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Grastens

Grastens Builds (and Runs) the Lancia 037 Rally (TA-02S)

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Thank you, everybody, for your encouragement and tips. Automotive paint is looking like a good alternative for future projects.

However, I do not have the resources (yet) to strip and repaint it. I am conflicted about this - I am used to a rough finish on cars that will be runners, but the real 037 4WD-H is regularly finished to show-quality detailing...

In the meantime, there was a special surprise waiting to give the whole thing the proverbial shot in the arm:

ofsmit.jpg

Yes, reprinted decals arrived today. It seems I owe MCI Racing an apology, for they came through for this batch, and without charging extra fees for what was my mistake. I will be sure to make it up to them in and with future orders, if the rest of TamiyaClub has not already!

Roughly half the sheet will be going to TC member njmlondon for his future Lancia projects:

15x0i03.jpg

egpgg6.jpg

If anybody else is interested in these decals, I can order reprints - please get in touch if you do.

This has been a pleasant surprise for what was a discouraging time:

dyrq7s.jpg

Included in the reprint are:

- a new correctly-sized windshield banner (and spare)

- some Sparco decals for the cockpit seatbelts (and one spare)

- a correctly-sized Lancia decal for the nose emblem (and two spares)

- a second batch of Martini stripes (still not matching originals, but at least I know it is not due to an error)

- four pairs of name plates to be used on this car and subsequent rally car projects (one pair will be used on this car)

- two TamiyaClub RC Rally Challenge 2018 rally plates (could be used here, perhaps, since the 037 4WD-H sports all kinds of those in exhibitions)

This makes a strong case for leaving the paint as is despite its flaws, for the overall decal set will cover much of the air scoops' finishes and will likely draw attention away from the other imperfections. The fact that they are hard to spot on camera has me thinking they are less prominent than I believe them to be; a night to sleep on it has helped my perspective.

On the other side of things, I need time anyway to complete the cockpit and confront those drivers' heads, so I could attempt a strip and repaint while addressing the detail work.

In any case, I will be sure to consider automotive paint, and in the meantime, having the required decals is quite encouraging. I will be thinking about how to approach the engine and cockpit in the coming days.

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Since I wrote this, I was so inspired that I even removed the masking from the shell:

ji19go.jpg

I did so carefully, I might add, for the paint still feels a bit soft. There was no detectable odour, though.

Amazingly, [now I think] it looks great:

kexa82.jpg

There is retouching to do, but a lot of it has to do with black paint and not red:

2pr7eww.jpg

Even the rear turned out quite well, by my standards:

fz7lab.jpg

A hood vent with crisp borders was quite rewarding:

2w4y1rb.jpg

Looking further, much of the retouching will be places I missed with black paint, and not anything I missed with red:

i554sp.jpg

The same goes for the front end:

27wxilt.jpg

Even this corner will just need black paint:

2j4admh.jpg

The two exceptions might include this door handle:

2is74n8.jpg

One hood vent at the base of the windshield, too:

2a4u1yr.jpg

But overall, I had underestimated my supplies, and am surprised by the result:

35lhtf8.jpg

The vinyl tape in particular was astonishingly good in spite of its thickness. Not much paint made its way under the shell, but the 40 mm tape did its job regardless, and the interior appears free of red.

Sure, that red does not feel as vibrant as that on the 037 4WD-H:

LHR6ab2b0_dsc_1472.jpg

However, if I went on to name everything else wrong with my tribute, I would just junk the thing - and I still love 037s too much to do that to my project, even if I have fallen short of its standards and those I had set for myself.

I must also appreciate that I have not had a project to work on in a long time, so surely I must be out of practice?

Anyway, I will make the effort to remain as true as I can to the original, but will probably pass less judgment on my own work until the whole thing comes together. That might be the only way I can stand to finish it!

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The Tamiya TS paint is absolutely fine, it's thin so it doesn't obscure detail but that thinness means you can't paint in the "wrong" order. I say "wrong" because every guide and tutorial I've read, plus various manuals and instructions state to to start with the lighter colours then do the darker. This is the method I always use.

This way round also means you don't have to double mask (mask to paint the black bits, then mask again over the black bits to paint the colour). You paint the colour first, then mask to paint the black details. A final benefit is it avoids the gaps you've got where both masks covered areas so no paint of either colour covered the primer.

Your red has the orange peel texture and lack of gloss due to the paint drying too fast before it has a chance to level. You need to either get closer with the can, or move it slower so the paint has a nice wet look when it goes on. It's tricky to balance between this and getting runs though. Make sure if you're doing it outside you have a makeshift booth to keep the wind off it (like a large cardboard box, I use one from a washer/dryer).

You can either aim for a wet look with your colour coats, or do them lighter then sand them down flat and apply a heavier clear coat to get the gloss. It's going to be tricky to sand without affecting your black areas though (another benefit to doing main colour first).

Automotive paint tends to be thicker, with a wider spray pattern and at a higher pressure. Other people have had good results but for me the Tamiya paint offers more control, a better finish without sanding, and of course the proper colour matches for box art.

