Aoshima Lamborghini Diablo GTR

And it's finished! This was a pretty enjoyable build. The overall fit and quality of this Aoshima kit was comparable to Tamiya in most ways. Enjoy. 

Lotus 102D Completed

The Lotus 102D is finally finished! This was a very enjoyable build of a very unique car. Enjoy. 

Aoshima Lamborghini Diablo GTR

Well it's been a month and the Diablo GTR is nearly finished. After the purple basecoat was applied, I applied the clear blue mid coat. I built up the coat in maybe 5-6 layers, trying to get full even coverage on the body and doors/engine cover. 

After a day or two I applied the clear coat. I used Gravity Colors 2K clear, and it sprayed beautifully. Really made the two part pearl paint 'pop'. 

After some partial assembly was completed I noticed there was a small crack in the paint on the roof. This probably happened when I was pressing the roof down on the spraycan, which is what I used to hold the car during spraying.

I had to sand it all down, mask off the rest of the car, and re-spray the primer, base coat, and mid coat and hope that it matched the rest of the car. One thing about this hobby is there are always guaranteed to be problems.

I also hand painted the black trim on the bumper and side panels with a mixture of Tamiya semi gloss black and titanium gold prior to the roof repair. After the roof was repaired I recoated the entire car in 2K clear for a second coat. 

After the clear cured I started final assembly, adding the headlight fixtures, rear wing, windows, exhaust, etc. I then ran in to another issue! I tried to sand some dust from the clear coat on the left side door and ended up sanding off too much, so I had to sand it all down, prime, applt the base coat and mid coat, etc. As a result I only have pictures of the nearly completed model without the left side door. That is the only part missing, so enjoy these for now. When the model finally has two doors I'll take some outdoor pics. 

Aoshima Lamborghini Diablo GTR

It's been a while but I've made some more progress. I've been working on another commission build while waiting for the Blu Monterey paint to arrive from Gravity Colors. This is a brand new paint that they were able to obtain, package and bottle at my request, and also seems to be a popular Lamborghini color so I'm sure it will sell well.

The undercoat has a pretty cool shade and has very very small metallic flakes. This is a two part pearl paint that has a violet metallic undercoat and a clear blue mid coat. I will eventually cover this with 2K clear. The end result will be a deep metallic blue with hints of purple. This is actual automotive paint and is of extremely high quality and sprays perfectly. I can't recommend Gravity Colors enough.

Here's the body after the base coat.

Unfortunately when I was rotating the car during my spraying session I accidentally knocked the right rear corner in to my spray booth and rubbed off some paint in the process. I was able to sand it down to the primer in preparation for a re-coat. 

After the re-coat. It's not 100% smooth but I will probably sand it down carefully, then apply the mid coat, and then clear coat. It should hopefully disappear by then.

While the body is drying I will focus on finishing up the last few bits. This includes the doors, brakes, exhaust, window trim, wheels, headlamp assemblies, and mirrors. I hope to have this completed in a week or two. 

Aoshima Lamborghini Diablo GTR

Here's a build update on the Diablo GTR. I've been working on completing the chassis, engine and cockpit while I wait for the custom blue paint from Gravity Colors to become available.

The engine has been mounted and given a wash with thinned Tamiya semi gloss black acrylic.

The brakes haven't been added at this time. They're plated in chrome which I am attempting to strip. Aoshima's chrome so far has been resistant to concentrated bleach and 91% alcohol. I may end up using oven cleaner.

The cockpit has been mostly completed. I used Tamiya light sea grey for the dashboard and seat, and added a little flat black to the top part of the dash. To replicate carbon fiber I mixed Tamiya X32 titanium gold with Tamiya X18 semi gloss black to a 1:3 ratio.

The engine bay/surround has been added. I also painted this in the aforementioned mix of X32 and X18 and added some bare metal foil to the coolant hoses. I also installed the exhaust headers. They were sprayed with a mixture of Alclad 2 pale gold and steel.

Here's the engine bay with the body test fitted. It's shaping up nicely! There is some debris on my iPhone camera lens, so don't mind the black spots.

By the next update I should have most of the build finished save for the body. I'm still waiting on the paint from Gravity Colors, but hope to have it soon.

Aoshima Lamborghini Diablo GTR

To continue the Lamborghini theme, here is my next project. The Lamborghini Diablo GTR. This is actually a commission build for a client who is a huge Lamborghini fan. I believe this kit is fairly new as there isn't much out there in terms of build reports and such, but I was able to find a 30 part Youtube tutorial of its sister kit, the Diablo GT. The two kits are very similar so I was able to learn quite a lot about the build.

I started by gluing all the major body components together. Here it is, ready for primer in my spray booth. The body will be painted in Lamborghini Monterey Blue which is a light metallic blue. This color is currently being prepared for me by Gravity Colors. I also plan to use their 2K clear. 

The engine has been assembled, airbrushed with Tamiya LP-5 semi gloss black, then airbrushed with Alclad Aluminum and Alclad Pale Gold for the valve covers. I also used a Molotow chrome marker to pick out the details on the valve covers.

This is my first time using Tamiyas new bottled lacquer paints. The paint smells AWFUL, and yes I do wear a respirator while spraying, but the paint came out beautifully. I thinned it with lacquer thinner at a 1:1 ratio. You can't really see the color too well since this was lit by my spraybooths LED lights, but it looks pretty good. I also painted the other chassis components with this color but wasn't able to photograph them all at once.

Tameo Larrousse Lola LC89 Lamborghini

I recently completed my first 1/43 white metal Formula 1 kit, Tameo's Larrousse Lola LC89 Lamborghini. I was always interested in trying out a 1/43 metal kit and happened to see this listed on eBay for a pretty low price, so I decided to pull the trigger.

This will be a brief post because I didn't take too many progress pics, but there was a lot of prep work involved. Metal files are a must, as well as CA glue.

Here is the model in its raw kit form.

Sanded and filed away the excess metal and applied primer. This is Duplicolor sandable white primer straight from the can. 

Sanded down some imperfections and airbrushed Tamiya royal blue acrylic. I let this dry for a few days before applying decals.

Decals applied. The green red and yellow are all decals. The green portion of the nose was actually airbrushed Tamiya park green because the decal was damaged, but it's a close match to the green on the cowling.

I airbrushed Gravity Colors 2K clear after the decals dried for a few days. I love this stuff!

I didn't take pics of all the other components in progress, but here's the finished product. I added a 1/43 scale photo-etch harness. Unfortunately I lost the decals for the red on the front wing so I painted this in Tamiya red instead. It's not a perfect match and I may decide to mix up a lighter shade and repaint it at a later time. Or I will apply the decals if they happen to magically show up.