Gabriel,
The prep work on the body really paid off, as the black primer coat looks smooth and no mold lines that I can see.

At least one of us has gotten enough done for an update, as I'm mired in the engine detailing and hours of work just looks more like maybe 15 min at best.

Joel

Quoted Text

---

Gabriel,
The prep work on the body really paid off, as the black primer coat looks smooth and no mold lines that I can see.

At least one of us has gotten enough done for an update, as I'm mired in the engine detailing and hours of work just looks more like maybe 15 min at best.

Joel

---

Yes, as a joke I would say am 96% content with the result of the first step. My experience with aircraft builds and the "trick" with the black marker paid off and I have just small protruding dots above the front lights - easy to deal with.

Mr. Levelling Thinner, Mr. Surfacer 1500 and H&S are a happy threesome which I always join with full confidence in a decent result Still small polishing needed here and there but, as already said, it's just normal auto modeling routine. Meanwhile I stripped and cleaned the a/b properly and hopefully no more issues next time (the inner seal was sticking and the needle was't closing properly once the trigger released, building up paint blobs on the tip, causing splattering).

The engine is going to be a challenge for me as well. It is very well detailed from the kit but still the real vehicle has some plumbing in the visible part that needs to be scratch-built. I'm not stepping yet into internal details, since I have on the bench a 72nd scale Airfix that I want it gone asap

Cheers!
Gabriel

Michael,
The Gravity primer after sanding with 3,000 looks absolutely silky smooth.

As far as decaling is concerned, I've stopped gloss coating as base for the decals. What you need is a smooth surface that you can attain from Matt paints without any real issues. for this I wet sand the color coats with good old Tamiya 3,000 sponge. Just watch out for any raised edges as there is almost no paint on them.

I 1st learned of this somewhat radical method from Paul Budzik, a true master modeler. While I shied away from using this method on my last several aircraft builds, and my 1st car build, the Porsche 917K, I used it with great success on the Lotus 72E and the Ferrari 330 P4. every single decals laid down perfectly with no issues. But all the decals were AM decals as I try not to use kit decals unless they're by Cartograf.

Joel

Nice work Gabriel on the clean up. I had exactly the same lines on the 934 that also wrapped under the rear spoiler and around the bumpers so removal was messy.

Quoted Text

---

Gabriel,
The prep work on the body really paid off, as the black primer coat looks smooth and no mold lines that I can see.

At least one of us has gotten enough done for an update, as I'm mired in the engine detailing and hours of work just looks more like maybe 15 min at best.

Joel

---

Yes, as a joke I would say am 96% content with the result of the first step. My experience with aircraft builds and the "trick" with the black marker paid off and I have just small protruding dots above the front lights - easy to deal with.

Mr. Levelling Thinner, Mr. Surfacer 1500 and H&S are a happy threesome which I always join with full confidence in a decent result Still small polishing needed here and there but, as already said, it's just normal auto modeling routine. Meanwhile I stripped and cleaned the a/b properly and hopefully no more issues next time (the inner seal was sticking and the needle was't closing properly once the trigger released, building up paint blobs on the tip, causing splattering).

The engine is going to be a challenge for me as well. It is very well detailed from the kit but still the real vehicle has some plumbing in the visible part that needs to be scratch-built. I'm not stepping yet into internal details, since I have on the bench a 72nd scale Airfix that I want it gone asap

Cheers!
Gabriel

Usually I start with the shell, but this time I wanted to work on the basic engine/transmission, and then the cockpit which is 100% wrong! I have to keep on reminding myself that this kit was 1st released in 1986, and it's still the equal of the vast majority of kits currently being released.

Gabriel
The Copper coat looks pretty good to me. Just smooth it out some, then the 2K will work it's wonders.

Hope to get a little modeling done today as I'm staying home and not running to the hospital.

Joel

Quoted Text

---

Gabriel
The Copper coat looks pretty good to me. Just smooth it out some, then the 2K will work it's wonders.

Hope to get a little modeling done today as I'm staying home and not running to the hospital.

Joel

---

Your heart condition it saddens me deeply, Joel and one can only admire your dedication to the hobby in given conditions. You gained all my respect, my friend!

