Tamiya McLaren MP4/5B

[stevenoble]

Not much of an update really.I'm still waiting on the decals from Japan.It's been over two weeks now.It's never taken this long before.I hope they haven't got lost in the post.Anyway I've used the time to make some small stands for the engine cover to sit on.I tried to do them originally with brass tubing and solder it together but my soldering skills can be summed up with one word 'rubbish' So I ended up making them with round Plastruct tubing.

Here's the stands



Here they are holding up the engine cover



Just need to paint them now,not sure what colour,maybe black or silver.

[auw12]

WOW quite clean and precise works on the stand! I love them!

[billypee]

The stands look very good and to scale. I'd suggest that you go for an aluminium look, as I'm guessing that is what they would be made of.

Kind regards,
Bill

[stevenoble]

The McLaren is now finished.See the completed pics Here

[tehSAC]

Originally Posted by tehSAC

so can i send you my mp4/5b body parts and have you paint them for me?

my painting always turns out so horrible.

seriously

[stevenoble]

Originally Posted by tehSAC

so can i send you my mp4/5b body parts and have you paint them for me?

my painting always turns out so horrible.

Originally Posted by tehSAC

Seriously

I dont think I would trust myself to paint someone else's model in case I made a mess of it and left them with nothing.Seriously though I think if you take your time with the painting there's no reason that you can't achieve an excellent result.The Finisher's paints made all the difference,they are so easy to apply and give a great finish straight from the airbrush with minimal polishing.Use Tamiya tape for the masking and mark the centre points of the red areas with a small pin hole to help with alignment for when you mask out.Build the red up slowly and evenly and let it dry before you remove the masking tape.I think also the real key to success was the use of the Micromesh polishing kit to smooth out the step between the two colours and the excellent Finisher's rubbing compounds.Have a go at it and I think you might surprise yourself.

[tehSAC]

yea....

im just so hard on myself. I honesty dont think i will ever get my paint to lay correct. Masking is also an issue, i always seem to get runs underneath the tape.

[stevenoble]

Originally Posted by tehSAC

yea....

im just so hard on myself. I honesty dont think i will ever get my paint to lay correct. Masking is also an issue, i always seem to get runs underneath the tape.

What tape are you using? This sometimes happens to me when I use paint that is too thin.Put the first few layers of paint on very lightly,just try to cover the area you are painting but don't lay the paint on heavy or it may run under the tape.After you have applied the first few layers allow it to dry and it will seal the tape edge and stop paint bleeding under when you lay the paint on in wetter coats.Or you could use clear as your first few coats.If the clear bleeds under the tape you won't see it because it's clear.The clear will also have the effect of sealing the tape edges against bleeding when you apply the red.Make sure also that the tape is firmly pressed down.If you cut the tape as well into thin strips for masking out,say 1mm wide it won't wrinkle as much as when it is wider so you will get a much better seal.You will find the tape will bend into all sorts of shapes,curves etc when it is cut down to 1mm because it is so much more flexible.I always cut the Tamiya tape on a cutting mat using a fresh scalpel blade and a steel ruler for best results.If you have any more questions or need any advice drop me a line.I'll be happy to help you if I can.Best regards,Steve.

[tehSAC]

i use the tamiya 6mm tape.


*added*

BTW thanks for the tips. as soon as it warms up around here i will try what you suggested. did you just use the light gray primer or did you shoot a white primer over that?

thanks again

[stevenoble]

Originally Posted by tehSAC

BTW thanks for the tips. as soon as it warms up around here i will try what you suggested. did you just use the light gray primer or did you shoot a white primer over that?

thanks again

I used the light grey first to check the filler work.It is essential to make a good job on the filling work,especially around the side vents (rear),the headrest area and the small section at the front of the side vents.The rear of the vent should be faired in with filler and be flush with the main body section so no trace of the join remains.Once you're happy with your filling use white primer over the grey for a good base for your topcoats.If you have a look at my W.I.P thread you can see some shots of the cowling in the preparation stages before painting began.