Good start on the paintwork Delbert, looks nice and clean! The second colour will really make it stand out.

Cheers, D

WOW!
This tread really grew under Joel and Damian's care!

It passed so long since I lastly posted, that I cannot even find my own posts

UPDATE

I wanted to go ahead fast with the body and I paid some attention to the cab. The mold lines marked with black were sanded off:


The engine was meanwhile finished with Testors lacquer and TCP Viking Blue. No super-detailing this time, since I am already late!


The cab and the sides of the bed painted with Tamiya Titanium Gold



The cab masked along the chrome trim, prepared for the secondary color:


Tamiya Clear Orange applied over gold. No frills


Nice engine bay detail parts from Moebius


The hood painted as well and overview of the cab:


Masking worked perfectly this time:



Inside the bed as well:



First overview of the body - I was quite dissappointed with the contrast, but I hoped the chrome and the black will spice it up - and I was right (see further down):


Trying to catch-up with the engine bay accessories:


The interior parts are also superbly molded by Moebius:


The engine washed with Lamp Black:


... and most of the wash removed



The engine added to the chassis - the drive shaft still missing because the instructions are calling a wrong one (there are 4 options (!) in the kit)



2K applied - again, none of the usual annoyances - just one "perfect" shot:


TET effect on Tamiya painted surfaces. That area not important - later on it will be painted black:


Here I have discovered one of my mistakes. I accidentally cut off these pins, taking them for injection gates


For the interior I chose a combination of colors: MRP Orange Leather and Tamiya Titanium Gold


The front bench added to the cab floor:


Door cards detailed with silver and gold, trying to remain consistent with my chromatics:


Dashboard painted by hand - the kit's decals are too big to fit properly


Engine bay detailing finished and some chrome added - now the color scheme look more like what I have envisaged from the good beginning



The dash pin-washed, awaiting to be installed


The other interior parts received a pin-wash as well


Interior complete, before addind the steering column:



The side steps painted and added to the bed; the bed installed on the frame:


The underside of the bed painted by brush with black before assembly:


Interior ready for installation - it's being held back by the windows that need to be installed from the inside of the cab:




And this is the current stage of my build.
The windows were soaked in tinted Pledge and are drying.
I still need to scratch build the attaching brackets for the rear bumper and to paint the both bumpers. Some external detailing, lights, wipers and the radiators hoses - that's my shortlist for the remaining of the build.

Gabriel

Gabriel, that looks fantastic! Your engine looks very realistic, and your paintwork on the body is great.

Jim

Wow, Gabriel, That is some impressive work. I love the titanium gold as an undercoat. I was using it to recreate the metallic tan I remember the dash on my parents old '51, but you've taken it to a hole nuther level.

Beautiful work Gabriel, great to see you making such good progress now.

Is the Tamiya Titanium Gold the enamel jar version, the acrylic jar, or the rattle can? It has laid down beautifully!

Cheers, D

Wow Gabriel, beautiful work as always.

Glad to see you back Gabriel.
That's a great update on the Ford pickup. Great detailing inside and out, especially the engine. I really like the clear orange over the titanium silver, it makes the orange pop. Can you remind how you "one shot" the 2K to get that finish?

cheers
Michael

Thank you, Jim! With the engine, we have to credit quality molding from Moebius as they did a beautiful job there. All accessories are injected separately, and easy to paint before assembly. As stated, because the tight time frame, I didn't went for any super-detailing, and I know already that I'm going to regret it



Thank you, Mark! In all fairness, I think a shiny metallic dash isn't such a good ideea, due reflection, but I hold the "artistic license" to go overboard



Thanks, D. for always being supportive! The Tamiya I used here is the old but gold (pun intended) X-31 acrylic jar. The secret is to thin it about 2 parts thinner for 1 part paint with MLT, mix it very good and spray it as you'd do with Alclads: one light to medium coat. You need it thin, because you want a wide spray pattern and you want a single pass (if possible) because you want to minimize over-spray. At the end of a good session, you will have just a few particles of dry paint on the surface, but keep the sandpaper away. A pass with a brand new kitchen sponge (soft side), will knock loose these particles. Be careful trough: the result is very sensitive to all solvents, including alcohol, and you need to clear it at the first opportunity.



Thank you, David. I had the plans laid for this build since long time - the free time was the enemy.



Thank you, Michael! Small correction - it is Titanium Gold, not Silver. But, indeed, my first call was silver, then I told myself that I would like a more subdued and more "in-game" contrast, and I opted for Gold. As you have seen in pictures, orange and gold aren't that contrasty alone, they need the ends of the spectre to blossom (chrome and black in my case - that is the reason I have painted the interior of the bed and of the cabin black, and I used the chrome from the kit and didn't over-spray it with a more "contemporary" gunmetal or something ). If I would do a build with less chrome, then probably I will go for Silver and a more "strong" color than orange, as Damian went with his Wine Red.

