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From ICM
1/35th scale
Model #35542
Price: $48 USD from Hobbylink Japan
Product link on the ICM website
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Today: PT II: Painting and weathering...
Now that the model had been built in part one of the build review it could now be finished so as usual I sprayed it with an overall coat of flat black using Tamiya LP-3.
Although the rear seat back was fixed into place, the other seats and steering wheel were not glued in as it would make painting them much easier so the model was sprayed with Tamiya LP-27 German Grey then had some LP-34 mixed in to spray in between the panels, adding more light grey to spray the highlights such as the tops of the headlights and edges of the bodywork. Due to the quick drying time of the paints the model was given a couple of coats of Tamiya X-22 Clear then left to cure for a day as it doesn't like being handled straight after spraying.
Next were the decals which only took about an hour as there were only eleven for the particular option I wanted to do.
The decals had Micro Sol applied to help them bed down and when dry the model was given another coat of X-22 to seal the decals in. I again left it to cure then the model was given a pin wash of sepia oil paint before being sprayed with VMS satin varnish.
A mix of Tamiya flat earth and black was lightly sprayed around the lower body, undersides and chassis as although it was staff car I still wanted some weathering on the model. One thing that needed doing were the blackout covers for the head lights so the interiors of the lights were painted chrome using a Molotow paint pen then the covers were made from masking tape using a compass cutter. Be aware that the lenses on the lower lights took some sanding before I got them to fit properly.
The covers were OK but needed something as there were gaps around the edges so they were given a coat of Mr. Surfacer 500 then painted with Vallejo Luftwaffe Field Blue acrylic when dry. The seats were next to be painted and installed so these were sprayed with Tamiya XF-10 Flat Brown, taking care not to spray the grey sides of the interior. Vallejo 118 Burnt Umber acrylic lightened and darkened to suit was then used for the shadows and highlights;
The rear light lenses were painted with Vallejo white then red and when dry given a wash of sepia oil paint.
Although not shown in the picture (because I had forgot...duh), the reflector on the lower left fender was also painted as described above. For some contrast the soft top for the model was sprayed with LP-12 IJN Grey (Kure Arsenal) with some light grey added for the highlights. The fit wasn't THAT bad but I ended up trimming the lower edges of the sides to get it to sit properly.
The pennant on the left front fender was added using the supplied decal and to help it was stuck to a piece of thin plastic sheet and when dry the excess plastic was trimmed off and any bare bits touched up with Vallejo acrylic. I actually applied the decal as one piece but I had problems matching up both sides and in hindsight it would have been easier to cut the decal into two separate parts.
With the assembly complete I gave the model a very light spray of Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan, a dusting of Mig's European Earth pigment and that was another one to display on the shelf.
That was quite an enjoyable kit to build to be honest, the only real problematic bit was removing the floor from the sprue without destroying the raised lip around it and the vinyl tyres which were a bit rough flash-wise (I'm not a fan of vinyl in kits anyway) but apart from those the kit went together quite well. You really can't go wrong with cars of this type with the running boards, curved fenders etc., one day I might even build a shiny one.
Andy King
Thanks to ICM for sending this kit to Andy to build & review, you can find out about ICM's other releases on the ICM plastic model kits website
