Hasegawa 1/24 Team Tom's Minolta Toyota 88C Le Mans C1 race car

[barryf1fan]

Wasn't sure if I was going to have a go at a GB. The best half and myself will be gone most of May but will try and get this one completed by reveal day. I've wanted to do one these GB's on here since I joined, and hopefully can keep at it. Still working on the C7R too and haven't ever done, or worked on, two models at the same time - pea brain over here. . .

Anyway, wanted to do this one up as I just got this a few months back at the LHS and really enjoyed the Hase Nissan R91CP I just finished. This car competed with some really "classic" cars from that year, 1988, including the Porsche 962, Jaguar XJR-9, Nissan R88C, Sauber Mercedes C9, and the Mazda 767 (although the Mazda was in the GTP class...), and the horrendously f-ugly Peugeot P88.

Anyway, here are a couple of shots of the kit, and I'll update as I go - and never really done this so if I am missing something just post in here and tell me I'm doing it wrong, I'm married and hear it quite often.



Going to try and utilize the blue decals as they are a very pretty blue, and will save me having to mix or buy that color, and even though fairly large they don't look to be overly complicated [famous last words of a fool ]





One thing I did notice is there is no mask for the windows, so that will be a challenge for me right off the bat.

If I needed to post more, or different pics of the kit let me know and I will get on it.
Thanks for looking!!

[Gary30]

Sweet! Welcome aboard Barry, you know how I feel about Group C cars, I’m drooling already and you haven’t even started it yet

[Shunter]

Beautiful car and an underrated it. Watching intently

[barryf1fan]

Have done some work but hadn't had a chance to update.

Hope everyone is staying safe and keeping their distance.

Sprue shots









Since I'm used to doing Tamiya kits, this one has been a challenge. Several body pieces had to be glued to the main body (sorry for the lack of pics - I suck at this and will do better next time). Two pieces on either side had to be attached, along with the rear bumper. Some pieces went on great and others were a bit less stellar. This kit, in terms of body seams, is certainly challenging me and is probably the most "body" work I've done on a kit so far.

Just a few pics of the rear portion.



Sanding



Filling in



And sanding again - got in a bit of a rush for the final product, but I believe a decal will cover it up.



shot the primer and the base coat white... a few other colors shot as well, liking this kit so far.







Thanks for looking in. Hoping to finish up some detail painting in the next few days and start on the decals, or vice versa.

Take care everyone!!

[CygnusX1]

What a great choice, and off to a flying start.
I've actually seen these race - they sound glorious.

[barryf1fan]

What a great choice, and off to a flying start.
I've actually seen these race - they sound glorious.

Thanks man!! Wished I could've seen these race, even just once! What a treat.

[barryf1fan]

Got a little bit done of the "Yoda" tonight. Got several detail parts painted like the dash, tow hooks, and dry brushed the radiators, etc... Also, got the panel wash on the body and brake discs, and got the "belts" on the seat painted. Also masked the center portion of the wheels to shoot the chrome outer ring.

So far this one is turning out pretty good. The decals will be a challenge though, and will start to tackle those in the next day or two.







(I know the pics aren't that great, sorry...)

Was going to detail up the transmission and rear suspension... but realized, like with the Nissan Gr.C car I did, there is no engine and the body isn't removable - so really no point.

Anyhoo, thanks for looking guys!!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh yeah, this is sweet

[Hawkmoon]

Looking good Barry and nice work

[barryf1fan]

Got some of the decals down the last couple of days. Having a bit of a hard time with them as you can see. There are a couple of places where they ripped and had to be repaired, couple other places where they weren't repaired. Not sure I've ever done any decals that cover this much area and I definitely need some more practice doing these kinda decals... but, that's why I'm doing it.

Anyway, I will say that for some reason these decals in this Haegawa kit are way thinner than the Nissan R91 Gr.C car I just did a couple of months ago. So if you grab this one be aware... I think after applying these large ones, it may be a bit better to make some templates from the decals and paint the blue portions... would be more work for sure - but the result would be better, probably (unless you're good at decals, which I'm not).







Slow going but trying to take my time on it. There are quite a few decals to get through on this one.

Thanks for looking, and hope to more done in a few days.

[Hawkmoon]

Your doing a fine job with the decals Barry Hasegawa and Fujimi decals are known for being delicate the best way to lay them is on a puddle of water ,manouvre them into position and then remove all excess water from under them, once the water is removed only then add any decal softener if needed. With practice you will get there. Nice work and looking good.

[Kevthemodeller]

Looking really good there Barry

[barryf1fan]

Your doing a fine job with the decals Barry Hasegawa and Fujimi decals are known for being delicate the best way to lay them is on a puddle of water ,manouvre them into position and then remove all excess water from under them, once the water is removed only then add any decal softener if needed. With practice you will get there. Nice work and looking good.

Thanks for the tip Hawk!! That helped a lot. That and my need for patience and I will see it through.

Here's one side and the top done... just a couple more for the top (like the name plates and the windshield topper, etc.). Have about 5 hours or so in decaling that you see here... Man, I'm slow.

