box art
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0306.jpg

sanded and filled up the punch holes in the suspension and disc brakes.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0303.jpg

decided to do the body first as it was sunny today. (rare as its pouring the past few days). sanded the mold lines and gave it a wash with soap.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0308.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0310.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0312.jpg

body sprayed with grey primer and covered with a plastic container.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0316.jpg

body sprayed with white primer now and covered with a plastic container.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0318.jpg

primer dried and it's taken out of the container.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0321.jpg

spray can heated up in hot water.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0325.jpg

1st mist coat.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0328.jpg

2nd mist coat.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0329.jpg

3rd mist coat.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0330.jpg

wet coat.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0331.jpg

leaving the body for a day (2 days actually as tomorrow's my duty day so will not be home.) to dry before spraying clear on it. :lol:

Though it's not bright and sunny anymore (actually moon is up already) but can't resist the urge to continue work on the body. so i sprayed the mist and wet coat of clear. now waiting for it to dry. :lol: :lol:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture001000.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture002000.jpg

That finish is awesome!!:)

why paint in grey and whit primer? surely only grey would do?
Otherwise paint looks great - not to my taste but lovely finish

why paint in grey and whit primer? surely only grey would do?
Otherwise paint looks great - not to my taste but lovely finish

saw a tutorial on brian's website and just followed suit. LOL :biggrin: :biggrin:

great progress and the paint is just perfect. keep us posted! btw... what wheels are you planning to use?

great progress and the paint is just perfect. keep us posted! btw... what wheels are you planning to use?

oh that reminds me. din really like the rims that came with this car. anyone has any suggestion/point me to a url of a suitable rim? thanx Porsche Carrera for remindin me. :biggrin:

Rims? I saw one with 18" deep dish in real life and it looked really good. You should try that.

Well done on painting.

oh that reminds me. din really like the rims that came with this car. anyone has any suggestion/point me to a url of a suitable rim? thanx Porsche Carrera for remindin me. :biggrin:

hehe no probs! i have one suggestion, is to get this... Racing Heart Type CR Gun Metallic (http://www.hlj.com/product/AOS03573). it suits the color of the body nicely. goodluck! :icon16:

Shiney!

There's a pink NB that I see around town, with Daisey wheels?!?
:p

hehe no probs! i have one suggestion, is to get this... Racing Heart Type CR Gun Metallic (http://www.hlj.com/product/AOS03573). it suits the color of the body nicely. goodluck! :icon16:

what a coincidence. this rim is being shipped to me now from hlj. LOL :biggrin:

why paint in grey and whit primer? surely only grey would do?
Otherwise paint looks great - not to my taste but lovely finish


grey to show more imperfections, white to cover the grey because the color is pink, thats a light color, if he just stuck with grey primer it would be very dark.

grey to show more imperfections, white to cover the grey because the color is pink, thats a light color, if he just stuck with grey primer it would be very dark.

Thanks for sharing. Now I will know the reason behind the action instead of doing it blindly. :biggrin:

looks great! awsome paint!

Brilliant color, best finish I've seen in a while.

WOW! Awesome paintjob! Will look great with those cool wheels. Can't wait till it's finished. Keep up the good work!!

what a coincidence. this rim is being shipped to me now from hlj. LOL :biggrin:

nice! lol :biggrin: btw... you should lower the ride height too, if you plan to use those rims.

thanks all for your kind words, hope it will all turn out well. working on the interior right now. will post pictures up soon. :grinno:

nice! lol :biggrin: btw... you should lower the ride height too, if you plan to use those rims.

alrite, since you said so. i will try ride height lowering for the first time. no pain no gain rite? :grinno:

p.s - thought of a question. for the undercarriage and license plate, do you guys spray gloss/flat clear? or none at all? :biggrin:

hehehe... it doesn't have to be painful lowering it. just read this...

