Progress: Tamiya Porsche Carrera GT

Well, here's my Carerra GT, a project I started a while back (it was being built side-by-side with my Cobra throwback, for those who remember that) and is a beautiful shade of blue. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT0201.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT0203.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT0204.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT0205.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT0206.jpg

You're going to love building this kit, it has the best fit I've ever seen. Colour is unusual, should look nice. :)

On a technical point, I notice you've missed the mold lines on the nose and over the fenders. Might be worth taking the time to sand them back and repaint now.

Its nice....Maybe a color more on the engine wont look bad, and try wetsanding after lacquer, because you have major orange peel judging by the picture. but the color choice is very nice indeed ;)

Yeah, I noticed the orange peel. I seem to get a lot of it, for whatever reason, no matter how hard I try to avoid it. I think that painting in the basement isn't the best place, but it's the only place in my house :-/

Here's my other problem: I don't have enough of the Fuji Blue left to cover the car if I were to sand it. So if I wanted to get the mold lines out (which I did notice after the fact), I'd have to recolor the car. I do have both new Cobra Colors limited editions, but I really like the blue. I'll have to debate this, but you guys are more than welcome to chime in with your opinions.

I'll have to debate this, but you guys are more than welcome to chime in with your opinions.

In that case, I say ADIOS the mold lines!! Don't settle for less than your best effort! And anyway it's 4-5$ for paint against a 30$ model ;)

where did you get Fuji blue?

It's a Cobra Colors Fire Pearl, so it's more expensive, plus shipping and all that.

Does anybody else have an opinion on the matter? If repainted, the Carrera GT will be painted Cobra Colors Sea Serpent

Alright, well, I feel like bringing this back because I'm picking up this model again, and I'm gonna post something similar in my poll.

First, is this orange peel or crazing? Second, if it's orange peel, could I just sand it off with high-grit paper, and if so, what's the best way to do that before spraying a little bit more blue on it?

New camera, so more pictures:
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/6690/pict10734vz.th.jpg (http://img78.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict10734vz.jpg)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1071.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1072.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1074.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1075.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1076.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1077.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1078.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1079.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1080.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1081.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1082.jpg

Looks to me like you sprayed the paint without thinning it. Did you thin it at all, or just spray it straight from the bottle?

Skip the VX, it's not going to do you any good. Invest in a can of good laquer thinner- PPG DTL-105 if at all possible. Find it here (http://www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmFindDistributor.asp). Remember, if a paint is labeled as "thinned for airbrushing", it only means that it is possible to push it through an airbrush without thinning it further. It does not mean that it is thinned for ideal airbrushing performance. (Ask him and Leon will tell you the same thing.)

Thin it properly, and you'll easily get between 2 and 4 cars out of one bottle of CobraColors. Even with shipping, it's cheaper than hobby paint. If you don't thin it, you'll probably only get one body out of a bottle, and it will frequently bump up on you- it's hardly worth the bother of using.

Looks to me like you sprayed the paint without thinning it. Did you thin it at all, or just spray it straight from the bottle?

He is right. I tried to thin Cobra Colors paint with PPG thinner and WOW!!! Now I can paint two cars with only one jar and the paint is so smooth. I thin my primer too and everything works fine. A jar of paint is cheaper than a spray can from tamiya and the colors are wonderfull.

Agreed!

Over the years I've been told my pre-thinned paint is perfect for some, too thin for others, and too thick for still others. The differences revolve mainly around equipment setup and personal style of airbrushing. How it's thinned now is what I've worked out to be a good balance to suit all, but it should always be considered a starting point. It's great if you're happy shooting it as-is right out of the jar, but if you're experiencing heavy orange peel then definitely try adding a bit more thinner.

Well, I got the thinner, and sanded the paint with 600 and above grits to try to get rid of the orange peel. I took the car outside to shoot, instead of in the basement, and waited days between coats. There's not much I didn't change about how I painted! But here's the results. A bit of orange peel, but I'm out of paint and pacience. So the car must go on! Sunlight pictures hopefully tomorrow.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/PICT1196.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/PICT1195.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/PICT1194.jpg

Tracklight and a camera flash just don't do the color justice. It really gets better with more layers!

Nicely progressing. It's too bad the orange peel situation set you back a bit, but that's all part of the experience I think. I really like the choice of colour you used. With the clear it will really light up, looking forward to seeing more.

Even without the clear (but yes, there will be clear, perhaps tonight depending on how I feel after work), it really pops in the sunlight. Two pictures to show. Also, progress is slow because I'm basically working full time this summer, and when I come home from work (an amusement park, making the rides go) I generally just crash.

Here's the sunlight, though. After this gets cleared, I'll build the engine and interior side-by-side.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1199.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/deltableh/Car%20Models/Carerra%20GT/PICT1200.jpg

Nice colour. i painted one of these gunmetal, and have never seen one this colour. can i ask what colour the interior is going to be?
Looking good, cant wait to see more.
ESE

You'll have to see. I hope to work on the interior a bit today (yay for days off!)