R32 GTR Midnight Purple

Started this Tamiya r32 last week as an experiment in shooting nail polish through an airbrush.
Nail polish of choice was OPI Lincoln Park at Midnight. This is described as a midnight purple so I went ahead and bought it.
I mixed it 1:1 with Tamiya lacquer thinner. This stuff dries extremely fast! Within 5 minutes can't smell any trace of it! Which actually caused me problems when airbrushing it as it was basically impossible to lay down a smooth wet coat. Tried many different pressures and thinner mixtures but the super fast drying effect didn't change :(

Shot ts-13 over the top and gave it a solid sanding, then more clear, then polishing with Tamiya compounds. During polishing i managed to rub through on the rib on each door, so I'm going to have to touch these areas up.

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6377/dsc2324rb.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/dsc2324rb.jpg/)

It looks almost black normally
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9594/dsc2326.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/i/dsc2326.jpg/)
But when you bring a bright light close to it the purpley colors start to show
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4580/dsc2327y.jpg (http://img525.imageshack.us/i/dsc2327y.jpg/)

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/474/dsc2329o.jpg (http://img443.imageshack.us/i/dsc2329o.jpg/)

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/6344/dsc2328m.jpg (http://img809.imageshack.us/i/dsc2328m.jpg/)

and in direct sun light the purple is very evident
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/971/dsc2330k.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/dsc2330k.jpg/)

Wow - that's a GORGEOUS colour - I love the way it "pops" when the sunlight catches it :)

Gorgeous colour indeed! Is this the Group A kit or the road car? :)
- Tomo

I love colors like that! Nice start so far. U should shoot 2k clear over it instead

Great Colour!!

Nice job on the mixing and application!

Very interesting, impressive result, even my sister thinks so, and she does not care much for car painting :iceslolan

cheers guys
Shelby, the kit is the road car :)
cjsbosox (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=599694), as much as I love the results of 2k, I just can't spray it in here due to poor ventilation, and I could not afford hundreds of $ on a respirator that is rated for 2k.

Some progress!
I resprayed the areas that had been polished down to primer, and painted the windows, rubbers and front lip black. Also painted the stock wheels white, followed by black then gunmetal. I felt the white looked too much like a race car, and the black didn't really stand out. Sorry there is no pictures of these options!

Quick mock up:
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4830/dsc2564u.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/i/dsc2564u.jpg/)

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7757/dsc2565dv.jpg (http://img811.imageshack.us/i/dsc2565dv.jpg/)

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2932/dsc2566u.jpg (http://img856.imageshack.us/i/dsc2566u.jpg/)

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/3676/dsc2567c.jpg (http://img194.imageshack.us/i/dsc2567c.jpg/)

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/3396/dsc2568x.jpg (http://img840.imageshack.us/i/dsc2568x.jpg/)

watch this space ;)
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/9171/dsc2569v.jpg (http://img502.imageshack.us/i/dsc2569v.jpg/)

[QUOTE=
cjsbosox (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=599694), as much as I love the results of 2k, I just can't spray it in here due to poor ventilation, and I could not afford hundreds of $ on a respirator that is rated for 2k.

You don't need hundreds. If you were spraying 1:1 cars sure. For two to three cars in our scale per year all you need is a 3M Half Facepiece Respirator - 3M 7500. But that's just me ;)

^^ Don't worry I'll get into 2k when I get a better place to spray, actually using the same respirator myself.
Progress:
I tinted the windows using automotive tinting film. Installed the lights, and decided to go back to black wheels after I had a disaster with the gunmetal being eaten by tamiyas acrylic clear (the one from the jar, not ts-13!)
Also did the majority of the interior, nothing too flash as its going to be pretty hard to see through the tinting. Will install seatbelts soon.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/6452/dsc2740.jpg (http://img444.imageshack.us/i/dsc2740.jpg/)


Mock up..
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8605/dsc2744j.jpg (http://img651.imageshack.us/i/dsc2744j.jpg/)

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3561/dsc2745b.jpg (http://img217.imageshack.us/i/dsc2745b.jpg/)

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/13/dsc2746x.jpg (http://img62.imageshack.us/i/dsc2746x.jpg/)

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/9900/dsc2747z.jpg (http://img824.imageshack.us/i/dsc2747z.jpg/)


Still waiting for overnight parts from Japan (Italy :naughty:)
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/825/dsc2750m.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/dsc2750m.jpg/)

This is great! Funny thing...when I starting doing my first car in years (R32 GTR) I already knew I wanted it in midnight purple. Now what .

:D

But your car looks great.

You should be goin to MIT or something :)))))))))

Even though I'm not the greatest skyline fan, I love the way your model looks. This color really suits it. I will follow this wip with interest:)

Thanks guys. Some goodies arrived today!
I don't think this engine needs explaining lol, basically a kit in itself so its going to take a while to build it :biggrin:

excuse the crappy photos, dslr is out of action for a while..

