Another body to paint

[RichieRich]

I've had this Turbo Optima Mid SE for probably 15 years. It had a bent chassis and several missing parts. Thankfully, it still had the things that made it an SE including the platinum shocks, silver plated wheels and original Le Mans 240ST. It came with the body which was in bad shape and painted red. The chassis has been replaced along with the other missing bits. I've added the Kyosho turnbuckle set which is weirdly included with the Mid but not the Mid SE.

I've ordered a replacement mid body from Kyosho and some SE decals from MCI. I'll post some pics of the finished product. But first, anyone have an idea on the yellow that matches the box art? I'm assuming it's the yellow from the Kyosho polyca paint series though it appears that it might be a little orange-y. I'm not totally sure since I do not own the original box. Also, I do own the belt covers, they are just not installed.

 

 

[KEV THE REV]

Sweet . Looking foreward to seeing it complete

[RichieRich]

Hey guys, apparently the re-re Mid body does not come with a wing. I do not see one for sale on Kyosho's website. Can anyone with a re-re Mid confirm the part number or if it's even available for purchase? I have the body trimmed and the decals have arrived.

[WillyChang]

1 hour ago, RichieRich said:

Can anyone with a re-re Mid confirm the part number or if it's even available for purchase?

yep OTB250 Undecorated Body is just the main shell + decal sheets

Mid 2022 does not have a lexan wing, instead it gets the rere Javelin (I think?) molded nylon wing in White

OT252 W/BK/GR/OR/R/Y

 

[RichieRich]

Ok, thanks. I guess I'll need to obtain one of the TBG wings.

[RichieRich]

I have the body painted. Just waiting for a wing to arrive. Also, I noticed that the front suspension seemed to be rather high. Turns out when I rebuilt it, I must have installed some medium length platinum shocks instead of the short versions. Oops. I have a small collection of platinum shock parts so I must have not been paying attention. 😃 It's sorted now. Without its wing, this car looks funny...like a bobcat or some animal that's missing its tail.

[madmickmalone]

On 7/2/2022 at 3:18 AM, WillyChang said:

yep OTB250 Undecorated Body is just the main shell + decal sheets

Mid 2022 does not have a lexan wing, instead it gets the rere Javelin (I think?) molded nylon wing in White

OT252 W/BK/GR/OR/R/Y

 

Hi Willy,

A long shot, would you know of any RC shell body painters in Australia, I have a Marwan Salute body on the way and need a expert to tackle this one ?

 

Cheers

MMM

[WillyChang]

20 hours ago, madmickmalone said:

A long shot, would you know of any RC shell body painters in Australia, I have a Marwan Salute body on the way and need a expert to tackle this one 

i haven’t commissioned any pro paint jobs myself but yeah I there’s a fair few active paint slingers around our isle - we were chatting re same @LHS just a few wks ago  (but my memory got wiped since, gah!)

Depends what you’re after though... box art or totally custom? 

From what I see most painters each develop their own signature style that their customers go for.

Many senior painters are “semi-retired” these days though, only occasionally they might be tempted out of retirement by an super interesting (to them) project. 

Nobody likes doing boxart  

[madmickmalone]

3 hours ago, WillyChang said:

i haven’t commissioned any pro paint jobs myself but yeah I there’s a fair few active paint slingers around our isle - we were chatting re same @LHS just a few wks ago  (but my memory got wiped since, gah!)

Depends what you’re after though... box art or totally custom? 

From what I see most painters each develop their own signature style that their customers go for.

Many senior painters are “semi-retired” these days though, only occasionally they might be tempted out of retirement by an super interesting (to them) project. 

Nobody likes doing boxart  

No worries , thanks for the response, I am wanting box art 😂 the Salute blue/white . my quest continues.

MMM

 

[RichieRich]

3 hours ago, madmickmalone said:

No worries , thanks for the response, I am wanting box art 😂 the Salute blue/white . my quest continues.

MMM

 

Is that a three color job? White, light blue, dark blue?

[madmickmalone]

4 hours ago, RichieRich said:

Is that a three color job? White, light blue, dark blue?

yes mate 

the one below

 

 

[WillyChang]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:49 AM, madmickmalone said:

Salute blue/white

Aren’t the colored bits just stickers?

ie just shoot white; looks like don’t even have to mask out the canopy. That’s just a 30-60min job  easy DIY

Or are you wishing for everything to be replicated in paint? 

