hi... newbie needs some help

i read the faq already but i still have some questions, hope you guys can help me since you guys are all so *nice* =)

so i just started my first model today...

and i realized i bought the wrong putty... i got the regular tamiya
putty and had a really really hard time make a front thing and side
skirts and the back thing. i then realized that i should have gone for
the epoxy putty. here's question 1) is that stuff much easier to use?
is it much stronger and easier to mold into shapes i want and not
as soft as the regular putty? can someone post some pics to give me
some ideas what the front/side/back could look like with epoxy putty.

question 2) should i spray the interior of the body first or the exterior?

thanks in advance for any answers. i'll probably have more questions
along the way. but that's all for now.

another question, does 17" and 18" inch wheels fit on Fujimi 1995 Civic Ek4 sir-II? do i have to modify it to make it fit?

1) I haven't used Tamiya Epoxy before, but heard it's real good!

2) Most of use paint the Body first, but it's totally up to you on the order.

3) They should fit with no modifications, one think I notice though, I tried to fit some ITR SiR-G rims to a civic, and didn't fit cause the brake "hole" was too small! But I hadn't had a problem with any other rim. Say which rims do you plan to use or get?

There have been many posts on making body kits. You should not use putty to make the body kit, especially if you're gonna go with extreme flares and splitters sticking out everywhere. Go to a hobby shop and get some styrene sheets to create a basic shape, then use the putty to smooth and mold contours. Tamiya epoxy putty would work better for making body kits over the regular stuff. That stuff should be used to fill holes, scratces, etc...


It doesn't matter whether you do interior/ exterior first, but I prefer to prep and paint the body first and work on other bits later. By painting the body first you allow more time for the paint to cure and harden. By the time you're finished with the interior, you'll just need a polishing kit to finish out the body and paint whatever necessary trim items.

for your wheel question, sometimes you'll have to modify the brake hub or wheel itself to fit properly and have the correct offset. If you're gonna start lowering stuff then you'd need more experience in cutting and lining up plastic and can sometimes get very detailed. Too time consuming to do a step by step for every possible method. The wheels shoud fit without any problems size wise. The fender wells are large enough to accomodate a 17 aftermarket wheel. If you're lucky the offset and mounting style are exactly the same. Most Aoshima/ Fujimi wheelsets fit Fujimi and Aoshima kits without problems because they use the same mounting methods most of the time.

Kelvinblade, dont take this the wrong way, but if this is your first model shouldn't you learn to build a few box stock kits before you start doing bodykits and modifying stuff?

I was thinking of getting the Fujimi Enkei NT-03 18-inch Wheel.
Do you think it will fit on the Civic Sir-2? Cuz yeah, the brake
hole seems pretty small.
any suggestions on other wheels? i want white ones...

Another question, what are photo-etched sets? I see them at
all the online shops. Is it just same as a decal or does it actually
come with a piece of plastic/metal where you actually stick it
on your model?

is a bottle of epoxy tamiya enuf for a car if i want to do a body kit
all the way around the car?

what mufflers should i get , any advice?

how come it seems like automotiveforums server is always busy?!!?

Originally posted by kelvinblade


what mufflers should i get , any advice?



Empty bullet shells, I prefer rifle shells :D

I am working on the Fujimi Civic Sir 95, and I have the Enkei NT-03 18-inch Wheel fitted on , No Problem at all, and it looks cool. I will post a pic later today to let you see how it looks.

Originally posted by kelvinblade
I was thinking of getting the Fujimi Enkei NT-03 18-inch Wheel.
Do you think it will fit on the Civic Sir-2?

Another question, what are photo-etched sets?

is a bottle of epoxy tamiya enuf for a car if i want to do a body kit
all the way around the car?

1) not sure if does rims are compatible for that car....

2) photo-etched are usually pieces of thin metal

3) The epoxy isn't a bottle, it's these two strips, I got some put never did use them yet.....

If this is your first car, don't get too stressed out where as you'll totally quit the hobby! Like wkma7six said, you should build a few "out-of-the-box" kits.

to make a body kit using a styrene sheet, i just cut out a chunk of it,
make vents where i want them to be. how do i attach it to the car?
super glue? and then add epoxy putty to cover the whole thing?
what about the details of the body kit? do i cut out smaller pieces
of styrene and add it on or do i just putty?

so you're saying you figured how to use styrene and whether certain
wheels would fit on certain cars by common sense? thats very smart of
you.

but isn't one of the reason this forum is here is so people can get help
and ask questions? like my topic says, i am a newbie and i need help.
if you don't want to help, thats fine, there are other people on this
board who are unlike you. you don't even have to read this post, whats
the point?

joewclaw, if you can post some pics of your car, that would be really
cool, thanks.

Please have a look on my pics......i personally like the NT-03 rims, it gives kind of honda type R rims feeling to me.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/236698sir_nt03_01.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/292114sir_nt03_02.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/711582sir_nt03_03.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/562630sir_nt03_04.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/162294sir_nt03_05.jpg
Hopes it helps

BTW, no worries on making body kits. All the people are quite friendly, and all of them are willing to help.

I am trying to build custom side skirts, front and rear lips, and wings using Tamiya Epoxy......it is tough, and need to be patient. I would suggest cut styrene sheet into the desired length and width, then use very thin styrene sheet(0.2mm) to add the shape and style. Remember, you can use sandpaper to make the styrene sheet thinner, and rounded/shaped as you like.

Tamiya Putty/Epoxy is good, but make sure when you use it, your finger is wet enough, and I would suggest you wait for 3-4 hours to let the surface dry, then you can try to make some shape on it. But be careful, the inner of the putty isn't dry yet, so shaping the putty firmly, (no worries that it isn't the shape you want, you can sand it later, and add more putty to desired shape). Then you need to wait 24 hours or longer to let it fully harden (timing depends on the humidity of your place. hope I can help. :flash:

Here are some pictures of modifications using a combination of plastic sheet and putty. Plastic sheet works as a template, and it helps maintaining the symmetry on both sides by making a set of two identical templates.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/234335mod1.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/670012mod2.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/396713mod3.jpg

Originally posted by hirofkd
Here are some pictures...350Z GT/LM?!? :eek:

thanks for the pics.

does anyone have pics of an unpainted front bumper/lip made using
styrene and putty?

what do you guys use for the interior of the car? acrylic or enamel?
i tried the acrylic paint by tamiya and it seems pretty thick. am i
suppose to dilute it before I use it?

thanks for the help. =)

Originally posted by kelvinblade
what do you guys use for the interior of the car? acrylic or enamel?
i tried the acrylic paint by tamiya and it seems pretty thick. am i
suppose to dilute it before I use it?

thanks for the help. =)

Let's see, I use enamel, but you can use any. Someone told me that you use rubbing alcohol to "thin" Tamiya acrylic, since it's alcohol based, you could use water but you should add a drop of soap for a reason I forgot, if I find that thread, I'll post it!

*edit* found the link, http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=71055