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Nitomor

Tamiya Bruiser Hilux 3 speed - detailed build

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Thanks. Yes I can't argue there, looks great as a proper pickup. The runner shell won't have a cab or roll bar, the Bruiser shelf queen shell will because it just wouldn't be a Bruiser without it :)

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Went to cut out decals and lo and behold the decal appears from a bad batch...

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See how the governing alignment marks on the front wing (the emblem and front reflector) when aligned, render the door keyhole in the wrong place on the door. Others I've seen on the web aren't like this so I can only presume is is from a dodgy decal batch?!

In other news, the masking tape I used to offer up and align the decals, have eaten into the clear, even after 3 days left to cure so I will need to experiment tomorrow at a week to see how long the clear needs to be left before it fully hardens. Then I'll need to clear again, pity as it was nigh on a perfect finish!

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If you look closely you can see the marks on the bonnet from that masking tabs and from the decal itself which left a faint line down the bonnet!

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Opened up my other Bruiser kit today just to make sure I'm not going mad regarding the sizing. Those decals are definitely from a rogue bunch which is very rare for Tamiya.



Comparison below...


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The whole sheet is badly scaled.

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While the Bruiser side decals are way too complex to deal with, I see what you have there does have a solution.

Gq2u40M.jpg

Like this:

wEzuTar.jpg

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Thanks Moongoose for taking the time with that image.

I plan to cut for the door shuts anyway, but this will only gain me 1mm max instead of the 2-2.5mm I need. I have written to Tamiya, they ought to replace that sheet, we'll see what they say. With the longer decals I can still cut down the door lines but at least I won't be left with a gap anywhere.

I don't know if they are made in Japan, I'll have a look and see what it says. I'm with you on the decals, I hate seeing them not properly fitted to the contours, even Tamiya's own promo rigs are like this. I plan to use water and hair dryer to get them to fit all the contours. I'm sure it won't be easy, there is a lot of opportunity to mess up but those side ones on the front are definately the hardest.

What do you think about the decals offered up next to the sparklescent paint? I was considering giving the decals a very light dusting of the sparkle paint (which is fairly translucent, took about 7 coats on Bruiser) just to give the decals some sparkle so they blend better with the body paint and look like they are painted/airbrushed on, rather than vinyls. Remember I'm also planning to clear them in so they are sealed. It's a bit ambitous, if Tamiya do replace those decals at least I can try it on these ones first.

Cheers

Nito

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A few examples of nicely decalled Bruisers;

This one from Tamiyaclub

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I think this darker blue looks great, fits in with the original theme while differentiating itself well (I know technically its a high lift...chrome workmanship looks impressive)

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And this possibly the best example of stickering, it shows what is possible...I won't be happy unless mine comes out close to this...

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So here is Bruiser dude...

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His Jeans are done, but I'm not sure what colour to paint his jacket, it wants to be period. Originally it was going to be brown leather, hence why the arms are brown, but I figured that would just blend in and get lost with the rest of the interior...

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So I set about painting blue, but I'm not overly impressed with that, thinking maybe black leather or red material showerproof type jacket which is favourite for the moment. I'm thinking a bit of play with the ying yang theme and Tamiya logo, blue bruiser red jacket, red mountain rider blue jacket, In every bit of precision there's a little bit of passion and in every bit of passion there's a bit of precision! Thoughts??

Ps. Calvin is exhibiting a little road rage from his posturing!!
Pps. I've Miliputted around his arms/shoulder for clean lines as particularly with that pose there was a step between shoulder and arm.

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Email sent to MrT regarding decals (thank you to those parties involved in helping me bring this to Japan's attention). Let's see what they say! It's actually 4.5mm - 5mm out of tolerance.

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Ps. This is my 666th post!! ^.^

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Those cut out decals look super orange peely, I wonder if they have been over clear coated in the printing process possibly making them shrink? :blink:

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Good point, I haven't opened the other packet yet, it might be interesting to compare your observation. The camera always seems to capture these things in a far harsher light, I can't say that I've noticed them looking that orange peely with the naked eye.

I was intending to clear over them, I wonder if the texture of the decals makes that entirely feasible since it might take a fair few clear coats just to cover that. Hmmm.

Thanks for the input.

Kind regards

Nito

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Yeah just a theory, but that pic makes the print look heavy, would be interesting to compare with the unopened decals.

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Ok, just took pic, no appreciable difference that I can see in the texture, but thanks anyway for the suggestion.

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Well I've had two responses back from Tamiya via the UK distributor, The Hobby Company, who have been very helpful.

The first one following my initial photo which shows the original decal not fitting the body. To paraphrase Mr T's response, it's a stretch decal and requires stretching into position.

The second response following submittal of the upto 5mm out of tolerance reference shots. Mr T's response; Basically, that's fine, it's not possible to avoid the size difference and it can still be used.

Hmmm. Not impressed with the Blue star at the moment with regards to tolerance, or the red star with regards customer service. It's something so blatantly out of tolerance and so easily rectifiable their end, yet they stand by the above as though it isn't an issue.

So, taking their advice, I shall give it a try and see how it comes out. I might surprise myself by the stretch properties of the decal but I remain of the belief that it should fit without requiring stretching because;

A ) They clearly can produce them in the correct size.

