Making Models From Scratch

[Andy in Germany]

Some thoughts on painting and finishing:

 

[Illaveago]

A late evening update...

Have primed the wheels and I can now see where I need to tweak things. I definitely did get better at building them as I went along!

On the downside, the paint scratches off with a fingernail. That's no real huhu at this stage, as all the wheels still need work to some degree or other. So I've caved in and just ordered the Tamiya light grey primer off Amazon. The blurb says for plastic and metal models, so this *should* cover all my bases.

If I'm going to do this, I may as well do it properly. Including the time spent scaling photos and doing design work, I've probably invested over a hundred hours in the project so far. Seems stupid to do things by halves, really...

It is amazing how a small model can sometimes take as much time to do as the real thing .

 

[Illaveago]

Some thoughts on painting and finishing:

I wonder how many times he's dipped his brush into his coffee ?

 

[Reynard]

Some thoughts on painting and finishing:

I'll have a look at that, thanks. Need to achieve a scuffed finish on parts of the car where paint has gone down to bare metal and / or acquired paint from a different car, so ideas on how to do it are fabby.

 

[Reynard]

It is amazing how a small model can sometimes take as much time to do as the real thing .

That's because much of the engineering and design work is still the same, regardless of the difference in scale. I'm actually really enjoying this side of the project, as it's "home turf" for me.

I wonder how many times he's dipped his brush into his coffee ?

I have done that so many times while painting. Albeit in my case, it's tea, not coffee. I can safely attest that tea with watercolour or acrylic paint in it does not taste terribly nice.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I wonder how many times he's dipped his brush into his coffee ?

I have frequently used coffee for weathering in set painting.

 

[Andy in Germany]

That's because much of the engineering and design work is still the same, regardless of the difference in scale. I'm actually really enjoying this side of the project, as it's "home turf" for me.

It is if you are an engineer to start with: most of that side of things is a deep mystery to me which is why I make "sketch" models.

It still takes ages though because I'm slow and procrastinate lots...

I have done that so many times while painting. Albeit in my case, it's tea, not coffee.

I was about to say the only reason I've never accidentally dipped a brush in coffee is that I don't drink the stuff...

 

[Andy in Germany]

Maybe it's the third of three?

Highly likely I'm afraid.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'll have a look at that, thanks. Need to achieve a scuffed finish on parts of the car where paint has gone down to bare metal and / or acquired paint from a different car, so ideas on how to do it are fabby.

I'm not sure how well the sandpaper buffing will work on a card base: using the "hairspray method" on the three wheeled racing car had only limited success.

 

[Reynard]

It is if you are an engineer to start with: most of that side of things is a deep mystery to me which is why I make "sketch" models.

It still takes ages though because I'm slow and procrastinate lots...

Ah, it's not procrastination - its Quality Thinking Time.

I said to my mum the other day that when this model was done, I would have enough information to build the actual car. She gave me that "don't you bloody dare" look...

 

[Reynard]

I'm not sure how well the sandpaper buffing will work on a card base: using the "hairspray method" on the three wheeled racing car had only limited success.

I'll probably sort out some test pieces and see what works and what doesn't. Failing that, I can always tackle it in the same way I'd do similar detail work on a painting i.e. with a dry brush, and holding it just below the ferrule so that I spread the hairs or bristles out.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'll probably sort out some test pieces and see what works and what doesn't. Failing that, I can always tackle it in the same way I'd do similar detail work on a painting i.e. with a dry brush, and holding it just below the ferrule so that I spread the hairs or bristles out.

Dry brushing is your friend for raised detail on a model. I'll have to try that hold on the next weathering project...

 

[Reynard]

Dry brushing is your friend for raised detail on a model. I'll have to try that hold on the next weathering project...

It's a technique I use a lot when working with watercolour - gives a good impression of long grass or tyre tracks. The trick is to load the brush with as little paint as you can get away with in order to get the lines.

 

[Archie_tect]

I wonder how many times he's dipped his brush into his coffee ?

If it's coffee rather than tea it must smell awful- just like the real thing!

 

[randynewmanscat]

Oh, and I was sent this pic of a slightly later (1988 as opposed to 1984) car. That steel sheet is going to end up as a sump guard - and it shows you where that solid block of mine goes.

View attachment 576932

All becomes clear!