WIP: Tamiya Mobil1 Honda NSX - the kit that made me quit...

[Slash.Snakepit]

Hello AF people! This will be my first WIP thread ever to celebrate my come back into the modeling world, so lets get going.

And as I am from Brazil my English is poor, so be kind...

Around 10 years ago I used to make a few models and enjoyed a lot but this kit was the one that made me quit. I got it wrong so many times that it got completely destroyed, I still have the remains I will post some pictures later on. And obviously, parties, and pubs, and discos, and drinks, and ladies so all energy was going for them...blame the kit, go party

One day a couple of years ago I´ve stumbled across this great community and the warning on the AF logo is very much true...lets call Health & Safety...the bug got me again, so here we go...bring it on the damned Tamiya Mobil1 Honda NSX!

Ok enough typing/reading lets get images on...lets see if I can post them

1 - Those are the tools I will use for that first job, putty on the front fenders:


Hey looks like it works, on the above pic I played a little with Photoshop.

From left to right: Kombifiller - is a putty for real cars, very cheap and will last for a long time; two small tin containers, two or more shaping tools I got from a dentist (?) supllies store [ got to love those stores, all sorts of shaping, scraping, cutting and scribing tools plus is much cheaper than model branded ones]; general use masking tape of death "GUMToD"; and nail varnish remover (have no idea how to say ´acetona´ in English) to soften the putty. All very nice, toxic and dangerous so use your Health & Safety gear...or get high.

2- Next on the right front fender:


The body got some pieces together, the front bumber isn´t completely glued yet, a thin layer of gray primer - again a real world stuff.

I put the mask tape of death and burnished it to preserve the bonnet panel line and applied the putty - was this last sentence clear? Pulled the tape and all was fine.

3- And then I moved to the other side...and disaster strikes

* this pic was taken on super-macro mode no flash because I simply could not get it to work with flash


Almost the same process as done in the right, but this time i decided to put two more strips of the GUMToD on either side where the pieces join to make a cleaner job...but as Murphy´s Laws go, when I pulled the GUMToD all hell breaks loose...

Two things I´ve noticed, one is that on this side I pulled the tape from the A-pillar towards the bumber and the layer of primer seems to peel off near sharp edges.

Question to the fellow modelers (QtFM): Should I prime the inside more vigorously to prevent that?

Lets wait for the putty to dry, says 20 minutes on the instructions so I will follow that and sand, sand, sand.

QtFM: Is there any other part of this kit´s body that need filling?

By the way, yes, I have washed the kit thoroughly with warm water and soap, have even after that primed the body but that time problems with my airbrush made a mess so the kit was dipped in brake fluid, cleaned, sanded again, washed again...So this is the restart of a restart...hum, I can see where this is going

And last but not least, if anyone has reference pictures of the actual car since I couldn´t find them on the web?

Thanks for now!

Abraços a todos!

Luiz
__________________________________________________ ____________

"Thanks for watching, this is the end of this show and indeed this series, if you have any comments or suggestions to make, please do keep them to yourselves" - Jeremy Clarkson

[Raikkobin]

Try different tape. It could be too agressive a tack with the tape you are using. Try Tamiya tape or low tack painters tape. It just seems as though it's pulling the paint off. Maybe let the primer dry longer? Also be careful how much acetone you use on styrene parts, it will melt them if used in high enough concentrations...

[Slash.Snakepit]

Originally Posted by Raikkobin

Try different tape. It could be too agressive a tack with the tape you are using. Try Tamiya tape or low tack painters tape. It just seems as though it's pulling the paint off. Maybe let the primer dry longer? Also be careful how much acetone you use on styrene parts, it will melt them if used in high enough concentrations...

Hello, thanks for that.

I forgot to mention, I do have Tamiya tape, but I am running out of it and it´s really hard to find Tamiya stuff in Brazil.

And for such a, how can I put this, an "underground job" in the priming stage I thought that wouldn´t be worth to use such a scarce resource. I save the Tamiya for more sophisticated jobs.

I did also put the tape onto a piece of glass and in my hand to try and get the tackness (is there such a word??) down, worked fine on one side, mayhem on another.

But I agree with you, that tape is too strong for this, and as for the acetone too, I did try in a piece of sprue and melted really fast, even got me thinking if in good proportions left over sprues melted in acetone wouldn´t make a filler, shouldn´t fuse together and nicely with the plastic in the kit? Thats another QtFM

What I did was dip the spatula in the putty that was on one of the tin containers, spread a little in the place I wanted to fill in the kit, just touched the remaining putty on the acetone in the other container and back to the kit to smooth it as much as I could.