On 2K matter: First, I have my previous experiences dissected and analyzed. The main issues were: thinning ratio and contamination. So, the devil it's (again) in preparation. First I have cleaned properly the environment: I washed the inside of the spray booth with Windex and I cleaned the filter. Just before spraying, I have laid a moist paper towel in the booth and I sprayed slightly the filter with Windex, to make the loose paint particles stick.
When mixing the resin, I used a glass recipient and a metallic stirrer, both of them cleaned obsessively with xylene. When I poured together and mixed the resin's three components, I've done it slowly, avoiding forming any bubbles. If any bubbles formed when I poured the mix in the AB cup, I let the AB rest for 30 seconds, until bubbles surfaced and disappeared.
To avoid build-ups, I altered the mixing ratio from 2:1:1 to 2:1:1.5 (resin : hardener : reducer).
When spraying, I used my 0.4mm setup, but I've set the throttle stop some 3/4 of the way, so the spray pattern is wide enough, but not touches the AB crown and prevent splattering.
Finally, when spraying, I've tried to keep a constant flowing motion, a dash slower than when applying regular paints, just to get a "slightly wet" look from the first pass. I covered the car's body patiently, overlapping some 1/3 of the previous spray with the new one, very careful not to leave dry (oversprayed but not covered areas behind; on my previous experiences, if this instance occurs, I better leave it that way and re-do the entire coat after flashing time than to try to patch it). Finally, I went from top to bottom, virtually chasing away the overspray from the surface of the model.
If spraying is well performed this way, there should't be any dust and any over-spray on the surface of the model. Immediately I stored the spayed parts in a dustproof area (my photo tent), and resisted the temptation to look at them one more time for a few hours...
I know, it sounds like the instructions for building a collision particles reactor, but in practice is much simpler and achievable.
I hope my "dissertation" helps

Gabriel

Public answer to a private question

I have been asked by my long standing and wonderful friend Joel if I did any modelling recently and I did. Coincidentally, it was another Ford (not intended for this Campaign, and not wearing a blue oval). Nonetheless, it is a Ford licensed to USSR, and produced under GAZ badge: 1937 GAZ AAA (AAA designation stands for double rear axle). Base kit: Zvezda. Scale: 1/35th. Add-ons: resin and scratch built. Cover photo by Alexandra Pasca. Here a few pics:













Gabriel

Darn, the internet ate your GAZ photos.

I also used Titanium Gold, but TS-87 rattle can. On the dash it's over Alclad Gloss Black Base. I don't think it's going to be too bright for ordinary driving. The rear seat base is the same paint over Tamiya Fine White primer.


Based on Joel's recommendation (admonition) that I polish up the primer on my '51, here it is:

Yeah, I have noticed some sluggishness in the Google Photos. I double-checked the settings and it should be OK by now. If not, let me know and I re-post them.



I guess depends very much on design. If the dash is slanted downwards and forward, perhaps there is no problem. But if the top of the dash is straight like my Jimny's, with an upright driving position, then I think it will be a problem If I need to drive around 5pm westwards, I have to guess my way - I barely see anything - so slanted and piercing is the sunlight in Caribbean.

Gold and grey it's a nice combo as well - I like it!

You did a good job on sanding the body - the primer looks now as it should be: gleaming

KUTGW!
Gabriel

Ah, the pictures recovered. Love the canvas bits.

I've still got a lot of work on the dash, silver knobs, silver speaker grill, black dry brush on the speedo and the clock. not sure how to finish off the radio yet. Maybe a semi gloss or flat varnish to finish it off.

Thanks for the dissertation Gabriel. I had tried 2K before but it didnt work out that well so I will give it a go on the second Escort and pay attention to those extra details. The damp paper towel I would not have thought of.
The GAZ looks mighty impressive.

cheers
Michael

Beautiful job on the GAZ Gabriel, excellent weathering! Check out the "Postman" thread for my latest acquisitions, a funny coincidence!

Mark, great finish on the seat fabric, and the gold will tone down nicely with a flat clear. Your body work is coming along very well, looking forward to colour coats next.

Cheers, D

Gabriel,
You made my day yesterday with your pm. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to finally hear from you. You have no idea of the crazy thoughts that have been going through my wacky mind. And now today, your build post bringing up us to date in your usual orderly and proper manner which I'll get to in a few moments. But those GAZ photos aren't showing up for me as yet. Now on to your build.

The engine once painted and with the Black wash really came out looking as one would expect a lite duty truck engine to look. Nice touch on the air cleaner with that decal as it just jumped right out at me.

The two tone exterior paint combination with the Metallic Orange really has that custom look to it. Your Urethane gloss clear coat is dead on perfect. I can't see a single issue anywhere. Like you, I clean my spray booth and the filter, even changing the filter when it's so past its prime it's not funny. One thing I do is to run at least a half cup of straight Lacquer Thinner through my AB @ 20+psi and the stop at 3/4 as well. Any little issues are taken care of that way. The end result is that you've got that technique down to a science.

