McLaren MP4/6 Ayrton Senna by DocRob - FINISHED - Fujimi - 1/20 - PLASTIC

[yvesvidal]

Impressive work that this guy is doing.... He knows his stuff, for sure.

 

Yves

[DocRob]

Thank you Craig, I will dig a bit deeper into the videos. I didn´t know, that my usual primers should not work with resin bodies and am wondering a bit about it. I used Mr. Surfacer on smaller resin kits and resin aftermarket a lot, without any issues. 

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

6 hours ago, Canute said:

Craig, did this gentleman say what type of resin had this issue. I've shot Tamiya primers onto styrourethane resin with no reaction. Maybe he's talking about the resins used in 3D printing. The resins I've worked with have been generally from flat molds, so older type resins. I do have a few new cars that are 3D prints, but they're not ready for paint yet. Then again. I'm not using the more exotic paints on a railroad freight car. Rusty reds, grimy blacks and assorted grays. 😎

The video link I shared has his comments about primer and resin. The kit he's working on is an Alpha Models kit. As far as I know, they are cast resin bodies and parts not 3D printed, but i have no further details about the specific resin used. It's interesting to note that he says Tamiya spray can primer works best on resin. No further technical explanation is offered, just his opinion based on the many resin models he has built and painted.

[Canute]

That's pretty much what I've seen and heard about painting resin kits. I just got a freight car in a 3D print. Cleanup was removing sprue/print finger artifacts and a wash in Dawn and warm water. The resin felt sticky right out of the box. Tamiya fine primer to cover. Some paints don't stick to these resins, so why take a chance as you discovered with this body..

[DocRob]

Better now, phew, thanks for all your help and recommendations. 
This time, I applied a very faint layer, which only lightened the background grey of the underlying Mr, Surfacer 1500 grey primer. This was followed by three more misted layers with a drying time of at least 15 minutes between each. I raised the air pressure at about 2,0 bar and used the paint without leveling thinner. No orange peel and no attacked plastic, luckily.
After a pause of two hours, I added four more layers, the last being a bit more rich, with a half hour between applications. Now it looks good.
I also sprayed all parts in white, which will later painted fluorescent red, because on the body, these areas are also painted white down under and I didn´t want another hue in the red.



Cheers Rob

[Egilman]

21 hours ago, CDW said:

The video link I shared has his comments about primer and resin. The kit he's working on is an Alpha Models kit. As far as I know, they are cast resin bodies and parts not 3D printed, but i have no further details about the specific resin used. It's interesting to note that he says Tamiya spray can primer works best on resin. No further technical explanation is offered, just his opinion based on the many resin models he has built and painted.

It's been my experience that Tamiya primers work best on everything... (Even UHMW plastic which is notorious for NOTHING sticking to it)

Standard Grey or Fine white is the best primer for high detail work... But use the Fine White when doing the bright colors, a lot better Color consistency, especially for the reds and yellows... 

[DocRob]

Next will be the fluorescent red on the body and rear wing (not shown) parts. Again Zero paints will be used, but before, I need to mask off the white areas. There is a template included in the kit, which I took as a guide for my own masking strips. I adhered 16mm wide Tamiya Kabuki tape on top of the templates contour and cut it, following the lines and then applied the tape carefully onto the body, masked the front red section with 3mm wide Kabuki tape and sealed the rest of the body off. I double checked the border lines, pressing with a toothpick to hinder color bleeding.

 

On with the fluorescent red. Like with white, I started to mist on three coats, followed by a pause of about 15 minutes between each. The next three coats went on a bit heavier. I now need sunglasses , because of the intense color. With the last coats, I checked with the decals, if I had the right tone.
I removed the masks very carefully after only a few minutes, because I like to do that without the colors fully cured and hope for the last bit of leveling effect on the color borders. Luckily, there is no bleeding or overspray to be found.





Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The first coat of gloss is on and will be the base for decaling. I used Zero paints lacquer clear for the first time and liked it, besides the horrible smell. I may sand and spray a second layer, but this I will decide after everything dried. The gloss looks actually better than on the picture.
I used the same process of painting and glossing on a spare external fuel tank from an airplane kit as a mule. There I can test everything first, before I work on the McLaren body. This will be especially welcome, when it comes to clear coating after decaling, always a risk with the hot stuff.



Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

I sanded the body with 8000 grit sanding sponges again, cleaned it and gave it another coat of Zero lacquer clear, this time with about 20% leveling thinner in the mix.
After drying, I started to apply carbon fiber decals to the wings and air baffles. This is very time consuming and at first, I always think, the decals will never settle around the delicate shapes, but with patience, lots of strong decal solvent and applied heat from a hairdryer, they start to melt in place slowly. It took two days in total and still need a lot of touch up, but they are on.
Next was the branding. The TB Decals went on perfectly, with matching colors, not too thin, not too thick, what can I say, it took only two hours, what a relief after the delicate carbon fiber decals



Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Some little mock up shots after decaling and clear coating, but before that, it was necessary to assemble the wings. The rear wing gave me some resistance, as it was very difficult to glue all parts together, without destroying carbon fiber surfaces. All assemblies of painted parts were done with CA glue. I didn´t want to destroy my finish or decals with plastic cement. 
Clear coating was done with two misted coats of pure Zero lacquer clear, with about 2,0 bar air pressure and a 0,4 mm nozzle. This was only to seal the decals without harming them with a heavy coat of clear. I tested the process on a paint and decal mule, prepared with exactly the same sequence of steps.
Then, after a drying time of about half an hour between coats, I sprayed two heavier "wet" coats on, which had about thirty percent of leveling thinner added for a better finish.

