Tamiya Bruiser Hilux 3 speed - detailed build

[Nitomor 2122]

That's one of Bruiser dude's collected scalps from the last person who crossed him.

This bad *** has a whole trophy cabinet full of heads! I was going to paint the underside of the neck with spinal cord, nerves, veins and lots of blood lol! There's a bit more to do with Bruiser dude yet. I'm not 100% happy with how the helmet came out but not bad as a first attempt I guess.

Cheers

Nito

[njmlondon 570]

Just come across this thread. Fantastic build! Love your OCD!

Have a NIB Mounty waiting for me and I will be using some of your techniques.

Any updates?

[Nitomor 2122]

Thanks, paint job is all done and I have the new decal sheet from Tamiya. I left it for a few weeks in the cabinet so the clear coat could fully cure before I put decals on, all the body parts (ie reflectors etc) are now attached except wing mirrors, I made the mistake of fitting the cabin before attaching the mirrors so it'll have to come off again!

I'll have to get some pics without the decals as it is now and update this thread a little.

If you have a Mounty you might like this thread, not as detailed as this one but a few nice touches to the Mountain Rider...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77904

I'm waiting for the weather to improve before painting that one!

Cheers

Nito

[Nitomor 2122]

Update, thanks to the forum being down I've managed to get some progress done. I need to finish off some ongoing projects, this one has been running for a year and 4 months! I lost steam when the supplied decal sheet was about 5mm out of tolerance. After some back and forth Tamiya sent me a new one.

So I finally built up the impetus to start decalling.

This too was a couple of mm out but I'm sure that wouldn't be unsurmountable. I cut all the main decals out last night and started applying them at 6am this morning.

Before;

First decal was a nightmare, I nearly lost it because it wrinkled up and stretched the lot. I was trying to be all anal and get it perfect and ended up tearing the decal. Still I perservered and I think I've managed to salvage it to acceptable standard but it didn't look like the day was going to go well, thankfully it has all turned around since then for the time being!

main decals applied;

I'm planning to clear coat, because of this I was torn between clearing with just the main decals and then putting the sponsor stickers on after clearing, (so that they are removeable and also giving the option to use original period decals or alternative decals) or decalling now and clearing the lot.

I had some more decals on the sheet to cut, I've gone painstakingly close to the print on them which is very time consuming but will give a better finish when cleared (assuming that is successful!).

Before I clear, a question for the house...

This is box art;

I don't like the "prepared by gearich engineering" sticker below the hog, the positioning looks cluttery and like an after thought so I've left it off for now...

So here it is as pretty much box art bar the above...

So question is; is less more, should I clear as above, Or should I use up some of the other decals on the sheet and give it a racier look? ;

The above aren't stuck yet, the Bruiser decal still has its backing so ignore that. I kind of like the extra decals given that it's a mud bog racer. But I want to get it right before I start clearing from which there's no going back!

opinions please?

 

 

 

[neverfollow 599]

Fantastic work as always. The paint on your Bruiser is stunning. My vote would be box art decals. 

[Nitomor 2122]

Thanks for the vote and kind words. It has taken a huge amount of time and effort to get the paint to that stage, lots of learning and lots of failures. If you'd asked me nearly a year and a half ago if I ever thought I could turn out a shell like that it would have been little more than a pipe dream, but that's what hope and perseverance are for I guess. I'm delighted with it, but I'm not quite there yet, just need this last clear coat phase to go right, then I can pretty much conclude this build and display it proudly.

Cheers

Nito

[Percymon 2184]

40 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

main decals applied;

opinions please?

 

 

This, needs nothing more

[mongoose1983 3335]

What a fantastic paint job! If you plan to clearcoat the main decals why not all of them?

Oh, and if you are not going to use the Gearich decal, I know I would love to swap that one for another piece. Just let me know.

The process of decalling that truck must really be nervewracking indeed. Myself, I decided against using them because you can never get the big ones completely stuck to the shapes of the sides of the Toyota model. In a perfect world we should be using the airbrush to make them as if working on a full-size vehicle.

