Skylines: primer and paint

I have become aware that building chassis and engines is a lot of fun for me, and therefore relatively quick and easy. Bodywork is a lot more frustrating, and leaving it to last means the kit never gets finished. So I thought I should try working at it from the other angle: get the bodywork out of the way first, then the chassis will be (should be...) a breeze to build up.

With that in mind, I got out my matching Skylines and started the prep.

The 1972 model has a 2-litre 6 making something like 160 horsepower, not much for a 2-litre today but significantly more than the benchmark 1 horsepower per cubic inch that the US pony car industry touted back in the day, and very impressive even today for anything without a turbo. (Two litres is 122 cubic inches, so scaling a 427 cubic inch, 427 horsepower Stingray means 122 hp from a 2-litre). The 1990 model, with the twin-turbo 2.6 litre making something like 500 horsepower, is set up as it ran at the Spa Francorchamps 24 hour race, although I will probably leave off the various decals and especially the little lights illuminating the race numbers. The objective is to document the evolution of fast street cars.

For the polymer engineers or injection moulding specialists out there, the 1972 model was molded in metallic grey. While the surface of the roof is perfectly smooth to the touch, you can see the flow marks where the pigment wasn't quite fully mixed with the polystyrene base. This picture offers interesting insight into how these models are molded.

Paint is three light coats of Tamiya's light gunmetal TS 42, which has a real metallic sparkle to it, over two light coats of light grey primer. I might get in a coat of clear tomorrow before a week-long business trip stops progress for the next while, meanwhile most of the engine bits have been painted.

Speed build (well, maybe not so speedy any more)

Giving up on the long red decals along the side of the Mugen Civic, I taped it up and sprayed a coat of red instead. After tidying up the paint, I sprayed the car with clear to provide a good base for the remaining decals, which I also sprayed with a coat of clear. Then I let it all sit for a week while the career, once again, interfered with the hobby.

During the week I managed to pick up some proper Micro Scale setting fluid, so I spent a couple of hours on the weekend putting on most of the decals. It's beginning to look OK, with the exception of a couple that turned out crooked. Last step before I go on a week-long business trip will be another coat of clear, which will set for a week before final assembly.

Moral of the story: Yes, you can assemble a simple build in a weekend, but if you rush it, it will look like crap and/or fail, and in any case the time to allow stuff to dry means you'll likely miss your deadline.

Speed build, problems with decals

A quick post to the Model Car List (https://groups.yahoo.com/group/ModelCarList) got me a pointer (thanks, guys!) for using older decal sheets that may have become brittle, or newer ones that are thinner than in the good old days: spray the decal sheet with clear (for example Testor's Glosscote), and let dry for a day before cutting and applying. Too late for the first decals on the Speed Build challenge, but it'll come in handy when I do get around to finishing up the build of the Honda Mugen Civic racer.

Ah, the Internet. Source of infinite wisdom.

Speed build: Honda Civic curbside (Sunday)

As expected the glass was a pain in the neck and the quality is only so-so. I got part of it done yesterday afternoon but had to stop as I was getting tense and twitchy. Some of the black paint wound up being done with a Sharpie instead, this is marginally better than a brush.

Painting the various body panels black was also a challenge. I am not a big fan of tape because no matter how careful I am, there is always some bleed through. The alternative is brush work that can be sloppy at times.

All good, but then the first decal didn't go on right and got torn into a bunch of little bits. Fortunately it's the one across the windshield, so it's not matched by another one on the other side. The next decal, along the side of the body, also went on poorly and will probably flake off in a few days. So I decided to lay on the decal set to try and save this one decal, then call it quits for now. Is it me or have Tamiya decals gotten thinner and flimsier?

So anyway a moderately decent effort is possible in just three days, with time off for family events, shoveling snow, etc., if you can get into the Zen state needed for paint and decals.

After two weeks off over the holidays, it's back to work tomorrow, with plenty of business travel in the coming weeks, so progress is going to slow for the next while.

 

 

Speed build: Honda Civic curbside (Saturday)

After staying up late with guests, then sleeping in and facing a mound of dishes, there wasn't much time before my late afternoon date with The Granddaughter. (I think some other relatives, like maybe her parents, will be there too). Fortunately I managed to squeeze in most of the detail painting yesterday afternoon before the guests arrived, so mainly what's left is chassis and interior assembly (today) and external finishing (tomorrow). So let's get to it:

The various painted bits are shown above. Assembly of a rolling chassis only took an hour and got it to this stage:

The interior took a little longer, in part due to dealing with fussy little decals for the gauges, and to accidentally putting the rearview mirror on backwards.

I could have rummaged through the spare decal drawer looking for seat belts but decided not to bother; the goal was a quick box-stock job and if it didn't come in the kit, it doesn't go on the car.

So now it's just a matter of waiting for the paint on the body to harden. It's looking pretty good but I know from experience how easy it can be to put a big fat thumbprint into the roof, so I'll hold off until tomorrow to give it a full 48 hours of drying time. I'll also have to tackle the glass which requires painting around pillars -- this is not one of my favourite activities as it is all too easy to screw up big time.

So far so good, stay tuned for the Grande Finale tomorrow!

Speed build: Honda Civic curb-side (Friday)

OK, so I am a little slow. Or rather I get going on a major new project (e.g. the 908) with great hopes, then other stuff comes along, and the project gradually fades to the back of the cabinet. I thought I would use the last weekend of the New Year's holiday to see if I can get something built, and finished, quickly. Putting all chances on my side, I selected Tamiya's curbside Civic racer, which has no engine detail to build. Furthermore, the rest of it is pretty simple: struts in front, a beam axle in back, just the dashboard requiring any real work. So here is the diary:

Friday morning:

• Open the box, read instructions over breakfast
• Make holes as needed in body, glue on mirrors and hood bulge, wash and apply primer
• In between grocery shopping excursions, apply two coats of white to body
• The goal is to get the paint on as early as possible, so it is as hard as possible by Sunday afternoon, so applications of glass, decals and detail work won't leave big thumb prints in the paint.
• There will be a fair bit of taping and either spraying or brushwork to put on all the black trim, but the red and gold are decals.
• Apply one coat of primer and two of white on the floorpan, which will take some added coats as it is molded in black
• Begin detail painting of suspension and interior bits.

The paint is clean with no orange peel or ripples -- this shows the advantage of a clean nozzle on the rattle can. (I've used only fresh cans of Tamiya paint here, none of the cans from the vault). There are a couple of minor runs, but these will likely be covered by decals, so no worries. One of the gas cap holes is a little rough but that should not be a problem to fix once the paint sets.

I'll have to stop here (Friday 3:00 pm) as I have guests coming over for dinner, and I've got to clean the place up a bit, not to mention vent the paint fumes. So I may get the odd chassis or interior bit painted, but that's about it for today. Stay tuned!

Lotus Europa: complete, finally

I've been accused of starting a whole bunch of stuff and never finishing anything. A good point as I must have a dozen Le Mans and other racers still to be completed. So to address the criticism, I put in a concerted final push and got the finishing touches on the Europa without too much of a mess. The glass is (mostly) OK, the trim is (mostly) OK, and the pinstriping is not a mess by the simple expedient of not putting any on. The window surrounds came out OK with a fine brush and Testor's silver, and mechanically the car is good.

That said, the photos are poor, and seem to show more orange peel and dust than I can really see, even with the 4X glass. Disappointing but an interesting build of a car that always enchanted me from the first time I saw one in Road & Track; I'm older and wiser now and I know I don't really want one, even though it was a unique design and stood out as a beacon of minimalism in a world of '65 Galaxies.