Another tip for stickers - I guess you're paying per sheet printed, regardless of how much is on there? If so then use up every spare millimetre of it with spares, size variations and other extras to get the best value. I absolutely Tetris mine with as many crammed in there as possible :)

 

 

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1 hour ago, Truck Norris said:

The Tamiya TS paint is absolutely fine, it's thin so it doesn't obscure detail but that thinness means you can't paint in the "wrong" order. I say "wrong" because every guide and tutorial I've read, plus various manuals and instructions state to to start with the lighter colours then do the darker. This is the method I always use.

This way round also means you don't have to double mask (mask to paint the black bits, then mask again over the black bits to paint the colour). You paint the colour first, then mask to paint the black details. A final benefit is it avoids the gaps you've got where both masks covered areas so no paint of either colour covered the primer.

Your red has the orange peel texture and lack of gloss due to the paint drying too fast before it has a chance to level. You need to either get closer with the can, or move it slower so the paint has a nice wet look when it goes on. It's tricky to balance between this and getting runs though. Make sure if you're doing it outside you have a makeshift booth to keep the wind off it (like a large cardboard box, I use one from a washer/dryer).

You can either aim for a wet look with your colour coats, or do them lighter then sand them down flat and apply a heavier clear coat to get the gloss. It's going to be tricky to sand without affecting your black areas though (another benefit to doing main colour first).

Automotive paint tends to be thicker, with a wider spray pattern and at a higher pressure. Other people have had good results but for me the Tamiya paint offers more control, a better finish without sanding, and of course the proper colour matches for box art.

Another tip for stickers - I guess you're paying per sheet printed, regardless of how much is on there? If so then use up every spare millimetre of it with spares, size variations and other extras to get the best value. I absolutely Tetris mine with as many crammed in there as possible :)

Recalling my last experience with the Lancia Rally, I masked for black and then went for body colour because I remembered the difficulties in covering up the subsequent overspray. As you saw, the problem then became the paint buildup creating its own texture on the shell - if I had been building regularly, perhaps I would have known this. Memories of tape impressions all over the main paint were not quickly erased, though...

I saw the orange peel; however I do not care that it is there - for me, spray painting means avoiding brush strokes, which I consider worse than uniform orange peel. I guess my standards have been lowered even further by then, so I will take your advice for a future project, including the booth piece for wind protection. I suppose that peel might make decals a little more difficult...

You are correct about payment per sheet, since MCI Racing does that - what you saw there were first and second attempts at Inkscape. I have almost no need for extraneous spares because I do not build enough kits to justify a stockpile - it is only added value of it means something to me - and I find that spacing the decals too closely together on the sheet causes surrounding ones to lift when one of them is cut away, especially in the case of MCI Racing decals. I also appear to lack the fine motor skills to cut so cleanly.

Regardless, since then, be assured I have been able to fit even more decals/square centimetre:

32zqurl.jpg

With that particular file, I can complete two cars.

If I seem defensive, it is because I know what I am working with, and I am all too aware I do not have the resources to attempt an Instagram-worthy paint job. Your advice will be indispensable when I do have a favourable situation, though, so thank you :)

... I am not sure I can look at the body shell again, though :unsure:

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Meanwhile, I took to some brush painting:

2epsz9x.jpg

I actually enjoy painting cockpit sets; I just never knew that because I have never painted one! The first coat is laid down for driver and co-driver:

2nb53mb.jpg

I also started painting the engine block:

16ae9au.jpg

The driver figures were painted using old XF-2 Flat White, while the valve covers above were painted with a relatively-fresh jar of X-31 Titanium Gold. I rediscovered the joys of Tamiya brush paints, moving along without need for thinner, and putting the paint exactly where I wanted it.

Then it was on to an even older jar of XF-15 Flat Flesh for some driver faces, having sanded off the marred paint from the helmets:

1zgang1.jpg

A NovaFox/Bigwig driver head and a touring car driver head have made their way in there. I figure I may as well paint them while the jar is out there, and work on the helmets later.

I think I have also settled on helmets:

2e66jdg.jpg

The helmets are similar enough and yet distinctly different, which should help to model specific figures instead of going solely by placement. I am not sure if it has to do with the cockpit moulding, but the driver has that focused gaze out the windshield while the co-driver has a bit of a forward lean to read pace notes. I am unsure if this is a prominent feature of the cockpit set, or if the different helmets make it possible.

Everything is drying right now; I will revisit it later.

Edit: Second coats down tonight:

2h2jbt0.jpg

True to my current form, I am screwing up the body again, this time while painting with X-11 Chrome Silver. I even managed to spill some - but amazingly, my work table is essentially the same colour! How fortuitous...

Thank goodness Tamiya's X-20A Thinner is so effective:

2i71s2b.jpg

... Do I know anything about building models? I have never used thinner until now, let alone for the purpose of cleaning up errant paint marks.

