Allen's 1/24 Tamiya GTR...

[Lee Drennen]

armour build

I like building Cars and Trucks but there something about Millitary Models that have more Art and Artistic skill levels that go with them guess this is why I like building them the best it’s a “Art” to me. It really tests my Modeling skills

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Coming along nicely Allen. I have to agree on all the comments about the complexity of building cars. This has been a real eye opener for me. I have spent more time pondering over the instructions than building.

[minitnkr]

Pigs on a stick. Can't beat'em.

[Allen Dewire]

Evening Race Fans,

Nice progress :thumb2:

Thank you Mark! I'm having a good time with this too...

Extremely neat and skillful build thus far. Lemon yellow would look stunning with red accents

Thanks Stefan! I thought about yellow, but don't have anything other than AK RLM04 yellow and it won't mix with Tamiya gloss to spray. I can't see buying one jar of yellow, as the postage would be 2x more than the paint cost. I do have an evil plan brewing in the windmills of my mind though...

Hi not an expert by any measure, but some of the Tamiya tyre decals are self adhesive (on the bikes anyway) trick is to cut them as neat as possible, peel the backing of them then apply to the area you want them once in place dampen the top film and when this is translucent gently peel it away,
if the link below works its good example of how to do it.

hope it helps like Bob, i don't have fun with them either
simon

Thanks so much Simon! I did re-read Tamiya's instructions again, But did what you suggested. I didn't remove the sheet on the sticky side, so I could handle them to get the thick backing off. Wiped the tire with a wet Q-tip, took the front sheet off, aligned the decal on the tire, rubbed it down a bit, and then wet my finger and soaked the backing. It came off really quick and I lightly dabbed it to dry. See below...

Looking mighty fine so far Allen.


A whole different ball game I think. Definitely more "clinical" than your average armour build I'd say, but bring a whole new set of skills to bear that could be useful in other genres.

I still haven't got the cajones to build a bike. They really do need precision!

That is so true Andy! I have spent a lot of time scratching my head and other unmentionables figuring out a plan to proceed. So far, so good and nothing has fallen apart yet! I have too many kits in the stash to even think about buying a bike kit, let alone enough active brain cells to build if I did!!! Thanks for your help too, Sir...

There always First priority Allen. Very nice updates about two more blinks of the eye and you might have this done.

I like building Cars and Trucks but there something about Millitary Models that have more Art and Artistic skill levels that go with them guess this is why I like building them the best it’s a “Art” to me. It really tests my Modeling skills

Maybe a lot more blinks of the eye before I'm done, Lee. It'd been a new thing for me Buddy. Tanks and such are much better and if all else fails..........Mud is your best friend!!!...

Coming along nicely Allen. I have to agree on all the comments about the complexity of building cars. This has been a real eye opener for me. I have spent more time pondering over the instructions than building.

Thanks much Steve! I can almost recite every step and color callout in the instructions from memory now...

Pigs on a stick. Can't beat'em.

That's the truth Brother!!!...


Okay, we have had success on the tire front. Tamiya gives you 5 decals, with the extra in case you screw up. I only needed 4,


Not perfect, but worthy of a cold one at least. I didn't want to push my luck, so I didn't apply the the Viagra advert decals, like in the instructions. I hope they stay stuck on till I finish the build. I also added the bits to the chassis bottom,


The wheels do steer which is cool. I thought about painting the pipes, but if you can't see them........I'll add the chrome tip part last. Broke out the hairy stick, and painted the rear deck, shifter, pedals, and dashboard in black,


I left the rollbar glue points free for better attachment when it gets added. A few little details still to paint. I moved on and painted the rollcage pieces in red,


Kind of a PITA with a hairy stick. The first coat made the pieces look like a burgundy/purple color. Maybe if I had done a better job, I would have left them like that......Got to hit them with the stick again and do a second coat. They should look a lot better, and red, tomorrow afternoon. I'll paint the other blue bits in their proper colors too...

That's all for today good people. Thanks again for looking in and have a great 'Over The Hump Day'...

Prost
Allen

[simontie]

Tyres look great, on the bike tyres once in place i tend to brush over with a drop of microsol, this helps bond them on
simon

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Were these the standard water slide decals Allen or the ones that you stick on and then peel off the backing paper. If they were the water slide ones did you do anything to prepare the tyre first, ie varnish etc.