to lower it, what you need to do, is follow the instructions like normal, but don't mount the brake disc onto the shocks. when everything is completed, and the body is mounted, take your wheels, mount them to the brake discs, and mount the entire assembly to your desired height. you will need to shave the back of the disc/rim flat as it has tabs to line them up accordingly to the shock. :cwm27:

what a coincidence. this rim is being shipped to me now from hlj. LOL :biggrin:

well wait no longer!!! here is what it will look like (thanks to paint shop pro)

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/235291beetle_wheels.jpg

well wait no longer!!! here is what it will look like (thanks to paint shop pro)

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/235291beetle_wheels.jpg

LOL :biggrin: :biggrin:

Nice looking work so far.
Paint looks great

Decided to try micromesh's sanding stix on the top of the body first. Used 3M fine cut rubbing compound after that followed by 3M liquid wax. Turned out good. Will continue to do the same for the rest of the body. Meanwhile, pictures of the top of the body. :lol:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture0010000.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture0020000.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture0030000.jpg

rest of the body done. will have a quick lunch before continuing work on the interior.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle004.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle006.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle007.jpg

progress looks great so far.. but I had a question. Wouldn't the clear and the paint crack if you wait just 2 days beforing adding clear? I read somewhere that you have to either spray the clear right after the color, or else wait 1 month or so before clearing :confused: just a newbie question

nice shine! :sunglasse

progress looks great so far.. but I had a question. Wouldn't the clear and the paint crack if you wait just 2 days beforing adding clear? I read somewhere that you have to either spray the clear right after the color, or else wait 1 month or so before clearing :confused: just a newbie question

really?! though i have no such problem with my mini. i spayed the color, then left it for an hour or so. after a couple of hours, i clear coated it. it seems fine to me though, shine and even surface.

progress looks great so far.. but I had a question. Wouldn't the clear and the paint crack if you wait just 2 days beforing adding clear? I read somewhere that you have to either spray the clear right after the color, or else wait 1 month or so before clearing :confused: just a newbie question

it would depend on how "wet" the wet coat of paint that was sprayed on the body. mine was a "thin" wet coat.

moreover, i did 2 mist coats of clear before doing a wet coats for clear.

p.s - i did not wait 2 days. i started misting clear about 2 hours after i did my wet base coat. couldn't wait any longer. of course i was sure my wet coat was dry by then. :biggrin:

nice shine! :sunglasse



really?! though i have no such problem with my mini. i spayed the color, then left it for an hour or so. after a couple of hours, i clear coated it. it seems fine to me though, shine and even surface.

thanx for your support :biggrin: wanted to post the interior as soon as possible but did not want to compromise on the finishing. (anything that will not make me fully satisfied due to slipshod work) took a great deal of time and energy to remove mold lines,filll up (gaps and punch holes). hope it will turn out good in the end. :biggrin:

my bonnet is done. thankfully there is no difference in color tone between the bonnet and the rest of the body. here are some pictures. :lol:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle008.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle009.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle010.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Beetle011.jpg

I guess it's ok to clear after a few hours, as long it's within the same day... anyway nice job on laying down the paint so smoothly. That color is starting to grow on me with its pearl :)

tomorrow's my duty day

Wow, it takes you a whole day to do duty?..... :bloated:

That looks pretty slick. Are you doing the interior up or blacking out the windows?

I guess it's ok to clear after a few hours, as long it's within the same day... anyway nice job on laying down the paint so smoothly. That color is starting to grow on me with its pearl :)
thanx :grinyes:

Wow, it takes you a whole day to do duty?..... :bloated:

That looks pretty slick. Are you doing the interior up or blacking out the windows?

yeah i am currently serving my 2-year national service (compulsory for every singaporean male unless you are exempted cos you are medically unfit etc) as a fire-fighter (some army, some navy, etc). so its 24 hours duty, 48 hours off like most fire-fighters in various countries.