As I write, the cockpit might be on touch-up/detailing after the second coat dries, while the faces will benefit from a third coat. I might be able to start painting the main engine block after the valve covers dry; the paint is not entirely opaque, but adding either X-11 Chrome Silver or XF-16 Flat Aluminum to back it might add something to the colour. I will likely use both X-11 and XF-16, with one of them going on the engine block and the other on the headers and/or air intake tubing.

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I've been thinking about the mud flaps you want to install in the back of the car, and maybe it would be worthwhile to check into short course truck mud flaps (Associated SC10, HPI Blitz, etc.).  Another option is to go to the arts and craft store (Michael's, AC Moore) and pick up a sheet of high-density foam.  Those foam sheets come in all sorts of colors and are about 1 mm thick; mud flaps cut from foam could be glued to the plasticard mounts you showed earlier...

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10 hours ago, Grastens said:

1zgang1.jpg

Is there an 037-based people-carrier variant I'm not familiar with ?  Or are you building a King Red in Martini livery ? :wacko:

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4 minutes ago, StrokerBoy said:

Is there an 037-based people-carrier variant I'm not familiar with ?  Or are you building a King Red in Martini livery ? :wacko:

Both of these sound ace by the way.  A new project starts forming in my head...

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It's looking great Grastens - certainly the overall effect is impressive (although I know you've pointed out a few flaws) and I love those decals... out of interest, are they as thin as pukka Tamiya ones?

Just a couple of suggestions that might help you or anyone in future: when [spray] painting small separate parts, I've found that a loop of masking tape inside out is a great way to hold small components in place in your spray booth, and stop the spray blowing them around.

Another thing I'd suggest for this build particularly is to consider using self-adhesive aluminium tape to line the engine bay, and the bulkhead of the cabin too - it is very authentic, and can always be sanded with a fine grit (1200) wet&dry paper to dull the shine a bit if that is what you prefer.

Finally, I tend to agree with Truck Norris - I'd always leave the black detailing until last, once the main body colour has properly cured. Also consider using a matt black brush-on (Tamiya XF-1 is as good as any) for 'plastic' parts such as trim and vents, and Tamiya XF-85 'Rubber black' is excellent for window rubbers. If you're careful and use a good quality fine-bristle brush (and perhaps thin the paint slightly) the finish doesn't really show any brush strokes.

Oh, and while I'm on a detailing roll - have you considered cutting out a piece of fine aluminium mesh to fill in the the black panel between the rear lights? - that would look really good I think!

Looking forward to it all coming together now!

Jenny x

 

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On 27/03/2018 at 11:08 PM, speedy_w_beans said:

I've been thinking about the mud flaps you want to install in the back of the car, and maybe it would be worthwhile to check into short course truck mud flaps (Associated SC10, HPI Blitz, etc.).  Another option is to go to the arts and craft store (Michael's, AC Moore) and pick up a sheet of high-density foam.  Those foam sheets come in all sorts of colors and are about 1 mm thick; mud flaps cut from foam could be glued to the plasticard mounts you showed earlier...

I did browse some short-course-truck mud flaps, but seeing the prices on them gave me the idea that I might be able to do something approaching that for a fraction of that price. Being a dedicated item, though, it would be potentially quite authentic. The HD foam is an excellent idea!

21 hours ago, StrokerBoy said:

Is there an 037-based people-carrier variant I'm not familiar with ?  Or are you building a King Red in Martini livery ? :wacko:

The closest thing we have might be the regular Lancia Beta, which I believe is not actually much like the Beta Montecarlo, despite the name:

Lancia%20Beta%20Coupe%20Volumex%20front.

Well, the Beta Berlina, anyway:

Lancia%20Beta%20Berlina%20(1).jpg

I just had to share that Beta Coupe picture because it was glorious :wub:

Edit: Wait a minute-

martini-porsche935-vwbus-0050-19-copy.jp

21 hours ago, StrokerBoy said:

Both of these sound ace by the way.  A new project starts forming in my head...

A King Red Martini would be excellent, while blending two 037s together to make a stretched 4-door would be ridiculous :P

20 hours ago, JennyMo said:

It's looking great Grastens - certainly the overall effect is impressive (although I know you've pointed out a few flaws) and I love those decals... out of interest, are they as thin as pukka Tamiya ones?

Just a couple of suggestions that might help you or anyone in future: when [spray] painting small separate parts, I've found that a loop of masking tape inside out is a great way to hold small components in place in your spray booth, and stop the spray blowing them around.

Another thing I'd suggest for this build particularly is to consider using self-adhesive aluminium tape to line the engine bay, and the bulkhead of the cabin too - it is very authentic, and can always be sanded with a fine grit (1200) wet&dry paper to dull the shine a bit if that is what you prefer.

Finally, I tend to agree with Truck Norris - I'd always leave the black detailing until last, once the main body colour has properly cured. Also consider using a matt black brush-on (Tamiya XF-1 is as good as any) for 'plastic' parts such as trim and vents, and Tamiya XF-85 'Rubber black' is excellent for window rubbers. If you're careful and use a good quality fine-bristle brush (and perhaps thin the paint slightly) the finish doesn't really show any brush strokes.