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4659/12060001.jpg (http://img267.imageshack.us/i/12060001.jpg/)

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8302/12060002.jpg (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/12060002.jpg/)

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1313/12060006.jpg (http://img407.imageshack.us/i/12060006.jpg/)

Also got some seat belt material
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3889/12060028.jpg (http://img28.imageshack.us/i/12060028.jpg/)

and a new muffler
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1660/12060009.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/i/12060009.jpg/)

test fitting, looks a lot tougher then the standard
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/5337/12060010.jpg (http://img576.imageshack.us/i/12060010.jpg/)

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/9659/12060016.jpg (http://img513.imageshack.us/i/12060016.jpg/)

Nice work! I LOVE the colour!

Yeah, that color looks terrific. Nicely done.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's my guide on how to get Gio's RB26 to fit in the Tamiya R32 (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=960472). Takes a bit of epoxy, but it looks terrific in the engine bay. Someday I will finish it, I am certain....

thanks guys. MPWR I saw your name on the instruction sheet. Will definitely be mounting the engine similar to how you have done it, you should continue the build it was looking great! Very clean building style.
You wouldn't happen to know how the cam gears are to be assembled? I found the photo etch gears, 2 different options. But is there an included part to make the gear wider, similar to how the pulleys are assembled? I want to do the exposed timing belt setup :biggrin:

Superb build. I love the paint, especially in natural daulight. Also, it's the first time i've seen such a great parts upgrade for the engine. I'm definately sitting in the first row for this!

The cam wheels are something that Gio included for builders who were willing to do a bit of scratchbuilt detailing to their engines- so I'm not sure if cast wheels were included in the production editions. On my build, I've been planning to use my own machined parts-

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/camwheels.jpg

I cut the wheels out of aluminum tubing. You could probably do the same with a tubing cutter, or use plastic tubing of suitable diameter.

On the left side camshaft wheel (looks like the right side facing the engine), the camshaft position sensor needs to be built. Gio included a photoetched sandwich to build on the belt cover (parts 16-18). With the belt cover removed, you will need to build it onto the cam wheel.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/760/img0012la5.jpg

So you will really only need one open cam wheel.

Another option for putting the engine into the Tamiya R32 is to use the whole kit block/transmission, and use the transkit parts to detail it. This would leave the transkit block along with things like the clutch assembly and head gasket, if you were keen to use them outside the build like in a garage dio.

Thats a great reference pic, thanks. Since only one of the cam gears will be fully visible I might even be able to sandwich the 2 of the same design together and its may just be thick enough to give the illusion, won't look as good as yours though! Will see how it looks..
Got the block, head gasket and head together and mounted to the transmission. And also assembled both turbos (each consisting of 8 parts at this stage!). Loving this kit! Feels like doing a rebuild, minus the heavy lifting and bloody knuckles :icon16:

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4215/12060046.jpg (http://img26.imageshack.us/i/12060046.jpg/)

I want one! I want one!

Havn't worked on this for a while! But I've got most of the engine together now, just need to paint and wire it..

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/2893/7474141.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/7474141.jpg/)

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8812/7474142.jpg (http://img834.imageshack.us/i/7474142.jpg/)

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/7087/7474147.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/i/7474147.jpg/)

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3610/7474148.jpg (http://img820.imageshack.us/i/7474148.jpg/)

Beautiful color! Tastefully chosen parts as well! Gonna be ready in time for race wars?

Oh my does that detail kit make the engine pop! The interior is well detailed. Keep it coming

JaW drop... very detailed engine

Amazing!!.. love the color.. well done so far!!

Thanks for the comments :) . I'm not sure if it will be ready for race wars, tamiya did a very basic engine bay on this one, needs a lot of scratch building. Also trying to figure out a way to mount 2 pod filters for the turbos. Very tempted to just stick one directly onto the front turbo and have the other sitting above it with a pipe. Also contemplating building some sort of airbox to house the pods but its quite a difficult space to work in due to the size of the filters.... decisions..
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/9459/7474152.jpg (http://img822.imageshack.us/i/7474152.jpg/)

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/619/7474158.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/i/7474158.jpg/)

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6618/7474171.jpg (http://img43.imageshack.us/i/7474171.jpg/)

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/557/7474173.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/i/7474173.jpg/)

This project is reaching completion, not much left to do and I can finally move onto something new. :naughty:

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1706/7475658.jpg (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/7475658.jpg/)

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/3858/7475660.jpg (http://img839.imageshack.us/i/7475660.jpg/)

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/8656/7475664.jpg (http://img853.imageshack.us/i/7475664.jpg/)

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3806/7475666.jpg (http://img43.imageshack.us/i/7475666.jpg/)

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/42/7475667.jpg (http://img62.imageshack.us/i/7475667.jpg/)

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2338/7475668.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/i/7475668.jpg/)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4791/7475675.jpg (http://img228.imageshack.us/i/7475675.jpg/)

Completed photos here: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=7002690#post7002690