discussion Peter's (2nd) Tamiya GB - Mini Cooper

[pjgtech]

More progress.....
Dry fit of the roof and bonnet.

Never held my breath so much as when I was doing the chrome edges around the frame, my sausage fingered, chimp like, shaky hands are not suited to such fine work, but we sort of managed it.....


More of the interior done, front seat, rear side pockets, dashboard, decals on the dash, steering wheel, handbrake and gear lever.


Most of the engine done, few little bits to add, carbs, etc.


Carbs added... and rear seats and roll cage....


Side view of the interior....


Other side view of the interior...


Slowly getting there....


Hmmm, problem, but not sure what, the front wheels were way too high, eg: the bottom of the wheels were pretty much level with the bottom of the sump, so virtually no gap. I know these were low, but not that low. Had a close look and cannot see what the problem is, as far as I know the suspension, axle, wheels, brakes, etc were all fitted correctly.
So decied to take the nuclear option and chop the wheels off!

Will wait till its all fitted/finished then add the front wheels last, in what I approximate the correct position to be.
As I say not sure why they were so high, but I've obviously c*cked it up somewhere? It was deffo not right...


View into the dash, etc...


The main body shell, roof panel, bonnet and wheel arches are now drying after they had had their final Gloss coat. Don't know why but the paint has a few little marks on it, [Doh!] so maybe I should have clear coated them sooner, but hey ho.....

Exhaust now on and view of the underside....

 

[pjgtech]

Next job will prolly be the windows, Gulp! not had great success with clear parts on some of my models, but want to get this one right, will be using the Krystal Klear glue that is white but dries clear and (hopefully) does not fog up.....

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

You notice how many people are getting nostalgic about the Minis they owned / drove / coveted back in the day

Hmm, is there an actual kit of a 1968 Mini? Didn't Airfix do a 1/32 one?

 

[Hecky]

Next job will prolly be the windows, Gulp! not had great success with clear parts on some of my models, but want to get this one right, will be using the Krystal Klear glue that is white but dries clear and (hopefully) does not fog up.....

UHU glue works. I had a thinned down version of UHU from Revell called Contacta liquid special which was quite good. The white stuff that dries clear is PVA as far as I can tell but I never had much success with it.

 

[pjgtech]

UHU glue works. I had a thinned down version of UHU from Revell called Contacta liquid special which was quite good. The white stuff that dries clear is PVA as far as I can tell but I never had much success with it.

I've used the krystal klear stuff, it seems to work ok, but my first couple of attempts with clear parts, (not using it) did not go so well, Lol...

 

[pjgtech]

You notice how many people are getting nostalgic about the Minis they owned / drove / coveted back in the day
Hmm, is there an actual kit of a 1968 Mini? Didn't Airfix do a 1/32 one?

I think both Tamiya and Heller do an early mini kit, not sure what year though?

 

[flyjoe180]

That's looking great Peter, hopefully you can resolve the wheel issues.

 

[pjgtech]

More progress this afternoon....
The windows went in ok with not too much drama....
The door pockets went in as well.
Main upper shell now on the chassis, it was a tight fit, and I did not want to put too much pressure on the model, as you have to pull the shell apart slightly, to allow the chassis to slip inside, but with some gentle pursuasion it popped in ok.


Most of the chrome bits now added, door handles, wipers, badge, front grill, etc.
And popped the roof on too, it wanted to lift up a tiny tad, so added some low tack tape to keep it down while it sets....


Rear view showing the rear fuel caps, rear number plate holder, boot handle, etc.
Lights painted up too, destructions recommended the clear orange and clear red, but they just did not pop enough for me, so went with plain orange, and plain red in the end.


First two wheel arches attached, I need to do the chrome edges to the wheel arches, with one of my Chrome paint pens.
When these are dry/set I will do the other side, then the front wheels can go back on....

 

[flyjoe180]

Very nice work Peter, it looks like it's all fitting together very nicely.

 

[pjgtech]

Another schoolboy error by me, Doh!
I had previously put the front bonnet straps in place...... before applying the bonnet white stripes!
So had to then remove the bonnet straps.
I have now added the white stripes, its a Cooper, its gotta have its white stripes!
Have also fitted all the wheel arches now. Slowly getting there....

 

[pjgtech]

Would other car model makers please advise, would anyone panel line wash the seams/gaps, or otherwise blacken the seams/gaps, etc?
Eg: around the doors, boot lid, etc?
Cheers
@kacitgirl

 

[Stefee]

I personally don't treat the panel gaps as I don't like the effect but lots of builders do it and are very happy. If doing it the 1 thing I picked up was black for dark colours but grey for light finishes as black is regarded as too harsh.
Why not do one panel gap and compare with a virgin one to see your preference?

 

[PaulTRose]

I don't do panel lines either
I have done in the past and thought the dark line just stands out too much

 

[Hecky]

I think you have to get the colour right for panel gaps. Black can be too stark for certain colours. I've got various shades of pens from Mr Hobby as well as the Tamiya stuff in a bottle. Even scribing the panel lines without using a wash can give them a bit more definition. This takes practice though, it's easy for the scribing tool to skip out onto the panel and then you have more things to fix.