 



Cheers Rob

[Javlin]

Looking sweet Rob

[Canute]

Rob, very nicely done. The Ma👍rlboro scheme is classy.

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

Rob, very nicely done. The Ma👍rlboro scheme is classy.

Thank you Ken, I like it too, even though I don´t like the product and never smoked one, even in my times as a smoker. It´s a classic, like you said, simple, effective, catchy.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

After some elbow grease, I call the body done and I´m 95 percent satisfied with the outcome. There are tiny imperfections, but they are barely visible to the human eye.
I wet sanded the body parts with 6000 grit, followed by 8000 grit and then worked my way through the Tamiya polishing compounds from coarse to finish and finally used the Tamiya modeling wax. 
I could have gone further, but the McLaren will not be perfect in any way, so I took the easy way and tried to learn as much as possible. I didn´t polish the rear wing due to it´s fragile character and I didn´t want too much contrast between the wings and body as well.
Lessons learned: I should have added one or two more wet coats of clear, even heavier thinned with leveling thinner and use a plastic container for the drying time, as there are some tiny dust particles in the clear.










Cheers Rob

[king derelict]

The body paint and finish is spectacularly good. Superb work. The fluorescent red really pops.

alan 

[DocRob]

19 hours ago, king derelict said:

The body paint and finish is spectacularly good. Superb work. The fluorescent red really pops.

Thank you Alan, it´s not perfect, but will do. I hope, I can conclude this unruly kit soon and have an eye catcher at least from the distance .
I learned a lot about car body finishes through this build, which was the main goal

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

I call the McLaren done. The build got me some grieve, in fact, more than expected, but from the distance, the vibrant paintjob hides some shortcomings .
Assembly of all the components was not so easy due to the fragile character of the subassemblies, paired with the also fragile carbon fiber decals. I used mainly CA glue for the job, as it doesn´t attack the decals.

The Goodyear branding of the tyres was a bit different, as they were "negative" decals. You had to peel away a protective sheet, than the decal from the base layer and place it on the rubber. Then, a wet cotton swab was used to loose the backing layer and the decals were tattooed on. I brush painted the tyre walls with acrylic matte, to hide carrier film residues. I also sanded the tyres, to get rid of the moulding seam.

I don´t dare to re-open the body, as I suspect, there will be some loose parts. Anyway, I made some photos without the body in the final stage.















With wheels





....And finished 









Cheers Rob

[ccoyle]

Nice work, Rob!

[gsdpic]

Excellent result, despite the fight it put up.  The carbon fiber decals, the finish on the exhaust, and the finish on the body all stand out to me.  That's such an iconic livery from the days I actually followed F1.  And of course any car driven by Senna is a little bit extra special.

[Tim Moore]

Congrats Rob, another gem of a model! Really appreciate your detailed explanations of how you go about tackling every challenge. 

[Old Collingwood]

Excellent work.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

8 hours ago, ccoyle said:

Nice work, Rob!

 

8 hours ago, gsdpic said:

Excellent result, despite the fight it put up.  The carbon fiber decals, the finish on the exhaust, and the finish on the body all stand out to me.  That's such an iconic livery from the days I actually followed F1.  And of course any car driven by Senna is a little bit extra special.

 

5 hours ago, Tim Moore said:

Congrats Rob, another gem of a model! Really appreciate your detailed explanations of how you go about tackling every challenge.

 

2 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Excellent work

Thank you Chris, Gary, Tim and OC. The kit was a test of patience at times and I´m happy, it´s finished now, but I´m also satisfied, that I pulled through. I don´t like unfinished business in general and I like the shape and colors of the MP4/6. Like you said Gary, the McLaren is from an era, where I occasional followed F1 racing.
I learned so many things through MSW and LSM, it´s a pleasure to give back my experiences, Tim. To me a modeling forum is a two way story and I profited so much from the knowledge of others here, often encouraging me to try new techniques, which are now in my repertoire.

Cheers Rob

[CDW]

A beautiful McLaren, Rob. Looks excellent in every way from this angle!

[mtaylor]

i go with the others, Rob.  That is one stunning build in spite of the kit fighting with you.

[DocRob]

8 hours ago, CDW said:

A beautiful McLaren, Rob. Looks excellent in every way from this angle!

 

6 hours ago, mtaylor said:

i go with the others, Rob.  That is one stunning build in spite of the kit fighting with you.

Thank you Craig and Mark. I´m happy to continue with other projects, but finally, I had enough perseverance to finish the McLaren and that feels good to.
The kit itself is not bad, besides some strange decisions, like metal plating the engine parts, which leads to fit issues, even more loco as the engine is black and other issues of the kit have the plastic in black.
I shot myself into the foot with too much aftermarket for this build, often having five manuals in front of me and loosing track. Like the real ones, F1 cars are delicate affairs with a maximum of technology packed in as minimal space as possible and then streamlined for aerodynamics.

Cheers Rob

[king derelict]

Really beautiful Rob. Congratulations. The color scheme really pops.

Alan

[mtaylor]

Ah yes, chrome parts.  I remember back as lad building car models and spending much time scraping off chrome mostly to just to get the glue to hold and others for reasons as you point out.