i will be doing the interior up, hopefully i will get the flock colour i want and flock the interior. will not be blacking out the windows. :lol:

did the boot up and polished the car again (last time). placed it near the sun to dry. used blu-tach to attach the emblem to the body to see the outlook. not really satisfied with the chrome look on the emblem so i left them in bleech to remove the chrome and will spray super metallizer's chrome silver on it tomorrow.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture00100000.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture00200000.jpg

did panel lines for the body. mixed black and pink acryllic paint together and thinned down with acryllic thinner. not really very satisfied with the outcome and will do it again tomorrow.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture0050000.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/Picture0040000.jpg

finished sanding and filling up every part in the box that is needed. all sprayed with primer. part of the chasis has also been sprayed with enamel black as a base coat for metallizer's chrome silver. will spray chrome silver on the pipes and stuffs tomorrow before "masking and spraying the chasis black". :lol:

Great paint-job! Panel lines are looking good for me :) What type of chrome paint are you going to use? Alclad II?

huh?! you have to do it again you say?! the lines on the roof looks good, but hey, if you can do better then by all means go for it. :biggrin: btw... have you seen the racingharts yet? they say it's gunmetal, but it looks black. :sly:

I heard that Alclad II is better but i can't find it anywhere here (no stock + no one bringing it in. at least in the near future). don't really want to be dependant on a product that isn't readily available in the market so i will be trying gunze's metallizer chrome silver for now.

To Porsche Carrera : Yeah the 19" RacingHart Rims that I have with me here is black with silver rings. Type CR. Maybe I will strip the colour and respray it. :iceslolan

I think this is quite a nice color for this car. Nice job and keep it going.

i can see the beauty of the outcome... :) how i wish i can attain half of what u can do...is it completed yet ?

i can see the beauty of the outcome... :) how i wish i can attain half of what u can do...is it completed yet ?

give me a few days. will try my best. been bz the past week. :biggrin:

DUde that paint job looks VERY GOOD! I have a question, that model have engine? I have that doubt because you can remove the hood!
Oh, the 350Z job of your girlfriend looks COOL! Nice job to both of you!

DUde that paint job looks VERY GOOD! I have a question, that model have engine? I have that doubt because you can remove the hood!
Oh, the 350Z job of your girlfriend looks COOL! Nice job to both of you!

nope. unfortunately there is no engine. i guess there is a scratchbuild option available for more seasoned modellers since the hood and boot is removable.

thanx for the compliment. its kinda my 2nd attempt at body spraying so i still have loads more to learn :biggrin:

Well dude still working like that. I hope to see more pictures of those porojects!

Well dude still working like that. I hope to see more pictures of those porojects!

will get it up soon. thought of something yesterday. but its a surprise! give me some time to get it up.

by the way, i was using 3M's fine cut rubbing compound II and 3M's liquid wax all along. decided to try Meguire's Scratch X and its fantastic. (significantly much better than 3M's fine cut rubbing compound II.

My new combination for a new shine - Scratch X + Liquid Wax. :iceslolan

some minor updates. color scheme is oob except the car body.

the seats (not sprayed with color yet)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0445.jpg

the body with undercarriage
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0444.jpg

dashboard
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0442.jpg

suspension and arm
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0440.jpg

the interior is being sprayed now. will post more updates. :lol:

progress is coming along smoothly. :smile:

progress is coming along smoothly. :smile:

:iagree: color looks fantastic, keep up the good work

DUde thakns forthe tip of Meguier Scracth X and the liquid wax, I will try with those. And here I post 3 pictures of my latest projects.
Here my C-West Skyline with engine, put the engine in the model was a pain in the ass, with NOS, tachometer, Recaro seat, and in this moment have a driver that not appear in this pic.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/COBRA-427/ABRIL2005116_1.jpg
The EVO 7 with 3 TV in the back seat, one TV in the left side dash, one computer, nitrous bottle, and a tachometer.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/COBRA-427/ABRIL2005111.jpg
And this Skyline Veilside body, with nitrous, tachometer, and one TV in the left side dash.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/COBRA-427/ABRIL2005126.jpg
I accept all the critics you and other have.

And dude still working like that.