Hat's off to your work, mate. I like to see work done to this level. It's good stuff indeed!

 

 

[topforcein 1764]

That's a real nice blue what one is it. 

I have also left the prepared by sticker of my bruiser also and put the rest on.

I have used the clear coat from a jar over my decals ...only round the edges though and tbh its unnoticable.

I think I had the same problem with the decals as you 

[Nitomor 2122]

Thanks chaps,

Percymon, you're not wrong. I was so tempted to clear it with just the stripe and hog decals. In the end I've gone with the basic box art and shot a couple of coats of clear. It'll need some more clear coats yet, but I'm l'll let it cure for a week before shooting any more clear.

Mongoose, it is indeed a pig to sticker up and get the decals to adhere to the contours. Shooting the clear is more nerve racking than decalling it though. Some of the decals are wanting to lift slightly in a couple of areas, now I've cleared over them it'll be interesting to see if they will hold. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the gearich decal yet, I'll drop you a pm if I don't end up using it.

topforcein, it's Auto Air Blizzard Blue II (Sparkelescent). It a water based paint which I've airbrush applied.

[JNSD1 288]

I vote for complete box art. While yeah, it's a little squashed, it's the box art so it can't be wrong! Been looking at that box since the 80s, so to me it's perfect!

[JNSD1 288]

Also I should ask, did you take pics of applying the decals with soapy water (I think from memory that's what you were going to do?) I haven't done it for years, and the last time was on my 1987 GT Pro Freestyle Tour BMX that I restored! So a bit smaller but same principal I assume, but always good to see how others do it.

You're definitely motivating me to get my decals on now, can't stand her sitting in the corner naked for much longer.

[Nitomor 2122]

I wouldn't dream of applying decals any other way, especially on this kit. I think I put some pics earlier in the thread with the dodgy decal kit of what I used but I've no in progress pics, I'll try to remember to take some next time. Just a garden water spray bottle with dishwasher detergent and water. Just a few droos so the water is a light green. Give it a try, you want the decal to slide a bit but not so much that it won't stick when you want it to. Also use a hair dryer, on medium power and heat only not high heat. I use the handle of a scalpel blade to drive out air bubbles and press the decals into the awkward contours, and thumbs to press the decal on then drive any bubbles out.

For the front decal, dowse the area in your solution, then peel the backing off completely (do this for all decals - not doing this is how I  got in trouble with my front one) and then apply the decal around the emblem badge, then work forwards to the indicator and then back towards the door lock. Those are your three reference points but it's important if any stretching is involved that you start at the centre. As you work it with your thubms you can stretch it slightly, just be careful you don't tear the decal if you're too rough.

For the rear stripe decal, get your shells lined up, I had my front and rear sections bolted together for decal application. Try and get the horizontal fluted section lined up on both front and rear shells as best as they will. Once the front decal is on, you can then fit the rear lining it up with the front, also ensure the rear of the rear decal will clear the side running light.

For the door shuts, when your decal is correctly positioned, just run your nail down it with gentle pressure and do it numerous times, maybe heat it a little with the hair dryer, but it is important that you only do this when the decal is correctly positioned. It doesn't matter if the your nail pushes through the decal, then use your thumb to press the material into the shut and around the 90 degree bend using heat to help with any contours you need to deal with.

On mine the Hog Heaven decals are pretty close to the wing mirrors, once they're on they may obscure the decal a little, I didn't want the decal to go into the door handle area and it's extra contours so we'll see how bad it is with the mirrors on!

The closer you can cut to the decal print the better and neater it'll look, I used a metal ruler and scalpel as well as curved scissors.

Finally, another decision to make...

2 alternative number plates to choose from!

Cheers

Nito

 

 

 

[TeaMonster 506]

Looks to me your hard work has paid off, that paintwork is stunning. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Nitomor 2122]

Thanks for the kind words TeaMonster. Really pleased so far, the decals have sealed really well. Another couple of layers of clear and it should be virtually there. I can't wait to complete it now.