Mclaren MP4/9 Brazil 1994

1
May 24, 2022
All decalled and ready to move forward.
2
May 17, 2022
Without fail, one little glob of epoxy/putty found it's way onto another part of the car and I didnt notice until WAY too late......and now I get to do a touch up......YEEEAH!
3
May 8, 2022
The front wing kinda needed to be affixed and puttied before painting but I was in a rush......so I had to affix the wing with Tamiya putty/epoxy and then prime that really carefully then paint. Not perfect but it will suffice, I think.
4
May 1, 2022
At this point, I have lost count of how many times I have painted this. The previous fluo red was Tamiya TS 36 and come to find out, that stuff cracks over time. ALL of my Macs have some degree of cracking. This time I've tried Gaia fluo red. While I hate cleaning my airbrush, it does give me more control than a rattle can.
5
March 23, 2021
Strip job numero dos! Come to find out, TS 36 has this nasty habit of cracking. ALL of my Mclarens have some degree of cracking in the red. Only this one can be saved. Gonna try a paint called Gaia and see how that goes.
6
May 20, 2022
As you can see, the original set of decals was quite lo def compared with the new set from Museum Collection on the bottom.
7
December 18, 2019
The 10 coats stayed wet longer than i'd hoped so when I pulled the tape off it cost me the sharp edge at the rear.
8
May 23, 2020
The 2nd try came out pretty sweet.
9
April 7, 2020
10
December 18, 2019
11
December 18, 2019
12
December 18, 2019

Comments

9 18 December 2019, 15:29

bossy122
Step one is to paint the red. I tried Testors jar by airbrush. After about 10 coats, it didn't appear to be getting any darker. This lead me to try something chancy:I remasked the thing and went over the Testors with TS36 (that I had been trying to find an alternative to in the first place). Thankfully the 2 didn't react to one another.

18 December 2019, 15:37

bossy122
I dunno.....may have to strip and try again.....

18 December 2019, 16:19

bossy122
....stripped, i'll try again...

7 April 2020, 06:10

Bozzer
Mate, I always do light colours first. On this, I would do white, then clear coat, allow to dry for a few days, then mask carefully, a quick shoot of clear, then about 30 minutes later, shoot the red. I'm not telling you how to suck eggs, that's just what I would do. I hate seeing a fellow modeller struggle

7 April 2020, 06:16

bossy122
Yeah, the problem was spraying Tamiya TS36 over Testors Fluo red. The 2 reacted with one another and the TS cracked.

7 April 2020, 06:30

bossy122
Okay! Project is back on track! 2nd try came out sweet! Back to good ol TS36 (five bloody coats!). But for a change, no little leaks in the corners of the masking. Hurrah!

23 May 2020, 03:31

bossy122
I only bothered to look at the metal pretzel parts.....this should be fun.

24 May 2020, 02:33

bossy122
Project 4/9 went off the rails again. Come to find out TS 36 likes to crack. Attempt #3 will be with Gaia paints.

23 March 2021, 21:59

Mark D
I believe that Gravity GC110 could be a good Fluor red paint for this, but that's only from a modeller on YouTube if I remember it well, that made an MP4/6.
Don't know if you're able to get this paint and I have no personal experience with this brand, but it turned out very well.

8 May 2022, 10:05

Kyle DeHart
TS 36 is a hateful paint. Good color but a complete pile of junk to use. I've fought it before. Sorry that happened to you. Looking good though!

8 May 2022, 10:53

bossy122
I have a rear panel piece still covered in 36 and was staggered by how much darker and more actual red it is. When you don't have anything for comparison, it looks fine, but now......yuck. The Gaia is nice in that it was quicker to build up to the proper shade in fewer coats. Now, as long as it doesn't crack over time.....

8 May 2022, 17:38

Kyle DeHart
I only paint with rattle cans and hairy stick so I've always used ts 36. The other issue with it is no two cans are even the same color! I still have a couple Marlboro cars in stash and a couple STP turbine Indycars and I have no idea what I'm going to use on them because Ts 36 is not it.

8 May 2022, 20:13

bossy122
I used to use rattle cans for the most part because I HATE cleaning my airbrush but with the airbrush, I control the flow better and I don't have nearly as much paint finding its way under the masking tape. You take the good with the bad.

9 May 2022, 06:13

Greg Baker
Sign me up for this one!

9 May 2022, 06:24

Robin (WhiteGlint)
👀

9 May 2022, 07:23

Kyle DeHart
Indeed, the list of compromises is long…less color choice, no control, less color accuracy, the list goes on. But it's a compromise I'm happy with. I have zero desire to pick up an airbrush.

9 May 2022, 07:50

Bozzer
If I do a colour change, with my airbrush, I just flush it through with thinner. This can be expensive, but I've learned a few tricks. Enamel, I flush with white spirit, acrylic, I use car washer fluid. Anything else, I use cellulose thinner. I also start by painting all my light colours first, then ending in black. Once I'm done, I empty the nozzle and needle into a glass jar, then add some cellulose thinner. Give those a good soak, then run some twisted kitchen roll through the nozzle. Remove them from the thinner, and allow them to air dry, while you clean your airbrush body in the thinner. It's amazing how much crap comes out! 15 minutes and you're ready for the next session, in the morning 👍

9 May 2022, 08:13

Brendan
I'm currently building an MP4/6 and used Mr Color Fluorescent Red. Same shade as TS-36 but a hell of a lot easier to airbrush and cleanup (thin/clean with regular hardware store lacquer thinner). Sprayed it over Tamiya white with zero adhesion/cracking/color issues. Only real problem I've had with it is that spot touchups come out darker and won't blend with any amount of thinner or sanding. This looks great though, excited to see the rest of it!

9 May 2022, 13:24

bossy122
Yup, the problem with those colors you have to build up: they don't get built the same way twice.

10 May 2022, 07:56

bossy122
I was so excited to start the decals......until I looked at them. Early Studio 27 quality wasn't quite as sharp as it is now.....literally. The letters are fatter than should be and the edges just aren't as sharp. The name plates can't be read at all. Museum Collection makes a sheet so I get to wait for those to show up......yippee.

11 May 2022, 03:51

Kyle DeHart
Ah. Shame. I have had that wait on museum collection decals to show up.

11 May 2022, 04:47

bossy122
Time to work on my MP4/11

11 May 2022, 05:26

Kyle DeHart
Awesome! 95/96ish was when I started first watching F1 so the mp4/11 holds a spot in my heart.

11 May 2022, 06:05