Tamiya McLaren MP4/5B

Maplins electronics store supplied the Isopropyl Alcohol.There should be one near to you.I have also heard that you can buy it at most chemist shops.


Thanks Steve - I have one right here in Southampton. :)

This build is really coming along well, you must be pretty damn close now. I know how frustrating (not to mention expensive) it can be to stuff the paint job after all the hard work. The exhaust looks great, I have a couple of sets on order and I'm keen to test them out. Are they easy to apply? Do they rub off easy? Do you have to clear coat them?
Keep that progress going. Once you finish your car, I'm to start working on mine again.

The exhaust looks great, I have a couple of sets on order and I'm keen to test them out. Are they easy to apply? Do they rub off easy? Do you have to clear coat them?

Thanks for your kind words.They are simple to apply,Tamiya include a sponge applicator,but I also used a wide sable brush to apply the powder,which worked equally well.If you rub them with a wet cotton bud/Q-tip they do rub off,but in general they stay where you put them and you can blend them together to get that shaded appearance.I didn't try a clear coat over them,I don't think it is really neccessary.I think it would probably destroy the finish,though I'm not sure.I would test it on something you are not bothered about first perhaps.

where did you pick up your conversion decals?

where did you pick up your conversion decals?

You can get the Marlboro logos only or full sponsor decals by Tabu Design at Hobbylink Japan or Mediamix Hobby.Links below.

http://www.hlj.com/ http://www.mediamixhobby.com.sg/catalog/index.php?currency=GBP

Looks excellent so far, interesting to hear of you using Isopropyl Alcohol, I've not heard of it until now either. I have always used brake fluid to strip paint which seems to work ok most of the time but works better with some paints than others and is horrible to use too. I always wear latex gloves but end up splitting them and getting it all over my hands, not good!

I take it the alcohol is also dodgy if you get it on your skin?

I take it the alcohol is also dodgy if you get it on your skin?

It evaporates very fast.Not sure if it harms the skin as such but it's pretty strong smelling stuff,I wear gloves to be on the safe side.

Just a quick update to let you all know I haven't forgot about finishing this one off.The Mitsubishi Lancer I was working on is now complete.Building the Mitsubishi gave me a much needed break from working on the McLaren and I was also waiting on some replacement decals.Luckily whilst I was waiting Tabu Design released a brand new sheet with the full sponsor markings on it not just the Marlboro logo's,so this is on it's way from HLJ.I wish I had known this at the start and I could have used them for the entire model not just the engine cover.Anyway enough of my ramblings.Here's a picture of the freshly re-prepared engine cover in Tamiya white primer.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4019.jpg

The plan is to let it dry for a few days/a week and then re-paint it.Hopefully the decals will be here by then.I hope to have more luck with the painting 2nd time around.I've also invested in a new spraybooth for extracting the painting fumes which should arrive soon.With any luck it should get to me in time to test it out on the McLaren painting.I'll update again when I get the colours on.

Looks like a nice white base. Keep it up

Regards,
Billy P

Nice to see you back into it....this build deserves to get finished.

Quick update on the engine cover.It's painted again!!! It went very smoothly second time around.I used the Finisher's paints as before.They really are good paints and dry incredibly fast.I've also painted the front carbon type screen and added the Tag Heuer decal.I'm going to polish the whole thing up and try to get away with no clearcoat to avoid the fiasco I had with the last attempt.The decals have not yet arrived from HLJ but they should be here any day now.Here's a few update pictures of the engine cover.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4040.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4037.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4034.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4033.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4032.jpg

Ohh that looks BEAUTIFUL!!!

I hope my paintjob will turn out as good as yours when I'm at this point with my mp 4/6 :icon16:

Hello,
Really Nice clean work.....!!!!!

Really Great.

I like it very Much.

Cheers,

Jamme

Came out looking great Steve can't wait to try Finisher's paints Mp4 red on my McLaren. I bought foundation white to be the base coat for my Williams :)

Sweet job...

Excellent paint job! :thumbsup:

Those paint works are perfect, as well as the photographs! Top notch!

Another small update.I spent this morning poilishing the engine cover and it came up really nicely.The red areas could have been a little better around the side vents,but overall I'm very pleased with it.I've also masked out and added the black areas on the outside (around the side vents) and sprayed the inside black as well.Just waiting on the decals now and it's almost there.I'm also going to add a few photo etch screw heads to the screen and the engine cover.This afternoon I'm going to try and fabricate some sort of stands so I can display the engine cover off the car.Here's a few pictures of the polished engine cover with the black trim sprayed.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4047.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4058.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4043.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4056.jpg

Now where's those decals!! Hurry up HLJ.See you on the next update,hopefully with decals applied.

Looks very crisp. At the bottom, you don't appear to have a definite line. Does it get covered by CF or something?

Sorry, ignore my last comment. The full page finally loaded and I can see photos which answer my question :)

That looks real! Every little update in this thread is exciting!

I love the first pic awww... so great...:popcorn:

so can i send you my mp4/5b body parts and have you paint them for me? :grinyes:

my painting always turns out so horrible. :banghead:

Steve the poilishing job you did looks super. What did you use to get that finish?

