McLaren Senna

[mrversatile]

After a couple of builds of some subpar kits I have decided to ease myself into something a bit builder friendly; The Tamiya McLaren Senna in 1/24 scale. I have acquired the Gravity Colors tricoat set for the McLaren "Trophy Orange" paint. I also will add the Studio 27 carbon fiber decal set. Let's see how this goes.

[sharp]

Looks like a nice project. Can't go wrong with a Tamiya kit.

[project510]

Oh heck ya, I almost purchased this yesterday haha. Cant wait to see you build it.

[handiabled]

Bookmarked! From the name of the color you are putting on this one it should be amazing!

[kyledehart5]

Sweet!! Can’t wait to watch this one

[70 STING]

I hear ya regarding subpar kits. The Senna is a high-end kit, but being a Tamiya I’m sure you're gonna have a good time.

[project510]

Apr 8, 2024 8:22:34 GMT -5 70 STING said:

I hear ya regarding subpar kits. The Senna is a high-end kit, but being a Tamiya I’m sure you're gonna have a good time.

And you thought adding CF to the hood of my vette was difficult. This one looks impossible haha.

[mrversatile]

Ok, first things first. I isolated the body panels that need to be painted orange, sanded them with a 1500 grit sanding sponge, then cleaned and primed them with Gravity Colors "dark gray" primer which was recommended under this tricoat color. This kit is a bit unorthodox in its design insofar as there is no body "shell," but body panels that attach to the molded carbon fiber shell.

[project510]

Cant wait to see it. I had not taken a look at the instructions before. I had no idea it was assembled that way. Good luck!

[70 STING]

Apr 15, 2024 12:49:01 GMT -5 mrversatile said:

Ok, first things first. I isolated the body panels that need to be painted orange, sanded them with a 1500 grit sanding sponge, then cleaned and primed them with Gravity Colors "dark gray" primer which was recommended under this tricoat color. This kit is a bit unorthodox in its design insofar as there is no body "shell," but body panels that attach to the molded carbon fiber shell.

Alignment, alignment, alignment. 

[kyledehart5]

Interesting. Looking forward to watching this.

[mrversatile]

Well, an inauspicious start with this one. The Gravity Colors "Dark Primer" lacquer caused some crazing which became more evident when I applied a couple of coats of base color. So I had to do some sanding and repriming with a seal coat of Tamiya fine primer. I will then reapply the dark primer bc it seems to be necessary to get the right tone with the basecoat which is translucent red, and when applied, looks like a lavender color.

[406 Silverado]

Wow.....this is going to be a great build to watch come together Gil. I dunno about the user-friendly build up with this particular car but am looking forward to your approach to this beauty of a car. Sorry to hear about the paint crazing but know that you'll whip this into some good shape. Looking forward to the recovery efforts pal. 

[project510]

Tough start, but it will be worth it!

[dupes]

That's pretty funky how those panels attach. I was going to make a comment about how masking this looked like a chore! Good save on your parts.

[mrversatile]

Ok, I got this sorted out so to speak. It helps to go to the Gravity Colors website to find out which paint is applied first as I was apparently confused by the labeling. The tricoat paint has an orange metallic pearl and a sort of translucent red, and when I purchased it, it recommended the dark primer. Well, the bottles labeled the translucent red as a "basecoat" so I naturally assumed that this was the first of the three finishes. The orange pearl, which is usually a mid coat, I believe was labeled as an "undercoat." If you recall from the previous pictures, I had sprayed the dark primer and then the translucent red which ended up looking like a lavender color. The crazing then caused me to seal with Tamiya fine gray primer when I decided to check the website for application instructions because it didn't seem like the process was correct, and alas I was right. Gravity paints are from Spain (if I remember correctly) so the lingo might be a bit different. The orange pearl is actually the basecoat and the translucent red is the mid-coat...plus the dark primer isn't mandatory. So I proceeded to apply the paint over the Tamiya primer and finally the clear coat, and WOW, what a color!!. The picture doesn't do it justice and the actual color is called McLaren "Orange Azores."

[handiabled]

The way the light is catching the parts at a distance I think this paint job will be mind blowing

[modelcarjr]

Gil, the paint looks great! That orange really pops!

[kyledehart5]

That color looks really sweet!!

[project510]

Happy to hear you worked that out! Looks like a great color!

[BattleScale Collectica Show]

Really curious to see how that body comes together. The paint looks really unique!

[406 Silverado]

And the magic show starts folks!!   

[mrversatile]

Just a bit of progress here. The first of the over 120 carbon fiber decals were applied to the rear louvers and the first polished panel was added to the shell. Also added were some coolers and radiator assembly, Next is adding the numerous glass panels which is a bit unorthodox in the usual order. This is definitely a uniquely engineered kit for a very unique vehicle.

[70 STING]

Too many carbon fibre decals for my blood. Looks awesome so far!

[kyledehart5]

I’d go crazy with that much carbon fiber. Really beautiful work so far. It looks great.

[handiabled]

The color really pops next to the carbon fiber. Sounds like a ton of carbon decals to come!