gsdpic

Glad to see you back at work on this, it is looking good!

Thanks, as always, for the likes. Getting close to the end now. In fact, I have completed the Martini Racing car but still have work to do on the Gulf car. Below are a few pictures of the former.

Thanks all for taking a look and clicking the ol' like button. I've now completed the chassis for the Martini car. This time I took a few more intermediate pictures to try to show some of the steps of constructing the rear structure. Also note that this is the one that I received painted blue and partially started. You can see some remnants of the blue paint in these pictures. Also, the plastic pin for the left front wheel had apparently been broken or lost and replaced but the front wheel did not quite fit right, so it is now attached with CA and does not rotate. Oh well. Here I've added the X shaped piece in the back, and one piece on each side with vertical pipes to support the upper structure: And now I've added the upper structure with the spare tire, air intakes, and tail lights: Added a couple more supports for the upper structure: Added the rear fender liners and the top half of the engine: And finally added the wheels: This was easier the second time around, though still a bit fiddly. The parts fit together fairly well, though in some cases the locator pins were a bit lacking, such as on those angled support between the lower and upper structure. The end of the support with the point of the V shape did not have much of a pin to fit into the hole provided in the lower structure. I just sort of lined it up, put on a drop of Tamiya extra thin cement, and held it there for a bit. I hope that is enough to keep it in place....it is definitely something I don't want to touch or put any pressure on during the rest of the build. I still need to do the seatbelts on the Gulf car, then it is on to detailing the bodies.

The finish is looking great. One of these days I'll work up the nerve to go through all the steps to try to achieve such a shiny finish....just not on a build like my current one with a lot of decals....too much fear of sanding/polishing through the clear and ruining them.

I also used liver of sulfur gel on the copper I applied to the hull of my America. See post 77 in the build log in my signature. As I recall, I mixed less than the instructions specified in warm water, hoping to have a bit more control over how dark the copper became. The consistency was just like water. The patina did not rub off or flake off....it was very much like an old penny, dark brown not black. Just like a penny, if you rubbed enough or used some sort of cleaner you could bring back the copper shine but it would take some effort. On my copper, I used a clear acrylic semi-gloss spray over the copper and in the years since then it has not significantly changed color...it maybe is a little darker now than it was.

Well, I am now...almost...done with the chassis for the Gulf car. I say "almost" because I realized while taking pictures I have not yet put the seatbelts on that car. And, it looks like I should try to clean up one of the rear tires a bit. Since the last picture of the chassis, I've done all the work on the rear suspension and rear structure. There are quite a few little, delicate, fiddly bits to attach back there. Plus, the engine top and bottom halves. And yes there is some light blue overspray in places but it will not be visible on the finished model, I think. Kind of like many of the photo etch parts which I have opted to not put on. I'll work on the rear chassis bits for the Martini car, then I have a bunch of detailing of the bodies to do before attaching the body to the chassis.

Thanks, as always, for the likes. I've now finished the decals on both bodies and put a few coats of tamiya X-22 clear gloss coat, thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner, on both. I'll go back to working on the chassis and rear suspension of both kits while the clear coat cures, then decide if I want to do more clear or do any polishing. I put 3 or 4 coats on each, though the Gulf car looks glossier than the silver Martini car.

Thanks as always for the likes and for looking in. I put another lighter coat of blue on the Gulf body, about a 3:1 or 4:1 mixture of Gulf Blue and Pure White. I then taped up the body to prepare for the orange area. After spraying the orange, I added another stripe of tape just inside the previous tape in order to paint the thing black outline between the blue and orange areas. I used a testors black enamel paint pen to add that stripe. Then I did the always nerve-wracking task of removing the tape to see how things went. Overall it looks good but there are a few areas where I need to clean up some blue paint that seeped into the white areas and a few places where the black seeped under the tape, primarily at the panel lines. I hope I am able to clean up those bits without making things worse. I also intend to paint the borders of the window openings black as well as the headlight areas. I may try to delicately wet sand, primarily the border between the blue and white as there is a small ridge there, then add a few decals and then gloss clear coat with Tamiya X-22.

