) permanently present in our area strongly affect the paint drying time. Now, my bodyworks sit aside for at least 30 days.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

Robi :)

MPWR

01-27-2009, 09:31 AM

Nice paintwork! :sunglasse

I am also a compound convert. Next time you paint, you might even consider skipping the micromesh. I think it's not doing anything for you.

If the primer is smooth and the paint goes on evenly (no orangepeel), coarse compound will more than take care of the surface unevenness. If you can get the paint to look like this:

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x97/mrmodels/Taisan%20Starcard%20Porsche%20911%20Gt2/WIP5/P10100041.jpg

...then I wouldn't consider touching it with micromesh- especially not 3200. Compound will do it, and be much safer about it.

As for clearcoat, it is something of a matter of personal preference. Myself, I would have left the paint above as it was (no sanding/polishing/etc). Apply the decals, and then clearcoat and polish only the clearcoat. With compound.

godfather23

01-27-2009, 09:59 AM

Fantastic shine. The pictures seem to be unreal. But we devotely believe what you tell us about the lighting conditions.

Your approach to get a great finish could be worth a trial when I face some problems with the way I do the paint/polishing job.

Now have fun with the decals. This could be messy. When using clear over decals be careful using TS-13. There seems to be an almost impossible to determine condition under which TS-13 could ruin the decals. I always clear coat over decals and I have received nice results using Mr. Gunze products. Just make sure that is no air incapsulated in the decals and that they are perfectly dry.

Cheers

Robert

mrawl

01-27-2009, 01:27 PM

Hmm, paint is a very interesting topic isn't it?! There's no humidity where I am (San Fran, I think it hovers just below 50% most of the time, which is pretty dry). The lacquer never really gets rock hard though, that's for sure, it's just the way it is, when you polish it you have to take that into account. It quickly comes off onto the rag if you press hard. You have to be gentle. Sorry about your cracking problems, my previous cars are holding up, so I trust the TS stuff at this point. Solution, move to SF!!! Oh, and don't touch the paint - handling/finger grease seems to mess it up pretty bad. This is a reason to use 2k I guess, although I don't think it looks very good from what I've seen.

Andy, thanks for the advice. I wasn't sure if I could decal the raw finish. I figured that if I did I would have to clear it for sure, so I decided to keep my options open. Also, I'm a bit nervous that texture can be seen through the clear. I know there is a general feeling that it can't be seen, but I think with metallics it does show up, and if you look critically at angles, into corners, etc, maybe you could see it even with solid color. Previous pics on AF, where the poster was saying how you can't see the texture through the clear were clearly showing texture if you ask me, so I'm dubious about it. I will try the coarse compound next time I do a plain finish. But with the decals, for this one at least, I don't think I will clear them. It just seems like a nightmare to me to get the surface level again - and as it shrinks the decals will stick out more and more. Maybe a 2k finish would work.

My reason for using the micro-mesh is because I use it with the backing block, so it levels the paint really well. Also, I can get right up to the edges, but not touch them, quite easily, I don't know how to do that with compound - so I feel the compound would be dangerous near the edges. Thoughts?

Lol, the pics are real gf, if you look at the first outdoor shot you can see the corner of the white cardboard in the hood (the card was curled up at the back, hence all the reflections of it). Also, in the third outdoor pic, you can very easily see reflections of the card in the door. These pics all had the same camera settings as the final pic, which was taken at the same time. It was a very bright day!

Robi J

01-27-2009, 02:07 PM

Solution, move to SF!!!

Would to Heaven !!! :tongue:

Robi

Tibi Keke

01-27-2009, 02:17 PM

Hi Mark, i already mentioned that i like how well you did the painting and polishing. Now, regarding decals, somehow you need to seal them because they normally will yellowing in time . After this lang proces and effort for polishing it is hard to decide what to do.
I read about sealing the decals with Tamiya Wax or something similar.
If you decide to seal them with clear - DON'T USE TS 13!
Regards,

ddtham

01-27-2009, 02:26 PM

My reason for using the micro-mesh is because I use it with the backing block, so it levels the paint really well. Also, I can get right up to the edges, but not touch them, quite easily, I don't know how to do that with compound - so I feel the compound would be dangerous near the edges. Thoughts?

