Tamiya's Subaru WRX

[Guiddy]

Just bought the kit from my local modelshop, and it seems Tamiya are taking a 'simpler is best' approach with this one!

The chassis is molded with all the suspension components attatched, and much masking is needed if you don't like to brush paint much! May have to change that a bit for this one and get the brushes out!

The rear lights are molded in colour, and though the wheels and callipers are coated in Gold, it is only on the front, so they will need respraying!

It is a big change considering I am working on their awesomely detailed Nissan R390 at the moment! But perhaps the way to go if you find time so short! (Me too!)

[Jay!]

Do take a look at Hiroaki Fukuda's Subaru Impreza WRX STi page. His site is great, and he is an excellent modeler. He cut the hood out of his, and is planning to scratchbuild the engine bay. Ambitious! He also gives Tamiya's justification for making such a simplified kit.

[Guiddy]

Thanks for that link, it was superb! I have put his site on my favourites list! (It is a big list!)

I wouldn't want to do that with this kit, you are starting at a dis-advantage already!
But if it is speed you want, great, as I have alrady prepped and primered all my kit, ready for some colour tomorrow!
At this rate I should have it done in a couple of weeks! Fingers crossed!

[Guiddy]

Work was kind to me today and I managed to get the whole kit covered in primer!
Some of you have asked me about painting these cars, so I will detail it here for you and keep you up to date with the progress on this kit!

The body had the mold lines removed with a set of needle pliers, before finishing the whole body with a rub down using 800 grade wet and dry paper. Just enough to remove any scratch marks and give the primer something to key into.
Make sure you file the mold lines off whilst having a picture of the car near by! You don't want to remove what ends up being a panel line!
Wash with soapy water and a new toothbrush (Buy it yourself and don't pinch anyone elses!!!)
Rinse and leave to air dry where it won't get dusty or bitty.

Now, purchase some acrylic based Automotive primer, plastic primer is even better.
Grey for darker colours, white if it is red, yellow or white as they are translucent and show what's beneath.
If you live in the UK watch Halfords primer as it doesn't like base coats over the top, it cracks!

Our Subaru here is going to be white, so for this Halfords acrylic primer was fine.

Give the body three coats of primer, the first one being light, and then leave to harden for 24 hours.
Check your filing was done well and that no finishing needs doing.
If so, have another go to remove any imperfections and add primer to that area 24 hours later.

Primer MUST harden for 24 hours to avoid shrinkage.

This is the stage I am at. More tomorrow!!!

[Guiddy]

If you have done all that, and are getting itchy fingers, after a few hours you can scrape the primer out of the shut lines on the doors and bonnet etc. as we will be filling them with black paint on lighter cars to make them more prominent.
Do it carefully though, one slip and you have to get the sand paper out again!

[Guiddy]

OK, Today was good, and all the kit has had a base colour applied using spray cans.

There are 2 ways of spraying the body, depending on time. I usually start the body and all it's parts first when I make a kit, as it will take the longest time of any part with all the preparation and the drying time.
Because of this, I can take the best approach which is:

Ready the body, clean it again if you need to, but wait a good few hours after to let the primer dry out.
Shake your chosen colour for the full 2 minutes, and then, having blu-tacked the body to something appropriate as a stand, and holding the body at a forearms length away, start spraying a light coat, never stop moving the can over the model. Also, start the spraying action off the model in case of any initial spitting or the wrong colour being picked up! (It has happened to me!)

Give the body about 10 mins drying time, and do it again, though slightly heavier now. You want to constantly have the panel you are spraying catching the light, so you can see how much is going on. You want to lay just enough on so that it has a slight orange peel look, as that will dry smooth. If it shines and looks runny, too much!!!

If you have time, leave it at 2 coats, let dry for 24 hours, smooth off the paint with a light going over of 1200 wet and dry, and then apply another 2 coats.

If you can't be bothered, apply 1 more, maybe 2 more coats if you have been light. This will mean more work with the polish, but no problems.

Now leave this alone for a full 24 hours, and carry on with the rest of the kit!

If you catch a piece of dust or a spec in the paint, stop at that coat, let dry for 24 hours and then rub the offending bit out with some wet and dry and apply the other coats.

You must let primer dry. If not, though it may look ready, the paint bubbles as the air in the primer escapes! Major balls up time if that happens! Allow at least an hour for it to air dry after washing in water.

This is the stage my Subaru is at now. More to come...

[ales]

Originally posted by Guiddy
smooth off the paint with a light going over of 1200 wet and dry...

So are you doing this wet or dry?

[Jay!]

...maybe it'll work this time.

I have a tip for coloring in panel lines. I have been coloring them all black, too, (but with a pen) until I found this.

Tamiya makes a color called smoke (X-19) that's like translucent black/grey. Water it down a bit and wash it into the panel lines, and wipe away any on the panel surfaces. Now, instead of all black, it turns all the panel lines a darker shade of the body color. This makes it look like the sheetmetal continues, but has a permanent shadow. I hear the effect is best on bright but non-white colors like reds and yellows.

[Guiddy]

Originally posted by ales


So are you doing this wet or dry?

Always after 24 Hours Alex, everything must be done after 24 hours, you cannot touch the paint (other than handling) until after that period!

[ales]

Nono
I mean, do you use water when preparing already painted body for the final coats?

[Guiddy]

Yeah, I prepare a bowl of warm soapy water, and sand the body wet, in fact using loads of soapy water. Then rinse the body in cold fresh water, preferably under a tap, then leave to dry!

[Guiddy]

It won't stop raining in this stupid country!!!
This really is not helping the progress of this kit!

[primera man]

Originally posted by Guiddy
It won't stop raining in this stupid country!!!
This really is not helping the progress of this kit!

..i feel ya pain

[Guiddy]

The body has now been given 2 coats of paint. This is shrinking now, and settling in, so looks quite dull. Tomorrow I shall sand it lightly with some 1200 and soapy water, and it will be ready for another 2 coats, the final 2.
After that it is a case of leaving it for a week whilst the rest of the kit is done, and then it is given a good cutting back and polish.
The longer you wait for this, the better the results, as the paint hardens and stays sharper as all the shrinkage is complete.

[Guiddy]

Update on the Scooby!

The final 2 coats of paint were put on the body today, and that will be left for a week now to settle in, before the fun part, the cutting and polishing begins!
Due to the sanding between coats the paint will be quite thin, so I will have to be cautious with this one!

The interior blue was added, this was Tamiya's XF-8 thinned with their thinners and put through my small airbrush.
This gives matt paints a lovely satin finish, a great look for the fabric the seats are covered in!

The black was sprayed round the windows, using the mask supplied.
You really should spray this, the mask is likely to leak if you brush paint it as capilary action will pull thin paint in!
Go very light with lots of coats from a spray can. It will work a treat!
If I want to go for the Japanese look, the rear quarter windows will be tinted with smoked clear and the rear wiper will be added.

Leaving the wiper off and clear windows will give a more accurate representation of how the car will appear when it comes here in the Uk.
I haven't decided yet!