1/24 Audi R8

stillp

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Trying to remember the last time I built a model car. I think it was around 1969!
This is a Revell kit repackaged for Marks & Spencer, so it's not just any Audi R8, it's an M & S Audi.
P1160154.JPG
Another charity shop bargain of course. One day I really must buy a kit from a model shop. You'll notice it says it includes paints, glue and a brush. Well, the paints and glue are there, but the brush looks a bit bald:
P1160153.JPG
The box was sealed when I bought it, and there are no brush hairs in the box so it must have been packed like that.
Sprues were nicely packed in plastic bags, one for each colour so 3 or less in each bag.
P1160156.JPGP1160157.JPG
P1160158.JPG
8 sprues, plus the body, and separate vinyl tyres. I haven't noticed any flash yet. I'll have to get that 'chrome' sprue in a bath of bleach. What's the best finish for these polished alloy wheels?
There's also a nice decal sheet, and a small piece of plastic mesh.
P1160155.JPG
The thing that's been putting me off building cars is painting the body. I've never had much success with rattle cans, and when I've tried to decant paint from them I've just made a mess.
At the moment I'm thinking I might paint the body in Tamiya X13 metallic blue, as a change for the 'silver' that R8s often are, and I have an unopened jar here. Whether I can get a decent gloss finish is another matter though!
All suggestions welcome.
Hope to make a start tomorrow.
Pete
 

JR

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Nice a M&S Audi. :smiling3:
I'll take seat Pete, should be good.
 

Jim R

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Hi Pete
Like Scottie this would be up there in my list of "cars I'd buy with a lottery win" :tongue-out3:
The kit looked really nice but if the fit issues are throughout it's going to be a lot of work.
Jim
 

Del640

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I often look at cars and motorcycles, especially motorcycles as I've ridden all my life both leisurely and professionally, but like some of you it's the glossy finish that I wonder about.

Maybe one day!

Look forward to the finished R8 though!
 

stillp

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I haven't been entirely inactive:
P1160177.JPG
As usual I'm spending a lot of time trying to work out a painting sequence, which usually turns out wrong! The engine didn't turn out too badly though, after a few smears of PPP.
Pete
 

JR

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Progress Pete, bit by bit . Engine looks ok , what's those parts at the bottom , Exhaust Manifold ?
 

stillp

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Thanks John. Those bits at the bottom are the air intake box, still have to add three decals. The shiny black bits are drive shafts.
Pete
 
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JR

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Thanks John. Those bits at the bottom are the air intake box, still have to add three decals. The shiny black bits are drive shafts.
Pete
Thanks Pete. Shows how much I know about super cars !
 

stillp

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The paint has been worrying me, but I think this'll do:
P1160183.JPGP1160184.JPG
Not terribly glossy, but it'll have a clear coat later. The floor pan has also been painted:
P1160185.JPG
Still have to paint the suspension arms.
Cheers
Pete
 

stillp

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Painted the contrast panels behind the doors - Tamiya Metallic Grey. Didn't come out as smooth as the metallic blue but should be OK under a gloss coat.P1160189.JPGP1160190.JPG
I also started painting the interior, but the dark grey I used isn't dark enough, so I'll try a different paint tomorrow, or perhaps mix something. Many of the 1:1 cars seem to be all anthracite inside except for the stitching on the seats and steering wheel, but I think that'll be a bit too sombre. Revell have the seat bodies in beige, and the seat facings and footwell carpets in brown, but I don't fancy the beige so might use a lighter grey instead. Any suggestions chaps?
Pete
 

Tim Marlow

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This is coming on grea5 guns Pete. Nice finish so far.....
As to the interior, I would look at the options available on the internet and pick one you like.....
 

yak face

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Looking good pete , the paint will look great with a gloss coat . As for the wheels just plain old silver paint will be fine , most alloys on modern cars are painted rather than polished anyway , cheers tony
 

stillp

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Thanks Tony. The wheel might look good in gloss black too - if I try that, I can always give them a coat of chrome silver on top of the black.
Pete
 

stillp

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The wheels sat in bleach overnight, and nearly all the "chrome" disappeared.
IMG_20210426_172559999.jpg
This is the first time I've done this - when I built model cars in my teens, this chrome effect was A Good Thing. There were a few stubborn spots but they'll be hidden by the tyres so I'm not too worried. With the chrome removed the whole sprue was covered in a flaky layer of clear varnish - is this usual? Anyway, it came off with IPA, and they've had a whiff of black Stynylrez.
P1160192.JPG
Gloss black later today, with luck.
The interior parts have had a coat of dark grey - actually EDSG. I'll pick out some areas with anthracite later. P1160193.JPG

The seats are giving me grief though. The each have two parts, which don't match, and have a lot of 'flare' on the edges so need a lot of sanding.
P1160191.JPG

All the interior parts and some of the bodywork are moulded in that horrible silvery-grey plastic that's black when you get through the outer layer, so they need a coat of primer to show what needs doing. They're currently on the 3rd round of fill/sand/prime. A shame as they've made a great effort to include some detail, like the seat back release shown above, then messed it up in the moulding process.
Oh well, that's modelling for you!
Cheers
Pete
 

Jim R

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Hi Peter
Love the colour. A nice gloss coat will add shine and a completely dry gloss will polish if needed. Black wheels will look super mean :thumb2: It is a shame about the fit but although it means a load of extra work I'm sure this will be a stunner.
Jim
 

stillp

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Thanks Jim. My usual gloss coat is Galeria, but I don't think it dries hard enough to polish so might look for something else.
Pete
 

stillp

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Been a while since I updated, sorry about that. I've been pretty busy with domestic stuff - boiler packed up, the replacement was fine but the system airlocked and wouldn't circulate. The supplier wants to convert my system to a sealed one, but I'm not happy with that for two reasons: one is that a sealed system has more to go wrong, the other is that there must be something wrong with the existing system - blockage or some obstruction in a pipe, and that'll still be there after the conversion to sealed, so it might not work any better.
Then we're trying to organise a decorator, and a carpet fitter, hoping they can synchronise so we only need to move all the furniture once... some chance!

Anyway, back to modelling. The seats are looking a little better after multiple rounds of fill/sand/prime, but the seat controls have almost disappeared. They don't seem to show up much in the 1:1 though, so I'm not too worried.
Engine and transmission fitted to the floorpan:
P1160267.JPG
The Audi '4 rings' decals on top of the engine look OK from a distance, but the logo is also moulded into the plastic, and of course they don't line up. Looks as if the airbox needs another coat of metallic black.
Spent a bit of time on the dashboard this evening:P1160268.JPG
I hate circular decals, they seem to rotate to the wrong angle, and they don't have any corners to grab to get them rotated correctly. Luckily these are the usual Revell tough decals so they'll stand a bit of pulling about. Needed a very long soak though - minutes rather than seconds.
More soon, with luck.
Cheers
Pete
 
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