The F1M Forums

FEBRUARY 5, 2016 - MP4/30 parts primed

I have made some progress over past weekend. Washed, mounted and primed most of the parts
of MP4/30 model. It does bother me a lot, that I have to spend 4-5 hours washing and mounting parts,
but I don't see any way around it. Body will require more work, but over all it is important milestone
for me in any build, when I finally lay down first coats of primer to model parts. That usually signals the
completion of preparation steps, which I hate. After that it's painting, decal application and assembly.
Those steps are a lot more fun for me.

FEBRUARY 14, 2016 - More work needed for MP4/30's body.

After primer was put on I've examined body and found that there are number of significant
imperfections. Will have to do more sanding and possibly more putting. It has to wait for new
Zero matched paint to arrive anyway. So, MP4/30 will go into background for now. Hopefully
new Zero paint will be closer to original compare to TS40 and worth the wait.

FEBRUARY 27, 2016 - MP4/6 cockpit completed

Returned to MP4/6 last weekend. Made seat belts, added other items and assembled cockpit.
With cockpit completed I was able to close whole monocoque and now I am unblocked to continue
with other assemblies for the chassis. Body parts are in primer and still need more preparations
in waiting for final paint layers. Seat belts I've made don't look that great, but it is not my favourite
part and I'm just happy they are out of the way and I am unblocked.

MARCH 6, 2016 - Painted MP4/30 in Zero Graphite Grey

I've got new Zero paint matched to MP4/30 colour almost 2 weeks ago. Finally got around to spray it.
It is grey and has small flakes in it, which seem to be good to scale. However it does not look as black
as real car would look under sunlight. So, imho it is not correct. I will have to redo it. Not sure if I should
try to add black into that paint or just switch to recommended TS40 from Tamiya. Quite unusual to have
Zero paint that does not work. Have been happy with all other Zero paints so far. Beside MP4/30 body
and wing parts, I've also painted most of F2008's suspension and brake parts as well as floors for both
models.

MARCH 12, 2016 - Undecided on colour for MP4/30

Why McLaren always must select difficult colours for their liveries. I've made more photos under direct sun light
and on photos Zero colour seems to be very close to photos of real car. But in person colour looks too light and
too grey to me. I wonder how real car looks in person. I guess I should visit a GP each year to see real colours
of cars with my own eyes. Still undecided on what will I do about colour of my model. I start to think about leaving
Zero colour unchanged. Will just polish off blemishes and then it would be off to clear coat.

Here are photos from under the sun:





Here are couple from under artificial light:

APRIL 4, 2016 - 2nd painting attempt on MP4/30

I thought I had a good handle on my painting techniques. But finish on MP4/30 was just too far
from perfect. And as soon as I have touched it with sand paper, I've sanded through to primer in
no time. So, it went into a bath of alcohol. Fortunately at least all wing parts were fine.



Spent quite a bit of time cleaning the body from old paint and then re-primed it. Primer didn't go on well.
Probably I have not thinned it enough. Spent 3 hours sanding body. Looked ok, but require re-priming at
some spots. 3rd attempt wasn't very successful once again. Had to sand and clean it after. However at
least it was smooth and consistent enough and I was able to avoid 4th priming session on it.

After all that preparation work, body was finally ready for 2nd attempt on colour painting. This time I went
with lighter coats and that worked better. Drying time was a bit of concern for this particular paint. Usually
Zero paints dry in a day or two. It took almost a week for MP4/30 paint. Then this Saturday I sprayed clear
onto body and other parts. Came out decent, but not without imperfections. Will have to do some polishing.

I am glad I did stick with Zero colour. As it often happens with Zero paints, colour changed a bit under clear
and now it looks darker when it is not under direct light. Yet it still looks quite grey under direct light. In other
words it seems to be close enough to real one. I like smaller metal particles in it too. They are visible, but yet
subtitle. It is not easy to photograph this colour inside by photo box. Hopefully I will get a chance to make
some photos outside. May be after I finish decals.

Color looks great. Sticking with it has really paid off.

Jordan

mazyen wrote:Hi Sergey,
This pic is for your MP4/30. TS 40 has lots of metallic flakes which makes it looks grey especially under sunlight. You may want to mix it with a bit of black.
BTW. The TS 40 decanted into only 1 bottle worth whereas the TS14 black gives me nearly 2 bottles. Hmmmmm....

I guess TS40 does indeed get grey from metal flakes. However real car has very small flakes compared in scale and grey comes from
the paint itself. I think Zero paint represents that better. So, I will stick to it.

Still I agree that TS40 offers a viable alternative, if one does not have access to matched paints. So far models I've seen
painted with TS40 look quite good as well.

Both cars are coming along nicely to me, Sergey. Your MP4/6 cockpit looks crisp and clean -- I can tell that build's going to be a winner. And your painted MP4/30 look good.


Cheers, Chris

MMM that almond butter is looking good!!! I jest haha. That paint is perfect, and I believe after seeing the 4/30 in light it is a much better option. I'm still happy with my TS40, it laid out well, just I wish I had know I could have gotten the Zero paint from Hobbyworld here in the states! Can't wait to see more progress Sergy Just as a heads up do take your time with the decals on the nose and spine of the car. They'll conform eventually