Restored Tokyo Marui RX3 #52 "Gatorade"

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

I bought this builtup a week ago at a model show, I had planned to build the #53 car owned by Jim Downing using the newer Fujimi kit. I had no idea this livery had been done before w/one of the vintage RX3 race kits. It's from Tokyo Marui, it's a pretty simple curbside. Not sure what year it was produced, but likely only a one-time issue and it's pretty rare according to some Japanese builders.

It was only $10, and at a minimum I wanted it for decal reference. Paint was rough, a texture-rich basecoat of white, then decals, and an unknown clear was applied over the decals. This was good for me, as it did a good job preserving the decals.

I couldn't strip it, so I decided to begin to carefully restore the finish. I wet sanded the existing clear, I went through it in a number of small spots on the roof stripes and a couple other spots. Smaller areas were easy to touch up w/a small brush. Once leveled, I began what was to become 4 sessions of applying a relatively thick coat of decanted U-Pol clear. This paint dries fast and seems to not harm anything. Between coats I wet sanded w/2400 and 3200 grit Micromesh. I had to mask/paint the green roof stripes, easily matched with mixing gloss Mr. Hobby solvent-based green and super white. More clear was applied, and the final coats were applied so that the surface wasn't super-glossy, as there are a lot of textured areas remaining.

It was worth the effort, looks like a neat old race car; one to drive or vintage race, not a trailer queen. It thankfully wasn't a glue bomb, and the builder did a decent enough job of detailing what he did. I added some painted window trim, side mirrors, foil details, and front spoiler ends. This was great fun. 8 days ago I would have never believed I would have a Gatorade RX3 model on my shelf.

Before shots:




After restoring:

[ChristopheB]

Nice result! I did not think it would come back this good by just working on the clear coat.

[OWhite3]

Great save!

[andybmw7272]

Nice Bob!
Way to bring this one back to life!
Andy

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Had a little fun w/a freebie display case that I got the other night. The sun was a bit harsh, but it's a neat way to display this model:

[indy1977tx]

Nice resto A really nice improvement - looks new again.

Jordan