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TheGizmodi

M03 Mini Cooper Racing shell repaint...

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I had a little time to spare to keep me occupied so decided to see if I could repaint the shell on my original Mini Cooper Racing kit. The original shell had a relatively unique paint job, not bad by any means but I really like the traditional box art look for the mini, so I decided to try and repaint it. Tried a range of methods to get the paint off without damaging the body...

1. DOT4 Brake fluid..... didn't work at all

2. Graffiti remover.... didn't work

3. Oven style cleaner.... didn't work

4. Nitro fuel.... this did work but with limited success.

After trying all of the above and trying to seek guidance on how to take it off I just came to the conclusion it simply wasn't going to happen and so set about practicing some of my skill sets by painting the outside of the body instead of the inside!

 

Here it is before:

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Not super bad, but just not to my tastes. I set about putting down a base coat of PS12 silver to cover all of the body and give a nice backing to the blue. I had initially wanted to go with Tamiya PS 59 (dark metallic blue) but my local hobby shop didn't have it and while I could've ordered it I didn't want to wait a week or so to get it in, so I opted for PS 16 instead with a backing / base coat of silver. My thoughts were that it would be too shiny and metallic and prone to too many scratches, so I made the decision to experiment with PS 55 Flat clear coat to hopefully take a bit of the shine off while protecting the paint a little, both from scratches and flaking etc..

I went with 4 or 5 solid coats of the PS16 over the PS12, the color was really nice and I'm glad I went with the 16 and not the 59 in the end. I made my own window masks and blocked off the wheel arches so I could paint them black and contrast them against the blue. The windows were painted black originally but I covered them with the initial all over base coat of PS12, so the idea was to leave them silver in the end.

Here are some pics of the result, it's not perfecy by any means but allowed me to practice and test out some methods / materials for my next projects which was good for me!

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I tried a few different methods of masking, all using Tamiya's masking tapes of varying widths to see how they worked, some worked better than others! I was also able to experiment with some shut line tape (0.4mm chart tape) for the doors, hood and boot lid, and then some 2mm for the arches, windows and roof lines. The 2mm isn't quite black enough when placed on the model, so it stands out a little, its also quite difficult to work with but gets the job done eventually. The blue really pops and with the contrasting white rood has a nice subdued shine to it. I used almost a full can of the matte clear coat to get an even finish across the whole shell. It's a little strange at first as it goes on shiny and stays that way until it has cured for a fair while, well at least that was my experience. I finished it off with some original stickers I had left over from another shell set to give it a more 'box art' feel.

It's not something I would put as a 'show car' but it's more than good enough to look pretty on the shelf! Oh, I experimented with blacking out the inside of the shell and then used some clear 'flex seal' spray to give it a little more rigidity given its age, both were relatively successful experiments with no real issues.

Just had a Phat Bodies Miglia Mini delivered that is getting my attention, and Tamico just delivered a HPI E30 M3 shell that will be going on my original AC Schnitzer E30 M3 Evo 2 build! A host of wheels and other parts on order from around the world so once they start trickling in and I have some time, my other projects will be on the go!

Happy Easter everyone!

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Nice job!  I too love Tamiya's Mini Coopers.  I have a collection myself.

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You've done a cracker job of that 😁

The dark blue for me was darker than I see most, I painted a MX5 on the inside and it is very dark, so I think you chose well with the PS16.

Any love going into the chassis? 

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Lovely job bud 👍🏻
 

I have a Phat Bodies Miglia Mini and really like it. They don’t have the detail of the Tamiya Mini’s and you only get window/headlight masks, no other stickers at all. But as mine’s a runner it is great for that and I always enjoy taking it out for a good spin 👍🏻

F34CA43E-2C2A-43CF-9473-FDF8C1B13A2F.md.


9C02F5BB-0EE2-4921-B21B-73E361AE43F3.md.

 

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7 hours ago, berman said:

You've done a cracker job of that 😁

The dark blue for me was darker than I see most, I painted a MX5 on the inside and it is very dark, so I think you chose well with the PS16.

Any love going into the chassis? 

After I had finished it all up and backed it with Black I think the color came out like I wanted it to which was a nice rich vibrant blue without being overly 'Subaru!'.

The Chassis has some alloy Tamiya HopUp uprights and i just had some uprated shocks delivered the other day that will be added to it. A new set of Tamiya tires and a spanking new set of white multispoke wheels... just thinking about painting them black to go with the overall look of the build. Although liking the white right now, but think i'll go black! Also thinking of ordering a set of bearings for it to get it all smooth, then just a break down, clean and rebuild!

