2nd kit finished, 55 hours 1/24 Tamiya Mazda MX5/Eunos/Roadster

[Stefee]

Hi all,

Well I have completed my 2nd kit as per title, a facsimile of my auto electricians vehicle which was imported into South Africa and quite a rare vehicle at the time.
Used some after market 3D printed side skirts and front spoiler. Found the glass attachment and window frame painting still problematic but a definite improvement on the first build.
The windscreen wipers are completely wrong as my youngest grandchild ( only 3 years old) contrived to get into the modelling area and promptly destroyed them whilst drying after painting. Had to use the LHD options from a Range Rover kit, nowhere near accurate but better than none at all.
I am very happy with the interior result and the exterior paintwork.
Starting to really enjoy this hobby even if frustrations do occasionally occur.
Any comments, suggestions or criticism welcome.
Onto my next victim, 1982 Porsche 928S from a Revell kit.

 

[scottie3158]

That looks excellent mate.

 

[stillp]

Nicely done Stef. Shame about the wipers though.
Pete

 

[Mark1]

A nice build

 

[Allen Dewire]

Fantastic job Stefan!!! Looks fresh off the showroom floor too!!!...

Prost
Allen

 

[Jim R]

Very nicely done Stefan. Look forward to your Porsche.

 

[yak face]

Great job stefan , beautiful shine youve got on this paintwork , cheers tony

 

[Stefee]

Thanks everybody for your kind comments, much appreciated.
Tony, as a former body and paint guy, the paint finish is very important to me. I only use tamiya acrylics and this build has 3 coats of primer, 4 coats X7 and 3 coats X22, flatted down with 3000 grit between the different products and then left for 2 weeks before final flatting and polishing.
My next build is a Porsche 928S which was Rosewood Metallic which I have mixed from Tamiya acrylics and am very pleased that the silver content is within scale.

 

[outrunner]

Nice shiny model, looks good.

Andy.

 

[Ian M]

Nice and tidy build.
I had the 'task' of thrashing baby sitting a real one a few years back.

 

[Stefee]

These MX5s were a real hoot to drive with a revvy engine, fantastic gear change and typical rear drive handling, in fact everything the MG TF should have been!!
My electrician had a front end prang and I can remember how difficult it was to line the headlamp flaps up with the adjacent panels, get it spot on then open and close twice and it goes to pot- so frustrating.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Very nice indeed. Excellent finishing on the bodywork especially……

 

[JayCee]

A very nice clean build.
John.

 

[adt70hk]

Very nicely done!! A great finish of a great little car!

 

[tigersteve]

Very impressive - great job !

 

[nickedw]

It all makes sense now, I can see you’re a paint guy. Finish is impeccable especially if it’s Tamiya paint/lacquer.
You might want to take a look at zero paints if you haven’t discovered them already, they do accurate car colours and are a joy to use.
Even I can get stuff shiny with their lacquers- their colours are all Matt BTW.

 

[Tim Marlow]

It all makes sense now, I can see you’re a paint guy. Finish is impeccable especially if it’s Tamiya paint/lacquer.
You might want to take a look at zero paints if you haven’t discovered them already, they do accurate car colours and are a joy to use.
Even I can get stuff shiny with their lacquers- their colours are all Matt BTW.

I agree about zero paints. Their clearcoat is the best gloss varnish I’ve used.

 

[Stefee]

Thanks for the heads up Nick and Tim.
I love using the Tamiya acrylics as I find them very easy to custom mix colours, spray and clean up afterwards however the X22 gloss clear takes an absolute age to harden - I leave it 3 weeks in the airing cupboard and still get masking marks and / or fingerprint impressions.
I was considering using 2k clears but even with my spraybooth the fumes are too much. Could the Zero paints clear be sprayed over Tamiya acrylics to your knowledge without reactions?

 

[Tim Marlow]

Yes they can. I’ve done it several times with no issue at all. Tamiya spray cans can also be easily decanted for airbrush work. It’s worth it because the metallics in the cans are far superior to the jar paints. The secret agent with Tamiya paint is to use Mr Color Levelling Thinner. Sprays like liquid silk if that’s used as a dilutant. Best metallics are Alclads though, if you can still get them.