Lexus LFA

I have been wanting to build this since I picked it up last year at the LBGP from Tamiya, but needed to get some things in order (finished), and decide on a color. I decided last night…

The body is very thin and crisply molded. I spent about 2-3 hours cleaning up the delicate mold lines on all the body and wing parts. Primed it with Tamiya fine white primer and put a base coat of TS-45 Pearl White down.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09932.jpg
I found a non-pearl white (at least is does not look pearl in the photos) version with a carbon fiber top and rear wing that looks sharp to me. I used ScaleMotorSports Hi-Def decals (1/20 scale to make the pattern a bit more pronounced).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09934.jpg
Once the decal had dried, I clear coated it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09935.jpg

looks great so far!

i like the slightly larger carbon decals, it can be seen alot better

Yep Mark, it is going to be good to see what you can do with this one.
Should be good to see!
Can't wait to see you put your spin on it.
Subscribed!
Andy

nice idea on using bigger-scale CF decals. it definitely looks striking with the clearcoat under the sun. :)

I drilled out the rotors with a pin vise. Still doing a little clean up with a reamer…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09939.jpg

That CF on the roof looks awesome! I really like this car. Probably one of the most beautiful cars out right now, imo. I look forward to seeing what you have in store for this bad boy.

The exhaust is called out to be assembled after being fed through the rear cross member leaving a seam to be dealt with on one of the exhaust pipes. But if you only cement the pipe together (see seam on lower pipe about a third of the way in front of the muffler) and do not cement them together just behind the catalytic converters, you can squeeze them though the cross member after fully finish painting them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09943.jpg

Bottom of the engine and the transaxle assemblies…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09947.jpg
Driveline and exhaust assembled.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09950.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09949.jpg

Looking good and i think the cf roof is going to look killer.

Gorgeous work so far. I bought the LFA kit as well though I keep holding off on building it. The CF on the roof is such a great touch. Can't wait to see more!

I thought flocking would look too coarse so I mixed up some textured paint to use for the red carpeted areas.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09951.jpg

The rear suspension is almost done, just waiting for the calipers to dry… This is the top view which will be basically hidden once installed into the chassis.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09954.jpg

Great progress so far!!.. i'm also working on a LFA, with a different color combo (interior and exterior) the Tamiya LFA fitment is pretty good.. i'm just concerned about the polishment on the very thin body, as i use automotive paint i have to push a little more harder to sand and polish.

do you use automotive paint as well?

Thanks. Yes I do use automotive paints, but the only for the clear on this one. Tamiya lacquers for the color. And I am going very thin and hoping to not have to do much, if any, sanding.

What do you use for that textured paint? I have yet to use the flocking, but Ive always thought it looked a little too textured if that makes any sense. Also, your paint work on the engine looks so smooth. How do you make it look like that? Is it air brushed?

For the textured "carpet", I mixed talcum powder into red enamel and added a little silver too, and airbrushed it.

As for the engine painting, I spray the base color then hand paint the details and washes. Part of the trick is to let everything dry, don't rush, otherwise you can pull up some of the older paint and lose the crispness.

I don't like this car at all but I really adore your works, as always! Good luck!

Suspension/driveline, top view.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09959.jpg

Bottom view…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09958.jpg

And installed into the chassis.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09957.jpg

Door panel. I added the speaker decals, kind of surprised they did not provide any in the kit…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09955.jpg

Seats are installed. Same red as the carpet, minus the texture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09956.jpg

Clear coated the body…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09962.jpg

I like the gray/red combo. did you take the speaker decals from another kit?

That looks just awesome!

Looks great!

Looking great Mark!! The chassis weathering looks spot on. What kind of red did you use on floor and seats?

The speaker decals came from the Tamiya 350Z. I used Testors Guards Red Enamel.

File this under "shit-happens".

I used some Strip Kleen lacquer thinner to cut the TS-45 Pearl White when I was airbrushing the body. The white on the hood came out of the spray can only. But it turns out the thinner is no longer crystal clear, (thanks to the California EPA) but has a slight amber tint to it, enough to change the color in this case.

As you can see, the hood is whiter, and truth be told it is what I would have preferred, but it by far easier to adjust the tint of the hood.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09965.jpg

I knocked the clear on the hood down with 1200 and mixed a new batch of pearl white by eyeball with the “yellow” thinner and airbrushed it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09966.jpg

Then clear coated it. I really thinned the clear out this time. 3 parts reducer instead of 2 like the rest of the car, (the clear doesn’t even need reducer). I put on four light coats with 20 minutes flash time between them to get a thin yet deep enough look.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09967.jpg

Only a little one day delay. Now I am back on track…

color looks good. keep it up!

Dash is done…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09970.jpg
And installed into the completed interior…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09968.jpg
Valve covers are done and the decals have been applied to the calipers…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09971.jpg
Some underhood details too…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09972.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09974.jpg
And the rear wings… One for “up” and one for “down” positions.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09975.jpg

The screens are mostly PE (except the two main rear vents, although they have little PE parts in them) and are very well done, both in look and fit. They are very delicate too, but a light touch and you’ll have no problems. The lights also fit excellently and are engineered to make installation relatively easy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09982.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09983.jpg
Once the decals dry, it will be waxed and have the windows installed and put onto the chassis and interior.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09984.jpg

Wow!

Looks great! Very nice work yr doing

Looking good.

It is somewhat of a shame that so much of the chassis detail is covered up by the belly pans. So one last look to the detail parts before they go into hiding…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09986.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09988.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Lexus%20LFA/DSC09985.jpg