The primer was put on 2 weeks ago so I think it was fully cured. But I did not like the primer I was using so I bought another one that comes in a spray can, I will try to test it this weekend. Another thing I learned at the place I bought the new primer is that I should use a ´plastic sealant´ (???) to give the primer something to bite on. Will buy that tomorrow, but will not use on this WIP unless I have to strip the body again

Thanks for now!

Abraços a todos!

Luiz
__________________________________________________ ____________

"Thanks for watching, this is the end of this show and indeed this series, if you have any comments or suggestions to make, please do keep them to yourselves" - Jeremy Clarkson

[Slash.Snakepit]

OK, quick update..."don´t get used to, it won´t happen that often"...says the creepy voice in my head.

I followed the instructions, and to be on the safe side waited for about an hour before sanding.

1- Right front fender

2- The other side


So...on the next episode, I will dare the devil and use my new primer on that body, stay tuned...


Cant you see primer written in there?



Have no idea why the last 2 pics where so big huge sorry about that

Thanks for now!

Abraços a todos!

Luiz
__________________________________________________ ____________

"Thanks for watching, this is the end of this show and indeed this series, if you have any comments or suggestions to make, please do keep them to yourselves" - Jeremy Clarkson

[Slash.Snakepit]

Well...sorry for the long time, but this kit is doomed...

After the putty job went badly wrong I tried the other primer, the one on the post above. I took it out of the can, let it gas out for 24hrs and applied a new coat in the body. It was great, very thin, easy to airbrush and a nice finish.

But...since I´ve made the stupid choice to mount the rear wing prior to the painting I got loads of texture in the trunk under the wing. I decide that a start over was due, so I did it.

Put the whole body in a container with brake fluid, it works great but while scraping some residues i broke the left side A pillar...can´t get it fixed

Amazingly almost the same thing that happened almost 10 years ago.

Very frustrated and disappointed now...damn I love this hobby.

Anyone has one kit of this kind to sell?

Well maybe TowerHobbies will have more of my money now

In the meantime I started another kit and a WIP will be posted, it will be a Revell Trucks Series Chevrolet Silverado ´99.

Please some kind words now....

Thanks for reading.

Luiz

[DerXL]

Too bad this happened.

I think you were off to a promising start.

I'll be counting on a new try for this car in 2018...

[Slash.Snakepit]

Originally Posted by DerXL

I'll be counting on a new try for this car in 2018...

I hope it doesn´t take that long...just bought a new one from TowerHobbies.

It has become a matter of honour and dignity.

Cheers

Luiz

[DerXL]

That's the spirit.

Already looking forward to it !!!
Don't let a stupid piece of plastic beat you...

[xpeed]

Hey, don't give up. I have two models that broke my spirit but I'm planning to go back to them and give it another try. Don't let some plastic heap take your manhood!

[thijs37]

hi snakepit,
the primer you used, is it a plastic primer?
automotive primers dont bond well on plastic.
after sanding dont wash with soap!!! dont wash it off with water or soap after sanding blow off the dust with your airbrush and take a soft clothe and clean it with alcohol....than prime and paint

[Slash.Snakepit]

Originally Posted by thijs37

hi snakepit,
the primer you used, is it a plastic primer?
automotive primers dont bond well on plastic.
after sanding dont wash with soap!!! dont wash it off with water or soap after sanding blow off the dust with your airbrush and take a soft clothe and clean it with alcohol....than prime and paint

Hello thijs,

Funny thing I just picked up this kit this weekend and am starting over it again.

The primer I used is plastic primer for 1:1 use on plastic bumbers. I even used a plastic sealant beforehand.

Thanks

[Some_Kid]

That sucks to hear. But make sure you have exhausted all possibilities before you resort to stripping the paint again. You probably could have saved that paint job even though you had the spoiler on.

[drunken monkey]

Two things to beware when dealing with regular masking tape.

Grease does strange things to the gum.
Solvents from paints/aerosols does strange things to the gum.

You'll notice that Tamiya tape and higher grade painters tape (3M BLue tape for example) appears to be of a grease-proof like material. This is all probablity a seal on the tape to protect the gum from reacting with any other chemical.

Also, as mentioned before, sanding the surface prior to laying down primer helps. Not all plastic is the same. Just because it is labelled as for plastic bumpers, it doesn't automatically means it behaves the same on the plastic used for model kits.

[modlman17]

I'm glad you are tring it again. I recently finished this version. One bit of advice for the finishing steps is for the decals. I had some issues with mine not all sticking that well until they were completely dry. The only bad thing I really delat with though were the numbers on the side of the car. Take a deep breath and be patient. They can be a headache if you try to rush through them.

Rob