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JD's Tamiya Tundra build

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Cheers,

For longer links, check out Rc channel. They also do prop shafts.

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Ok so it's been a little quite as a few items like the Deans plugs and 3mm servo braid are on the slow ship to me from overseas...

Apart from that, the body is taking a long time. The irony is that after all this work it's going to get scratched probably a lot. Also mental note - don't prime in grey if you ever want to paint a shell white. It's taking a lot of coats to get it covered. I am about to go buy my third can and in all reality that may still not be enough. Crazy. With normal colour I've only ever needed two cans... anyhow this has taken a lot of $$ to paint. Two cans of primer, three (at least) of white and I would ay one of clear.

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But I'm on the home stretch with the body as I'm over it. If it was the Bruiser I would be in no rush and would get every details immaculate. If I could take it to 100% this is hovering around 85% which is still good for a runner.

One question, the fella at the hobby shop said a guy came in who used the gloss clear over white and went heavy with it. Said that the white went a yellowish tinge and to use caution. I am not sure I believe him / he has all the facts. The only way in my opinion that could happen would be if the white hadn't cured yet (maybe). Unsure it's physically possible with a fully cured colour... Thoughts?

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Looking very nice! Those hole infills have come out great.

I don't use a traditional primer on mine, I use a clear adhesion promoter (churchills plastic primer) that etches the shell. It's like water and it preserves all the fine details without smothering the fine lines with extra layers of cover. Seems to work very well so far. The shell needs careful prep though to remove flash lines etc as there are no primer coats to help cover them over. The adhesion promoter gives the shell amd etched matt finish and knocks all the shine off the shell.

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Mad Bull shell etched...

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Nice. Thanks for the comments and advice guys. I didn't think about the grey primer as much as I should, I mean I did think about it but didn't feel that the white would be going on so light. Anyhow I've had to hit the shell with a much more aggressive spray now as can't afford anymore paint on it ;)

While I was purchasing more white, of course I found a cool Tamiya stand that had to come home [emoji108][emoji108][emoji108][emoji108]

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God the drug is bad once you start. My eyes were on the hot shot and super shot ;)

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That stand is great, my wife bought me one too before the Bruiser build, it's been so helpful.

I'm holding out for the Hotshot II to come along, that's the one imho! Tamiya original box art is just awesome, especially that Hotshot there.

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That stand is great, my wife bought me one too before the Bruiser build, it's been so helpful.

I'm holding out for the Hotshot II to come along, that's the one imho! Tamiya original box art is just awesome, especially that Hotshot there.

Hot Shot II.... Really? When??

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Metro Hobbies. Has two locations and seriously, seriously amazing stock of not only vintage but all the Tamiya tools and bits a bobs. The owner has done an amazing job of stocking the place and much respect to him. The prices are very good, e.g. same price as Banzai shipped for Frog and Hot Shot (granted the AUD just plummeted to .69...) but I am more than happy to support local even if it's a little more (e.g. $20~$30)

They also ship for free over $50 in Aus so jump on their site... Website is meh but I've been multiple times into both their stores and their awesome guys. Support if you can.

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I don't know if the HSII will happen but I know there are an awful lot of people who hold this in high regard as the ultimate Hotshot incarnation. I'm waiting in hope for this, the Bigwig and poss the original Hilux/blazer and my wishlist will be complete!!

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OK, advice again on the Tamiya TS-13 Clear.

I've been hunting and many people say either lay it down directly after the last coat of colour (within 10mins) or wait four weeks... clearly four weeks is not going to work for me as I need this painted so I can finish it!!!

Still mildly paranoid about the yellowing over white which has mixed internet thoughts, but am willing to throw caution to the wind. (Could almost not do a clear but want the white to have as much depth as possible, because, well, it's white...)

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I've been waiting weeks on my Bruiser shell which is why it is taking so long. I did try spraying clear soon after the last paint coat on my test shell (not quite straight over it while wet) but I got bubbles everywhere. I'm not sure if that was down to off gassing of the paint through the clear or leaving it in the conservatory at 40 odd degrees to cure meaning it was drying too quickly maybe?

It looks much worse than this now,

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This was earlier in the process, going on too thick and then rippling when I used a hair dryer to help it cure...don't do that!...(I don't thick you'd have that trouble with Tamiya in a can - this is automotive 1k I'm using)

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In better days...

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I'm using water based paint and 1k clear coat not a Tamiya system. I generally have been waiting until the finish stops off gassing, basically when it stops smelling. For clear coats thats 1-2 weeks. For paint I left it a week to dry. I leave it in another room to dry which is more like 20 degrees. I don't think you need to leave it as long as 4 weeks. I personally feel you'll get a better finish leaving it to stand for a few days.

However think carefully, it's easy to mess up all your hard work, if it goes on too wet and runs, or too thick and ripples with the air from the gun/can etc. takes a while to get it right and judge the working distance etc. Try it on a scrap mock up first perhaps. I had some real varying results with clear, my practice shell is a total mess but I learnt an awful lot before tackling the Bruiser shell. The Tamiya clear will likely be different altogether and possibly much more user friendly, I have no experience with it, perhaps others can chime in with their experiences.

