Revell Lamborghini Countach--My first car model

Hi guys. Throughout this post, you'll see my progress (or regress) in car modeling. ALso, I'll definetley be asking tons of questions.
My first question right now is should I paint the parts I'm gonna be working with before I put things together? Or should I wait a little bit, have some stuff constructed, and then paint it?

I'm starting with the Lambo's engine first. I'll definetley put spme pictures up...as soon as I find my camera :banghead:

Sweet first car!!

I am currently 1/4 way thru a countach myself

I would say paint your parts first, then glue

Can't wait to see the pics!!

Jason

I'm the biggets road block ever, right now. I'm looking for an airbrush kit for about $20 so that I can actually start on putting the parts together. I studied the directions over and over and now I understand the best way to go about doing this.

And Jason--did you use cement to put your parts together or just any crazy glue? ANd what AirBrush do you use?

Thanks!

I use Testors Liquid cement, Testore clear parts cement and "Flash" super glue with a tooth pick for some parts

I used to use an airbrush ( just a cheap one ) but its just easier to buy some tamiya TS spray paints

Jason

There's no set rule for about when to paint parts. For example, I wouldn't paint the left and right halves of the engine block before gluing them together. Glue them together, deal with the seams, do any additional test fitting needed with other parts, then paint. On the other hand, I wouldn't install the engine in the chassis without painting it first. You have to decide on a case by case basis.

A $20 airbrush is probably not going to be worth looking at. If you get a cheap one now, it only means you'll wind up spending more to get a decent one later.

Get a bottle of liquid cement- Testors is good stuff, probably my favorite. Stay away from the tube type. It should only be used by people who grew up building models in the 60's and 70's for nostalgia purposes- it's crap. Get an inexpensive pointy brush and use it to apply the liquid cement- the brush in the bottle cap is useless.

Thanks guys!

These are some pictures:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/Cars/PICT0005-1.jpg

The thing on the bottom center is the engine. I started work on it.

What scale is that lambo in?

The lambo is 1/24

And just one question:
You're suppose to put a few coatings of paint on before you get it perfect, right?

It takes a few coats to get a the target finish, usually, but you don't want any one coat to look especially bad. It isn't often that a first-time builder gets a "perfect" paint job, but if you follow some basic painting routines. Alas, preparation is just as important as painting itself. primeraman wrote a great tutorial on preparation and painting:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59123

I hope this helps out.

very nice! Thanks a lot for linking me ot that tut. schubert!

I started some work on the engine. I spray painted the parts, and then hooked them/cemented them together. After I'm done with the engine, I'm going to go over it gently and precisely with a precisioned paintbrush

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/Cars/Engine1.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/Cars/engine2.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/Cars/engine3.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/Cars/engine4.jpg

Wow, I haven't updated this in a while
Here are some pics. Nothing has been finalised, as I still have add more touch-ups with paints. Now, the engine right now looks like a joke, but I plan on using real aluminum to add more realism. Anyways, here are some pictures (feel free to add comments and suggestions)

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/plate.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/body2.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/PaintedBody2.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/TestFit1.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/TestFit2.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/TestFit3.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/TestFit4.jpg

Last 4 are test fits

I've started work on the enterior. Before I put everything together, I'll add some precise and final touch ups. (I know this whole thing looks like a joke, but more importantly, I'm getting experience :-P)

Looks like it's coming along. Want some advice on improving it? Tell us everything you can about what you've done. Do you have an airbrush yet? What kind of paint are you using? How did you paint the engine- by hand or spray and what color? What's going well, what's going not so well, and what would it help to know?

Not at all that your doing badly here, but for your next build I'd highly recommend a more straightforward kit. The more I'm seeing of this one, the more clear it is that it's not a particullarly good first or second build option.

It looks good, keeping in mind that this is your first model. I agree with MPWR that the Lambo is very ambitious to go with. All we state is meant to be advice and things we would do different in order to get a model improving your skills. One thing that strikes me is that the paint looks wrinkled and blurry at the edges of the model (f.ex. the rear trunk). Make sure that you prepare body and piant the best you can as stated in the HOW-TOs on this page. Sand the body and the paint again and again, when you´re not satisfying. The one thing that will be needed for modeling most - next to skills - is patience...believe me...lot´s of patience.
But your work sure has potential. Try to improve your models step by step. Always try to add new techniques and make sure to be inspired by the work of all the mastermodelers on the forum. Nice to have you with us, keep it up!

Thanks for all your support and help, guys!
This is what's been happening with my Countach.

When I glued (Crazy Glue) wheel wells onto the floor pan, I put the body cover over it to test fit it. When the body cover didn't fit exactly well over it, I realized that the right wheel well wasn't perfectly alligned :banghead:. And in order to fis that problem, I had to use my hobby knife to cut it off and then reglue it more precisely. Now that I put the body cover over it, the results aren't PERFECT, but certainly are a lot better then what they used to be.

And I haven't gotten my hands on an airbrush right now. I've been using Krylon Spray Paint cause the guy at Sears told me that it's the best one to go with if I want to have something look metal.

And when painting the engine, I used gray spray paint, but it didn't do a decent job. For example, the ridges of the engine were left slightly whitish, so I used a paintbrush and some of my own gray paint to go over it.

To improve the horrid looks of the engine, I glued one some aluminum foil and it does make it look a little bit better. And yeah, I do see the roughness of the body as well. Before I start adding things to the body (the radiator scoops, the airfoil, etc.) I'm going to wash it with hot water, file it in some areas, and go over it with a final coat of paint. And after I leave the model to dry for a couple of days, I'll use car wax to give that shiny touch to it.

And patience...it helps in everything, but I see how not having any of it and going into car modeling can really screw you over. It took me about two days before I got the wheel wells corrected. And there were those times where if one TINY part of the car wasn't completed, the rest of the car would have no progress and would stay at a standstill for days.

Just a few days ago I saw a Revell Ferrari Enzo (javascript:ShowPopUp('info%5fR07309%2ehtml',430,5 00);) at a store for about $8 so I bought it. I know that this level 3 model will DEFINETLY not be my second model, but I still bought it cause these things usually go for about $20-$35.

Anyways my Countach will probably be my last model for a couple of months because school will start next week and by that time, I plan on having it done, and then giving school more priority (Im a senior at high school :grinno:)

Some more pictures

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/Panel3.jpg
This is with the aluminium foil added and the radiator painted red. It's not the greatest, but it does have a more improved look then last time.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/testFit1.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/testFit5.jpghttp://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/testFit4.jpghttp://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/OlVlni/testFit2.jpg
The above 4 pictures were test fits. (It doesn't look TOO bad for a first build:p)

The body cover was sanded in the areas that were too thick with paint. I washed it with hot water and detergent like people suggested, and I will give it another coating (hopefully I'll get it right this time) This time, I'll hold the spray paint about 12 inches away from the body. Let me know of any other suggestions, thanks!