After inspecting the box contents, I have to say I’m very impressed with this kit. It seems higher quality than your typical Tamiya kit. I also got my hands on the Beemax issued detail set which includes:
- Photo etched upgrades for wings, radiators, plenty of small parts, bolt heads, and more
- Complete carbon fibre decals
- Seatbelt fabric strips
- Chromed plastic A/N fittings
There’s only one area on either side of the nose where the mould was a little suspect, but nothing a little sanding won’t solve.
The most polarizing feature of this kit is the inclusion of moulded carbon fibre texture. On the one hand it can quickly elevate a build for somebody who just wants a quick build and/or doesn’t want to invest in carbon fibre decals, but on the other hand both the pattern and texture is massively over-scaled. It may also interfere with the carbon fibre decals’ ability to adhere to the textured surfaces. At least it can be sanded down.
For this build I’m using Bondo Body Filler for the first time, having mainly used solvent putties like Tamiya White Putty or Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty in the past. Solvent putties have a tendency to shrink over time as the solvent evaporates from it, so polyester putty seems like an ideal choice as it cures via a catalyst hardener. I’ve used Milliput 2-part epoxy putty before for my W08 build but I don’t particularly enjoy kneading and handling it with gloved hands, and the long cure time. The polyester putty is easy to mix with a spreader, and apply as one would normally with common solvent putties.
I tried it on a plastic test part first but found that it didn’t adhere very well and could just peel straight off. Also I heard that the Bondo was supposed to cure “rock hard”, but mine remained slightly rubbery. I heard that this is commonly caused by not adding enough hardener, but for the quantity I mixed I’m pretty sure I used more than I needed. Anyways I decided to just go ahead and apply it to the MP4/2, making sure to sand and clean the surfaces before applying.
Bondo filler is supposed to cure and be sandable after 15 - 30 minutes but to be safe I left it overnight before sanding. It seemed to adhere well, and while not rock hard, sanded exceedingly well. I’m hoping nothing unexpected happens in the future, but I think it’ll be fine.
I’m happy with how well the headrest area fit, and even more happy about how well integrated it became after sanding down the Bondo. In my experience, the head rest areas are usually very precarious and dangerous especially in Tamiya kits, where they’re prone to cracking at any hint of pressure.
The NACA duct on the top of the engine cover reveals incredible thickness so I tried opening it up a little bit.
I started by giving the body a quick coat of Tamiya Grey Liquid Surface Primer, thinned and shot through my airbrush to see how the putty had sanded down, and also to check for other areas of imperfection I’d missed. It’s easy to miss seam lines on white plastic bodies.
The first thing I saw was that the head rest area was not very smooth and flush. It’s almost as if the Bondo filler had shrunk, when it theoretically shouldn’t.
I sanded it down once more and we’ll see what it looks like after the next coat of primer.
The engine cover is quite thick so I’ll taper the ends of the cowling down to give the illusion of thinness. The inside will be painted black, making this effect more apparent. In the photo below, the left side is thinned and the right side is out of the box thickness.
Rear wings are always difficult to assemble, but there are only a handful of years that have wings more complicated than those of 1984. 12 Wing elements, and each with all of these ejector pin marks to fill:
Visible progress has been slow lately due to the repetitive nature of the priming, filling, sanding cycle.
The engine cover is a little bit wider than the sidepod body panels so I tried to mitigate the issue.
I decided to switch from Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer to Mr Surfacer 1200. I always found that Tamiya LSP gives too rough of a finish that requires sanding after application, but combining Mr Surfacer with with Mr Color Leveling Thinner through an airbrush gives me the closest results to Tamiya Fine Surface Primer spray cans (without having to use spray cans). I did have issues getting even coverage with the white version though, it took almost 3-4 layers over grey primer to get the proper white finish.
I primed the floor and some internal parts, and finished the body with Zero Paints Pure Brilliant White.
Then began the masking process for the dayglo stripes. I cut thin strips of Tamiya masking tape to mark the centre of the body, and draw the lines.
I covered the rest of the body with a combination of tape and cling wrap, before getting to the fun stuff. Zero Paints McLaren MP4 Red Paint.
The paint is actually a little difficult to tell if you’re getting good coverage or not. The light eggshell sheen finish mixed with the fluorescent colour affects your ability to discern what how “pure” the colour is. After removing the masking materials, it seems to me that the red on the nose is very slightly lighter than the red on the body. I’ll probably re-mask and touch up later.
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