A_M_W_2015_05_

Airfix Model World

{40}www.airfixmodelworld.com {41}

Airfix Model World

http://www.airfixmodelworld.com

INTERMEDIATE BUILD

MCLAREN MP4-12C GT3

“KEEP UP THE GOOD

WORK FUJIMII”

 Fujimi’s masking seals applied to the insides of the glazing, for painting of the black

surrounds. Once the paint had dried properly, the masking was lifted off.

 Here, sponsor decals have been applied to the glazed parts. The Total-sponsored sun

visor marking was unique to car #59 in the Spa 24-hour race.

W The multi-coloured orange/yellow/brown side stripe decals had to be applied as a

single piece, and then cut in half along the line of the door shut. Tricky indeed!

Main body decals settled over

the complex curves with ease.

INTERMEDIATE BUILD

MCLAREN MP4-12C GT3MCLAREN MP4-12C GT3

“KEEP UP THE GOOD

WORK FUJIMII”

decal solvents. Their quality was

faultless, with perfect register

and depth of colour. Fujimi’s sheet

even supplied additional white

squares to place underneath each

racing number panel, to help avoid

bleed-through from the orange

body colour; a thoughtful touch.

Once all the decals had dried,

any excess adhesive was removed

with warm water, and the body

was left to dry. The sealing top

coat for the decals was Tamiya

X-22 Clear, which was allowed to

dry for several days before it was

polished with all three grades of

Tamiya Polishing Compound and

cloths (Coarse, Fine and Finish).

This is the builder’s favourite

model wax thus far, due to its ease

of application, delicate nature and

minimal residue build-up.

The late hours

Final construction began with

the multi-part radiator and side

vent assemblies, followed by

fitting of the main glazing with a

little PVA. Detail painting of the

fantastic chrome headlamp inserts

required a steady hand and Citadel

Abbadon Black. With the inserts in

place, the headlamp covers could

then be fixed with PVA Formula

560 canopy glue.

Chassis components were

mated to the driver’s bathtub

assembly and the wheels fitted to

the suspension with the supplied

poly caps. As with many complex

race car kits, the body fit to the

chassis proved problematic,

and required several attempts;

however, once in place correctly,

the aggressive look of the model

was splendid. Delicate items, such

as the wiper for the front screen,

were attached along with the

front canard/vanes and rear deck

wing. Door mirrors were enhanced

by the addition of their chrome

plastic ‘glass’, but proved awkward

to fit as they did not employ any

kind of fixing lugs or slots...they

just had flat mating faces, which

were difficult to align and required

‘jigging’ when using PVA. This was

better, though, than risking a quick

bond with cyanoacrylate, which

could spoil the paint finish. The

PE grilles, towing eyes, fuel filler

caps and superb turned metal roof

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