The F1M Forums

Wow, what a monster! Your MP4/23, and the other big kits, must look impressive up close!

Cheers, Chris

Time for an update.






Modelling is as much about understanding materials science as anything else! I have had many steps forwards and backwards but I am learning loads.
Knowing how rare the kit is pushes me on to perfection but of course there are a multitude of sins and compromises.

Spent a fruitless hour today trying to persuade white tape to bend and curl around the spark plug leads so I could number them. Its beaten me....for now!

Nice to see an update on this!

A great kit with lots of oppertunity to go into detail, so a lot of air to raise up
About the painting, will you polish it? The orange peel on it looks a bit opposite on this scale, i think with sanding and polishing you get a much better result!
Kepp up this WIP!

Yes, I have now glossed the chassis prior to a careful session with the polishing cloths. I am always very nervous about glossing as different decals have varying response to laquer...one make may be safe and another will crinkle badly. I have now learnt to put a coat of clear on first and then have had good results with clear car laquer which takes a polish nicely.
Managed to find a way to get number tags on the plug leads!

I am distraught. After glossing the chassis, left every thing for 2 weeks to allow it all to harden off prior to polishing.
Checked it last night to find this!


The deep cracks in the red go down full thickness. I cant see a way out other than completely stripping it all back and repainting....but that will be hard to do with the state of construction I have reached. Thankfully I have not attached the engine yet.

Any bright ideas about how I can save this?

Uuuuh!
That`s realy hard!
i had such problem years ago when i was building a Lark Mclaren f1 gtr with flouro colours, i think it is a base colour problem and overspraying will not help, cause this cracking moves on over the time.
Did you use a 2K colour for basecoat?

That's does not look good.
What kind of color did you use?
Primer, base color, red glow and what kind of clear coat?
I read some pages before that you used canuba wax. Before or after you used the clear coat?

Regards Christian

How frustrating!

capri-schorsch wrote:That's does not look good.
What kind of color did you use?
Primer, base color, red glow and what kind of clear coat?
I read some pages before that you used canuba wax. Before or after you used the clear coat?

Regards Christian

It does not depend on the Canuba wax Christian, if you have rest of polishing wax on the surface, it will react like silicon, the colour does not stick, it leaves holes but no cracking
Mainly it is a reaction i have seen on 1K Basecolours, but only the flouro ones.

I have had this cracking and crazing fortunately only twice in my long model life!
First time was Ts 44 over Halfords primer and second time when I bought a second hand 1/12 M23 Tamiya kit which had been painted first with enamels and then with auto spray!
I believe it is caused by the different paints drying at different speeds.
On the M23 I stopped it for a year with 2k zero but it came back but not so bad!
The only way is to strip back to bare plastic!
There may be an alternative quicker option a slight sand down with fine paper and a wash and then light coats of Johnsons Klear.
I have used this with aircraft modelling!
It is best to try a small area first!