With paint and clears, there are so many variables and conflicting info all you can do is try it and see, so best to do that with a scrap piece or use the inside of the shell for practice. You could try the clear straight on a wet paint coat on the inside and check it out that way.

Good luck,

Nito

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I read a load of horror stories about TS-13, but nothing I could find was that recent. I think the TS paint formula was changed a few years back which appears to have resolved the problem.

I use it all the time now and usually just wait a week between the last top coat and the clear. No issues at all. I've also waited a week between coats of TS-13, also no problems.

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Thanks for the responses guys, love hearing the good, bad and indifferent :P

I just went for it earlier and threw caution to the wind. So far so good. Went first coat "dusting" to create some tack then went a little thicker but still not that thick. However I will note for the readers that the gloss is not that spectacular (yet?). The funny thing is that the tail gate I was still finishing off and didn't clear coat it. I just did a final white coat with the same method above, but went much thicker and left it to dry flat, not vertical so there was no risk of drip or movement. It is GLASS. It would be tough to get a glossier finish than that white. Would be hard to capture the difference with an iPhone 6 camera, so I will bring my Canon 5D MKII home tomorrow night and see if I can show you guys how the paint is really looking.

I have spent a lot of time on real cars polishing and glazing so know how that process works, however to get that level I would need about three coats of clear (at least) with cuts in between... Not sure I have the motivation apart from wanting to learn for the Bruiser as I want it to absolutely POP!!!!

Also saw this in the carpark today...

C9C5FFA4-CEC0-415C-B854-0001E177AE75_zps

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I found that with can applied clear coats, it didn't quite give the glass shine I was after but I didn't really persevere with it, so I switched to air brush and automotive clear coat, I've spent many months and countless hours with a lot to learn still but I'm getting finishes I could only dream of at the beginning of the year. There is a lot of set up cost involved and not worth the outlay unless you really want to take your modelling to the next level.

Seeing what Truck Norris and others are turning out with cans is superb so its almost hard to justify the extra expense involved. I do it because I enjoy it just like everything in this hobby, the hours I've spent on a stupid piece of plastic and the cost of materials and gear is unreal and totally unjustifiable lol! It's just a labour of perseverence to do the best I can for my own personal satisfaction. It's hard to convey the finish with a camera, mine looks far better in the flesh than the pictures show.

With regards to achieving a consistent gloss, I have found with the automotive 1k, that spraying a light cover of cellulose thinners on the finish after it has flashed off for a few minutes works wonders. Again, I'm using a different system so if you try that do it on an inconspicous area first!

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I found that with can applied clear coats, it didn't quite give the glass shine I was after but I didn't really persevere with it, so I switched to air brush and automotive clear coat, I've spent many months and countless hours with a lot to learn still but I'm getting finishes I could only dream of at the beginning of the year. There is a lot of set up cost involved and not worth the outlay unless you really want to take your modelling to the next level.

Seeing what Truck Norris and others are turning out with cans is superb so its almost hard to justify the extra expense involved. I do it because I enjoy it just like everything in this hobby, the hours I've spent on a stupid piece of plastic and the cost of materials and gear is unreal and totally unjustifiable lol! It's just a labour of perseverence to do the best I can for my own personal satisfaction. It's hard to convey the finish with a camera, mine looks far better in the flesh than the pictures show.

With regards to achieving a consistent gloss, I have found with the automotive 1k, that spraying a light cover of cellulose thinners on the finish after it has flashed off for a few minutes works wonders. Again, I'm using a different system so if you try that do it on an inconspicous area first!

Great insight as I'm an old school air brusher but it hasn't been dusted off for over 10 years. I have been really wondering if you get better value for money #1 and #2 obviously a better finish. This body I will take the rattle can to the best level I can and if not happy will enter the air bush realm as I know it's a lot more accurate and you can get astonishing results once mastered. Will take me some time however if I go that route.

As far as hours / money never ever bring that up in these forums ;) ... money not relevant, only enjoyment!

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From my experience and research it's all about getting a flat surface to the paint. It doesn't really matter how you get the paint on to the body as long as the end result is smooth. You could in theory just slap it on with a brush and if you sanded it properly and polished it would look fantastic. Obviously it would take an extortionate amount of time to sand it this much so the better the application the less work there is to do later.

I find the key to getting a good finish with spray cans is to find that perfect point where the paint is glossing up but not running. It takes a bit of practice to find this.

My method:

1. Prime with Tamiya fine primer, white for light colours, grey for dark, pink for reds.

2. Paint the inside with colour. This will get overspray on the outside but this isn't a problem.

3. Wait at least overnight then wet sand the primer with 1500 grit

4. A couple of light coats of colour, then two heavier wet coats. Not worrying about getting a perfect gloss at this point, just a decent layer of paint.

5. Wait a week then wet sand with 1500 again.

6. One or two more wet coats (depending how much paint I have left!)

7. Wet sand with 1500 again.

8. Light coat of TS-13 clear then two heavier coats. At this point I want the best finish so I'm aiming to get it to gloss up over the entire body.

Once this has had a week I'll have a close look and check if I've missed anything, Maybe another coat if there are some rough parts.

