Porsche 356A Speedster Competition

I finished the Porsche 356A Speedster Competition. First I wanted to paint it flat white with a maroon interior. Since I screwed up the first paint job, I switched from white to mica silver (TS-76) for two reasons: I wanted to try this color for my upcoming build of the Aston Martin DB5 (as you can see it is right now more of a light silver, while the Aston needs to be darker). The second reason is simply that I ran out of flat white and wanted to finish this. Nevertheless I think the color matches rather well with the interior.

When you build a Fujimi-kit, you´re always concerned with fitting issues. The only ones I faced concerned the front hood (see that it bends too much around the front window frame) and the alignment of the front wheels (they turn inwards if you don´t correct it).

It was also the first time I worked with BMF. This stuff is great I don´t remember how I could ever have worked without it. The silver lining is improvable but looks a lot better than the painting I did on my TWR Jaguar XJ-S (maybe I should rework these parts on the Jag with BMF??).

One thing that really made me mad were the number decals Fujimi provides with the kit. They really should give that little edge to the model, but they developed bubbles and fractions the moment I touched it with decal softener. I don´t know why this happened. I guess it´s the manufacturer´s fault :wink:

Okay, enough of the talking. Here come the pictures. Please comment on the results and keep in mind that my digicam is rather old. I should save some money to get a new one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/b6bb2478.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/f2371f6a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/86a471d3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/710c5c70.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/363f6049.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/5ad63373.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/494e98b8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/f1720536.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/4c753e73.jpg

Original exterior body color for comparison:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/knobi23232/Porsche%20356A/SIMG0098.jpg

That's a great looking model. The rivets are well done and really add to this build.

The tonneau cover adds a lot to the look. My guess is the decals were old

This is an uber-cool build!

That's a great looking Porsche.I like the body colour/hood colour combo it looks really good together.

God what a beauty!!!!!! the cockpit cover(?) is damn sexy!!!!

Sweet!

Came out perfect!

Very very nice :thumbsup:

Nice job you have done there on a very involved kit, The 356 Speedster is my all time favourite classics and you have picked the perfect color scheme.

Thanks you for your kind comments and compliments. The decals were not that old. The kit is a rather new issue by Fujimi and it seems that they just won´t work with Gunze DecalSoftener. I heard that Fujimi-Decals are not the best to begin with!

Thanks you for your kind comments and compliments. The decals were not that old. The kit is a rather new issue by Fujimi and it seems that they just won´t work with Gunze DecalSoftener. I heard that Fujimi-Decals are not the best to begin with!

Nice job on the old bathtub Porsche! May I make a suggestion for next time? Take one of the throw-away decals (like the one of the manufacturer's name) and apply it to a piece of spare plastic (or a screwed up/test body) to see how they will react. Most decals do not like any type of setting agent while others won't work without them. Experimenting with a throw-away decal takes all the guesswork out of the equation...;-)>

hth,
Bill

Nice model!...I like the color combo a lot....A question: where you got those rivets?, are them the molded in picked up with some paint?

A question: where you got those rivets?, are them the molded in picked up with some paint?

The latter is correct. I painted them Tamiya chrome silver (the reason why one is not as nicely covered comparerd to the others)

The rivets are well done and really add to this build.

Sorry to bug you about an old post, Quadzero, but I'm building the same kit, and I just can't find any rivets in Porsnatic's pix. What rivets are you referring to? Do you mean the tonneau cover fasteners?

Ddms

Looks beautiful, the results are nice.

Is this the porsche that gio has a pe set for?

Sorry to bug you about an old post, Quadzero, but I'm building the same kit, and I just can't find any rivets in Porsnatic's pix. What rivets are you referring to? Do you mean the tonneau cover fasteners?

Ddms

Yeah, I guess these are rivets he referred to. I found it rather easy to paint them with a pointed brush. Give it a try, it really adds to the result of the kit.

Robert

Yes, that's the kit for Gio's PE sets.

I'm starting the same kit. My front cover was "off" too. I re-shaped it a bit in both directions by heating it with my wife's hair dryer and allowing it to cool under stress. Since it doesn't have to get very hot for very long, I actually think the hair dryer method could be used with a painted piece.

It does sit a little low in the saddle, but that may be good news. Hopefully, paint thickness will raise it flush.

Thanks, Robert for clearing up the "rivet" question. I'll either paint those fasteners or replace them with PE.

Ddms

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s28/DidymusThomas/Porsche%20356%20Speedster/Speedster_nose_prepaint_scn.jpg

Since it doesn't have to get very hot for very long, I actually think the hair dryer method could be used with a painted piece.

Thanks for your tip. Maybe one day when I take this one out again and redo it, I will reshape the front hood for sure.

Have fun with the build and make sure showing us.


Robert

Have fun with the build and make sure showing us.

Okay. I'll start a WIP.

Ddms

Just to bring things up-to-date:

The more I looked at that front cover/hood, the more I realized it was sitting much too low on the sides. And the center was too high!

It took a lot of puttying and sanding, but I think it's better now.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s28/DidymusThomas/Porsche%20356%20Speedster/UPOLcmpnd1scrn.jpg


I doubt I'll be doing a WIP on this project, but I'll definitely post the finished model in another thread.

Ddms

Looks awesome! :) :thumbsup:

Thanks, Jano. Hope I don't screw it up.

Yeah, you made a cool looking Porsche of it.
Witch color did you use for the maroon?

Maurits

Witch color did you use for the maroon?


I'd call it red, but hey, it's an Omni automotive urethane custom mix. It's actually a little bit darker than the pic. The clear coat is U-POL Power Can Clear, sprayed fairly dry and lightly wet-sanded with 2000 grit, then polished with Tamiya compounds.

Ddms

What a handsome little car! I think the silver is a better match for this car, and the interior.

If you were refering to the marron on the interior in the silver Porsche, I used plain Tamiya TS-11 Maroon straight fro the can.


Robert