Michael Schumacher Monaco 2006 1/20 Driver figure (GF-models)
I eventually got all the decals applied and pretty much 99% of the painting finished (still some areas I’m not totally happy with) – so nearly there with this figure. I used the Hobby Design decals – not as good as MSM’s (very thin decals requiring careful handling & lots of carrier film to be trimmed).  The fit of the decals on the helmet were very poor – lots of surgery required – in fairness the decals were probably mastered for a generic helmet shape, so I shouldn’t complain. I used a little licence on the Hans device with … Continue reading Michael Schumacher Monaco 2006 1/20 Driver figure (GF-models)
Tameo March 1/43 Vittorio Brambilla – winner Austria 1975
I’ve always been a fan of 43rd scale model cars – many years ago (too many!) I built a fair number of them, but then got into larger scale cars, armour and military figures.  Recently I’ve started back into building motorsport related models (figures mainly) and after seeing a build-thread of one of these Tameo kits on Britmodeller, I got a real buzz to “have a go” so browsing on-line recently I picked up two kits on Ebay this one; a March 751 and the other a Brabham BT26 (by SMTS).  Of the two, the Tameo is manufactured to a … Continue reading Tameo March 1/43 Vittorio Brambilla – winner Austria 1975
Gilles Villeneuve helmets – WIP – 1/20 scale
I started painting the pattern on the helmets today, with reasonable results. Firstly the color I went for is what I called in my last posting a “Charcoal Blue”” combined with a “Red Orange” . To get the Charcoal Blue, I mixed (50-50) Valejo Dark Prussian Blue with Dark Sea Blue and added a couple of drops of Scarlet and the “Red Orange”was mixed using Flat Red (20%) and German Cam Orange 80% . So far I’ve resisted using the only decent set of decals I have from an old Tamiya pit set as I’m not sure they will stand … Continue reading Gilles Villeneuve helmets – WIP – 1/20 scale
Gilles Villeneuve driver figure – more progress….
….well sort of!  In an effort to establish a useable color for the helmet, I decided to have a close up look at my 1/18 scale Exoto diecast 312T4 (which contains a really nicely finished driver figure). From the many reference photos I’ve seen of his helmet, it’s hard to determine the actual shade of blue used. I suppose it depends on all sorts of variables including reflected light etc, and in trying to replicate any color on a miniature, the main variable (in my own opinion) is: “does it look right”?  So in an effort to finally decide what … Continue reading Gilles Villeneuve driver figure – more progress….
A very naughty little girl!
Unfortunately with my camera acting up today I wasn’t able to upload any photo’s of my days work so instead, I’m posting up some pics of this little 28mm lady from Foundry Miniatures Street Violence range which I painted last week – She’s definitely not the kind of girl you would want to bring home to your mother – yes she’s a real nasty piece of work! Continue reading A very naughty little girl!
More priming and undercoating – mindnumbing stuff!!
As usual, when I examined yesterdays batch at close quarters, I saw areas which needed further attention – so with more re-work in prospect, I added in more items in need of some primer including some more tool sets and a nice pair of 43rd scale figures together with some really nice 43rd scale armco from Denizen and two 24th scale drivers one of which is the Alonso figure for the F10 I’m building; the other one is an old Modellers figure representing Schumacher (pre Hans era). – Tomorrow is another day so I’ll let these dry and have another … Continue reading More priming and undercoating – mindnumbing stuff!!
Two more Gilles Villeneuve driver figures
These are the two additional Gilles figures I have just prepped.  I’ve modified the bareheaded one to give him a “hands in pocket” stance – done usingMiliput around a wire armature. I’ll let the primer dry for 24 hours and then get started on painting them – cheers for now. Continue reading Two more Gilles Villeneuve driver figures
Priming and undercoating – essential, but Boring stuff!
Boring as hell but for sure an essential part of model-making.   As I usually have up to 20 projects on the go at any one time, I generally try to include as many pieces as possible in one priming session, as I just find the whole process so boring and time consuming. Apart from the actual spraying, the preparation takes up an enormous amount of time, but having said that, it’s an absolute must in terms of getting paint to stick to the surface. Initially I started out painting the Villeneuve helmets (I mentioned in yesterdays post) and then I … Continue reading Priming and undercoating – essential, but Boring stuff!
Gilles Villeneuve GF-models Driver figure WIP
I eventually got back to my line up of 1/20 driver figures and today I decided to tackle the Villeneuve figure and try to make some progress – it’s the dreaded “day job” – keeps slowing me down and distracting me!  I actually now have three Villeneuve figures on the go at the moment, different versions from 1977 to 1982 – (with and without the helmet).  One great aspect of these GF figures is the variety of helmet options they provide. In the case of this Villeneuve kit, both the Bell and GPA helmets are included – so rather than … Continue reading Gilles Villeneuve GF-models Driver figure WIP
Revell Ferrari F10 – WIP
After sanding down the body, I gave it another two coats of the Tamiya Ferrari red – unfortunately with mixed results once again! I’m still having problems avoiding the dreaded orange -peel finish!  So, I’ll give it another sanding and then apply a couple of coats of clear as I’m not getting the finish I want from the paint – (more likely my fault than the paint as I’m way out of practice doing this) – so more later and hopefully I’ll solve the paint problem. Continue reading Revell Ferrari F10 – WIP