2002 WRC Focus RS **Progress**

Well, I'm kind of new here and I'm not all that great at building models, but here is one that I've been working on the past two days.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pc2afe18adcd19356ebed60e31a9e06b3/fc1b42de.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p6b81aa6ba1db1c3c78ce1b9c7f57f176/fc1b42d6.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p1cd9d06f24aa9241e9cd2a3279b9d46d/fc1a9820.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pc5108dc85414e7194d1cc69be2e49f3b/fc1a0a63.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p6d5810591a234813383c2c39003da908/fc1a0a66.jpg
I hope the pictures show up.........

Still need to put the decals on and i need to paint the section of the rollcage by the a-pillar black. The big RS decal that covers the passenger and driver side doors worry me because of the wierd kink it has on the rear fender area. I've heard that microsol or similar decal softeners will work but my friend just told me to use water. If i keep the decal submerged longer will it make it more flexible?

Firstly, the decals - just use mictoset, the surface isn't that complicated. Or a hairdryer - i could do the trick ;)

Secondly, the car is white. It is a white car with the exterior painted metallic blue, so the inside of the roof, hatch, as well as the underside whould be white.

And one more thing - what paint ddi you use for the body? Maybe it's the lighting, but it somehow doesn't look right.

its pretty nice but i agree with ales. the interior must be white and not black and i think the colour which you used is not the correct. perhaps is sonic blue TS-50(colour of impreza) or brilliant blue TS-44. the wright colour it's the Telephonica blue TS-51

I'm sorry to go off topic here, as I had planned to comment much more on the model, but why is it recommended in the FAQ that automotive paint be used to paint bodies when everybody seems to be using tamiya paints? I used them once and was very unimpressed with it's inability to form anything like a paintjob on my models. more like water with a little paint mixed in, if you ask me. can anyone help me? oh yeah, the focus looks to be an alright stab at modelling. better than my first attempts!

Looking very good so far.

Originally posted by Bloodhound
I'm sorry to go off topic here, as I had planned to comment much more on the model, but why is it recommended in the FAQ that automotive paint be used to paint bodies when everybody seems to be using tamiya paints? I used them once and was very unimpressed with it's inability to form anything like a paintjob on my models. more like water with a little paint mixed in, if you ask me. can anyone help me? oh yeah, the focus looks to be an alright stab at modelling. better than my first attempts!

G'Day Bloodhound,

What type of Tamiya paints did you use? There are a few different types, namely acrylics, enamels and the synthetic lacquer spray cans. It is the latter that a lot of us use for bodywork. Similar to automotive paints but better.

I would love to see your work and comment, but the photos don't show up for me.

A nice clean build so far, keep up the good work!

But, yeah as Alex says the colour doesn't look quite right, should be a metallic or pearl dark blue. If building an accurate model of the WRC car is your aim then build the Duval car not the Martin Deutschland version. The tamiya instructions (including paint colours) should be pretty accurate of that car. Also check the net of picutes of the real thing, that will give you a better idea of how it is supposed to look.

If however, you are building your own customised thing, then carry on Sir :D

Ohh yeah, I forgot to mention my hobby store didnt have any TS-51 so I just picked like TS-15 because it was the closest match to the box color. The flash makes it look much more lighter then it actually looks. The photos near the end look more like the darker blue it actually is.

Thanks for all the comments!!!

1st off Welcome to AF:wave:. 2nd great job on the focus, it's looking good.

It's very difficult to tell what type of paint I am buying whenever I try a tamiya paint. the main problem is that they're written in chinese, which I cannot read. :confused: but it's obviously the wrong type, as everytime I get it, it doesn't turn out very well at all. it just kinda goes very thin and runny. sorry to be off topic again :rolleyes: typical of 'newbs'

Here it is after I applied all of the decals minus a couple....
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pfc942043675eec9dffe675d08e31234e/fc168295.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p27fc89f6b09c0f73a8fd1cb0540606c6/fc168296.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pc83cc0145accfb00ee531a8376000fa8/fc16829c.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p847a332c4a2d36151f213356a54fce5c/fc16829a.jpg
I don't know if I'm going to throw some clear on yet, but I'll think about it.

First of all welcome to AF.
Sweet looking job there on the car

I'm in need of some advise about clear coating. I was wondering should I go out and buy the same brand as the original paint (Tamiya) or can i just use any type of clear. I've also heard that you can just polish and wax over the decals and paint w/o any clear on it. Which would be the best route. Thanks for all the replies and keep'em comin.

You can only wax over decals, please don't polish them or they'll come off. :)