Your interior really ties into the overall scheme as you so realistically carried those two colors to the cab as well. Love the dash and how you finished it with the wash. Your concern over harsh direct sunlight brought back memories of me driving into the rising sun every morning coming home from work, and being nearly blinded. Of course us retired folk don't have to deal with that any longer.

Looking forward to your next update. And this time lets not have us wait months on end

Joel

Mark,
Excellent prep work on the primer coat. You'll see the difference asap as you shoot the color coat on.

Joel

Well D, I finally got something good out of micro-photography. The cream part of the seat looks OK (except that the line in sloped), but it's half peeled off by the masking. That's the color blue I wanted for the rest of the seat, but the coverage looks awfully thin IRL.

Joel, I apologize one more time for going incommunicando - the life just sometimes not the way we want.
I don't know what to say about the GAZ pictures. I log-out and I could see them as a visitor, also a few other users have seen them. Maybe you need to refresh your browser (?).



Yes, the black wash makes the difference. I went a little to heavy on my mix, but the result is good enough. The decal comes with the kit and would have been lousy not to added, especially knowing that I have no time for super-detailing



Yes, the preparation is the key and thru many experiments, each one of us can get his own recipe.

Your interior really ties into the overall scheme as you so realistically carried those two colors to the cab as well. Love the dash and how you finished it with the wash. Your concern over harsh direct sunlight brought back memories of me driving into the rising sun every morning coming home from work, and being nearly blinded. Of course us retired folk don't have to deal with that any longer.




:)) I hope two months didn't pass since yesterday )

UPDATE

First things first. I needed to address the "lost" rear bumper support. I cut two pieces of thick sprue and shape is to accommodate the under-frame of the bed. Later on a refined the shape and painted Alclad II Chrome over black base.


Hear the rear bumper attached with Superglue Gel:

I guess it's a better idea to paint the "new" supports black:


Windows and chrome trim added. The rear window and the lateral ones fit perfect. The front one leaves gaps in all corners and I filled these hairline gaps with black colored white glue, making my own "molds":




That much anticipated moment when everything falls in place! The cab is momentarily dry fitted. a small alignment issue has to be fixed. Also, I decided to leave the engine hood unattached, since now it's impossible to properly align and glue it because of the chrome trim:



Gabriel

Wow Gabriel, wow! Stunning pickup truck

And that GAZ is pretty sweet too.

Thank you, Neil!
Yes, I am satisfied with both builds. Some break from the modelling desk can work wonders after all (I assume).

Gabriel

Gabriel,
The Gaz photos are all now showing.

Wow you really did some weathering job on it. You certainly haven't lost your touch.

Joel

Great work Gabriel, the colour combination with the chrome highlights is really eye-catching!

Very nice recovery on the rear bumper mounts as well. The bumper might appear to be "floating" if you paint the mounts black, might be a nice effect.

Cheers, D

Thank you, Joel!

Well, yes! After I entered seriously into modelling, my favorites were the soft-skin vehicles. Even now my stash has more 1:35th than 1:24th!




It was one of the few occasions when I really wanted as much chrome as possible (Yeah, I'm still an European after all).
I did the bumper mounts black, but, to be honest, I don't see a big difference. Maybe a little bit

UPDATE
... And there she is, finished.
I had a lot of "little things" to do, as installing all the chrome elements. Of course I forgot to paint the stop lights buckets and that hold me back a whole day. ... and many more things like that. However, now it's done and I think it doesn't look all that bad.

















Conclusions to my build
I definitely liked the Moebius kit: well laid, well thought over and almost idiot proof. Lots of details, without giving the impression that the assembly is overwhelming. Plenty room for scratch-building as well (I'm really sorry I've missed the opportunity to fill out that engine bay properly )
Bad windshield and worst chrome parts : wrong side injection gates, presence of the chrome where visible joint is required... and so on. Why - just why! - the auto models manufacturers do not offer option of chromed / un-chromed parts as the armor models offer PE / styrene alternative?! There are just a few in every kit so no serious production costs are involved! More yet: Moebius offer the front bumper in chrome and the rear one in styrene. Arrggh!

All in all, excellent kit - totally recommended!

Gabriel

Gabriel,

Very nice job on the F100. I haven't built any of the Moebius pickup kits, but I've heard good things about them. Yours just looks fantastic.

Jim

Thanks, Jim!
Perhaps the best way to generally describe Moebius it's (new) AMT on steroids Somewhat I feel they share the same DNA and are "obviously" relatives, but definitely Moebius has the edge. I own also their Chrysler 300B kit and is just as good as F-100 series. Their subjects are also to my liking (well, I'm not going to build the whole F-100 series though) but the Plymouth Satellite and the Hudson Hornet are clearly on my shopping list.

Gabriel