Castrol Mugen NSX Progress Thread

Not much to show right now. I've snipped off all the parts that required to be painted in the body colors. These have been tidied up and will look good on the model (no visible ejector pin holes). They are attached either by mini alligator clips attached to Q-tip sticks, or toothpicks with Blue-tak.
Minor note: The side mirrors have a mold line on them on the inner part, which I sanded off.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaiyao1/CastrolMugenNSX/02-281.jpg

Here's the body. Mold lines have been removed, and the roof was sanded to remove a little circular projection as according to the instructions. The mold lines run up the left and right front fenders and right/left rear fenders. The wheels in the background have been dechromed and will be painted in X-28 Park Green, then clearcoated.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaiyao1/CastrolMugenNSX/02-282.jpg

Here are the parts that have ejection pin holes that will be visible after assembly, so I'm filling them right now with Mr. Surfacer 500, then sand until dry. Mainly the parts of the wing, the fuel intake, and some fins on the front bumper.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaiyao1/CastrolMugenNSX/02-284.jpg

The parts are waiting for priming, I will be priming them with Gunze Sangyo Base White from an airbrush. I want to do them all at once, so while I fill the ejecter holes on the above parts, I cover the rest in plastic wrap to keep dust off.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaiyao1/CastrolMugenNSX/02-283.jpg

After priming, I will paint the front bumper first, as it will be the most time consuming one to paint. I'd rather get it out of the way first, since it's so complicated and there's much room for error. You can see here

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaiyao1/CastrolMugenNSX/frontbumper.jpg

Next update will come after everything's been primed, and hopefully I'll be able to take you through the painting of the front bumper. I'm not in too big of a hurry to finish this, I'd rather get it right and proper.

its looking good! cant wait to see it finished

That's one of the most detailed write ups I have seen. Good job!! I don't envy you at all on the front bumper. :D

You've got a good start, it's going to be careful work to get right but will be a stunning piece.:)

Looking forward to this one Dan!

I have a Raybrig version on its way with a view to creating more transkits. I'm glad u posted a pic of the instructions showing the body construction coz i was hoping the front was a seperate piece for my planned conversion!:)

question.....i jst got this car....how would i go about doing the front air dams' paint job..its 3 freakin colors

Brian

I just finished mine, except the rear wing (might have to repaint, didn't come out glossy...I suspect the high humidity the night I sprayed it)....they finally showed up and the seat belts for the Corolla were driving me nuts so I set 'em asside for a day or so. I just used strips of masking tape, cut 'em into peices and masked off the front bumper. A hell of a masking job, though it came out better than I thought it would (minimal touching up with a brush). The decals on this kit are interesting though, they seem a bit thick...but go easy on the micro-sol. :D

That NSX looks like a stunning kit. Please keep us posted on progress Dan, definitely take your time and get it right and proper.:D

Hi Dan,

Looks like a thourough plan you had before starting. Good thinking and a good start to another nice build-up!

Keep 'em coming ;)

Originally posted by k_dog
question.....i jst got this car....how would i go about doing the front air dams' paint job..its 3 freakin colors

Brian

It's actually 4 ;) I'll see what I can show as I paint mine

:D Good luck!
you seem to be heading nicely with your NSX!

Bo, am I happy I chose to buy the Mobil 1 NSX, instead of your paint-monster!

Ciao and good luck!

Olivier:D

Looks great so far. Keep us updated!

After the wing and front bumper parts were sanded, everything was primed with Gunze Sangyo Mr. Base White primer. The stuff is pretty good, a flat white that covered the black pretty well. While no cheap sprayable quality white primer exists, I will continue to use Gunze.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/438319whiteprimer.jpg

After the first priming, dust that made its way into the paint job and imperfections in the sanding were sanded out with 3M 1500 grit sandpaper, then all the touched up parts were primed again.

