In Tamiya’s more modern car kits this whole area is usually moulded in black plastic so I don’t tend to paint it unless a part (or parts) will be very obvious on the finished piece. However, as you can see this is moulded in silver so I will be giving it a coat of black paint.
The engine builds up equally as quick and is quite well detailed.
The engine mounted and the engine bay details added. I’ll also be giving this area a bit of paint too as the radiator will likely be somewhat visible through parts of the lower front fender.
My entry will be a simple Monogram kit. Every day that goes by then I’m not building models, my interest in sheets of photo-etch and bags of resin decreases. Don’t get me wrong, I have models that I’m definitely going to build with aftermarket parts and all the latest greatest aftermarket goodies. But for this campaign I cleave to the Bauhaus Movement idea that “less is more”.
Sadly mate, I have only ever binned one kit … the academy Pzr IV … Up to now.
I did the clean up on the wheels and sprockets … That was soul destroying…
Then I went and started on the drop arms and shocks and idler set up. What an absolute nightmare… Although there are locating shapes on the axles/drop arms they just float about once fitted… Same for the wheels…they just float on the stubs, and move all over the place … Trying to get it level was impossible… This went from a palette cleanser to teeth grinding, frustration and then quiet rage.
It’s now in the bin, … I will look for another kit that fits the parameters but the one I know I have is side marked for another project … A Vandy Bunny Tomcat …( Which would require more modern decals)
Ah that is too bad John- I know exactly the kind of poor fit you are talking about. It is just about the most annoying thing to discover after working to get suspension parts ready- ditto for individual link tracks too!
Well? After pulling the old Tamiya Challenger Cr.1 kit from the stash as part of the “Royal Tank Regiment” Group Build i started. I think I’ll jump into this Group Buoild with it. It’s a Tamiya, so it’ll go together rather quick.
This statement was what led me to believe you were entering the Challenger Cr.1 in both campaigns.
Didn’t know you had the Firefly in the RTR Campaign.
So sorry for the confusion. Carry on with your Challenger!
Had to make a change of planes once I got into the Spitfire; some warping that I don’t know yet if I want to deal with for this build. I have this as an alternate:
However, the decals have that dirty haze on them from a long time sitting in a box. What would one suggest for cleaning a 47yo decal sheet of grime without wrecking it? I am hesitant to spray a gloss coat over it as I don’t want to trap the dirt.
A lot of nostalgia in this one. Found a copy for cheap on eBay. Came from a smoker so the box was trash immediately (too smelly) but miraculously the decals survived.
@brekinapez I have had the same problem in the past. I just used the decals and the grime either stayed on the paper or where washed of the decals during the decal process. So I had no problems in the end. Happens with a lot of old Matchbox and ESCI kits.
