Finished: Tamiya BMW Z3

[MPWR]

Back in January, I decided that this year I would make the effort to finish off some of the loooong term builds that have been being shuffled about the back of my workbench for a while. No, I don't mean projects like the F40 and Mythos- I'm still actually working on them. Really I am. I mean the handfull that have been in some way underway for years- and have been hopelessly stalled. I had originally hoped to finish one a month- rather ambitious, yes. But then Klutz_100 and Gionc coerced me into joining them in the topless threeway- so I can't really be expected to hold to such a resolution having to keep up a build with them, right? But I have managed to finish one....

Tamiya's great little Z3.



Terrific kit- it truely is one of those 'just shake the box and it comes out built' kits Tamiya is known for. Box stock, except for wheels and a bit of cockpit detailing. Paint is Tamiya acrylic, mixed to match BMW 306 Atlanta Blau.



I started this one (if I remember correctly) back in '98. I had recently come accross Pat Covert's book on how to paint model cars, and was anxious to try some of the tips in it. I got this lovely little kit, and two bottles of Model Master enamel in some metallic color that looked kinda like Atlanta Blue. I sprayed it on until it was a quarter inch thick or so, and waited for it to dry. And waited, and waited, and waited. It never dried, even after six years. I don't paint with enamels anymore.

But I polished it anyway. And rubbed through in several places, despite the paint depth. It looked horrible- the side vents were almosed entirely closed with paint. I had alot to learn. I put together the chassis and cockpit. But I was so discouraged by the results that I would never really finish it.

Years went by, I got more car kits, and I learned. I even learned that the horrors I commited to this poor little Z3 could actually be undone. I discovered CSC, and reluctantly played submarine with the Z3 body- a day later, it was clean and pristine! Miraculous. I primed it (another new discovery), and repainted it. Needless to say, I'm much happier with the results now.



I mixed Tamiya metallic blue and chrome silver, test sprayed it, and checked it against a color chip in a Z3 brochure I got from a dealer a few years back. Came out rather well- the mix is a terrific match for the factory color. Clear coated, polished waxed. The underside was stripped and repainted the same color, and then reassembled and redetailed it. And then it sat for another year or so- relegated again to long term parking by the F50.

I finally got around to finishing it up now. Wish I had a few pics of it from before- but I'm glad it finally did get finished off.



The wheels are Fujimi BBS's, converted by lathe to fit. The kit wheels are really the only flaw with this one. Nice having a lathe.









And some outdoor shots...









Took a long time, but I'm happy to have finished it. And I'm happy with the results.

I have several others I'm hoping to finish too, in the not too distant future. Some good stuff to come, I think.

Thanks for looking.

[teamanila]

it looks outstanding. i think i need to have some commitment like this, "finish one overlooked project a month." i have one question. what is CSC?

[Ferrari TR]

Very nice!

Gotta love the 'Bond' blue.

[gionc]

Great color choice, 8 year drying: I think it would be the patient guinness . I like those BBS on it, nice.

[tonioseven]

Thanks for sharing!! It's a pretty model!

[NissanSkylineGTR98]

Very nice!

[fwdfreak]

Damn! Can I say gorgeous!! and the color is perfect, not the same old dull silver as the germans love these days..

[TanKaBoY]

first picture looks soooo real!
nice work man

[blubaja]

Color looks great. Rims work better than the kit ones. Keep up the awsome work man!

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

That turned out quite nicely

[D_LaMz]

nice!

[COZMO6476]

Looks like you've learned alot since those days. that Z3 was built by a pro. Great work!

[klutz_100]

Very nicely (re)done!

Glad you got that off your chest/bench so you can get back to focussing on highly detailed mega-builds that we all love so much

[sportracer02]

Looks great,

clean built, smooth finish

Always hard to finish long term projects but by the looks of this Z3 it was worth the wait. Always love your work, well done