Porsche Carrera GT by CDW - Tamiya - 1:12 Scale - PLASTIC

[CDW]

Please join me as I build the 1:12 scale Tamiya Porsche Carrera GT.

[CDW]

[DocRob]

Three weeks ago, I considered buying this kit for a very good price from Japan, but hesitated, as I don´t like the original car too much. It just doesn´t have the ingredients of a classic to my eye.
Nonetheless, I´m sure you will build a beauty out of this kit and I will follow your progress with the Porsche.

Cheers Rob

[king derelict]

Looking forward to seeing the build develop into a stunning model 

alan

[gsdpic]

Oh man, I will definitely follow along with this one.  I've built the Tamiya 1/24th scale Carrera GT twice and always wondered about the 1/12th scale version.  I am sure you'll produce a stunning model.

 

[CDW]

7 hours ago, DocRob said:

Three weeks ago, I considered buying this kit for a very good price from Japan, but hesitated, as I don´t like the original car too much. It just doesn´t have the ingredients of a classic to my eye.
Nonetheless, I´m sure you will build a beauty out of this kit and I will follow your progress with the Porsche.

Cheers Rob

For the time being, trade with Japan is very good if paying in USD. Items cost is way down from previous years. I know modelers who paid twice as much as I did for this same kit. They bought theirs several years before I bought this one.

[Old Collingwood]

Looking forward to this  one also.

 

OC.

[Canute]

This should another great build. I'll follow this one, too.

[yvesvidal]

Great decision to tackle such a large model. The first time I saw one of these cars for real, was on Biscayne Island, on my way for a Sunday morning brunch at the Rusty Pelican, in Miami. Needless, to say, I will be following your progress with a drooling mouth....

 

Yves

[CDW]

It's only a start. Let the detailing begin.

[CDW]

A Red Tail Hawk visited me.

[Canute]

Very nice. We see and hear them in our creek valley, flying top cover.

[CDW]

A quick update on where I’m at with construction of the Porsche Carrera GT. A Tamiya paint jar is in the photo to give a sense of scale. Most of the suspension parts now being added to the build are made of cast metal. Minimal amounts of cleanup are needed before priming and painting.

[CDW]

I am working to secure a custom mix of DuPont Axalta paint to replicate this "Signal Yellow" 2010 Carrera GT. This particular color was not one of the 5 colors offered by Porsche but was a special order from the factory, so this particular Porsche is a one-of-a-kind factory car because of the color.

 

 

[CDW]

Dry-fitting the rear, upper monocoque chassis part reveals how little of the engine will be seen once the model is all together.

[gsdpic]

Looking good.  But yes, that is one of the disadvantages of building models of newer supercars.....the engine is mostly hidden and the underside will just be one big, mostly flat panel hiding most of the suspension, in addition to hiding the engine.

 

[CDW]

1 hour ago, gsdpic said:

Looking good.  But yes, that is one of the disadvantages of building models of newer supercars.....the engine is mostly hidden and the underside will just be one big, mostly flat panel hiding most of the suspension, in addition to hiding the engine.

 

I’ll do some digging, but I am wondering how much if any of the chassis is carbon fiber. Now’s the time to make that happen if it is carbon fiber.

[CDW]

26 minutes ago, CDW said:

I’ll do some digging, but I am wondering how much if any of the chassis is carbon fiber. Now’s the time to make that happen if it is carbon fiber.

Didn't take long to learn the answer to that question. The chassis is carbon fiber. I guess I better acquire some CF decal sheets.

[yvesvidal]

19 hours ago, CDW said:

Didn't take long to learn the answer to that question. The chassis is carbon fiber. I guess I better acquire some CF decal sheets.

Yes, I used Tamiya Carbon Fiber decals on my MacLaren F1 and I was very pleased with the results.

 

Yves

[CDW]

4 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

Yes, I used Tamiya Carbon Fiber decals on my MacLaren F1 and I was very pleased with the results.

 

Yves

Before I commit to CF decals, I'm going to experiment with spray painting a CF effect on scrap plastic. I've seen other modelers use tulle fabric as a mask to achieve a credible-looking CF finish. I think it's worth a try. I'll post the test results here so everyone can see. I have not found anyone who markets precut CF masks or decals, so either way, it's going to take a little time and experimentation to get it close to being right.

[CDW]

Looking at photos of the real machine, it's clear that only a small portion of the CF chassis will be in view. It won't be necessary to try and do and CF treatment to the entire chassis, only the parts that will be seen.

[CDW]

I painted a piece of sheet styrene with metallic gray and let it dry. Then a piece of tulle fabric was sprayed with Pixie Spray, a positionable adhesive for stencils. The tulle fabric was applied on the painted surface, then painted with semi gloss black. After removing the fabric, this is the result.

I think I can live with that instead of decals. After it’s dry, will apply a gloss clear to seal it all in and unify the colors.

 

Any thoughts?

[CDW]

Rear monocoque chassis piece painted in metallic gray. Will give it some drying time before applying the tulle fabric then shooting it in black. 
After all is said and done, I don’t like it, I can always resort to decals instead.

[gsdpic]

I think your sprayed on carbon fiber effect looks good and will look even better with a nice gloss coat.  It is a little hard to tell the scale from the picture but I assume the little diamonds are pretty small.  Certainly spraying it is likely to be much easier than decals, especially if there are no pre-cut decals available.

 

It is interesting in the picture of the full size car that the carbon fiber on the main chassis pieces around the engine look quite different from the two carbon fiber pieces in the lower left and lower right corners of the picture.  I wonder if the chassis CF is real and the other two pieces are more decorative instead of real carbon fiber.

 

[CDW]

25 minutes ago, gsdpic said:

I think your sprayed on carbon fiber effect looks good and will look even better with a nice gloss coat.  It is a little hard to tell the scale from the picture but I assume the little diamonds are pretty small.  Certainly spraying it is likely to be much easier than decals, especially if there are no pre-cut decals available.

 

It is interesting in the picture of the full size car that the carbon fiber on the main chassis pieces around the engine look quite different from the two carbon fiber pieces in the lower left and lower right corners of the picture.  I wonder if the chassis CF is real and the other two pieces are more decorative instead of real carbon fiber.

 

The scrap shown is only about 1 sq inch in size.

I noticed that difference in CF as well but thought it was probably due to lighting.

[CDW]

A preliminary look at the fresh paint, as I just now stripped off the tulle mask. There is a faint look of CF but it should look better as the paint dries and settles, then a clear gloss coat is applied. Will come back to it tomorrow.

[Old Collingwood]

Superb work mate.

 

OC.

[CDW]

Faux carbon fiber treatment with clear coat.

 

[mikegr]

now looks even better

[yvesvidal]

It looks even better (and more realistic) than the decals.

 

Yves