1975 Volkwagen Beetle 1303S Cabriolet
Jun 5, 2023 20:26:36 GMT -5
406 Silverado, deafpanzer, and 3 more like this
Post by 70 STING on Jun 5, 2023 20:26:36 GMT -5
Tackled this kit as a bit of a pallet cleanser. Didn't know going in, but it looks like in a previous release the kit was roughed in for battery powered lights and perhaps a motor.
The body was painted with Tamiya TS-51 Racing Blue over Gloss Black and clear coated with Mr. Color GX100. The soft top was painted Tamiya LP-43 Pearl White and the interior LP-39 Racing White. Used Ranger Navy Blue embossing powder for the carpeting. I went with a kind of restomod look by removing the bumpers and eliminating much of the chrome accents.
What I Learned
1. Decanted TS paint seems 'brittle' compared to Tamiya's LP. I noticed a number of little chips missing during final assembly. Not the first time this has happened.
2. Should come up with a 'full' build plan before starting a kit. Ended up with a little too much of "wonder how this would look?" For example, I'm not crazy about the side decals and the chrome wheels and mirrors should have been shinier. This lead to #3.
3. Got kinda lazy and sloppy with this build. I didn't paint the windshield trim; chickened-out on painting the outer area of the doors panels which should match the body colour; left a paper towel with paint remover in my workspace which made contact with driver side rear fender (I just painted it in with coloured marker).
4. The headlight bezels were a terrible fit with huge gaps... which leads to #5.
5. Tried Mr. Hobby's Mr. Dissolved Putty for the first time. This stuff is pretty cool as it seems to self level a bit - filling in tiny holes and gaps. I used it over multiple applications of Tamiya's White Putty which likes to shrink.
6. The kit wheels are way out of scale but looked better than other wheels in my stash. On a positive note, the glass fits beautifully on this kit.
That's it for now, Cheers.
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The body was painted with Tamiya TS-51 Racing Blue over Gloss Black and clear coated with Mr. Color GX100. The soft top was painted Tamiya LP-43 Pearl White and the interior LP-39 Racing White. Used Ranger Navy Blue embossing powder for the carpeting. I went with a kind of restomod look by removing the bumpers and eliminating much of the chrome accents.
What I Learned
1. Decanted TS paint seems 'brittle' compared to Tamiya's LP. I noticed a number of little chips missing during final assembly. Not the first time this has happened.
2. Should come up with a 'full' build plan before starting a kit. Ended up with a little too much of "wonder how this would look?" For example, I'm not crazy about the side decals and the chrome wheels and mirrors should have been shinier. This lead to #3.
3. Got kinda lazy and sloppy with this build. I didn't paint the windshield trim; chickened-out on painting the outer area of the doors panels which should match the body colour; left a paper towel with paint remover in my workspace which made contact with driver side rear fender (I just painted it in with coloured marker).
4. The headlight bezels were a terrible fit with huge gaps... which leads to #5.
5. Tried Mr. Hobby's Mr. Dissolved Putty for the first time. This stuff is pretty cool as it seems to self level a bit - filling in tiny holes and gaps. I used it over multiple applications of Tamiya's White Putty which likes to shrink.
6. The kit wheels are way out of scale but looked better than other wheels in my stash. On a positive note, the glass fits beautifully on this kit.
That's it for now, Cheers.