DUde thakns forthe tip of Meguier Scracth X and the liquid wax, I will try with those. And here I post 3 pictures of my latest projects.
Here my C-West Skyline with engine, put the engine in the model was a pain in the ass, with NOS, tachometer, Recaro seat, and in this moment have a driver that not appear in this pic.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/COBRA-427/ABRIL2005116_1.jpg
The EVO 7 with 3 TV in the back seat, one TV in the left side dash, one computer, nitrous bottle, and a tachometer.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/COBRA-427/ABRIL2005111.jpg
And this Skyline Veilside body, with nitrous, tachometer, and one TV in the left side dash.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/COBRA-427/ABRIL2005126.jpg
I accept all the critics you and other have.

And dude still working like that.

great shine. i like your last work most (one with the engine). your first work is fantastic too. know it must be a pain to do the silver(is it silver?) stripes. what combination of products do you use to achieve that great shine? post a model diary of them so i can learn from you man. =D

sprayed the interior with german grey for the seats and light sea grey for the sides. need to mask and spray semi-gloss black and pink (body colour) but was feeling a little lazy. so i shall leave it til the day after tomorrow.

pictures of current progress.

front view :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0450.jpg

side view :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0451.jpg

back view (yeap. the handbrake and steering wheels are not connected yet) :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0453.jpg

overview :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0449.jpg

notice that ugly dust strand on the backseat. LOL lazy to blow it away, re-take shots, upload, resize...blah blah you know the drill LOL :lol:

Nice! I love that colors you've paint interior!
PS: don't be lazy ;)

Nice! I love that colors you've paint interior!
PS: don't be lazy ;)

yeah. i might be lazy. but i won't want to compromise on my finishing as a result of it. so i shall leave it til the day after tomorrow when i come back from my duty. :iceslolan

the interior is nice and subtle. great job!

Thanks GabrielN, but I need to work hard with on my paint jobs.
For the C-West, I sprayed first with Tamiya Silver leaf, then I sprayed Testor Saphire Blue.
What color of gray's you used for the interior?

Thanks GabrielN, but I need to work hard with on my paint jobs.
For the C-West, I sprayed first with Tamiya Silver leaf, then I sprayed Testor Saphire Blue.
What color of gray's you used for the interior?

i used german grey as stated in the instruction booklet :biggrin:

just a small progress cos i am just plain lazy. masked and sprayed the clear part interior with semi-gloss black. i will try to get the wipers up by today WAHAHAHA (that's how lazy i am nowadays) :lol:

group photo
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0481.jpg

decided to take individual shots to make this post a little longer to hide the fact my progress is really that small LOL.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0485.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0486.jpg

-update : just realised that the top clear side window's paint job is a lil peeled. so i masked and redid the top again. also cleaned the excess with compound. will post its pic with the next update.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0487.jpg

sprayed the side mirror area of the car body black.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0488.jpg

Good masking work, GabrieLN!!
Key words: don't be lazy! :iceslolan
Great work!

Good masking work, GabrieLN!!
Key words: don't be lazy! :iceslolan
Great work!

thanx. btw can point me to your progress thread? think i saw from somewhere u doing a model too. LOL i am nosey.

Great job. this one is coming out to be a fine, clean replica!

clean job! what tape did you use to cover the mirrors prior to painting?

awesome work. great attention to detail

thanx. btw can point me to your progress thread? think i saw from somewhere u doing a model too. LOL i am nosey.
Yeah, u r right! But I don't think my current projects r worth progress threads. :rolleyes:
Better I'll follow your thread this time :naughty:

Yeah, u r right! But I don't think my current projects r worth progress threads. :rolleyes:
Better I'll follow your thread this time :naughty:

come on...be sporting....i am being my nosey self again LOL :smile:

clean job! what tape did you use to cover the mirrors prior to painting?

