Stratos 99% Finished
My fluorescent Stratos is virtually finished now. The F350 wheels look much better now I've sprayed the gold (Humbrol Hobby Spray acrylic). and I've added a set of gold wheelnuts to try & hide them a little more
The decals went on fairly easily, with the exception of the grille on the ''boot'' (at the front of course, they're mid engined); it's one large flat decal, but the body has relief detail representing the grilles themselves which trap air underneath the decal & it's virtually impossible to remove all the bubbles.
I used the standard trick of a fine mist of soapy water, rubbed them down into the relief, them warmed them gently with a hair dryer, but STILL I have bubbles under them.
I have 3 more Stratos shells to build & that one decal leaves me very wary. I may be able to improve things by dividing the decal up before applying it, but that may make it stand out even more. The ultimate method of course, is to paint rather than decal, but I doubt I could get them looking even.
Body shut lines have been applied by hand with a 0.5mm permanent marker, but I'm not totally happy with them so they will be removed & replaced with Kyosho Micron tape (when it arrives).
Just a couple of tiny details to finish off now, mounting the exhausts & a ballast weight for the rear, plus a close fitting foam bumper at the front to afford a little protection to the nose.
Comments welcome as always.
If you liked those pictures, you should see these...
Stratos 01 - The Real Thing
Comments
generationx
Just excellent.
Victorious Secret
Great job Brother BJ!! Look just like the reference you showed us! Fantastic!! Now I want one too!
twisty
Very nice,it could do wth some tyres with a bit more side wall but really nice as is,great use of the F350 wheels too.Loverly
bfst24
maybe try the bonnet grilles with micron tape too?will take forever though.
Wyoming
Nice looking machine!
skip665
Just gorgeous! Top work there Russ!
Trevan
Just can't stop looking at this - magnificent!!
Henk4Focus
She's a beauty! Came out very good.
CASE1
very nice job! I sometimes remove bubbles under decals by perforating them with a sharp knife point or very sharp nail. Than heat with hairdryer and push the air out. The air seems to be trapped sometimes. Looking very good as is though!
Blacque Jacque
Thanks everyone for the great comments. @CASE1, yeah I tried the pin prick too,it worked for a couple but some just won't stick properly.
@bfst24, Hmmm 52 pieces of micron tape, getting them all to line up is probably as difficult as getting the bubbles out.
@twisty, yes the tyres are a bit *too* low profile really, Chain Driven suggested the tyres from the Cayenne, but I don't have any to hand, although they could end up looking to large diameter wise. I'll have to get some & try them for size. I may lower the rear body mount by one notch to improve the look, the front is as low as I can go, but it looks about right anyway. I think the photos exaggerate the look of the wheels, it doesn't seem as bad somehow ''in real life'' ??
TIMECMDR
A beauty indeed, excellent work
def4x4
Great car and awesome work.
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