A little change of pace. But first, on the Martini car, I now have all the decals done on the starboard side of the car. No pictures. I'll take more when I complete the other side. But I resumed paint work on the Gulf car. I started with light gray primer followed by Splash paint's Pure White. I was not diligent about coating the whole car, mostly worried about the areas where the white number circles are on the car. I then cut circles from Tamiya masking paper and applied them. I am hoping this will work well enough that I can skip the white circle decals, we'll see. I then painted a couple coats of the Splash "Gulf Blue" paint. I definitely feel like I should tone this down a bit by adding some of the white to the blue. This modern Gulf Blue just looks a little bit too saturated blue for me. I'll probably do that and do one more coat, then let it cure for a while. Then I'll tape off most of the body and paint the orange teardrop shape on the top.

Nice, I'll be following with interest. I have one of the fujimi "enthusiast models" in my stash (the '73 911 Carrera RS).

Thanks. I tried about a 4 to 1 mix of Tamiya X-4 blue and X-1 Black and painted over some of the gaps and tears in that front decal and it looks good, so I think I can match it. Further google image searching leads me to think that the box art is a picture of the restored version of this car.

As always, thanks for the likes. I've put a few more decals on, but I have some mixed feelings about this. This car was the winner of the 1971 Sebring race. If you look at pictures of the car from that race, you see things like black duct tape around the headlights, silver/gray duct tape over the seam between the hood and the body, and even the number on the side of the car is a bit funky as there appears to be a larger partial white circle over a smaller circle as if they put on a different number on the car. All of those quirks are represented in the decals. But the box art, as shown above, is more "idealized" without those features, and I prefer that look. It is easy enough to leave off the black duct tape around the headlights decals, but leaving off the others may leave some gaps. I've already left off the underneath white circle on the side and there are tiny gaps between the blue stripes and the other white circle. Leaving off the other silver duct tape decal will leave gaps as well. At this point I am not quite sure how to proceed; I am wondering how closely I can match the dark blue on the decal with paint. I may need to experiment with that before I decide.

I thought they were Santa's other reindeer..... “Now, Biter! now, Blazer! now, Boxer and Bouncer! On Cruiser! on Clinker! on Sparkler and Spiteful!" Sorry it does not rhyme. As for the model, it looks to be an attractive subject and more manageable than many of the usual ones.

Maybe a slightly more exciting update...the first decals are on the Martini car body! These decals are definitely on the delicate side. I've already torn several of them. And there are a few spots where I'll need to try to mix up some dark blue paint to hide some of the flaws, and maybe some red paint touch up as well. But overall it is going ok so far. I've never had a situation like this where you have a layer of three decals. But in front, there is the dark blue stripe, then a separate decal for the white circle, then a third decal for the number 3, all one on top of the other.

If you click on the "cc" to get closed captioning, it will show text that better explains it, but your conclusion is basically correct.

Yes, at least the GT classes required room for a standard suitcase. There is a story, possibly apocryphal, of a team having to pound out bumps in the trunk of the Shelby Cobra to make room for the upper corners of the suitcase. Thanks to all for the likes and other comments. As mentioned earlier, this kit does not include a complete engine, just top and bottom panels that are visible through the body work. These panels are fairly well detailed but have a minimum of parts. Unfortunately the exhaust is molded into the bottom of the engine and not a separate part, making it a bit more difficult to paint cleanly. Below is a picture of these assembled and painted parts. The rear suspension and chassis is made up of quite a few delicate looking parts. I've not started on that. And, I've made minimum progress on the body decals and painting.

Nice! The chrome strips on the lower fenders add a lot to the look, so good job in persevering when they put up a little bit of a fight.

Welcome Gerry. You might also want to clarify.....I assume you are referring to Bolton, England, but MSW has members world wide so that might not be obvious to everyone and who knows, maybe my assumption is in correct. Also, search for any local modelling clubs, ship modelling or otherwise, if you have not done so already. Perhaps they will know of someone who can help.

