Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes SLR McLaren

[kpnuts]

Hi all well I've decided to start this one, it's supposed to be a see through model but I didn't like the fact that the roof of the clear body had the Tamiya brand moulded into it which you could clearly see so I decided to spray the body a solid colour.

[kpnuts]

Hi all here is the next update

[kpnuts]

I'm really enjoying this kit, being Tamiya everything is a great fit, I'm loving the clever way they designed the rear and front windscreen, no gluing all push fit and I like that they supply masks for said windscreen anyway here's the next lot of progress.

[Bernard Kron]

These "Moderns", both the 1:1's and the model kits that represent them, have fascinated me of late. I've been gradually playing around with them. In particular I'm caught up in how the kits are engineered. The modern automobile is an almost absurdly complex endeavor, the result of huge technical challenges demanded by contemporary social legislation. Many parts of modern cars are impenetrable, the underlying details monolothic and closed off to the outside observer, the bumper areas for example. Or they are blobs of miniaturized electronic circuitry and software. Where once we would detail out a separate chassis with hydraulic brake lines, what are we to make of a contemporary wiring harness buried deep in the intricate channels of the unit body structures? How interested as modelers should we be in airbags? So modern kits are an interesting combination of intricately cast surface details of relatively large plastic pieces, by and large. They can be surprisingly simple to assemble but fiendishly difficult to modify. They are the very antithesis of kit bashing and put a tremendous demand on ones painting and assembly skills to do them cleanly and correctly.

KP, your fabrication and detailing abilities are among the best and always a treat to follow. And your weathering abilities have often been an essential part of your build style. So here you are doing a "modern", cleanly and precisely, as it should be, to the point of painting over the novelty of a clear body. I have no doubt it will be great when your done, and as I embark in discovering this style of modeling myself, this project will prove an important source of technique and inspiration. I can't wait to see more, more, more...

[kpnuts]

Thanks very much mate, yes it would be difficult to kit bash but not impossible. Due to my love of heavy weathering I did play with the idea of doing it as a rusty old banger in a futuristic setting, in the end I decided to do it as it is. You know me though it could still end up going that way.
Anyway more progress on this one, I must say I'm really enjoying this one.

[jbwelda]

That's coming along nicely and I agree with a number of points here: cannot beat a Tamiya kit for fit and engineering, and what with how pretty much everything is hidden in a "modern" car, and consequently "kit bashing" is difficult (though of course the interior is open game). Also, I have found that trying to "improve" a typical Tamiya kit with detailing often leads to nothing fitting as it should! That's a trade off for the precision of assembly I suppose.

I built one of these "clear view" kits, a Porsche Carrera I think, but left the body clear. Was planning on painting parts of the body and leaving other areas clear, but that was going to be a nightmare of planning and masking, so I abandoned that idea.

I like the way the doors open and close on your model, and the clean panel lines they leave when closed

jb