Eg It’s “possible” to mask/paint all the fine black lines & text, but it’s a real PITA. Even Kyosho themselves would use their Microline tape & custom stickers if needs be. 

Then that becomes a 50-100hr+ job ... (And would you be prepared to pay the pro painter a month’s wage?)

 

Given it’s a Marwan shell, I’m assuming they’d be relatively plentiful & it’s not like you’ve only got one single chance to get it right. Stock up a few extra & give it a go - be cheaper than paying oz labour.
 

otoh got a pal in Perth who’s just done a boxart 959  for another mate... I know he does great work in replicating driftcar bodies. Have yet to ask if it’s an or original or repop 959 shell. I’d assume he’s only painted the white & blue; dunno about gold stripe & rest would be decals. 

[WillyChang]

Found this paintjob on rctech 

Stickered

 

Could be 10-20hrs work on the paint, would love to see how that black canopy stripage is done.  

https://www.rctech.net/forum/showpost.php?p=15650059&postcount=24594

[WillyChang]

Same French fella, 100% paint on this Jimmy he says... dayum, that’s neat work!

(dunno on the grille/headlights though)

 

& again  

[madmickmalone]

On 7/15/2022 at 6:36 AM, WillyChang said:

Aren’t the colored bits just stickers?

ie just shoot white; looks like don’t even have to mask out the canopy. That’s just a 30-60min job  easy DIY

Or are you wishing for everything to be replicated in paint? 

Eg It’s “possible” to mask/paint all the fine black lines & text, but it’s a real PITA. Even Kyosho themselves would use their Microline tape & custom stickers if needs be. 

Then that becomes a 50-100hr+ job ... (And would you be prepared to pay the pro painter a month’s wage?)

 

Given it’s a Marwan shell, I’m assuming they’d be relatively plentiful & it’s not like you’ve only got one single chance to get it right. Stock up a few extra & give it a go - be cheaper than paying oz labour.
 

otoh got a pal in Perth who’s just done a boxart 959  for another mate... I know he does great work in replicating driftcar bodies. Have yet to ask if it’s an or original or repop 959 shell. I’d assume he’s only painted the white & blue; dunno about gold stripe & rest would be decals. 

Thanks Willy, 

I will take your advice and attempt myself, the salute body is in the country and I got the last one. I really like the box art, but will need to really workout how to do it.

Would be good if MCI had the stickers like the re-re optima for example.

The picture of salute you sent is magnificent a great job, there are some really talented individuals out there.

MMM

 

[RichieRich]

Ok, done with the Turbo Optima Mid SE. I used a rere mid body, MCI decals and a TBG wing. It came out ok but way better than seeing it without a body for so many years. I took a pic with the rest of its family.

[Kol__]

Awesome, need more pics of the newly finished yellow Optima SE please🙂

[RichieRich]

Update pics. Painting the wing was a pain. The only re-re parts are the bumper and body. Everything else was cleaned and if broken, replaced with NOS. Oh, and the wing is a TBG item. It's looks good but it's way different from the original.

[kyoshofan223]

I have a handful of vintage Kyosho models I am looking to have painted in "box art" schemes - trim, paint, decals - start to finish. I know some of y'all have said stuff like "that's an easy one, just shoot it with white & then... ". I've been on this planet & into the hobby for long enough now to know what I'm good at, and trimming/painting bodies is not one of them. Back in the olden days (hopefully Tower Hobbies nor UPS is monitoring this thread), before UPS tracking, I screwed up a few bodies & just called Tower, told them I never got it, and they'd just send me another. It is amazing that this actually worked more than once. I'm not proud of it, but I suppose there are worse things I could have been up to at 14 years old.

It'd be great to find a painter who's done a lot of these & generally not reluctant to do the boring old box art schemes. There may be a few I could decide to get a little more creative with (spare bodies for the track for the runners). 

Here's the master list:

• Kyosho Optima Pro (original + re-re)
• Kyosho Optima (original)
• Tamiya Falcon
• Kyosho Plazma Limited
• Kyosho Plazma 3P
• Kyosho Fantom CRCII (original)
• Kyosho Turbo Optima (re-re)
• Kyosho Fantom 60th Anniversary
• Kyosho Turbo Optima Mid SE