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Ok, one more round of sanding and priming. I swear I am done this time. I'll let it cure a day or two then do some light sanding, draw a waterline, and add some color. I bought two more rattle cans of paint....and off white for the top sides and a dark green for the bottom of the hull.

It looks basically the same as a product offered by "The Small Shop". https://thesmallshop.com/ Unfortunately I believe they have ceased or at least paused operation. The web site is still there but everything shows as "sold out". In the past I think I saw a note there that they were stopping, though I don't see that on the web site now.

I've done more sanding and yet another coat of primer. It is still far from perfect but getting better, and of course without the bright lights the imperfections are less noticeable. I will also say I do not recommend that wood filler I have been using. It seems difficult to get a good smooth finish with it, and somehow it seems inconsistent when you sand it....sometimes it sands off easily other times the edges continue to show even after sanding. This latest coat of primer is still curing; I'll probably decide tomorrow if I am going to work it more or say it is good enough.

I've sprayed some of the splash paints primer on the body and on all the parts while still connected to the sprues. I admit I was not super diligent about getting perfect coverage of the latter. There are certain colors, like semi-gloss black, that are used on a lot of parts. I'll probably separate those from the sprues and start painting them, and also start painting the body and related parts as well. I think I will use a medium-dark gray for the interior, rather than black, just to try to allow the details a little bit more visible.

As others have said, congrats on the well deserved medals. After the raffle haul, did you buy a lottery ticket on the way home?

Welcome to my build log for the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 RS by Tamiya. I just can't help myself. I've been working on the Bluejacket Friendship Sloop and swore I would not start another project while working on that. But here we are. I kept looking at my ever growing stash of plastic cars and could not resist. I've included pictures of the box and most of the kit contents. There is no replication of the engine, but there are plenty of details in the body and interior to add some complexity. The engine would not really be visible anyway. As usual, painting will likely consume most of the construction time. The decals are nice and include four different colors of the GT3 RS logo that goes on the side....blue, black, silver, and red (in the picture the blue and black look almost the same and the silver looks more like gold). Overall the kit appears to be typical Tamiya high quality. Interestingly, there are no plated/chrome parts, which is just as well. The one area that I noticed that is perhaps a bit sloppy is the strange paint recommendations in the instructions. They recommend a combination of the Tamiya lacquer (LP) paints and Tamiya acrylic (X or XF) paints. In some cases, they even have the same color of both types....e.g. some parts are indicated as LP-5 Semi gloss black while other parts are indicated as X-18 Semi gloss black, with no rhyme or reason that I have determined. Also, some of the paint colors called out do not appear in the list of paints on the first page. e.g. it indicates the brake calipers can be painted LP-21 Italian Red though that color is not listed on the first page, while X-7 Red is listed. Speaking of paint....one nice thing about modeling contemporary Porsches is the "paint to sample" program they have. For a little bit of spare change (err...$20k for the GT3 RS) they will let you pick from a large library of colors that have been used by Porsche over the years. Double that amount and they will work with you on any color you want. So, I can paint this car any color and still claim that it could be realistic. Without too much thought or hesitation, I knew what Porsche color I wanted to use and was glad to see that it is one stocked by Splash paints. I think I'll let it be a surprise. As stated, I am also working on the Friendship Sloop so I am not quite sure how my progress will go on this. I'll likely work on one when paint is drying on the other.

Primer coat number 3. I am going to resist the urge to use any more filler and just sand this down a bit and do one more coat of primer, once this coat cures a bit more. There is one place where I have just about sanded through the planking but I have access to that part of the inside of the hull so I can put in some reinforcements.

That's an interesting looking car. I am sure you'll turn it into a stunning model. Looking forward to following along and learning more of the quirks of building MFH models while I work up the nerve to start on one of my two MFH kits.

Looks great! Such an elegant little craft. And yea I remember also having trouble taking pictures of it due to the extreme proportions.

Thanks for taking a look and hitting the like button. I've applied the next coat of primer and I also patched up that little hole between the stern post and transom. Obviously I need to do more filling and sanding around there once the glue dries. Looks like I still have a few small spots elsewhere on the hull that I want to add some filler to, and then another round of sanding and priming. So far I've just used 120 and 320 to sand it. I think this time I'll go to a higher grit and try to get down to a final smoothness, then one last (I hope) coat of primer). I am still thinking white or off white top sides and green or greenish blue hull but I have not settled on anything 100%. I am almost ready for that but should determine what other parts, like the rudder and rudder post, should be painted at the same time. And pay no attention to the clock in the background, I obviously don't. I took those first two pictures around 9am on April 24, not last Friday night 😆

Just about ready for another coat of primer. I hope it will be the last but don't know for sure.

