jaymcminn

This is the 1/12 scale Caterham BDR by Tamiya. I've had my eye on this kit since it came out back in the 90s and got a great deal on a sealed kit on eBay a month or so ago. It is an unusual kit for Tamiya and they've never made anything else quite like it. This kit was apparently a passion project for the Tamiya engineers. They wanted to create something that was as close as possible to the experience of building a 1:1 Caterham (appropriate as the Super Seven is available as a kit), so it goes together much the same way as the real thing. Real aluminum panels are screwed to the tube frame. The working suspension is then assembled to the tub, at which point the interior and engine are fitted. It's an impressive kit, beautifully engineered and impressively packaged. I decided to create a bit of an homage to the Lotus 7 from "The Prisoner" while still showing some of the bare aluminum panels. I decided to paint the aluminum hood and cowl as well as the fenders and nose cone in Splash Paints Bentley Racing Green Metallic. Rather than painting the whole nose cone yellow as the Prisoner car was, I went with a thin yellow stripe in Tamiya Camel Yellow. The painted parts after clear and polishing... Next I started on the complex front and rear suspension. The working shocks are pretty much standard Tamiya fare. The suspension arms are cast metal for additional strength. Everything goes together with tiny screws/bolts. The screwdriver Tamiya provides is excellent compared with most screwdrivers you get in a model kit, and I stuck a small neodymium magnet to it to magnetize it so it will hold the screws in place. The front suspension was incredibly fiddly as a lot of the mounting points are inside the tub and would be a bit of a challenge to get to on the 1:1! Bare frame... Front suspension in situ... The rear suspension is just as complex as the front but easier to mount up. The paint on the brake discs is Vallejo Metal Air Chrome. As chrome paint it's not great but it's excellent for a polished/shiny metal surface. Next up is the rollbar, which is chromed metal. The metal boot floor goes in now as well. These shots also give a sneak peek of the Dull Red interior color, which really pops against the green. That's where we stand now... more updates soon!

The good thing about doing a WIP thread is that it slows my building down. The bad thing about doing a WIP thread is that it slows my building down.

Beautiful model and great photography. It always feels good to be able to pull off a save like this! I wonder if your paint challenges came from using the X22 over the X27 clear red. X27 is a notoriously slow-drying paint too, and if the clear was laid down before it was fully dry it could have affected the drying time for the clear as well.

Polished up the Miata and drove down to a Cars and Coffee event hosted by the Revs Institute, the amazing local auto museum. It was a fantastic show, even with my scruffy little Merlot '95 Miata in attendance (hiding behind the green Lotus Elise in the first pic). Everything from Porsches (so...many...Porsches...) to muscle cars, including the restomod Superbird with a Hemi crate motor. The Porsche tractor in Lowenbrau/Pink Pig livery was great! Had fun with some fellow enthusiasts, got a sunburn and bought a lemonade for $7. All before 11am! Pics of some (but by no means all) of the great cars in attendance below...

I've had more airbrushes than I can remember. Binks Wren (my dad's airbrush) when I was a kid. Paasche VL and H. There was a Badger or two in there somewhere. Even (shudder) an Aztek for a brief period in the early 90s. About 10 years ago I finally bought an Iwata Revolution CR and haven't looked back since. It's the perfect all-rounder airbrush for me. I wouldn't mind trying out the pistol-grip Grex airbrushes, though.

I'm not gonna lie, a large portion of my decision to buy a first-generation Miata for my weekend toy a few years back as opposed to a later one was the pop-up headlamps.

Agreed.

Tamiya XF60 dark yellow would be in the ballpark.

Everything. Seriously though, I ground down the underside of the hood at the cowl as well as the surface of the dash where it meets the windshield unit.

Here you go... turned out nice for something that was such a PITA to get together!

Honestly, there's no real substitute for BMF for some things. Hasegawa does make a nice mirror foil. It's Mylar and has a little stretch to it, but it's thicker and doesn't cut as easily as BMF. It doesn't conform to tight details like vent windows as well either. I bought two sheets of BMF directly from the manufacturer a few months ago and it's fantastic, no wrinkles and it adheres perfectly. A sheet I bought from an Amazon seller a year or so ago was from the bad batch with poor adhesive. If that's the stuff you have, I definitely understand your frustration. BMF is tricky stuff, but it produces the best results for the modeler willing to put the work into learning how to use it. There isn't really a magical chrome product out there yet that works equally well for all applications, but BMF is by far the best for chrome trim around windows, body trim strips, etc.

Fine pair of Cortinas there!

Update for all... Spoon test with Splash Bentley Racing Green pearl over Tamiya grey primer with Ben's suggested clear mix. Absolutely fantastic. The Splash paint went down beautifully over the primer and the clear really does bring it to life. The self-leveling thinner is great, the extra drying time eliminates orange peel and lets the passes blend together perfectly!

SiriusXM, mostly for the indie channels. Amazon Music (paid tier) for albums and streaming channels based around artists I like.

Spotlessly clean build and great color choice. Can't wait to see the next one!

I started using Molotow about 5 years ago on hubcaps, bumpers, etc. It still looks like new. Of course the only time my models leave their display case is dusting, contests, etc. Recent pic of a Fujimi Porsche 356 from 2017 where all exterior chrome (aside from BMF trim strips and windscreen frame) was done with Molotow...

Really nice Isetta on the back of a big flatbed tow truck. Seems like they probably just loaded it into the back of a pickup!

When you tell your cat a joke and he does get it...

I've been debating pulling the trigger on this kit for quite a while. You never see them built up. Yours is fantastic, amazing job!

Kristal Klear is the absolute best. I use it for mounting parts to craft sticks for painting, assembly of chrome and clear parts, attaching rear view mirrors and painted body parts and making glass for gauges. The Testors PVA you used will eventually dry clear. Less is often more when using this type of glue... a smaller amount will dry faster and still hold plenty strong.

That looks fantastic and it's just in time for wiring the engine on my Porsche 911 build. These look way more like the plastic looms Porsche uses than the PE ones!

Partly because I didn't think to order it when I ordered my paint, but also because I'm comfortable with the Tamiya primer. I tend to stick to stuff that I know will work for me whenever I can.

Another arrow in the quiver. I'll give the Revell stuff a shot at some point. When I started in this hobby, "chrome" paint was the holy grail. Now we have so many choices that it's tough to keep track of them all. I never got along well with Alclad. When Molotow came out I never looked back. The durability of the finish never bothered me, as a builder it's just a matter of planning your work accordingly. I still use BMF for window frames, body trim etc. and save Molotow for the parts that don't get handled quite as much. I did buy some cotton "inspection gloves" for when I handle these parts. If this stuff is as good as it looks, then it's got a valuable niche in the modeling ecosystem. $35 seems like a lot of money for a small can of paint but is it really? How many bumpers and grilles can you do with that can? Molotow refills for airbrushing are about $30. You'll get more bang for your buck with the Molotow but you also need to have an airbrushing setup. Honestly, any method of applying realistic chrome trim to a model car is going to have its downside. BMF is tricky to apply and one slip of the X-Acto will ruin your paint. Alclad goes from chrome to flat silver if you put on one too many coats. You can't handle Molotow more than a little after assembly. The Revell stuff is expensive and also doesn't like much handling. But they all have upsides too, and each have a place on the workbench.

Great build of an iconic French car. I actually just built the Ebbro DS21 in this same color! Do the doors open on this kit or are they just separate pieces?

Thanks guys, I'm thinking about giving the LP clear a shot. My LHS doesn't carry it but I'm sure it's easy enough to order.