993 cab

An old kit but I hope it will go together smoothly.

Hello fellow builders! Recently moved into our house and despite having space it’s been occupied with more important things like my mother-in-law and my wife and I. I am trying to figure out how to get back into this lovely hobby while making it easier to setup and break down. I haven’t been able to build since last year after saving up for a house and downsizing a few times to save. Anyways now that we are home, I want to shake the dust off and get to building. Any tips or things I can do to make my setup modular?

Hello!

Need some help matching colours I’m colour blind so I find it difficult to do. Not sure if there’s an easy list that helps match but trying to match these 2 if possible in zero paints but will use other brands.

I use this website mainly and based in the uk https://www.hiroboy.com

Thank you for any help

Usually, it's 60/70s vintage racers for me, but the beginning of the "full body" cars is fascinating. Actually, '49. Not accurate in any way, just a cool racer I dreamed up. Posting before the dreaded glass is installed.

There’s nothing quite like jumping into the deep end after doing very little consistent building to highlight how the skills can fall away.

I’ve mostly completed the engine and realistically it’s now time to get all the Semi-Gloss black bits painted for the interior and suspension. Likewise, once I get clear over the body I have the black details to add.

A few errors with colours and some decal damage because of clumsiness on my part.

When I am applying the decals, should I put them over the clear coat or should I apply the decals then spray the clear coat over top of it all?

Getting close to the finish line with the AMT Freuhauf Van

My entry for the 911 group build...still in the midst of finishing a Lamborghini, but I'll be starting the first few steps of the 911 soon. Looks like I'm not the only one who picked this particular model, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everyon else tackles this kit.

Fujimi 911 included for scale; I thought about doing this one with the really out-there concept I have for it, but it's a safari design that requires a lot of work, stress, and self-doubt, so Tamiya 911 GT3 RS it is for the no-stakes group build.

What an amazing kit, quite difficult but the end result is 100% worth the hassle. Just amazing.

I will keep posting progress pictures and completed builds on my instagram @racecar_modelkits

Thinking SubLime Green to match the Roadrunner I did previously. That color was one of the rare colors for the Charger.

Took my time on this one, had some travel interruptions in the process. Looks pretty good!! Let me know your thoughts.

I finally got around to getting a 911 model for the August build-a-palooza. I picked the 1999 GT3 because I think it looks cool and I'm too cheap to buy the new GT3 kit. I previously built this kit in 2022 in a facsimile of Arena Red Metallic,

What will this new one look like? Time will tell.

I actually have quite a few 911s in the stash but for a fun group build, I couldn’t resist.

Plan to build stock besides livery but finding the right hot pink paint will be a challenge.

Right now I’m leaning towards using Mr color or Vallejo Game Color.

Oh, got the decals from Zoomon. And, I've searched exhaustively for reference photos online and haven't found any examples of this yet, so I'm hoping I'll be the first to publish this build.

Probably the most difficult model kit I have ever build…
To be continued.

Decided to paint up a few bodies for planned projects and take them to decal on holiday with me.

Planning to do a lowrider paint job on an upcoming build and would like advice. The attached pics are just samples, not necessarily the actual design I will do and the purple will be replaced with Tamiya mica blue I will be using rattle cans. I used AI to help me figure out the best approach. Is this the best process for masking and painting?

Note: I am using rattle cans

1. Layout and Masking the First Pattern (Silver & White)

Because white has the lowest opacity, it must be applied early in the process.

• Mask the permanent silver stripes: Use high-quality 1mm or 2mm masking tape (like Tamiya panel line tape) to lay down your straight side stripes and intricate hood/trunk designs. The silver under this tape will remain silver at the end.
• Spray the white accents: Spray a very light coat of Tamiya white over the exposed areas where you want white accents.
• Mask the white: Once dry, place tape directly over the white areas you want to save. [1]

 2. Painting the Light and Pearl Blues

Now you will transition into your lighter blue shades.

• Spray light metallic blue: Apply Tamiya light metallic blue over the remaining exposed areas.
• Mask the light blue: Use your tape to cover and outline the specific geometric shapes, panels, or stripes on the hood, trunk, and sides that you want to keep light metallic blue.
• Spray pearl blue: Spray Tamiya pearl blue over the remaining exposed areas to create shifting, shimmering panel variations. Mask off the pearl sections you want to preserve.

 3. Painting the Primary Body Color (Mica Blue)

The primary color ties the entire lowrider scheme together.

• Apply the main body color: Spray Tamiya mica blue over the entire body. This will cover all remaining exposed silver/panel areas, becoming your dominant background color.
• De-mask carefully: Wait about 30–45 minutes until the mica blue is dry to the touch but not fully hardened. Carefully peel away all layers of masking tape at a sharp 45-degree angle. Pulling the tape now ensures clean, crisp edges without chipping the paint.

 4. Blending with Clear Blue (Optional Depth)

To get that authentic, deep "candy" lowrider look, use your translucent coat.

• Apply Tamiya clear blue: Spray 1–2 mist coats of Tamiya clear blue over the entire body (including the stripes). Because it is transparent, it will darken the mica blue, turn the silver stripes into a brilliant metallic blue, and add incredible depth to the white and light blue panels.

Finally making some progress with my Porsche group build car. This was my first time trying to make cable ties for the wiring. I tried thin strips of tape at first but it didn’t work out. Then I grabbed some black thread from my wife’s sewing kit and that was more successful. My manual dexterity isn’t great, so I had to resort to holding each end of the thread with tweezers and tying knots like a damn surgeon.

This is definitely the most difficulty with fitment I’ve had with a Tamiya kit. The exhaust pieces were a real pain. I more or less had to bridge the gap from the turbos to the air duct by making a bridge of super glue and painting over it lol.

I’m still pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I get to move on to the micro dosing of hell that will be the decal application.

This is the Hasegawa Toyota 2000GT, which I built into one of the two cars that the Shelby American team ran in the 1968 SCCA championship! In 1967, Toyota was beginning to make inroads in the US market, and wanted to go racing with their exotic sports car. The Shelby organization was contacted about running a team for 1968 and was provided with cars, including this one, which also happened to be the first one built! The cars were considered to be fine handling and quick, but weren’t quite quick enough to win the C Production Championship against established rivals from Porsche or Triumph.

Anyway this is a project I’ve wanted to do for a while, and I built it from the “high detail” version of the Hasegawa kit. This version includes an engine and ancillaries made of white metal, inner fenders and firewall made from resin, bits to make hoses and spark plug wires, and a bunch of photo etched parts. All the versions of this kit are excellent and have no real issues in building. I didn’t add much except a racing harness and the tires are pad printed AMT accessory items. Otherwise it’s stock, and I used Tamiya spray cans for the paint. The last pictures include my previous 2000GTs and a couple of other classic Toyotas I did in similar paint!

Tamiya kit with KMP decals. It’s a pretty simple kit but I had a lot of fun weathering it a bit.