Very nice - the paintwork and finish has come up brilliant!

:eek: That mask job is outstanding!

Steve the poilishing job you did looks super. What did you use to get that finish?

Thanks for all the comments Guys,really appreciate them.To answer your question Dave.After I removed the masking (Tamiya tape) and it was dry,I used Micro-Mesh 6000 and 8000 grades very lightly.This virtually removed the step between the white and red and also made the masking seperation line very clean.For the polishing I used Finisher's medium compound to start then followed up with Finisher's fine compound,then Tamiya Finish compound.All were applied with a microfibre cloth.I waxed the surface with an auto wax called P21s (I use it on my full size car) That's it really.The only tips I would give to anyone painting the McLaren is to mark the centre's where the lines meet (circled below) with a pin prick to help with the alignment when doing the masking.The masking line that Tamiya provide on the body is so faint it gets worn off with all the sanding etc.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/IMGP4056cc.jpg

I'm still waiting for the decals from Japan.They should be here soon,they were posted 2 weeks ago.I'm getting frustrated waiting,I want to get on and finish it now.

This build would make Bruce himself proud...and Ron too!

Keep up the great work!

Bill

Wow, absolutely beautiful!

Love the paintjob, the CF, man I love it all! Very Imressive!

Dude...that is very nice. Beautifully done. :smokin:

Not much of an update really.I'm still waiting on the decals from Japan.It's been over two weeks now.It's never taken this long before.I hope they haven't got lost in the post.Anyway I've used the time to make some small stands for the engine cover to sit on.I tried to do them originally with brass tubing and solder it together but my soldering skills can be summed up with one word 'rubbish' So I ended up making them with round Plastruct tubing.

Here's the stands

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/McLaren%20Chassis/IMGP4122.jpg

Here they are holding up the engine cover

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/McLaren%20MP4%205B/McLaren%20Chassis/IMGP4126.jpg

Just need to paint them now,not sure what colour,maybe black or silver.

WOW quite clean and precise works on the stand! :eek: I love them!

The stands look very good and to scale. I'd suggest that you go for an aluminium look, as I'm guessing that is what they would be made of.

Kind regards,
Bill

The McLaren is now finished.See the completed pics Here (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=671605)

so can i send you my mp4/5b body parts and have you paint them for me? :grinyes:

my painting always turns out so horrible. :banghead:


seriously

so can i send you my mp4/5b body parts and have you paint them for me? :grinyes:

my painting always turns out so horrible. :banghead:

Seriously

I dont think I would trust myself to paint someone else's model in case I made a mess of it and left them with nothing.Seriously though I think if you take your time with the painting there's no reason that you can't achieve an excellent result.The Finisher's paints made all the difference,they are so easy to apply and give a great finish straight from the airbrush with minimal polishing.Use Tamiya tape for the masking and mark the centre points of the red areas with a small pin hole to help with alignment for when you mask out.Build the red up slowly and evenly and let it dry before you remove the masking tape.I think also the real key to success was the use of the Micromesh polishing kit to smooth out the step between the two colours and the excellent Finisher's rubbing compounds.Have a go at it and I think you might surprise yourself.:thumbsup:

yea....

im just so hard on myself. I honesty dont think i will ever get my paint to lay correct. Masking is also an issue, i always seem to get runs underneath the tape. :banghead:

:(

yea....

im just so hard on myself. I honesty dont think i will ever get my paint to lay correct. Masking is also an issue, i always seem to get runs underneath the tape. :banghead:

:(

What tape are you using? This sometimes happens to me when I use paint that is too thin.Put the first few layers of paint on very lightly,just try to cover the area you are painting but don't lay the paint on heavy or it may run under the tape.After you have applied the first few layers allow it to dry and it will seal the tape edge and stop paint bleeding under when you lay the paint on in wetter coats.Or you could use clear as your first few coats.If the clear bleeds under the tape you won't see it because it's clear.The clear will also have the effect of sealing the tape edges against bleeding when you apply the red.Make sure also that the tape is firmly pressed down.If you cut the tape as well into thin strips for masking out,say 1mm wide it won't wrinkle as much as when it is wider so you will get a much better seal.You will find the tape will bend into all sorts of shapes,curves etc when it is cut down to 1mm because it is so much more flexible.I always cut the Tamiya tape on a cutting mat using a fresh scalpel blade and a steel ruler for best results.If you have any more questions or need any advice drop me a line.I'll be happy to help you if I can.Best regards,Steve.

i use the tamiya 6mm tape.


*added*

BTW thanks for the tips. as soon as it warms up around here i will try what you suggested. did you just use the light gray primer or did you shoot a white primer over that?

thanks again

BTW thanks for the tips. as soon as it warms up around here i will try what you suggested. did you just use the light gray primer or did you shoot a white primer over that?

thanks again

I used the light grey first to check the filler work.It is essential to make a good job on the filling work,especially around the side vents (rear),the headrest area and the small section at the front of the side vents.The rear of the vent should be faired in with filler and be flush with the main body section so no trace of the join remains.Once you're happy with your filling use white primer over the grey for a good base for your topcoats.If you have a look at my W.I.P thread you can see some shots of the cowling in the preparation stages before painting began.