Newbie "my first kit" questions.

Hello!

I've been lurking for a while, having dabbled in 1/18 diecasts, and then handbuilt 1/43s, finding myself drawn to kit 1/24s, and very much wanting to 'have a go.'

I've been looking around at a kit that will keep me entertained enough [long story short; I get bored easily :P], tgat will interest me as a 1/24 as well as the 1/1, and be a good learning experience: build, paint, details, decals.

I've been drawn to this:
http://i10.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/dd/02/3ddf_1.JPG

One main colour, a few decals, I love racing F40s, and it's not the most basic of kits to build. I'm starting from scratch, having only half built a JGTC Supra about 8 years ago. What I lack in skill [which is a fair bit, I'll concede :P] I make up in ambition, desire, and naiveity!

Has anyone any experience with this kit? I know Tamiya make a F40, which is seemingly 'better' but, if given enough attention, will the Fujimi F40 look good?

I've a load of questions about what specific kit to start with, but I'll ask those later. Want to decide on which kit to start with first.

Cheers!
Matt.

Welcome :)

I don't know this particular kit but Fujimi make good kits (no one is perfect ;) ) so it's a pretty safe bet that you will be just fine with it and have a good time wit it.

The subject interests you and that is the most important thing.

The best part is that it's curbside so there is nothing to distract you from making sure you have good fit, good stance, good preparation and good paint. It will still give you plenty of scope to play with mild detailing of you feel that you want to play around with that or will be just fine OOB.

Whichever kit you finally settle on, I'm willing to bet that your biggest stress area is going to be the painting and not the kit itself ;)

Get it, open it, start a WIP thread and have fun :)

My :2cents:

Welcome to the forum. Both the Tamiya and Fujimi kits are very good, but the Fujimi is a curbside (no great engine detail) and the Tamiya gives you a complete engine bay. If you are getting into the hobby have a go with the Fujimi kit and save the Tamiya for the standard production version of the F40, that is if you don't have the Monte Shell F40, which is the Tamiya kit with racing decals and some race goodies.

Once your skills have warmed-up on the curbside, then try the full version. This may save you some heart ache since you are just starting in the hobby.

And don't give up! Your first kits may not be masterpieces, but finish them anyway. I badly finished kit on the shelf is better than a beautifily unfinished kit in the box.

Thanks guys.

I've printed out all the FAQ posts, and am going through them compiling a list of kit that I'd need to get started. Seems to be a few trails of thought as to how to best prep and paint a kit, but I think I've got a rough idea of the basic order of things. I guess a WIP thread will iron out any other Q's I have.

My other love is for group C sportscars, which is where I'm aiming for. I'd love a C9, 787B, R89C created by my own hand, but I know those won't happen know, but will come in time.

Kit ordered. :)

Few more Q's about kit to follow.

Might go on hold 'till this is sorted out:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=887674

Can't find TS spray cans regularly available!

I think you have picked a good kit to start with. The F40 kit isn't perfect, but it was designed by the team which brought the Enthusiast series, which later founded Rosso, so it's actually pretty good.

And if you can find a cheap alternative, don't bother TS paint, but just get a close match (assuming that you're going to paint your model red). Most people can't tell the difference, unless you place your model next to the one painted with the TS spray. Also red is greatly affected by the color of the base coat (such as white, light gray, yellow, tan, orange, pink etc), so even if you use the TS paint, the result may vary.

Can you recommend some hobby based paints, that I can get inside the EU, that behave similar to the TS sprays, in their ability to be smoothed and polished, etc.

I read on here automotive paints are thicker, and a little harder to work with, especially being a amateur.

Can you recommend some hobby based paints, that I can get inside the EU, that behave similar to the TS sprays, in their ability to be smoothed and polished, etc.

I read on here automotive paints are thicker, and a little harder to work with, especially being a amateur.
Automotive paints have to be thinned 1:1 with reducer or lacquer thinner. As with any paint, you can make them as thin as you like.

They're actually easier to spray. Compared with Tamiya TS series synthetic lacquers, they cover much better, flash quicker, cure faster and level out better, i.e., are less prone to orange peel. And come in about 2.43 zillion colors. I think they are a joy to use. But a clear coat is necessary to get a glossy finish.

They aren't available in spray cans, so you'd need an airbrush. Most importantly, they need to be handled more carefully and require safety equipment, specifically a paint-type respirator that costs less than 40 USD.

For clear coat, you can use either clear lacquer or two-part clear urethane. To minimize my exposure to urethanes, I use clear lacquer.

"Zero" paints are similar, but are marketed to modelers. AFAIK they are automotive paints that have been pre-reduced by 50%. It's no surprise to those of us who've used auto paints that people seem to really enjoy using them. They are sold from the UK by hiroboy.com - not exactly the EU, but close!

Keep in mind Zero paints have the same safety requirements as Dupont or PPG automotive paints.

Ddms

The F40 kit.... was designed by the team which brought the .....which later founded Rosso,
Sorry for the bimbo question, but who/what is Rosso? I'm very curious.

Matt,

To use Zero paints you don't just need a respirator, above all you will need an airbrush and compressor :) If you don't have those and don't want to invest in them just yet, IIRC you can get automotive paint mixed to color and packed in aerosol cans at Halfords in the UK.

Failing that, I have a quite a few of cans of various Tamiya TS paints (including Italian Red) that I am willing to part with if you want them.