[Lee Drennen]

Mud is your best friend!!!...

Yes it is my friend. I found that Dirty little secret when I first got into Millitary Modeling. No pun intended.

[Lee Drennen]

the rear deck,

You need some Woofer Speakers back there so you jam while you race. Tires and roll cage looks good. Isn’t roll cages fun especially when you put the body on. Since this is a Tamiya it might go smoothly unlike a Revell, AMT or Monogram Kit those NASCAR ones are a Nightmare.

[Allen Dewire]

Afternoon all,

Been so busy trying to ketchup up with you all, I forgot to post up some progress on my GTR. Thank you for the comments and help too.

Steve, these were Tamiya's sticky face type that you rub on and soak the back off. I can't believe they are still sticking to the tires...

It's been a busy past 10 days with the museum show, new boiler, and of course, rooting for the underdogs and shouting at the Telly in the EM matches.....But...I have made some progress on the build. I finished up the innards, after getting the back of the roll cage in place,


Test fitted the seat and painted the pedals and shifter. All was good and I painted the seat too. Onto adding another piece in the cage and adding the decals to the dash panel,


Glued the dash in and added the digital display,


On to painting the steering wheel. It only needed 5 different colors to do. Then stuck in it place,


Terrible pic...The kit gives you decals for the seat belts, so I thought I would fatten them up to look more realistic. Folded some AK masking tape together and painted it in RLM66 Blk/Grey and let it dry for a day. Added the decals, trimmed the excess tape, and gave the belts a coat of matt to tone down their shine. CA'd them in place and added the Recaro decals to the seat. In between, I added the rads and gave them a wash of black,


I still need to paint the connecting hoses in chrome or alu. Finally, I could glue in the seat and finish the roll cage nonsense,


The fit was pretty good and TET held it all together. Another pic,


Not happy with the belts, as there is no texture on the decals and they look flat. When the body is added they might not look so bad. I sanded down the tires to scruff them up and put them on the chassis,


Yup, stickers still hanging onto the sidewalls,


Good to go on this side too!!! And they are steerable,


Like I said earlier, I'm not adding the Viagra advert stickers on the tires. Bridgestone is enough.......Oh, I forgot to mention, that before I pinned the tires on, I did a test fit of the body to the chassis. At first it wouldn't fit on in front, but a little tilting, the rads fit in between the 2 round air intakes inside the body. And with it on, you can see about nada of the roll cage. Now, I can concentrate on the body and glass items. I've decided on a color and when I shoot a coat on, you will see it. I also have to tint the areas on the F/R windows and the side ones too...

I am going to do what AndyT is doing and take a break from this to work on my D-Day GB kit. It's gotten a little neglected and needs some love. I want to fire up the hissy stick for this and the other kit, but the big Prob is, I put a new filter in my booth and it's so pretty, I don't want to dirty it up...

Thanks again for looking in and your nice comments. More to follow soon...............

Prost
Allen

[Stefee]

Looking magnificent young man. I will pinch your idea for the seat belts if I may because I think I may need it for my Supra build.

[scottie3158]

Looking good mate this is really coming along. Just love those farside cartoons they have me in stitches.

[simontie]

That looks really nice love the belts

[Allen Dewire]

Looking magnificent young man. I will pinch your idea for the seat belts if I may because I think I may need it for my Supra build.

Why thank you Sir! Feel free to pinch as I nicked the idea of the tape from here anyway. If you have tape with a texture in on it, some Micro Sol might help sink the decals into it. I was afraid that if I used Micro Sol on mine, it might have soaked into the tape adhesive and the tape would come apart...

Looking good mate this is really coming along. Just love those farside cartoons they have me in stitches.

Thanks Bro! Cars are a different ball of wax to build......I love the 'Far Side' and 'Pearls Before Swine' cartoons. A lot of out of the box humor and so hilarious. Larry the Crocodile, from 'Pearls', is my absolute favorite...

That looks really nice love the belts

Thank you Simon! I just wish they had some texture on them. I was thinking about replacing them with HGW 1/32 WWI airplane pieces, but they would have been too small, with the wrong buckles...LOL...

Thanks and I'll leave you guys with another of my favorites strips. This is for my good Buddy Paul (Scottie),




Prost
Allen

[Andy T]

Great work buddy. Looking very clean and neat, as I'd expect from you.

[Tworrs]

That is looking really good Allen, I'm keen to see the end result.