Snapped a pic though, I thought it's looking pretty good:



Hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying their inside time.

[Hawkmoon]

Your doing a fine job with the decals Barry Hasegawa and Fujimi decals are known for being delicate the best way to lay them is on a puddle of water ,manouvre them into position and then remove all excess water from under them, once the water is removed only then add any decal softener if needed. With practice you will get there. Nice work and looking good.

Thanks for the tip Hawk!! That helped a lot. That and my need for patience and I will see it through.

Here's one side and the top done... just a couple more for the top (like the name plates and the windshield topper, etc.). Have about 5 hours or so in decaling that you see here... Man, I'm slow.

Snapped a pic though, I thought it's looking pretty good:



Hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying their inside time.

No probs Barry and looking good. Right now just plod along with the decals and in time you will become faster as you become more used to laying them down.

[barryf1fan]

Got the chrome outside of the wheels done, as well as the wheel nuts. Finished up the dash, seat, and all the body decals. Little more detail painting, like the window rubbers and some chassis bits... gettin' there though.









Thanks for looking and hope everyone is staying in and safe.

[digger303]

[Hawkmoon]

Looking sweet and very nice work on the decals

[Kevthemodeller]

Really coming together Barry

[jchrisf]

This is looking fantastic! Great job! How do you mask your wheels to keep the chrome off the centers?

[barryf1fan]

Cheers Digger, and thanks for looking in!

Looking sweet and very nice work on the decals

Thanks Hawk, they're a 5 footer, again. Had to fix (read: repair or cover) multiple ripped/torn parts, but came out okay. Getting there, hardest thing left is the glass - they didn't include mask in this kit.

Really coming together Barry

Thanks for checking it out, Kev! One big snafu I have on this one is, you can see that I completely forgot the mold seam on the front of the car... I was so focused on getting rid of the glue seams where I glued the body parts together that I forgot the front area. What a doofus!!

This is looking fantastic! Great job! How do you mask your wheels to keep the chrome off the centers?

Thanks Chris! I have a little circle cutter that I got off of Amazon.
Fancyscale Circle cutter

It's kinda expensive... but it was $10 cheaper when I ordered it. It works great, but after getting it I think I could have got by with an assortment of circle templates.

Appreciate you looking in!

[barryf1fan]

Happy Easter everyone!! Hope everyone is enjoying this day! My Awesome wife told me to go do something (in other words, "get out of the kitchen") while she was making Easter dinner (filet, twice baked potatoes, and baked zucchini ).

So. . . . got some more done on the "Yoda".

Sanded the tires down a bit - didn't turn out perfect but they look a lot better than they did. Couldn't completely get rid of the seam, but much better. They actually look like rubber tires now and not shiny plastic.





Also got the wheels/tires finished up - turned out pretty nice!!



Also, was able to mask the windows. And even though this kit didn't come with "pre-cut" window mask, I think I did pretty good for the first time trying this.



Take care all!!!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Very nice indeed
Happy Easter to you your family

[jchrisf]

This is looking fantastic! Great job! How do you mask your wheels to keep the chrome off the centers?

Thanks Chris! I have a little circle cutter that I got off of Amazon.
Fancyscale Circle cutter

It's kinda expensive... but it was $10 cheaper when I ordered it. It works great, but after getting it I think I could have got by with an assortment of circle templates.

Appreciate you looking in!

Thanks.. I've seen that tool recently on a new YTer named Ziggy's Desk or something like that. It looks cool but I don't want to spent that much money.. I bet it is the best out there. If I ever see one for a great deal I'll get it. I was just able to cut out a good mask with a circle stencil and a scribing tool. But I may get the OLFA @Paul uses because it is only about $8 on Amazon.

[jchrisf]

Good job on that glass.. I remember when I did mine and it was tough for me.

[digger303]

This is looking fantastic! Great job! How do you mask your wheels to keep the chrome off the centers?

Thanks Chris! I have a little circle cutter that I got off of Amazon.
Fancyscale Circle cutter

It's kinda expensive... but it was $10 cheaper when I ordered it. It works great, but after getting it I think I could have got by with an assortment of circle templates.

Appreciate you looking in!

Thanks.. I've seen that tool recently on a new YTer named Ziggy's Desk or something like that. It looks cool but I don't want to spent that much money.. I bet it is the best out there. If I ever see one for a great deal I'll get it. I was just able to cut out a good mask with a circle stencil and a scribing tool. But I may get the OLFA @Paul uses because it is only about $8 on Amazon.

Dspiae was the first that I saw with this style of cutter...damn expensive too. I wanted one , but I couldn't spend that much on it. They have a cutting depth limit of 0.4mm which is fairly thin if you want to cut styrene sheet as well.

[Kevthemodeller]

Nice masking skill there Barry, wheels looking really good

[barryf1fan]

Thanks Chris! I have a little circle cutter that I got off of Amazon.
Fancyscale Circle cutter

It's kinda expensive... but it was $10 cheaper when I ordered it. It works great, but after getting it I think I could have got by with an assortment of circle templates.

Appreciate you looking in!