B ) Stretching not only makes the job unnecessarily more difficult than it need be, it also increases the risk of tearing the decal.

I intended to apply the decal with soapy water so that I can position it accurately and remove air bubbles. This complicates that further now, because you can't stretch a decal that slides. And to stretch it, I need it to dry stick it firm to the body, while also working out the contours of the door moulding and stretching it by 5mm. They recommend sticking the decal in the centre of the body and stretching outwards.

So it'll be a challenge, I'll give it my best shot and see what gives!

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Frustrating. You're gonna need at least 3 hands and a couple extra thumbs!

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Thanks S2, That's what I thought too ;) lol

I shouldn't have to be doing that. Bruiser Dude was not best pleased about it!

Just for a little fun...

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Once Bruiser Dude has calmed down a bit I'll give it a try in the interests of science and curiosity and then report back to Mr T. As far as I'm concerned the decals are a write off in my book anyway so I have nothing to loose whether Tamiya give me a new sheet or not! I may however be pleasantly surprised and gain a new skill set!! #relishthechallenge

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This is sad, and in a sense things like these are more and more common as years go by.

Am I the only one who thinks Tamiya quality standards have changed drastically the last decade?

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Cheers Mongoose, it's not my intention to cast a cloud on Tamiya in regards to quality, I'm a fan of their products and been pretty happy with everything I've bought but there are other brands trying much harder which makes it harder to maintain the fanboy status. I can't think of many other quality issues that stand out for me. There seems to be many examples of cost cutting, like the Bruiser shell being the high lift body complete with extra holes etc and r&d corner cutting like the honda city front wheel arch but otherwise I can't think of any other instances where I felt standards were below par.

You expect issues from time to time but you also expect (at least I did) a company like Tamiya to deal with them swiftly and professionally. I'm staggered by their response (particularly in the face of such objective evidence) and disappointed by the attitude which unfortunately takes a lot of the romance out of the Tamiya founding principles. Where's the passion, precision and integrity of old, did that not carry through with the re-releases, or maybe its just that the emails aren't necessarily reaching the right people within the company? Surely most reasonable people would take one look at those pics and just authorise a replacement decal set with no argument? Handled differently, I'd be thanking and praising their customer service as opposed to feeling and writing about the above over a £15 decal sheet (even less to them!). It's a shame but as you say it is commonplace in these times, I perhaps wrongly hoped Tamiya to be different. The priciple offends far more than the cost in this instance. :(

Cheers

Nito

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The response from the Tamiya guy is really something. Like you say, any other company as big as this one would have solved things easily by forwarding you a couple of Bruiser decal sheets so you can feel better and forget about this in the end. That is the easiest AND cheapest way to make people let go the frustration, but the "deal with it" message they sent you is pretty much a shocker. There was some Tamiya USA guy who used to visit the Forums. Makes me wonder what he'd say about this problem.

Come to think the new Bruiser is one of the most expensive kits in their catalog -not a cheap entry level thing. Back in the day even the cheapest kits and toys made by Tamiya were incomparable to whatever other companies put in the market.

Whatever happened with the classic motto "Tamiya America - First in Quality Around the World"? :(

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Results are in!!

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First off, Tamiya dude was correct about the stretch properties of the decal in so far as they can stretch as much as 5mm. It's not quite as straight forward as that for reasons that will become clearer. As you can see above, at first sight all looks pretty good. I have been able to stretch the decal by 5mm sufficiently that it fits around the door key hole as it should.

This is how I did it, applied wet using water with a few drops of fairy liquid (dish washing detergent) and a hair dryer. This is definitely the way to tackle these decals.

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Applying the front decals hasn't come out too badly. The rear on the other hand is harder because they do not have the same reference points as a guide, so they need to be offered up to the front to match them so that they are installed on the same plane. Because the rear decal is so thin as it curves around the rear arch, stretching is an issue because it is too easy to distort it...

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You can see above where I have had to cut the decal due to overstretching it. The other issue is that during the stretching process, it is virtually impossible to stretch the decal equally, so you end up with elongation and distortion along the decal, made more noticeable because the decal consists of lots of straight lines. If you look below the door on the front decal you can see the decal is like a banana shape as well as at the top, this same wave is on the rear ones also.

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I'm very happy with my workmanship, no bubbles, successful cut lines, door contours look well worked, unfortunately the waviness in the decal isn't acceptable to me and purely down to the distortion in having to stretch the decal. I shall relay this back to Tamiya and see what they say. Had the decal been correctly sized, I wouldn't have this distortion. I've given it my best shot and considering the circumstances I think I've done a reasonable job of it, but you can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear. Also there is a light tear in one of the rear decals by the rear reflector position, again through the stretching process.

1:1 in the background!!

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Cheers
Nito

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Update:

Tamiya have kindly agreed to replace the decal sheet so I look forward to the re-application process with hopefully better results. I'm pleased at least to have had the practice on this decal sheet first. First time I've properly used the wet decal application process on any decals of this size on a Tamiya kit :)

Thanks again to Chris at Hobby Co, Joanne at Fusion Hobbies and the un-named Mr.T san representative in Tamiya Japan for bringing this to a successful conclusion.

Cheers

Nito

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Ha! I missed Bruiser Dude's response to Mr. T above. Too funny. I wonder what he'd have to say now about the head on his dash...

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