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15 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

Lovely job bud 👍🏻
 

I have a Phat Bodies Miglia Mini and really like it. They don’t have the detail of the Tamiya Mini’s and you only get window/headlight masks, no other stickers at all. But as mine’s a runner it is great for that and I always enjoy taking it out for a good spin 👍🏻

F34CA43E-2C2A-43CF-9473-FDF8C1B13A2F.md.


9C02F5BB-0EE2-4921-B21B-73E361AE43F3.md.

 

Oh yeah! Love that, I actually came across your photo's before purchasing the body as there doesn't appear to be many online to look at! I remember loving the union jack roof top you did, very subtle but stylish! I was toying with giving it the all black look with some bright colored accents, then was drawn to gray and florescent orange / yellow.... Then came full circle and decided I am going to go with a traditional Red with some original Tamiya Vintage Cooper racing stickers!

I've spent the past couple of days working on different projects but have the body almost ready to paint. Have the windows masked up with what it came with, fashioned my own grill mask as well some extra headlight surround masks to help keep things simple. Need to do the rear lights and I think we will be ready for some paint tomorrow! I'll post up some pics when its done.

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Sounds great @TheGizmodi, it was the Red one as they advertised it that got me at first too. I’ve still got the lights & grille to do on mine as well, I bought some blue rim Angel eye headlights for it but there isn’t enough room for them unfortunately without fouling the front wheels. I just haven’t got round to sorting everything else out for it yet. Work in progress as they say 🙂

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36 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

Sounds great @TheGizmodi, it was the Red one as they advertised it that got me at first too. I’ve still got the lights & grille to do on mine as well, I bought some blue rim Angel eye headlights for it but there isn’t enough room for them unfortunately without fouling the front wheels. I just haven’t got round to sorting everything else out for it yet. Work in progress as they say 🙂

Picked up a Blitzer Beetle this afternoon so spent the best part of the evening sanding, priming, painting and clearing the ABS shell on that thing, decided while I was in the mood I would just layout some coats on the Phatbody!

 

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Hit it with 4 coats or so of Red, silver for the grill and then backed the whole thing in white. The red is nice and bright with a nice pop. The improvised headlight ring covers didn't work out as I had hoped and have a little bit of bleed, but I will figure that out over the weekend! Need to pick up some translucent orange and red for the rear lights and get my 'Wrap up next' texture tape on Monday. Going to have a think about decals and see what direction I want to go, i'm thinking something similar to my blue repaint above but not 100% sure. Then it will be time to get some of the shut lines done with my 0.4mm tape!

Fun times, Easter Break isn't long enough! lol

 

 

 

 

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16 hours ago, TheGizmodi said:

After I had finished it all up and backed it with Black I think the color came out like I wanted it to which was a nice rich vibrant blue without being overly 'Subaru!'.

The Chassis has some alloy Tamiya HopUp uprights and i just had some uprated shocks delivered the other day that will be added to it. A new set of Tamiya tires and a spanking new set of white multispoke wheels... just thinking about painting them black to go with the overall look of the build. Although liking the white right now, but think i'll go black! Also thinking of ordering a set of bearings for it to get it all smooth, then just a break down, clean and rebuild!

Yeah it looks great! I have 3 minis to paint and I am not sure if I should do boxart or come up with a colour scheme. 

Nice, watch those hop ups, they get addictive!

Those wheels are available in black. Just cannot remember the part number right now.

Edit: part number is #51665

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Thanks for the part number, I just couldn't find them anywhere that wasn't shipping in 3 weeks! lol so I went with the white for the blue shell and then i'll see how they look once the shell is all finished. May have to order a black set or the ones on the phatbody site. I saw some off brand ones in my local hobbystore but they were 26mm not 24, would they still work?

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17 hours ago, TheGizmodi said:

Couldn't put the tools down so wanted to see what it looked like with some decals on!

 

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Very nice indeed 👍🏻
Always best to things when you’re in the mood. 

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Besides M38 Willy's I also love Mini's!  :D

Chassis includes M01, M03, M05, M-Four, TopRacing Sabre's, CupRacer, BSR, etc..

IMG_Apr112021at15050PM.thumb.jpg.b2ad677ea65d8f0633b94f14e5ac8fe0.jpg

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9 hours ago, Willy iine said:

Besides M38 Willy's I also love Mini's!  :D

Chassis includes M01, M03, M05, M-Four, TopRacing Sabre's, CupRacer, BSR, etc..

IMG_Apr112021at15050PM.thumb.jpg.b2ad677ea65d8f0633b94f14e5ac8fe0.jpg

Interesting! Would like to see more of your collection. Maybe post them in "The M - Chassis TOPIC" thread if you haven't already?🙂

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23 hours ago, berman said:

Interesting! Would like to see more of your collection. Maybe post them in "The M - Chassis TOPIC" thread if you haven't already?🙂

There's a M-Chassis TOPIC thread..(?) 

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