Especially Ferraris that have "Rossa" right in the name of the car . And I agree, the finish looks great, as we are used to seeing from you.

Thanks for the comments and the likes. At the risk of raising expectations that I likely won't meet, I'll make my second post in three days. Since the last one, I have sanded more, added more filler, and sanded again, then sprayed on some primer to get a better look at what still needs to be done. Frankly, the hull looks a bit better in primer than I expected. There are still plenty of spots that need more filler and more sanding, but perhaps fewer than I expected to see. So, I have another couple rounds of filling and sanding, then another coat of primer in my future.

Thanks for the patience of those following and for hitting the like button. I've had trouble finding time for this of late though have made a little progress with wood filler and sanding. I am getting close to the point where I'll shoot some rattle can primer on it to really show the areas that still need work. I have enjoyed working with wood again, though I can't help but feel that I might find more time for model building if I was working on one of the many plastic cars in my stash. I've even thought of starting one in parallel though sanding dust probably does not mix well with trying to achieve a smooth, shiny finish on a car body. And this wood filler does create very fine dust when sanded, about like baking flour.

Amazing result! I know it is a cliche, but it really does look like the real thing.

Looking forward to following what I am sure will be another enlightening journey. Interesting bit of history behind the choice of ship. Sorry, but I have to ask, is the blue whale going to somehow figure into the presentation?

Sure. Here's where I got the idea:

Yes, on the 1:1 car, the t-tops fit into what a Porsche guy would call the "frunk". If you want that extra little bit of detail, you could put a leather strap matching the interior color across the top, holding it down, using the connectors on either side of the inside of the frunk.

Phil, don't disrespect the Texas penguins, they'll come up there to Oregon and peck your ankles! Interesting story about having some "Austins" in your family tree. I'm not a native Texan, but been here for 25+ years. Thanks to the others for the likes or just looking in. And even with slow progress, one does eventually hit milestones. I have now completed the planking! And as I hoped, the second (starboard) side did go a bit smoother, with the planks less squirrelly near the bow. And yes I also cleaned up the work space. I've also done a little bit of scraping of the highest ridges on the planks. I plan to do more of that, but also think I will brush on some watered down glue on both the outside and the inside to ensure the planks are well adhered to each other. Then it will be time for sanding and filling and sanding and filling. Oh, there is still one little hole to fill between the sternpost where the rudder will be and the transom. Anyway, here are the pictures...

Agree with all the comments above, wonderful model. The yellow was a bold choice but it paid off. It looks great especially out in the daylight.

Thanks to those who are following along and hitting the like button or those just looking in occasionally and lurking. And apologies for the slow progress. I resorted to using both water and heat to edge bend the planks and that was more effective, allowing me to continue the planking with the kit supplied strips. I then decided that there was no longer any point in alternating from side to side so I put on the last 5 planks on the port side, completing it. Those 5 planks were not quite enough to completely fill things in around bulkhead 3 and 4 so I also had to slide in a small sliver of wood that was about 1/16th of an inch wide at its widest. But the port side is done. The planking got a little squirrelly near the bow and there's also a bit of an unexpected (I think) concave section around the last bulkhead, just ahead of the transom. But this will all be filled, sanded and painted. Regardless, I will attempt to do a bit better on the starboard side. And I hope the last 5 planks on the starboard side don't take 2 weeks like the port side did.

As others have said, excellent work with the yellow finish. Did you also do something with the windshield? It looks particularly clear and shiny, better than the usual kit clear plastic.

Well the extra spare time I was hoping for did not really come to be, at least not as much as I had hoped. But I will say the "Texas Penguin" was a hit with the recipient. I've continued with the planking. I now have 9 planks on each side (not counting the garboard and broad strakes) with six more to go. The planks are requiring a fair amount of edge bending right in the middle of the hull, leading to more clinkering. I think I have some wider basswood around and might try spiling a few planks instead of edge bending the kit supplied strips.

Maybe you could consider staining the deck a bit darker to reduce the contrast? But it does not look that sloppy to me, and I think a lot of the deck will be hidden in the end.

Yay the Carrera GT is back and looking great in that yellow paint! There's something about that enamel yellow paint that just makes the body look more like metal instead of plastic. And interesting to note that one bottle was not quite enough for the 1/12th scale car. That might be useful info in the future, for example when I paint that MFH 1960 Corvette kit that I just ordered.