thanx. i used tamiya tape. the one that is smaller than the 40mm ones. not sure about the width. :biggrin:

to white97ex & slk320 : thanx for the compliment, tho they are over-rated. i am just a beginner building this OOB. maybe i am just a perfectionist that would rather it come out nice or not come out at all. so i am taking my time, makin sure everything is nice and proper before moving to the next step. :biggrin:

learnt loads in here and still loads more to learn :biggrin:

I love this color for this car! Though I do have to admit that I was a bit concerned when I saw the first pic of the seats - until I realized that they weren't painted yet. Anyway, the grey interior looks great with the pink - and from what I can tell its a beautiful paint job.

finally got down to doing the under-carriage. masking was really a chore as everything came in one piece.

did the 1st masking to lay down chrome silver. decided not to use mr. hobby's metallizer because :
1. i wanted to make the car look like it has been driven. so i would blackwash it anyway and the shine would not be shown.
2. i accidentally bought 2 bottles of tamiya's chrome silver in the past so i would like to try to finish them first.

under-carriage after being "mum-ified"
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0490.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0491.jpg

did the 2nd masking to lay down flat aluminium after the chrome silver paint has dried. sprayed the exhaust too.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0492.jpg

when military meets auto, this is what happens. :lol: decided to apply the drybrushing technique to weather down the under-carriage further.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0493.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0494.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0500.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0502.jpg

close up shot
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0495.jpg

glued the windows and bonnet to the car body. notice the gaps between the side windows and the body. *fitting problems*. will use tamiya tape to keep the windows to the body. another problem is that the wipers of the car are too straight and cannot conform to the shape of the windscreen. :cry:

before :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0497.jpg

after :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0499.jpg

alrite. that's enough for today. getting a splitting headache from the fumes. :cry:

I love this color for this car! Though I do have to admit that I was a bit concerned when I saw the first pic of the seats - until I realized that they weren't painted yet. Anyway, the grey interior looks great with the pink - and from what I can tell its a beautiful paint job.

it was pure luck the grey-pink combination din clash, causing a fashion disaster. the grey was supposed to match the red on the body

for the body, it was supposed to be red but i did it pink

for the interior and everything else, i followed the instruction booklet LOL

What can I say... Perfect job so far!

be sure to put ur undercarriage facing upwards to display... :iceslolan

LOL thanx.

btw, vitalik, saw your modena at the link on your siggy. ownage manz. you are a pro. :grinyes:

looks good pink bugs really arent my taste but i like where this is going! you have awesome skills in dry brushing!

Thanks, GabrieLN! :)

the chassis is superbly weathered. keep up the great work.

Hey man! I wanna see more progress! :biggrin:

sorry for bringing this thread back to life manz. was studying for exam + had no time for kit building. everything's done except for the 2 side mirrors. hope that you guys would gimme some comments for me to improve on my next kit. :lol:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0894.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0891.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0898.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0899.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0901.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0900.jpg

WOW amazing job, man
It's the first time I saw my wife's car by bottom:iceslolanuh the nex may be too much:evillol:
I think you could mount custom's rims, those are the old release's stuff: that subject is really cool with huge rims
really really good

WOW amazing job, man
It's the first time I saw my wife's car by bottom:iceslolanuh the nex may be too much:evillol:
I think you could mount custom's rims, those are the old release's stuff: that subject is really cool with huge rims
really really good

yeah i agree it would look better with custom rims but this kit's for my gf and she likes it stock. btw whats the colour of your wife's ride? might give me some inspiration :biggrin:

sweet colour :wink: good job!

sweet colour :wink: good job!

thanx =D. learnt many things thru my mistakes when i was building this kit.

finally completed :biggrin:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0912.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0911.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0913.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/GabrielN/IMG_0914.jpg

Looks real nice!
The wheel center decals and a black wash on the grill would be nice too.
I'll see if I can get some pix of mine posted on thursday...
:p

Awesome finish and clean building style, bud!!!

Don'tcha wish those clunky badges were done in the chrome foil adhesives that are now "run of the mill" for Tamiya??? That was my only complaint on the Tamiya kit . . .

WOW sweet finish.