I sand every couple of coats to keep everything level. This gets me a pretty good finish but not quite perfect. The final step is to wet sand again, starting with 1500 then going up to 3000. After this polish with Tamiya Fine and Finish polishes.

This last sanding and polishing will give a mirror finish but takes ages so I've yet to do it to a complete body, I've just experimented to see what it looks like. I'm not convinced it's worth the effort for me as there's usually a more noticeable flaw with what I've built!

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From my experience and research it's all about getting a flat surface to the paint. It doesn't really matter how you get the paint on to the body as long as the end result is smooth. You could in theory just slap it on with a brush and if you sanded it properly and polished it would look fantastic. Obviously it would take an extortionate amount of time to sand it this much so the better the application the less work there is to do later.

I find the key to getting a good finish with spray cans is to find that perfect point where the paint is glossing up but not running. It takes a bit of practice to find this.

My method:

1. Prime with Tamiya fine primer, white for light colours, grey for dark, pink for reds.

2. Paint the inside with colour. This will get overspray on the outside but this isn't a problem.

3. Wait at least overnight then wet sand the primer with 1500 grit

4. A couple of light coats of colour, then two heavier wet coats. Not worrying about getting a perfect gloss at this point, just a decent layer of paint.

5. Wait a week then wet sand with 1500 again.

6. One or two more wet coats (depending how much paint I have left!)

7. Wet sand with 1500 again.

8. Light coat of TS-13 clear then two heavier coats. At this point I want the best finish so I'm aiming to get it to gloss up over the entire body.

Once this has had a week I'll have a close look and check if I've missed anything, Maybe another coat if there are some rough parts.

I sand every couple of coats to keep everything level. This gets me a pretty good finish but not quite perfect. The final step is to wet sand again, starting with 1500 then going up to 3000. After this polish with Tamiya Fine and Finish polishes.

This last sanding and polishing will give a mirror finish but takes ages so I've yet to do it to a complete body, I've just experimented to see what it looks like. I'm not convinced it's worth the effort for me as there's usually a more noticeable flaw with what I've built!

Great method and thanks for the advice. I tend to agree, I think once I get a fine polish onto it once, that'll be that... Anything more is entering the "insanity zone". With my real cars, I will use a random orbital buffer and go through it with three cuts of varying polish then a final polymer coat to really get it glazed. It's an insanely time consuming practise and the though of it on an RC body makes me feel a little ill...

Thanks again, all this info from y'all has given me the perfect steer to how I'm going to finish the Tundra body this week!

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I'm definitely in that 'insanity zone' judging by time spent lol!

Certainly on the Bruiser anyway, I think I could be accused of trying to hard on that one, the Mad Bull shell took a fraction of the time and still came out great. I'll see if I can improve on time spent on the next shell, applying what I've learned on this one. It can be really frustrating at times, but rather than the work itself being frustrating, it's the time it remains unfinished and lack of apparent progress that frustrates the most as well as finding and justifying valuable weekend family time in which to do it.

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Progress has been slow (so's the mail man!) but today received the Safari Snorkel which is a nice piece of gear:

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Clear coat is going ok, but I've made the executive decision to finish it now and end this madness so it's onto masking and secondary colour.

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Been having success with heating the cans in hot tap water for about five or so mins then going for it. My rookie error that's coming back to haunt me is the grey primer as when masking and using a scalpel you can see the grey from the cut marks...

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Anyhow, the first layer of matt black just went on and I'm going to finish this off!

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Well it feels like I'm on the home stretch now, just making decisions is the hard bit. I was about to paint the tray black (that was always my plan) but after a fair bit of thought I think it's best to stay white for the overall look of the truck... The mask is still on and after lunch I'll either pull the mask off and keep it white or do a complete 180 and spray it black. The issue for me is that the roll bar is now white and it's going to look a little strange it sitting on top of the black. Also the black tray will be a pretty strong look and may over power the white of the truck... happy to be proven wrong by the community though!

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I kind of like it with the white bed. Yes something doesn't look right with the frontwheels. Is it due to the larger wheels? Will they hit the body when you compress the shocks?

Actully I went through this whole post yesterday evening, and I am so tempted to pull the trigger on one of these. Awesome build you have made here.

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Great stuff, but there does look to be something off with the wheelbase...

I'd go with the black bed to balance the windows.

Dorvack.

Yeah originally the black bed was the thought... Hmmm maybe...

Yeah I am not happy at all with the wheelbase. The Junfac highlight and grade wheel combo is a fail unless I can sort it out...

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Have you sent pics to Junfac for their view, that definately doesn't seem right to me, measure your arms and let them know the dims, the might have packaged the wrong ones.

It's a tough call with the bed. Personally I'd be inclined to go black but just the floor pan so you leave the wheel arch protrusions, all the vertical surfaces, the area the roll bar sits on etc all in white.

It's looking really good except that wheelbase, the Tundra on the Junfac website doesn't look like that nor others I've seen there is definately something not right there;

tundra_4link_4.jpg

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Longshot but are the black side plates on the correct way around? Do you have an underside shot and side shot without the body on?

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