Progress: street Xanavi R34

Picked up this from the LHS last weekend:
http://www.best1hobby.com/image/tamiya/car/ta24268.jpg

yes, the Tamiya Xanavi JGTC R34.

I'm going to build it as a street car and will save the decals for another project.

After building my last model completely box standard (the 2000GT (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=194391)) I want to build this one a little bit different and also try something new. I was thinking of custom colour scheme on the body at the beginning and i have a few different colour schemes on my mind. I've even used photoshop to help me to "visualize" a few designs on my mind. Some of them look pretty good but i ditch the idea as i still not really sure about my airbrush skill
So instead, i settle for a more "normal" approach.. but still i'm going to try a few new things (new to me), not saying what they are at the moment but you'll see when i have more progress. I hope the result will be good.

Anyway, so far I've worked on it for quite a few nights now.. spent 2 nights working on the wheels and about half way there now and the rest of the time sanding and preparing the body.

ok i know :useless: and i'll update some pics as soon as i got a bit more progress (unless you want to see the bare plastic? :D)

Richard

you doing the kit with the decals on ?

finally someone streeted one of these ive been wanting to do this for so long but i havent gotten time to its on my todo list

How about Dupli-color Mirage 3step irridescent (color-shift) paint?

hellz yeah

AsongKar: It will be a street car. I'll keep this one clean and tidy so no decals. :D

Turbo Type-R: fingers crossed it'll turn out good :) I like doing JGTC street cars

How about Dupli-color Mirage 3step irridescent (color-shift) paint?
I've already choose the paint so let's see :)

letz .

yes my 300 post letz celebrate

looks like you got your hands full with this one, good luck on it

I hope it looks good.

here are some progress pics:

Body
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body1.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body2.jpg

This is what it looks like now after 2 coats of black (as primer) Guess what colour i'm going to spray on top of that? :iceslolan



The wheels
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel1.jpg

a close up pic
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel2.jpg

After a few coats of Tamiya Smoke X-19
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel3.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel4.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel5.jpg

only 3 more wheels to do..:uhoh: .then i'll work on the body.. hope you like it

go wingless with some aoshima bersaliagos

Nice, a street one.

Cool CF rims.

WOW!!!!! how do you do the CF decals??? is there a tutorial somewhere!! Thats a fine skyline!!

looking good so far Richard cant wait to see more

A few more update pics:

The wheels are all finished now:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel6.jpg

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/wheel7.jpg

Unfortunately i've to strip the paint off the body as i made a few mistakes when painting it, oh well, at least it gives me a chance to fix a few minor things i didn't notice before.

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body3.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body4.jpg

did you CF those rims? Very cool looking. kudos!

yeah took me almost 1 weeks night time to do the 4 CF wheels

rims look great dude, cant wait to see more of this.
i realy think that a matt black paint job and a nicely tinted set of windows would make this car look like a road going stealth car!

great job so far.

also how about using those decals to make a xanavi 350z?

sweet wheels, but i think if your going to make it street, you should leave off the tire decals, just my opinion

rx7king: thanks for your suggestion. I will consider remove those tire decals but i will leave it till a bit later when i finished the body :)

Anyway, just painted the body, and here are some more pics:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body5.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body6.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body7.jpg

(i've played with the pic quite a bit using photoshop as the original pic's colour is really different to the real colour.. the pic shows the body colour has some bronze tint on it but the real colour is just a pure dark metallic colour, anyway it's still not 100% but much closer to the real colour)

Colour is AlcladII dark aluminium with black undercoat. First time i airbrush alclad II on a large area and i'm quite happy with the result. CF treatment on the bonnet and the boot (trunk) will be coming soon :)
Now can anyone tell me if i can add a clearcoat over alclad II paint or it will mess up everything?

Hey, its coming along real fine!

Looking mean, I like the colour, keep it on :iceslolan

That thing looks as mean as hell.

thats a sweet as hell car, i got the special edition version of the kit myself

is the cf ur useing the stuff that came with the kit?, looks really sweet, i would have covered a couple of the vents, but its ur car, and should still turn out nice...

those wheels look awesome, to be honest i was a bit pessimistic of this project at first, but now that i've seen what you done, im just amazed! great work!