I'm betting on 2K's self-leveling properties and hardness because, although the copper went on as good as it can be, it also became obvious that I will never get a glass-like surface. This is basically the tipping point of this build... let see in which side will fall

I'm trying to push myself to prime, copper, paint and decal the spoiler over the week-end... remains to see if is feasible.

Waiting for your updates!

Cheers!
Gabriel

Hi, guys!

UPDATE - Copper vs. Copper

I sprayed the engine cover and the spoiler with Alclad II copper, in the same manner I sprayed the main body. The difference in hue is notable - but it doesn't bother me: I doubt it's going to make any difference on the final product. As a personal preference, I vote with the Rust-oleum: much cheaper and much closer to bare copper than Alclad. The only advantage of Alclad is that is easier to use and goes a little smoother... :


A gloss clear coat will follow, and then the carbon fiber decals on the spoiler and the main color on the body and engine hood.


Cheers!
Gabriel

Finally, I've gotten enough done for my 1st update on the tamiya Porsche 956.

Usually I start with the shell, but as with the Ferrari 330 P4 I decided to 1st concentrate on the Engine/Transmission/suspension/chassis/cockpit, and leave the shell for the end of the build.

While the kit comes with a nicely detailed engine/transmission, I've found some issues that seem somewhat strange to me, but once I realized that this kit was molded in 1984, things were certainly done differently back then, and I had to every once in a while remind myself of that fact.

I started my build on Nov 9th with the Porsche twin turbo flat 6. It's the same engine that powered the 936 in the FIA class 6 enduracne races. The only change was with the addtion of a Bosch fuel injection metering system. I primed all the engine parts with Ammo Mig Black primer, then a few various shades of Alcad metalizers, with Flat Aluminum as the basic color. I followed this up with 1st masking off the top of the engine, and then air brusing it with Tamiya Gloss Red Acrylic paint.

I then drilled out the distributor cap and glued in 7 black wires, 6 for the sparks plugs. The 7th will be attached to the coil that is located on the front top of the gearbox. Next up I scratched out using round pieces of .020 sheet plastic the basic unit for the fuel injection lines, which in all my reference material are black, and ran them to the injectors. I added two alumiumin lines from the fuel enjection unit to the base of both injector banks. Finally I glued on two sheet plastic discs to close up the back of the Alternator. I couldn't find my Aluminum tape that I use for wire ties, so temp. I used some masking tape till I can get to my local hardware store. As you can see, they're already coming apart.

Now I built up the Transmission and painted it along with the main rear suspension arm Ammo Mig Black Primer, then various shades of Alcad. And yes, being lazy, I totally forgot to mask off the overflow catch tank.


Everything looked pretty good till I turned it around. The back of that massive suspension arm was hollow!! 1st 1984 issue that I needed to deal with.



So I ended up stripping off all the Alcad and Primer, then using .020 sheet plastic, I covers all three sections.

And yes, I still have to re-Alcad the suspension member, and paint the over flow tank.

I decided to test fit the enginer engine/transmission unit into the rear of the chassis just to make sure everything fit. And so far so good.

And this is as far as I've gotten to date.

Joel

Very impressed with your engine building skills...again, Joel. Also impressed that Tamiya included an engine in the kit. I just have the one piece moulded base with some suspension arms. I guess that's the difference between a 70's kit and a 80's one

cheers
Michael

Well the 934 Turbo has made some progress and I learned a lot about painting cars.
Being pretty happy with my primer coat I gave it a sand with the 3000 paper and applied the Vaillant Green in the suggested manner. It went on very well and looked pretty good from first impressions. But after a closer inspection, what I though was a smooth primed surface was not so in certain places especially around the bonnet and front guards. The bonnet has moulded on filler caps and a had been a bit wary of sanding them to closely to avoid damaging the detail. It was quite clear that areas around were much smoother. I took some photos but seem to have lost them somehow.
Anyway I re-sanded the Bonnet with 3000 paper and while it is improved still could have been better. Stored away for next time.
So with the green applied I have added the other colours.
Orange/yellow for the splitter and matt black for the window seals, frames and bumpers. The orange/yellow needs some smoothing then it will be on to the decals.

cheers
Michael