Thanks.. I've seen that tool recently on a new YTer named Ziggy's Desk or something like that. It looks cool but I don't want to spent that much money.. I bet it is the best out there. If I ever see one for a great deal I'll get it. I was just able to cut out a good mask with a circle stencil and a scribing tool. But I may get the OLFA @Paul uses because it is only about $8 on Amazon.

Dspiae was the first that I saw with this style of cutter...damn expensive too. I wanted one , but I couldn't spend that much on it. They have a cutting depth limit of 0.4mm which is fairly thin if you want to cut styrene sheet as well.

It is kinda expensive... but I just wanted it to cut circles for masking and does the job quite effectively. I guess it's just the cost of doing business - and the wife will never know!!

It's very accurate and easy to use (once you figure out how to use it, the instructions suck!).

[barryf1fan]

Nice masking skill there Barry, wheels looking really good

, sir!! Thanks!

[barryf1fan]

Did some work on the "Yoda" - started assembly.
dry brushed the radiators, even though the instructions call for them to just be black...
I went ahead and dry brushed them with some chrome because I think you may be able to see them, if you look hard enough. Sprayed the black on the "glass" but forgot to snap of the final - came out pretty nice though.

Also, shot the body with Tamiya Semi-Gloss from a can (haven't had a chance to get some to shoot through the AB) and got really scared as the decals started to bubble and crack!!! Thankfully after about 5-10 minutes they "laid" down again (for the most part) and I think will be okay... I really need to get some for the AB though.

Here's a few pics of the progress - slow, but sure.





and here's a close-up of the decals catching fire!!



This is actually after they had started to settle back down... but you get the idea. whew!!

Anyway, once the clear sets-up I'll be able to finish this bad boy up and start the Pramac Ducati MotoGP bike - or something...

[Twokidsnosleep]

This is looking great
Awesome work

[digger303]

[barryf1fan]

This is looking great
Awesome work

Thanks for looking in guys, appreciate it. i swear though, I feel like I've been taking one step forward and two steps back. Need more practice with the AB, for sure, the more I use it the more I think I need one with a larger needle size. Enjoying these "simpler" Hasegawa curbside kits.

[Gary30]

Thanks for looking in guys, appreciate it. i swear though, I feel like I've been taking one step forward and two steps back. Need more practice with the AB, for sure, the more I use it the more I think I need one with a larger needle size. Enjoying these "simpler" Hasegawa curbside kits.

I thought this was my problem at one point, but turns out I was just a wuss and was afraid of really wailing on that sucker and opening her up fully and letting her free, so make sure you are pulling fully back if you're trying to get heavier coats, you may have to increase the distance from the work piece which also helps to prevent orange peel in my (limited) experience, it's all just practice and experience at the end of the day. Best thing I did was get a test mule to really have at it and practice on, see what the AB is actually capable of without being afraid of ruining my hard work.

Car looks great anyway, it's a Group C car, so you know I'm a fan!

[barryf1fan]

I thought this was my problem at one point, but turns out I was just a wuss and was afraid of really wailing on that sucker and opening her up fully and letting her free, so make sure you are pulling fully back if you're trying to get heavier coats, you may have to increase the distance from the work piece which also helps to prevent orange peel in my (limited) experience, it's all just practice and experience at the end of the day. Best thing I did was get a test mule to really have at it and practice on, see what the AB is actually capable of without being afraid of ruining my hard work.

Car looks great anyway, it's a Group C car, so you know I'm a fan!

Yeah, Gr.C cars are the best!!

Thanks for the advice... really need to find a cheap kit to destroy. My LHS doesn't really have any cheap kits though.

What Clear Coats do you use, if you don't mind me asking?? Also, can you decant the clears, like you can the TS sprays? TIA,

[Hawkmoon]

Gary is right its practice and more practice that will get you there and I bet if you start comparing what you have completed in the past to what your doing now there will already be a difference . Make the airbrush work for you and dont hold back, you will still get the odd paint bomb but its part of the learning process . Keep at you will get there.

[Gary30]

Yeah, Gr.C cars are the best!!

Thanks for the advice... really need to find a cheap kit to destroy. My LHS doesn't really have any cheap kits though.

What Clear Coats do you use, if you don't mind me asking?? Also, can you decant the clears, like you can the TS sprays? TIA,

I just sacrificed an earlier kit I’d made, I just hit it with all sorts now, new things I wanna try out, I just blast it and see what happens before committing it to a new project.

I use Pro Range 2K and follow Paul’s method for applying it, three coats gradually thinning the 2K with each coat, works well, even with my sledgehammer touch!

[barryf1fan]

Finished.



gonna put up a reveal thread.

[jchrisf]

Woot! Looks awesome! I love these cars.

[digger303]

Woot! Looks awesome! I love these cars.

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh yes, superb build

[jchrisf]

This should help you pic another to build


I'd like to have his collection in model cars and he has it 1:1

[CygnusX1]

Looks great. Really fantastic work.

[barryf1fan]

Looks great. Really fantastic work.

Thanks Cygnus!! It's got it's fair share of "dang-its" but it is a good looking car all finished up. I think all the GTP/Gr.C cars look fantastic! Appreciate you looking in, sir.