That's the main reason why I only do curvy cars instead of the boxy ones :D

But in all seriousness, I would be more reluctant to use micro-mesh than polishing compounds with flanel cloth on the edges. I usually just stop after swirling a couple of times to check whether it's sufficient or not.

Your paint finish is to die for, are you sure you're not going to clear over decals? if you ever decide to clear it, I would highly recommend Gunze Mr. Top Coat Gloss. I used that clear over my SLR Roadster Full CF work and it looks amazing with no problems whatsoever.

Robi J

01-27-2009, 02:47 PM

Two years ago I tested on a spare bodywork lined with JWTBM, Tamiya and Studio27 decals the Mr. Hobby TopCoat B-501.
No reaction at all, no yellowing, easy to polish up to glass finish and very steady over the time.

Robi :)

mrawl

01-27-2009, 02:49 PM

The decals go yellow?!??! YIKES!!!! Would wax protect them? Please tell me I don't have to clear - that's just too much work and I think it might look a bit strange, like a surfboard or something! Also, I'm convinced that the polished TS black (probably any solid color) looks much better without a clear-coat.

Is the Top Coat stuff compatible with TS base? No long-term cracking or similar nastiness?

Tham, why is compound easier? Oh, I see, you're saying just polish *over* the edge, but do it lightly/briefly. Yeh, I did that for the fine polishing. Didn't want to try it for the coarse polishing though, I guess it would work if you have the right touch. But I tell you guys, using the 3200 mesh to clean the surface was dead easy, wrap it on the block, glide it lightly over the surface a few times. Done. It's that easy, like using a clay bar. I don't see why compound would be any easier, though of course it saves lots of steps overall and is better for the finishing work. Ok, I will try using only compound on the other car, the Fujimi, then I will give you the a/b report :)

godfather23

01-27-2009, 04:00 PM

The decals go yellow?!??! YIKES!!!! Would wax protect them? Please tell me I don't have to clear - that's just too much work and I think it might look a bit strange, like a surfboard or something! Also, I'm convinced that the polished TS black (probably any solid color) looks much better without a clear-coat.

Is the Top Coat stuff compatible with TS base? No long-term cracking or similar nastiness?

I used the Top Coat stuff on my 250 TR and the CLK-DTM (which is not totally finished yet). Worked out great and no problems at all. Of course you need to apply it with respect to this problem being possible.

Personally I would clear coat over the decals - maybe just to protect them. And I also like the look of it. And with all the decal jobs I´ve done there never has been any sort of "surfboard"-look.

Think about it and go for it. It will be worth the extra hazzle. For sure.

Robert

P.S.: I sure believed your photography. It just looked to strange not to make a comment. :evillol: :evillol:

ddtham

01-27-2009, 04:32 PM

Is the Top Coat stuff compatible with TS base? No long-term cracking or similar nastiness?

I have had no problem using Top Coat over TS, no cracks, yellowing, etc. The only problem now is that my LHS doesn't supply them anymore :(

Tham, why is compound easier? Oh, I see, you're saying just polish *over* the edge, but do it lightly/briefly. Yeh, I did that for the fine polishing. Didn't want to try it for the coarse polishing though, I guess it would work if you have the right touch. But I tell you guys, using the 3200 mesh to clean the surface was dead easy, wrap it on the block, glide it lightly over the surface a few times. Done. It's that easy, like using a clay bar. I don't see why compound would be any easier, though of course it saves lots of steps overall and is better for the finishing work. Ok, I will try using only compound on the other car, the Fujimi, then I will give you the a/b report :)

Compound does require more work than sanding, and let's not forget the elbow and wrist pains after polishing for 2 hours. But, just like Andy said, I too can never remove the mini-microscratches after sanding with 3200 to 12000 followed by Tamiya Fine, Finish, Scratch X, and Wax. With polishing, the scratches are never there to begin with.

Try which one works the best for you and please let us know of the results. Good luck, man!

