-=And so it begins: 350Z streetDRAGON=-

[chrismcgee]

use lots of light scoring passes with the xacto knife. just keep going over the same area. that way it will be less stressful on the car and you will follow the panel lines easier.
Then when you think you have cut deep, hold both sides of the score marks and gently flex the plasic until it breaks cleanly. simple.

[Kasso]

lol!!! i'd get pissed off too. but thank God i still got all my models...

anyway, good progress!! cant wait to see the custom decals.

[iceblend]

Why not use a plastic cutter or something?

Here's the link:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/olfablades/9171.html

[Veyron]

The SAS kit was pretty disappointing. Low, low quality...requires tons of work before I can attach them.

I completely DISAGREE with your opinion of SAS products, and it's the first such complaint I've seen on them. I have several of his body kits and they require some minor clean up and work to attach them, never 'tons of work'. The way they fit to the bodies is as good as can be expected from any resin part producer. They are always well proportioned and always look right once installed. My

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by Veyron

I completely DISAGREE with your opinion of SAS products, and it's the first such complaint I've seen on them. I have several of his body kits and they require some minor clean up and work to attach them, never 'tons of work'. The way they fit to the bodies is as good as can be expected from any resin part producer. They are always well proportioned and always look right once installed. My

I agree. What people have to understand, especially beginners, is that the resin parts are not the same as plastic kit parts. They are not as clean, and require work to trim, to fit, and to finish. It's not as easy as if it were kit-supplied injection molded parts.

Just like 1:1 cars, even a well-made aftermarket kit can give a beginner fits of madness. More work than expected. Making them feel like I've seen some gruesome examples on the street of body kits gone bad when the owner/builder has no clue how to do it right! I'll bet a majority of the best tuners on the street are built by guys who work in bodyshops. Or have friends in bodyshops...

Some of us have a lot of years building, and an SAS kit is a breeze to install and finish. But after helping a beginner on an SAS kit, I can assure you that it's not for those who are not prepared to spend the time to do it right. Let's just say that w/o a lot of help, he would probably have never been able to finish the model to his satisfaction. SAS kits are pretty much as good as you will get with resin. But if anyone is expecting a Tamiya-like "shake the box and it comes out finished" experience, then perhaps they need to learn a few of the basics of bodywork/cutting/gluing/puttying/painting before tackling a major job like the C-West 350Z. Other SAS kits are a lot easier...like the Nismo 350Z and the Nismo Skyline GTR-34. The C-West 350Z may be the hardest, because so much has to be removed; in fact it should be done in two stages...remove front bumper first, apply new front end, then remove the hood...or vice-versa, to keep the body square-there's hardly any support when the entire front end is removed and all you have are the two front fenders and the A pillars hanging out in the breeze. I know my Kaminari Celica and Nismo Z were a lot easier than the C-West 350Z; and after fitting the Stradale parts to two Ferraris, I can say that's much easier as well. Though I haven't grafted the rear wheel tubs in yet...

Actually, maybe a good idea would be for Chris to supply/offer some FAQ's for working w/his parts. Partially from his own experience, and partially from what he's learned from his customers. Even as simple as having a link handy to refer to building a particular car...which has been documented by several builders here.

[willimo]

Originally Posted by Artem1985il

Woah dude! Settle down. Have some patience. From the deep scoring and rough, rough edges around the panel lines you are separating, and the fact you said you cut yourself with your knife, it seems to me that you are trying to remove way too much material at one time. For work like this, patience is the key. I know you don't want to hear that, and I know that you want this thing finished soon! But if you take your time, take it easy, and do it right the model will come out a lot better, not to mention saving you some wear on your fingers. Judging by that knife... it looks like you can't replace the blade... I'd say go get a new one, hopefully one that you can change the blade out on. I can actually see the dullness at the tip of that knife. You need a brand spankin' new, sharp blade. Then you need to do what Chrismcgee and I said, make MANY MANY MANY shallow passes over the panel line until it separates. If you're impatiend, to the snappy thing Chrismcgee suggested. It will make for a much cleaner separation, saving you a lot of trouble with putty later. And you really don't want putty where panel lines go, it's a pain to score lines through putty when it comes time. I know you've already done the work, and it's your last model or whatever, but maybe someone else reading through this can learn from you.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by willimo

Woah dude! Settle down. Have some patience. From the deep scoring and rough, rough edges around the panel lines you are separating, and the fact you said you cut yourself with your knife, it seems to me that you are trying to remove way too much material at one time. For work like this, patience is the key. I know you don't want to hear that, and I know that you want this thing finished soon! But if you take your time, take it easy, and do it right the model will come out a lot better, not to mention saving you some wear on your fingers. Judging by that knife... it looks like you can't replace the blade... I'd say go get a new one, hopefully one that you can change the blade out on. I can actually see the dullness at the tip of that knife. You need a brand spankin' new, sharp blade. Then you need to do what Chrismcgee and I said, make MANY MANY MANY shallow passes over the panel line until it separates. If you're impatiend, to the snappy thing Chrismcgee suggested. It will make for a much cleaner separation, saving you a lot of trouble with putty later. And you really don't want putty where panel lines go, it's a pain to score lines through putty when it comes time. I know you've already done the work, and it's your last model or whatever, but maybe someone else reading through this can learn from you.