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Bilson8tor (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=98859): Unfortunately i only bought the normal version, so i'm using the SAS CF decal. I was thinking of filling some of the holes on the bonnet as well (just like what i did to my GT supra) But i really like the bonnet vents on the Xanavi R34 so i've decided to leave them there. I know i call it a street car, but maybe we can just think of it as a super mod R34 will all the over the top mods ;)

Keep the comments coming, no matter it's +ve or -ve or just some suggestions.

and here is another pic i took this morning before i went to work

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body8.jpg

damn

Are you planning to put any decals or graphics on the body??

Orange Peel!!!!!!!!!! :iceslolan

LOL yeah.. there are quite some orange peel on the primer and the black undercoat. So that's why i'm wanting to put on a clearcoat and polish it out :P
Hopefully the clearcoat won't kill the alclad II paint (has someone tried that b4?)

Nismo400R: No, no decals. But i'll put CF decal on the bonnet and trunk.. MAYBE (a big maybe) a few small decals to dress it up a bit but it's a big maybe at this stage.

I don't know what's the damn fuss to everyone with all this orange peel. It's just a damn model. Personally, I love the color of the car, and have never cleared any alcad, so I dunno. Anway, if you do, can you show us step-by-step how YOU polish out your orange peel?

Here are some pics i just took today:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body9.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body10.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body11.jpg
The CF bonnet and trunk are done. And also finished the bodyline and window trim. But one really bad thing happenend. I CAN'T FIND THE BONNET VENT PIECES!!!! Arrrghh. Searched everywhere in my home but still can't find it :(
Oh well..... i might just custom make the vents myself or use some wire mesh to substitue the vents

yallow yallow dirty fellow ~ :icon16: just kidding...anyway just a little comment on your CF(no offence man)...looks quite rough dude ! ! ! maybe somethings can be done ?

anyway maybe you can ya know scratchbuild the vent ? ? ? or if your wanna save the trouble you can just put a piece of wire mesh below it ...:iceslolan

Haa no worries, as i said, comments are welcome.
Well but there are reasons why the CF looks rough tho ;) It's not actually the CF that is rough.. I've airbrushed a few coats of Tamiya Smoke on the bonnet and trunk after the cf decal was completely dried.. and it seems my airbrush skill isn't so good yet so the finish is (quite) a bit rough. But DON'T WORRY, i'm going to clear coat the whole body soon and after polish i'm sure it'll be smooth as glass :) (or i hope it will be) oh there is also quite a bit of dust on the body as well when i took the pics heeee

yeah i might just put a piece of wire mesh below it as scratchbuild something isn't something i'm good at.. but i'll see.. maybe those pieces will appear on my desk when i wake up tomorrow? Fingers crossed.

thats super pimp:eek2: man do u have any pics of tha motor and chassie and cage and stuff? i would really like 2 see them if not GET 2 WORK!!!!!!! :p and keep up posted:dogpile:

it's a curbside kit and i don't know how to scretchbuilt it so sorry no motor :P

but i'll take some pics of the interior/chasis/brakes...etc when i've some progress as i haven't start working on those areas yet! :)

Are you gonna run the exhaust the same? Or make a scratchbuild one out the back??
Looks awesome though. Id sh*t myself if i saw that coming in the rear veiw mirror!

Sucks about your vents dude. Its a pain in the ass to go through all the trouble then a month or so after it's done, you find them.

ozstrider: Not sure yet. I'm looking at both options at the moment. I prefer to scratchbuilt an exhaust out the back. but the problem is the whole underside is covered by the diffusers so it's bit tricky to add an exhaust and makes it look natural.



86_SR5: yes it's a pain.. and i'm sure the vents will "re-surface" (if there is such a word) on my desk just after i finished this project :/

I've added a few clearcoats last night.. and argghhh.. it reacts with the alclad II base coat. It's not TOO bad but i can definitely the paint melted a bit around some area :(( oh well it seems i'm pretty bad luck at the moment

MORE DISASTER!!!! the clear coat eat thru the Alclad 2 paint :(
a few spots around the edges were so bad that it can't be fixed.
So i will have to strip the paint and redo it from the beginning :banghead::banghead::banghead:

oh well... I'll take a break from this cursed project

This model gives me a really raw metal feel. I'm loving it! Nice job dude!