Oh, and while I'm on a detailing roll - have you considered cutting out a piece of fine aluminium mesh to fill in the the black panel between the rear lights? - that would look really good I think!

Looking forward to it all coming together now!

Jenny x

All great tips - especially the loop of tape trick. I remembered seeing it used to great effect on your builds, and yet it never occurred to me - that will make painting helmets later much easier. Thanks, Jenny!

I have not considered the fine aluminum mesh, and decided that as authentic as that might be, I was content to just paint the panel black. That in itself, if done carefully, would be an achievement for me :P

I swear that someday I will have to do another Lancia, though... This build is a great way for me to get back into model building, though I am already riding a fine line between trying new things and getting in over my head, if I have not already crossed it.

There will be an update on its way soon. In summary, I have been adding layers of paint to the various interior pieces and painting the trim on the shell. I kind of hate the body every time I look at it now - when I think about all the orange peel and gaps of primer that I never seriously considered previously - but soon there will come a time when I will have no time to work on it at all, so I am hoping to work with what I have.

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It does not appear that all is well with the:

3090it4.jpg

After a TC member pointed out everything wrong with it and nothing right with it, I have lost a lot of momentum, and did not do much to help its cause tonight:

2iuc9ea.jpg

My local hobby shop stopped stocking panel line pens, so I tried Tamiya's "Panel Line Accent Colour." I was nervous when I opened the bottle and saw a fine brush attached to the cap - how could I possibly keep the brush within a series of narrow sometimes-curved crevices that are slightly narrower than the brush itself?

However, the instructions on the bottle clearly stated something to the effect of: "To remove excess, wait until it has completely dried, then use a cotton swab dipped in X-20 thinner to wipe off."

Fantastic, I thought. If I make a mistake, I can just clean up with some thinner.

Then, the horrible revelation that it does not come off as directed:

fz7ng0.jpg

"Lies!" I screamed in my head as I worked away at the black stains on the red bodywork, and mostly to no avail. I inadvertently took away some of the colouring in the process, leaving me with more accent on the surrounding panels than the panel line itself. With some determined scrubbing and some much-thinner paint in some areas now, I managed to get it cleaned up, but the dark stains remain on key areas like the hood and doors:

s42zau.jpg

And in some cases, I had to work so much with the X-20A thinner that one can hardly tell I even used the Panel Line Accent Colour in the first place; the thinner would not come off body panels, but loved to get wiped out of the very gaps it was to accent:

eqyv6v.jpg

That being said, the one area it worked reasonably well was on the roof, where the ventilation flap was outlined:

145v2a.jpg

Next time, I will just look for - I will pay top money, even - a panel line pen.

At least the shell does have the metallic-type areas like hood latches done up in X-11 Chrome Silver:

34g65mx.jpg

And surprisingly, that is going well, although the front indicators are giving me some difficulty. Only the orange outer sections and the retaining band in the middles to be painted white are remaining, I think.

The car looks more like a shell just awaiting decals, which is a usually-rewarding part for me, but such is not the case here.

... I am not having fun anymore, or even looking forward to seeing it completed.

Maybe things will change with the knowledge that the main body colour is soon to cure completely, meaning that with all my decals now present, I can start putting them on. I seem to remember enjoying those...

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1 hour ago, Grastens said:

I am not having fun anymore, or even looking forward to seeing it completed.

Well, I'm enjoying seeing your posts, and they're making me want to start my own 037 build.  I share your frustration, I cannot do paint as well as I ought to be able to, but the joy of a proper ABS shell is that any disaster is only a temporary one.

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Thank you - I seem to be getting quite emotional over this build, but then it is coming at a bit of a difficult personal time...

So, I decided to change things up a bit today following paint:

2v98xtl.jpg

It also helped that I finished painting all the trim on the shell to my own satisfactory level. It is complete, pending decals and light buckets, and the latter could be left waiting for a while until the buckets are drilled out for LEDs. At least I will not be wiring the rally spotlights!

I enjoyed interior detailing the first time around, so why not return to that to refresh?

23j39f7.jpg

As much as I dislike the shell, I have been having a good time with the interior. Here, I cleaned up the excess white paint and began detailing the driver torsos, along with the other features:

15rcil2.jpg

While initially leaving the steering wheel area black, I elected to paint some of it up using X-11 Chrome Silver. I think it turned out well, especially as I did not use paintbrushes. Toothpicks dipped in paint allowed me to decorate it as seen here.

The interior of the 037 4WD-H in particular uses some gold-coloured fittings, so I will be going over the parts again with X-31 Titanium Gold. It is not entirely accurate, as the actual 037 4WD-H steering wheel is a flat black, but I liked the contrast provided by the metallic colouring.

I do not have solid red brush paint, but I do have X-27 Transparent Red, and lots of it. I wonder if I can back it with a layer of something white or dull metallic to make it appear solid... Otherwise, I might just paint the seatbelts (along with the driver gloves) in X-6 Orange, which I already have. I have neither budget nor sufficient requirements to justify another trip to the local hobby shop at this moment.