Now, the process of painting the body begins. The front bumper and front two fins of the body were sprayed TS-26 Pure White that had been decanted into a bottle and sprayed through my airbrush. This was somewhat of a bother, I had to sand out some dust and such that made its way in (white is the most unforgiving color) but after everything was proper, I gave it a 'dirty' clearcoat with TS-13.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/799001bumper1.jpg

You can't really distinguish between the primer and paint in the pics. If you look at the bottom of the front bumper, you can see air bubbles from the clear being sprayed too thick :eek: Luckily, they're on the part that will be painted Park Green, so they will be sanded out tomorrow. I'll be back with the masking process and tricks as I get ready to spray Park Green onto the bumper, various parts, and the hood of the body.

Dan, very nice indeed.
Curious to see the paint job progress....;)
Keep us updated!

Brian

good job! thanks for detail report.
I also use Mr. Base White primer and gray primer by airbrush.
when base plastic color is black, I always apply gray primer first.
did you apply white primer just twice? it looks so white...

Everything is looking very good Dan :)

Something I have yet to figure out, why the hell does Tamiya mold parts in black that have to be painted white?

good luck on it!

cant wait to see the updates!

freakray...Id love to know the answer to that too :mad:

Looking good so far Dan....good write up so far

Dan is not only a good modeller, indeed he's a good reporter too :D

Keep it going Dan!

Originally posted by kunta
good job! thanks for detail report.
I also use Mr. Base White primer and gray primer by airbrush.
when base plastic color is black, I always apply gray primer first.
did you apply white primer just twice? it looks so white...

Yeah, I had some trouble covering up all the black, but I figured those spots were going to be painted black anyway so it didn't matter. Next time I am priming black plastic white, I'll have to follow your tip and spray some grey Mr. Surfacer first, thanks! :)

Something I have yet to figure out, why the hell does Tamiya mold parts in black that have to be painted white?

The same reason that every one of their Ferrari kits are molded in red or yellow, they think a large portion of their young model builders build straight out of the box and do not paint the models. I wish they would change that thinking and mold everything in white, what they're doing now is overkill.:rolleyes:

Back with more...the second of the four body colors is down, Park Green. I sprayed X-28 from an airbrush mixed in a 60/40 ratio of paint/Tamiya thinner. Note that Tamiya thinner is HIGHLY recommended in this case cause the paint is gloss, and regular isopropyl alcohol tends to make Tamiya gloss paints flat.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/222903green.jpg

Here's the bumper before masking. I cut out thin strips of Tamiya tape from strips of 6 MM tape with an x-acto knife, ruler, and mirror, to make it easier to mask.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/277173mask1.jpg

Then, after the initial layer is on I filled up the rest with bigger sized Tamiya tape.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/930818bumper004.jpg

Finally, I brushed on a coat of Future floor finish clearcoat over the masking tape and the bumper itself. This prevents the green paint from leaking under the tape. After spraying, I removed the tape while the paint was still 'fresh', and was overall pretty pleased. (Please disregard my green thumbprint! It will be sprayed over with black, I promise :bloated: ;) )

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/173124bumper2.jpg

Only two problem spots:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/582516problem1.jpg

and

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/686259problem2.jpg

The first one you can see the masking tape went downwards for some reason, I might remask, and respray it. The second one, there's a little 'bump' that I will sand out with 1500 grit. Hopefully this weekend, I'll be able to mask off and spray the Fluoroscent red pieces, after which I'll let the body sit for a week before spraying the black, and ultimately the final clearcoat over everything.

its still looking good

whoa, that's some pretty nice stuff man!

keep it up :)

Making good progress Dan.

Sometimes you can clean up problem spots such as those with a cocktail stick dipped in thinner.

Originally posted by flyonthewall
Making good progress Dan.

Sometimes you can clean up problem spots such as those with a cocktail stick dipped in thinner.

Sounds like a good idea! I'll try it out.

Very nice.

it looks very good! :)

This kit looks like a masking nightmare, but I'd say you're coping OK with it :D

Excellent write-up so far :cool:

Comming along very well indeed, Dan! This will be great help when I go to do mine. The paint job, I must say, is intimidating. Very nice!!!
Brian