What clear coat did you use over Alclad?

that looks insane!! :eek:

MORE DISASTER!!!! the clear coat eat thru the Alclad 2 paint :(
a few spots around the edges were so bad that it can't be fixed.
So i will have to strip the paint and redo it from the beginning :banghead::banghead::banghead:

oh well... I'll take a break from this cursed project


Thats a damn shame. That car looked cool as hell.
A tip though, try to avoid cleacoating as much as possible. Yes you could get the clearcoat as smooth as glass but the coat beneath will still be rough and metallic coats especially look very 'orange peely' even after a smooth clearcoat.

If you're gonna do the Alclad thing again (which I really hope you do), make sure the BLACK undercoat is as smooth as glass. Thats where all the hard work should go. If you get that right, you won't need a clearcoat.

Also I personally would skip the CF hood, that car looked perfect without it.

P.S. If you HAVE to use clearcoat, try Future floor wax (Johnsons Klear in the UK). I have never had any problems and it can be brushed, airbrushed, or even dipped!


Good luck

Cheers

Farrokh

Great~! after Yvonne.. and now richard... gosh.. i have to buy this kit and KEEP! LOL.. not building that lil demon.. too nasty for me.. :)

Nyways~! Great Work on those rims! keep up~!

i wrote u the comments after reading the first page of ur threads.. after reading and seeing all ur other pics.. GOSH... pity that the car is cursed.. :) but ur great.. im sure it will turned out fine... Goodluck~!

Thanks guys for your nice comments and encouragement, i feel better now and regained a bit motivation .. so hopefully if the paint stripping was successful, i will start again this weekend. This time i'll fill the vent holes as i still can't find the vent pieces. And i will use the Alclad paint again. but maybe a different colour ;)

I was using some automotive acrylic spray can. Normally i just use the DupliColour clear spray can(or sometimes future), but this time i thought i should try something new and the acrylic should be safer than those enamal paints but oh well.....


And ok, this time i will make sure the black undercoat is smooth and shinny before i apply the alclad paint.. and i may use Future as clear coat if i have to..

And i will use the Alclad paint again. but maybe a different colour ;)
And ok, this time i will make sure the black undercoat is smooth and shinny before i apply the alclad paint.. and i may use Future as clear coat if i have to...






Don't you dare change that colour!!! ;) In fact I just bought some of that Alclad colour myself.

Hurry up and get it done I wanna see it! :D


Cheers

Farrokh

Keep at it dude, the car is hot and you can do it!!

So you are repainting the body?? What happen to the CF decal??

Farrokh: Thanks, i may still use the same colour but i may use a different colour.. let's see :)

Yvonne: The alclad paint react with the clear coat (badly) so i have to repaint everything.. that means i've to strip off all the paint and yes the CF as well :( Hurry finish your R34 cos your one looks so good! And hope you got all the good luck! (not like me :/)

Richard

ok here is a NAKED pic of my R34 after stripping :P
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body12.jpg
Yes, i've filled the holes on the bonnet.

and with primer:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/R34/body13.jpg

that will be one mean street machine... Alclad need no gloss coat... like said before just make sure the under lying gloss black is spotless... and dont touch it until it cures ;)

That a go boy!!!!

Its good that you continued, now its even better right??

IMO it looks better as a street car without those big JGTC hood vents.

i agree, the hood looks really sweet smooth like that

maybe just me, but the scoops gave it a more racey look. but then again, this is a street car. 500hp, why do you need to look fast anyway, right?

Nice. What spoiler is going to be on?? The race one from the kit or aftermarket for street (SAS, fujimi, aoshima, other).

Yvonne: Probably none. But not 100% decided yet. I will finish everything first.. see how it looks. I got the SAS GT wing + a few wings from other kits (Sard Supra GT, Mercedes C-class DTM, and some random ones) so i'll play around with them when i got the body finished.