In retrospect, there are enough inaccuracies for this car to be more of a tribute than a replica to the 4WD Lancia 037 Hybrid, which was a fact I faced and came to accept while working on the interior. What matters is that I remain committed to doing the best work I can!

And with that, I am warming back up to the project again ^_^

I should have already known this, especially with the redressed Toyota 4A-GE sitting in the back!

169j8y0.jpg

The effect you see here is with metallic colours but no other paints on the engine. I will definitely paint the block in another metallic colour, but will deliberate on the presence and/or number of black coats for the gaps in spaces like between the exhaust pipes.

All of it has been painted on the inside:

x1alqv.jpg

I am quite surprised that this is becoming my favourite part of the build, although it is still second to the cockpit detailing. The Tamiya paints are really working well here, and it has boosted my confidence :)

The driver heads continue to receive detailing; here, they have coats of XF-2 Flat White around their faces and XF-15 Flat Flesh where I had marked up the faces with the white paint:

2dgthm1.jpg

With not much else to do while the paint dried, I turned my attention to the engine parts, using this picture for reference:

2yufv60.jpg

Well, there is only so much I can do with the sprues that I have lying around, but I attempted them anyway. Here are the results:

d8jfr.jpg

I am already using JennyMo's tip on keeping parts steady for painting, even though I may not be there yet :P

Present in the photo are all the major tubes that surround the engine. The sprue I used for the air intake is way too small relative to the engine, but again, I am working with what I have. Having accepted that I am not building a perfect replica, I can at least do a serviceable job on these parts and not be discouraged too much by their lack of size.

I also took the time to glue the bulkhead panels on:

11kb575.jpg

The small sprue cylinder you see on the bulkhead is for propping up one of the tubes, giving it another point for gluing and increasing its strength. It should either be hidden or appearing as part of the apparatus when in action.

One useful switch I have made for this project is the trade of the thin CA glue I was using for a general purpose gel type, which you can see on my work desk in this picture, on the left:

i1y82r.jpg

It has proven to be quite forgiving to work with, curing more resiliently than the thin glue, filling in gaps I may have left between parts.

The engine auxiliaries again:

bitnba.jpg

I was thinking about how to wire the engine, for my idea of using thin music wire seems unsatisfactory. I hear thread dipped in wax might work, but then for some reason I felt like cutting an old receiver wire and using that to detail the engine. It seems like a bad idea, though, unless the receiver is definitely not operational...

At present, I am also working on how to build the supercharger inlet. It will be a harder task than the styrene tubes, since measurements will need to be taken with the interior in place and the body glass installed. After that, I will be cutting styrene sheet and gluing it to a tube made of thin plastic before painting it all up.

... I guess I made it this far, so why stop now? I seem to be progressing quite well through engine, cockpit, and bodywork.

Next will be painting the engine pieces, and hopefully starting up on the supercharger inlet!

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It gets even better today ;)

Today was the day I got to paint the assorted pieces:

e85xf4.jpg

It was a big day for paint, as the cockpit set also got some X-6 Orange:

n3ahax.jpg

Perhaps X-7 Red would be the better choice, but I like the look of the orange. I may consider going over the orange with X-27 Transparent Red, but have no idea what that will end up looking like - for now, I will use orange for the gloves and seatbelts.

The rest of the engine was filled in with XF-16 Flat Aluminum:

t00olk.jpg

And of course, X-11 Chrome Silver and XF-16 Flat Aluminum look essentially identical apart from lustre:

vy1izk.jpg

The air intake pieces were painted and then assembled, given two coats each of XF-16 Flat Aluminum and X-31 Titanium Gold:

2ztkg47.jpg

The rough finish of these components has taken on something of a new charm for me. Sure, the 1:1 scale car does not have these imperfections, but I appreciate the, uh, "nuanced" finish to the tubing - it really gives a handbuilt feel to everything, and it most certainly is!

The same tube at another angle:

346tem9.jpg

This bit kept getting caught under my hand and continually had its finish marred as a result:

33mprh4.jpg

One of the tubes will lead into this impression of a box.

As I built up the engine, it became clear that I had a limited window in which to install... the bulkhead window. I had no non-fogging glue, and the piece did not press in. I ended up carefully cutting some packing tape and using that to seal the window in place, which was cut from a transparent plastic package:

20u39l1.jpg

I, for one, am pleased with the result. The tape holds it in on one side, while the central bar keeps it from moving out on the other side.

Components were test-fitted, and then glued into place with the gel-type CA glue. In the picture above, one part has already been inserted. The multi-piece component was next:

n2l4ax.jpg

It looks good in there, until you place it next to the rest of the engine parts:

sawm50.jpg

To me, anyway - every picture of 037 engine bays I have studied has that tube being much larger in diameter. However, I derive great satisfaction from having almost everything present to fill up this space. Runners usually lead from the intake tube to the engine block, but in leaving the ones supplied with the engine, the runners and tube do not match up in scale, so I have elected to leave the tube as it is.