Good points...I learned them the hard way. Slowly scoring the plastic w/the backside of a fresh blade is the only way to do it right. And in the long run, it's the fastest solution because it won't require any repairs from sloppy cutting (like w/a saw or hot knife or thread). Also, don't change the direction in which you are scoring the plastic-keep going the same direction. Every time I tried scratching from the other direction, the blade caught and made a scratch. Again...patience is key. Roughly 100 passes w/a blade for each section will get good results. If you're in a hurry, do it later.

[Artem1985il]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

Good points...I learned them the hard way. Slowly scoring the plastic w/the backside of a fresh blade is the only way to do it right. And in the long run, it's the fastest solution because it won't require any repairs from sloppy cutting (like w/a saw or hot knife or thread). Also, don't change the direction in which you are scoring the plastic-keep going the same direction. Every time I tried scratching from the other direction, the blade caught and made a scratch. Again...patience is key. Roughly 100 passes w/a blade for each section will get good results. If you're in a hurry, do it later.

Good advice, but that's what I did...about 100 passes, but the plastic is too hard and I had to press hard on the knife too. As for the dull xacto, that's not true, The one in the pic is a new one (I have 5 of them, 2 unopened), the dullness you think you see is plastic from the car.

Anyway, it's all over and with good results. I attached the 2 SAS parts with super glue. I've already sanded and polished the rough spots left from the glue and the cutting - it's ready to be primed. I'll do that in a few hours.

The wing...having some probles with that. had to sand off all the paint and re-spray it...uh uh. Will be ready tomorrow.

[Artem1985il]

Just put 3 light coats of primer on the body - looks good. I totally f*cked up the wing. This is the third time I am painting it and with tha last coat, I sprayed with the can too close and put too much paint on it. It's all bubbly now. I'll leave it to dry until tomorrow and try to sand it and put one more coat. Hope that works.

I'll sand the body tomorrow before putting on another 2-3 coats. After that, I'll leave it for 24 hours until I start painting.

Check out a pic of my spray booth. Works well.

[86_SR5]

From your progress, your rushing, that is a big, when I say big, I mean big like, Godzilla Big problem. Rushing leads to shoddy builds, I know, I've done plenty of them, then they ended up stripped and trashed. The SAS kit does look nice tho

[Artem1985il]

Originally Posted by 86_SR5

From your progress, your rushing, that is a big, when I say big, I mean big like, Godzilla Big problem. Rushing leads to shoddy builds, I know, I've done plenty of them, then they ended up stripped and trashed. The SAS kit does look nice tho

In which areas am I rushing? With the wing - yes, I kinda am - but I don't see where else I am going too fast? Do you think I need to leave more tim between the coats of primer and paint? I don't have much experience, this is my second model, so feel free to give me advice.

With my first model, I didn't know anything. I put one thick coat of primer and then one coat of paint 15 min later and it turned out pretty good. I didn't have any polishing stuff then, so I polished it just today and it looks great. I think 24 hours between coats is enough. Right?

[nis.k.a.]

A lot of people, myself included, wait at least 24 hours before laying paint onto primer.

When priming I lay down at least 3 coats none of which are "thick". You want nice even coverage without taking away detail as there's still approx. 9 more coats (base and clear).

Definitely take your time on all coats especially prime and base. One thick coat each? When laying down base you really should do at least 2-3 sweep mist coats and then 1-2 wet coats.

Read PMan's how-to on painting. Great stuff.

This is what kind of results I get from my method. This shot doesn't even do the actual reflection justice. If the shot weren't a little blurry you'd be able to read the Japanese off the bottle.

[86_SR5]

Originally Posted by nis.k.a.

A lot of people, myself included, wait at least 24 hours before laying paint onto primer.

When priming I lay down at least 3 coats none of which are "thick". You want nice even coverage without taking away detail as there's still approx. 9 more coats (base and clear).

Definitely take your time on all coats especially prime and base. One thick coat each? When laying down base you really should do at least 2-3 sweep mist coats and then 1-2 wet coats.

Read PMan's how-to on painting. Great stuff.

This is what kind of results I get from my method. This shot doesn't even do the actual reflection justice. If the shot weren't a little blurry you'd be able to read the Japanese off the bottle.

that's exactly how I do it. Just, I don't get those reflections. I lay down 4 coats of base 3 mist, 1 medium thick coat. Let dry for at least 24hrs. Maybe you should strip the wing of it's paint, sand, and start over again. The wing is the only place you've rushed, everywhere else is fine, that and on the hood and such, but I've done that before, so I can't complain there.

[Artem1985il]

That's all good stuff. And that paint job is great too...I'll try to make mine as good - I just bought some polishing compund at Walmart. That and 8000 grit should work well, although 12000 would be better.

I have a question: when do I need to scrub off the paint from the lines on the body (door, hood, etc)? I've heard that it's best to do it after 2 initial coats of paint - is that right? Do I need to do it at all?

[nis.k.a.]

Originally Posted by Artem1985il

I have a question: when do I need to scrub off the paint from the lines on the body (door, hood, etc)? I've heard that it's best to do it after 2 initial coats of paint - is that right? Do I need to do it at all?

What lines are you referring too?

You should think about getting the Detail Master poilshing kit. It has 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000 grit. It's a good kit, I recommend it. Make sure to follow the instructions.