Now that you mentioned it, maybe you should update the Fujimi RSR too :D

rollover

01-27-2009, 09:50 PM

I anxiously await the next step! It looks great soo far. All I have ever coated decals with is TS-13 or Future or Future then TS-13. Am I doing someting wrong, or just lucky?

Tibi Keke

01-28-2009, 10:57 AM

You dont need to panic because of the decals. If is yellowing something than just the transparent or the white parts of the decals.
If you use the clear Mr. Hobby Top Coat Gloss, this is a good clear, will not harm your decals and will seal them, so the danger of yellowing is eliminated! Will not crack, is compatible over any paint! BUT if you spray from the can or from Airbrush, you will get some orange peel because it dryes very fast on the surface! So, you need to polish again, and to my surprise this clear is harder then the TS paints! Another small problem is that this clear needs days or maybe weeks to dry completly if you dont use something to accelerate the drying. (something like a drying boot or food dehydrater ). I dont have something like this, so i need to take a vacation and wait... :crying:

I think the best alternativ is Tamiya Wax or something similar. Make a test on a scrap...

Robi J

01-28-2009, 06:09 PM

The decals go yellow?!??!

Sorry Mark, I meant yellowing of the TopCoat itself, not the decals.

Robi :)

markrider

02-02-2009, 02:11 PM

so whats the concluson on the clear coat,
which is best for any paint

keep up the build im keeping a look out

Mark

mrawl

02-03-2009, 12:33 AM

so whats the concluson on the clear coat,
which is best for any paint...
Mark
Sorry for the slow updates but I don't have much time for modeling and I spend too much time on this addictive forum! I've almost finished decaling the body. They look good to me, like they're painted on, so I'm not clear coating this one. Anyway, I already committed to that decision, and I don't think it's necessary, I'll just wax it. If I was going to clear it I would try Mr. Top Coat. I like the slight contrast b/w the paint and the decals - I'd lose that with clear. Also, I don't think they clear them on 1:1s and the thought of markings floating under clear makes me think of a surfboard or a coin/insect clear-casting! I don't even like plain colors under clear because it looks a bit toy-like and out of scale to me (super-thin clear coats look ok). Mind you, I've never really studied the decal thing up close, so I could be way off base here :) I'll be checking it out at the upcoming model meets for sure!

mrawl

02-24-2009, 04:36 AM

jano11

02-24-2009, 05:26 AM

Beautiful!
You did a great decaling job on this one. :thumbsup:

Robi J

02-24-2009, 06:25 AM

Yes, very clean and precise decalling. Nice job on the rear wing re-shaping.

Bravo Mark :bigthumb:

Robi

Tibi Keke

02-25-2009, 12:14 PM

It look's very cool Mark! Your kit is soon ready!

ddtham

02-25-2009, 12:57 PM

Mark,

Awesome progress!!! I can see it all coming together now. I'm glad to hear that you can fully utilized the decals :D

Have you decided on what you're using as fuel filler?

mrawl

02-25-2009, 10:03 PM

Duncan1098

02-26-2009, 09:18 AM

Your doing a great job with this kit, lovely work with the decals, I did this kit many years ago and remember the decals were very testing! That filler plate looks really good aswell, very cleaver, also impressed the the red decals round the air intakes, I painted mine, couldn't work out the decals.

Porsnatic

02-26-2009, 02:19 PM

Great progress!!...nothing like a Porsche!
I can't wait to see next chapter on this adventure.

sileightsix

02-26-2009, 04:45 PM

Great job cutting the film so close to the decals. They really look like little precise vinyls. bravo! :grinyes:

KorkyOtt

02-26-2009, 05:36 PM

Well you have really done an outstanding job on this one. An excellent black paint and finish, superb decals and a spot on fuel cap. Quick! put it in a show case, on the shelf NOW before something goes wrong. LOL

klutz_100

02-27-2009, 03:08 AM

I don't think you should be at all disappointed with the fuel filler thingy. It is excellent in every way - from idea through execution to final appearance http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/klutz100/SMILEYS/oklasky.gifhttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/klutz100/SMILEYS/oklasky.gifhttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/klutz100/SMILEYS/oklasky.gif

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