Another quick update....I've sprayed the body of the Martini car with Tamiya X-11 chrome silver thinned with Mr Color leveling thinner. Of the two cars, this one is easier to paint but the decals will be a challenge. The Gulf car will be trickier to paint but the decals should be easy. I will likely alternate between working on finishing the chassis of the two cars and working on painting/decaling the bodies. Once I am done with decals, I'll use Tamiya X-22 gloss clear coat.

Just to follow up on the Splash Paint tangent....I do have experience with them. Both of these were painted using Splash paints. As for the Porsche 917s, I now have most of the interior details done. The only remaining thing is to add the photo-etch seatbelts to one of them. They are a bit of a pain to bend correctly and get in and I don't think I have the patience for the second one right now. On the Martini car, I've also painted the lower outside part of the tub with the body color, Tamiya X-11....that's the one in back up on the paint jar, though it is hard to tell it is painted silver in this picture. And yes, that is a small second seat. I assume that was there solely to satisfy some regulation. I could have spent a bit more time detailing these and there are a few more (mostly tiny) photo etch parts I did not bother with. Once the model is assembled I don't think the interior will be that visible.

Another possible option, if you think you can do an acceptable job of hand-drawing the letters. See post #40 of this non-ship log... In that post, @CDW refers to a white gel pen. He used it for logos on tires but perhaps something like that could be used to draw the letters, either directly onto the model, or perhaps draw them on to clear decal paper and then apply as a decal. That way you would not have to match the background but the edge of the clear decal sheet may still show, especially if the surface the decal is applied to is not smooth and glossy. Applying a matte clear coat may help hide the decal.

Nice, I've seen that kit on ebay as well. I don't have much experience with Heller kits.

They have both 1k and 2k primer. I assume the activitor is for the 2k stuff, which I stay away from. I have, and use, their 1k primer. Speaking of primer and splash paints....I tried using splash paint over the grey tamiya primer and that did not go well, the splash paint was too "hot" for the primer.

Thanks for the likes and comments, and for just looking in. A quick update...I've now got both models in sync and have the front suspension done on them and the main tub mostly painted. The lower, outside parts of the tubs will get the body color. They still need a front radiator, then on to the dashboard and seats followed by the engine, transmission, and rear suspension. I think I now have both bodies primed and ready for color coats though I will let them cure for another day or two. I had an interesting exchange with Splash Paints. In the past I purchased their "gulf blue" and "gulf orange" colors. Then early this morning I received an email from them indicating they had released several new colors. Among them were colors they called "917 Blue" and "917 Orange" that looked like they were for the Gulf livery on a 917. I sent an email asking about the difference between the 917 Blue/Orange and the Gulf Blue/Orange. I received a rather quick reply that the Gulf colors match the modern formula while the 917 colors match what was used in 1970. The email indicated that the 1970 colors were both darker but looking at the samples on the web page, it appears to me that the 1970 orange is darker but the 1970 blue is lighter. I also have splash paints red and white. I think I'll use the colors I have and once I see them, maybe add a drop or two of white to the blue and a drop or two of red to the orange, if I feel the need.

Thanks all for the likes, or just for looking in. And Happy New Year to all. I've continued working on both models, and sort of working on two different parts of both. I've been doing prep work on the bodies, as that will likely take many steps, potentially with a day or two between to let paint or clear coat fully cure. I've also been continuing with the order shown in the instructions, which means working on the basic chassis a bit. The pictures below show my work on the body for the Martini car. The first one, I've stripped most of the blue paint and started filling some gaps with Tamiya putty. The second, I've sanded the putty, and the third has been coated with the Splash Paints dark grey primer. As noted, Fujimi used the same kit for different cars, so there is an extra window in the roof just above the main front windshield that was only used at Daytona. They provide a solid piece to fill that in for other cars but that leaves an extra seam. Likewise, some cars have more or different NACA ducts, so the kit provides fillers for some of them, but that also leaves extra seams. So the putty below is attempting to fill in those seams. I think the primer on this body is just about done, but there are one or two small rough spots that I will need to sand and recoat. On the other body, I've applied putty but no primer yet.