C5 Corvette: A 1/64 experiment gone terribly well

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Don't you love it when a mere experiment goes better than expected and takes a life on its own?  I wanted to test the Renegade Velocity airbrush on something more meaningful than a test card.  I wanted to test Tamiya clear red paint over aluminum enamel.  I wanted to test Honey Gloss enamel clear over Tamiya transparent acrylic.  I have a friend who is getting into the 3D printing business and I wanted to try his 3D printed resin scale wheels and tires.

My son, who is now an "adult" (whatever that means because I might grow old but I refuse to grow up) recently gave me the proverbial shoe box full of his Hot Wheels. He told me "You will use these more than I do"?

The planets aligned properly and this came out.

This is a 1/64 scale car which started life as a beaten up $1 Hot Wheels toy.

 

The body was stripped and bodywork was done with automotive filler.



After bodywork was completed, a coat of primer was applied. Then it was painted aluminum enamel. The aluminum was sanded and recoated for a smooth finish. Hard to get in such a small scale. After it cured for a few weeks, I airbrushed about 3 million 2 hundred thousands coats of Tamiya Clear Red reduced about 20% with Tamiya X20A reducer. Seriously, I think there may be a dozen or more coats over many days (nights actually).


Tamiya Clear blue reduced about 10% with X20A was used on the Velocity airbrush again, this time to tint the windshield. The resin wheels were prepped and painted. The separate tires were also prepped and painted and eventually assembled.


At the last minute I cut some decal strips. After dry everything was sealed with Honey Gloss clear. 

Let it dry for a few days before polishing the heck out of it.

Exhaust tips were done with aluminum tubing cut to size and reamed. Had to make 6 as these have the tendency to fly away and disappear...









The end result:

 

This was just a fun experiment. Not an overly serious project.  But I am very happy with it.
Hope you like it.

Thanks,
Ismael

Edited August 30, 2024 by ismaelg

[Gramps46]

Like it a lot.  Without your hand you would not know what scale it is.

[ismaelg]

Thank you Gary!

It was  a fun little project.