Right now, I am conflicted as to whether or not to back the engine block in black. The effect you see here is without backing, meaning that everything that is not metallic silver or gold is still transparent. It appears sufficiently convincing to me; however, doing a layer of black will add some weathering to the engine, including the exhaust headers but especially the block. As previous, the 037 4WD-H is often finished to show-quality detailing, though engines can be difficult to clean properly, and it is not as though everything else is perfect, either...

Plug leads were then made from cut plastic sprues. These ones were from the TA-02S gearbox parts tree, which is of a smaller diameter than the other sprues. Again, X-7 Red is more accurate, but X-6 Orange does a nice job here:

25aj8tf.jpg

If there is any place to test X-27 over X-6, this might be the one. The sprues extend below the surface of the engine and contact the engine bay piece, which should give the engine a little more support if everything gets glued/taped in.

A small cutout has been made in the engine block; this is to clear a small semi-circular piece to which I have attached music wire, which I finished after photography for this session. The wires will be bent to attach to the orange-painted plugs. I am unsure if this approach will provide satisfactory results, though I am fully committed to the idea now!

The engine was photographed again with the bearing tube in place:

2zqf0k4.jpg

That bearing tube will become a supercharger inlet in the next few days. It is with phenomenal satisfaction that everything fits compactly within the space between the cage members.

I will measure the required dimensions and get started with the styrene!

From what I can see, the remaining tasks for this build entail:

- building the supercharger inlet

- building mudflaps and mounting them

- finishing touchups on the cockpit set, including helmets

- assemble body, cockpit, and engine bay

- decals (after which I can attach the air scoops to the shell, as you will see later)

- rigging up lights

I never would have guessed that scratchbuilding these parts, especially from recycled kit sprues, would be my personal highlight of the build, yet it appears to be looking that way! Tomorrow looks to be another big painting day, in which I hope to near completion of the helmets and cockpit.

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On 3/27/2018 at 9:40 PM, Grastens said:

35lhtf8.jpg

The vinyl tape in particular was astonishingly good in spite of its thickness. Not much paint made its way under the shell, but the 40 mm tape did its job regardless, and the interior appears free of red.

Sure, that red does not feel as vibrant as that on the 037 4WD-H:

LHR6ab2b0_dsc_1472.jpg

This looks like a real cool build. I have some Kyosho Dnano Lancia Deltas in red that would be a blast to give the same livery scheme.

Can you save the paint by retouching unpainted areas with a fine brush (if you have red paint from the can left over) and polishing the car gently to flatten down the orange peel?

Otherwise, I personally, would think about repainting the red paint before applying the decals. I think you are almost there with the body and that the learning journey you are taking is leading to good results.

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11 hours ago, Bakelite said:

This looks like a real cool build. I have some Kyosho Dnano Lancia Deltas in red that would be a blast to give the same livery scheme.

Can you save the paint by retouching unpainted areas with a fine brush (if you have red paint from the can left over) and polishing the car gently to flatten down the orange peel?

Otherwise, I personally, would think about repainting the red paint before applying the decals. I think you are almost there with the body and that the learning journey you are taking is leading to good results.

... I probably should have seen this before continuing with the:

3090it4.jpg

I have no X-7 Red or even TS-8 Italian Red left, and acquiring some will take a few weeks, by shipping and/or finances. I will definitely be more careful for a future build, though - it will probably be a Lancia :P

Today was a tremendous day for RC-related activities. Somehow, I managed to spend the entire day working on this car!

Another late-night painting session took me into this early morning:

qyv5ti.jpg

The X-27 Transparent Red does show up quite nicely against a backing coat of X-6 Orange, and that is just on the top of some painted sprues:

2ztgk12.jpg

It certainly looked fine with a backing of XF-16 Flat Aluminum, as on this part:

15q4s4j.jpg

The cockpit is being painted slowly but surely, in iterations as I apply and touch up colours. I am almost there:

2jac74.jpg

The drivers do not have pupils yet, which is a bit unsettling. However, I did get everything else on them painted. The harness buckles were first painted like that as a mistake on one of them, but I liked the look so much that I replicated the effect for the other three.

Decals started first with the glass, since I need to line up a scratchbuilt supercharger inlet with one of the rear window decals. The side window decals and windshield banner followed. I got into it, applying what I thought would be everything I needed before the stripes go on. However, I got careless and applied a pair of decals that were to go over said stripes.

And since the stripes require trial fitting anyway, it then became putting them all on. The pair of decals in questions was the hood latches, visible in this photo:

mmqvlx.jpg

When I designed the sheet, I did so on best-guess principles, so I was not even sure how smoothly (or roughly) everything would go together. Hence, I felt the need to apply all of them at once, so a casual decal session quickly turned into a formal one, complete with window cleaner. It was the same bottle I used on my Loctite Zexel GT-R a few years ago; between RC cars and windows, I have not used a lot...

The decals were stubborn at times and were difficult to smooth out, but I feel like the other problems I faced with them had to do with my poor design. I touched them up with my reprinted set, and ended up using the second set for the air scoops. I am thankful I had that spare pair! Everything seemed to settle down with a good few seconds of blow-drying.

It was not a particularly clean job, and discrepancies exist between this car and the full-size one, but considering I was working with a few photos on a software which was completely new (at the time) to me, I would like to think I did well:

fawu54.jpg

Some will disagree with my sentiment that this is an attractive car, even at this stage:

2i8gcvk.jpg

The engine was next. I used double-sided tape to attach it to the engine bay, which unfortunately upset some of the tolerances I was working with. I had a bigger problem, though: I had not yet learned that music wire is a poor choice for wiring scale engines!

Nonetheless, I persisted, and ended up with this:

2cn84ue.jpg

The wiring was adjusted anyway when I finally addressed the odd position of the rally cockpit. This was not before some other engine parts made their way in there:

27ymiqx.jpg

So, I built the engine bay as though it would sit in the proper position in the car; however, when the piece and the cockpit set are assembled together, the engine bay is about one regular centimetre too far forward. This pushes all the engine detail further out of view from the rear window, and since I had built up the bay with the roll cage, everything looked a bit ridiculous.

My solution was to chop a centimetre from the end of the cockpit set and glue a piece of styrene across the rear end to compensate for the loss in rigidity. I had the piece left over from the spoiler I had made up for the car:

j0gns3.jpg

Of course, this setup leaves no room for the rear body posts, so eventually I notched it, after which it was finished in X-1 Black to match the rest of the engine bay.

The interior at this stage is a scratchbuilt supercharger inlet and two driver heads away from completion.

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Now, the supercharger inlet:

16j0b9c.jpg

The bearing tube was cut. I would build up the intake using 1 mm styrene sheet and CA glue, in an approximation of the one you see on the left in the engine bay of this car:

2yufv60.jpg

With more practice and experience, I can attempt a more accurate one, but for now, a similarly-shaped object will do.

After building up the neck of the inlet, I placed it in the engine bay and then put the entire thing in the shell to see where it might line up:

54t8ox.jpg

From there, I had an idea of how to build the mouth:

2jewmzo.jpg

It all went together like so:

2dmed5v.jpg

I could not confirm if it as a good fit under the roof/glass at this time since the glue was still curing. It does look to be in a good position, though:

29x6elz.jpg

Gaps in the panels should be easy to remedy as the entire assembly was given a thick coat of XF-1 Flat Black - maybe I should not do so, but even some electrical tape can go over it. The whole thing was left to cure further, along with the driver heads I was retouching:

2pq0tgh.jpg

I handled the one on the right a bit prematurely and left some fingerprints in the paint. It should be simple to sand them out. I recalled TC member Juggular's tutorial on painting driver heads when it came to the irises, which are the first ones I have painted on these figures. I was otherwise content to just lay on the XF-15 Flat Flesh, but the tips on painting eyes have still made a difference in this build. Thanks, @Juggular!

The inlet piece was far enough away from the bulkhead for me to model the ducting to the supercharger itself with a curved piece of styrene sprue.

While I assessed the project, I placed the shell on the chassis for the first time since it was painted:

f5agqh.jpg

So, I will need to finish the driver heads and supercharger, attaching them both to the cockpit/interior piece:

ndwyth.jpg

It will then be mounting mudflaps to the car, starting with these mudflap mounts that will go on after the interior does:

2s93hol.jpg

The lights will need drilling and attaching - I should probably use white glue for the rears to reduce the risk of fogging:

33k8yt0.jpg

The drilling will be for LEDs, though it might happen that the car will run for a while without them.

Before or after all this, there are still the rest of the decals to do:

whhjn.jpg

I counted over twenty, though most of them are large and easier to place than the window ones.

I did manage to fix the spoiler to the front of the car, using my newly-rediscovered Tamiya cement:

n49slx.jpg

This car is getting quite close to completion - it feels like I made so little yet so much progress today. Either way, it felt like good quality time to be spending with my model, and it has been enjoyable! I look forward to completing the interior in particular.

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This post is for the "contemplates 037 things" content - for it seems the 037 4WD-H has another evolution:

18790b_4e5a2499bf1d4092892ef4dad886c12a~

18790b_7480c75aea29457fa07e4797942512ba~

18790b_42d5a71686a2463cb0169f715c730c2f~

18790b_409560f9b454451d8ed32eae8ff56b63~

18790b_4c60ec9e68d743fd9cdc31aaea59e67c~

18790b_94bcd09067c1469b987f0779b41765b6~

Behold this engine!

18790b_f4c899153b4e461cafd387aaea6614a1~

It is now under a project known as Zero37 (I like it!) to test a hybrid rally car powertrain for environmental sensibilities, partnering with an Italian university. More information here.

Bodywork-wise, note the front air dam, rooftop air intake, hood louvres, and separate rear wing. Personally, I am glad I am modelling my Lancia based on the old 037 4WD-H, but this would be a nice custom project.

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Another big day for the:

3090it4.jpg

The supercharger paint was mostly-cured, so I did a test fit in the engine bay:

dnyfzr.jpg

At this stage, I still did not know if it would fit.

I glued the tail light lenses in place, leaving the buckets out for drilling:

10oqh3q.jpg

So then, it was decals:

mvkmme.jpg

I cut each one out and grouped them according to location. Using my reference photos, I got started with the left side:

w8otub.jpg

I did not have any photos of the right side saved, though, so I had to look for more photos. It was mostly for the alignment of the 'Oerlikon Graziano' decal, since everything else was as per the left side:

241ouc4.jpg

I saw this picture of the Lancia 037 4WD-H getting this decal on the back end:

Volta%20037%204WD%201.jpg

My attempt at re-enacting it:

29665247_375435426305643_757230266875652

It turns out said decal was not even a good fit, but the rear end was completed anyway:

dgpef4.jpg

The decal sizes were all a bit off - most of them were too large. I actually had two "Actua" decals, with the smaller one going on the front. I ended up switching them so as to keep the RGM decal; it would have been crowded out otherwise. It was here that I was glad I did not put a rear licence plate on, since the decals would not have allowed it to fit.

And so, the front and top were next:

bdr4h1.jpg

I modified the 'Italtecnica' decals to resemble the real font more closely. I attempted to apply the 'Oerlikon Graziano' decal on the hood in one piece, but it sat closer to the vents than I thought. Its location would make a smooth application more difficult, so I ended up cutting the decal in two and reapplying it. The script in two parts easily covered the curves with no noticeable bubbles.

The spoiler decal was well-sized:

2rr52kx.jpg

After the complexity of the stripes, the sponsor decals were quite simple, and I soon had a completed shell:

x3vksz.jpg

The only decal I did not use was this 'Volta' decal that was to go on the rear grille:

9tn138.jpg

I was going to use it, but I was disappointed to learn that it was not backed in white like the smaller one that I used on the front grille. It was difficult to notice that on the decal sheet. In the future, I will either order a new decal, or paint the script on the back and place the decal over it.

Overall, the decals were mostly correctly sized, and while there were difficulties in getting them to conform to corners or curved surfaces, they responded well to careful treatment. The shell looks better already:

2vukg9k.jpg

Sure, the decals were a bit thick, but that is a fair trade-off for having them at a decent price.

I tested the fit of the engine afterwards, and learned that the supercharger needed to be moved closer to the bulkhead in order to get it to fit under the glass. I was able to do so, since the supercharger glue did not set well in the first place...

2w708sp.jpg

After reattaching the supercharger, I waited for the glue to cure before testing the fit again, fearing that the glue fumes might fog the rear window somehow. In any case, everything was mostly complete:

25f6hxi.jpg

I say "mostly" because the rear light buckets and mudflaps still need completing.

One test fit, and I confirmed that my eyeballing was generally successful:

fa5szl.jpg

All that remains now are the lights and mudflaps!

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For all the flaws that were pointed out, for all the bad decisions and learning experiences I made and had, for all the work that went into new things I have never tried before, somehow, everything looks great to me. Perhaps it was because I built it, but it is more likely because the Lancia 037 is a good-looking car :P

As I usually do with (mostly) freshly-completed cars, I took some photos:

6yk58o.jpg

The suspension sits quite high - I did this deliberately in the interests of off-road performance, though I have never seen the 037 4WD-H drive on any loose surface... It actually looks more like the real thing with lower ground clearance, but then, it also looks more like the real thing with staggered wheels, which I am not about to put on!

o5rl87.jpg

The roll cage looks a bit misaligned here, but at least it does not foul the shell:

eqw4tf.jpg

Future cages will certainly be better-prepared!

xmsl7q.jpg

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Even the engine looks somewhat well-executed from here:

3480fsy.jpg

I took a photo from a similar angle as this back when the shell was in primer, so I re-enacted it for this stage:

2zog2mh.jpg

2ikcjf6.jpg

sc88jo.jpg

Volta/Lombardi is a special Lancia 037 pairing. To me, this one is, too, but for different reasons:

29g2b1e.jpg

Love must be blind, since the paintwork up close is not great, yet I adore the car anyway:

2mi3rrn.jpg

2elc9jc.jpg

104i6tf.jpg

2i08bhh.jpg

vr4vnr.jpg

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Two pieces of literature that inspired and made this project possible:

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This feels a lot like the end of the project, even though mudflaps and lights still need to be addressed. It will be the last time I get to devote my undivided attention to it, though, so I took the time to appreciate it for everything it is and has come to mean to me. Finances permitting, I would not hesitate to undertake a similar build again - with the knowledge gained from building this car, the next one should be even better!

I hope you have been able to appreciate the car as well. There are a lot of rambling updates and some frustration showing in a number of posts, but it has been a labour of love and a joy to work on this new:

3090it4.jpg

I do encourage you to go try one out ;)

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The engine bay looks great! So much better than just the blacked out spare wheel look of the box art.

Like you say, every car is a learning experience and you picked a difficult subject (there's a reason why when choosing the next build, my 037 has sat unpainted in a box for years while I always go for the insta-shine lexan option!)

So good to see something different, rather than the "me too" white Martini option and thank you for sharing the entire process. It's been a superb read :)

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