Tamiya 1/24 Citroen 2CV

[henk4]

As promised for Crisis the Tamiya Citroen 2CV, straight from the box (this car does not need any improvement as we all know).

[Niko_Fx]

Are these cars too hard to built? I mean I have never done one before but I have seen some in this forum in the last couple of days and I kind of want to do one. Does it require experience? How much time? What's the price of one of these?

By the way all I have seen here posted look great

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Niko_Fx

Are these cars too hard to built? I mean I have never done one before but I have seen some in this forum in the last couple of days and I kind of want to do one. Does it require experience? How much time? What's the price of one of these?

By the way all I have seen here posted look great

For your first car, buy a quality kit.
Tamiya are excellent value for money.
Protar and others (Studio 27) add extra detail and are worth it but take a bit more skill.
And cost

Learn on a Tamiya - they're not too expensive - and produce an excellent finished model.
1/12 is large scale, but also will take many hours to complete a decent kit - you need to do lots of detail paint mark-up when the model is big.
I'd recommend going for a 1/20 or 1/24 scale as a good compromise.
1/43 is another skill I've yet to complete and is VERY difficult when trying to get final details.

Build your first one exactly as the instructions recommend.

Later on, you can start modifying, adding and builindg out of order to ensure extra detail and accuracy in reasonable time.

There are lots of on-line modelling sites and newsgroups.
Search on model kit and you'll do well - just not with the wife in the room because you just KNOW the other stuff that search will find.

Your local model shop can be very helpful, most owners are more than willing to offer advice on the best modelto start with iin their stock.
If you don't have one nearby, I've found www.hlj.com to be excellent - especially for the harder to get kits. They've a superb Skyline kit on special offer of $22 right now

[Niko_Fx]

Thanks a lot Matra, I'm going to follow your Advice and go for a 1/20 or 1/24. 22$ seems like a good price, I'm sure those cars are worth it. I got a lot of free time (only got classes 3 days a week, my GF lives in another country and I'm not working at this moment) so I could give those cars all the time and effort they need.

Thanks again for the info

Nikolai

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Niko_Fx

Thanks a lot Matra, I'm going to follow your Advice and go for a 1/20 or 1/24. 22$ seems like a good price, I'm sure those cars are worth it. I got a lot of free time (only got classes 3 days a week, my GF lives in another country and I'm not working at this moment) so I could give those cars all the time and effort they need.

Thanks again for the info

Nikolai

Glad you like the kit, but $22 is only the beginning, you will need additional things like paint, glue, and some tools to start with. Check out whether there is a good hobby shop in Caracas and they might be able to help you along. Tamiya kits are the best to start with, as there quality of fit and level of detail stands out against most of the other brands, in particular Revell.

[Niko_Fx]

Originally Posted by henk4

Glad you like the kit, but $22 is only the beginning, you will need additional things like paint, glue, and some tools to start with. Check out whether there is a good hobby shop in Caracas and they might be able to help you along. Tamiya kits are the best to start with, as there quality of fit and level of detail stands out against most of the other brands, in particular Revell.

Yes, I know some great Hobby shops in Caracas... But I'm in Florida right now ..... I cannnot think of any hobby shop around here. I know walmart has a section for car/planes/robots/etc kits but as you may know they are not recognized for their great products but for their low prices. Do you know of any good web page where I could order a kit?

Thanks Henk4

Matra does your page ship to the U.S?

[henk4]

HLJ ships to every destination.
Some additional links: www.modelersite.com
www.f1m.com
also http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...play.php?f=927
will be able to give you some ideas about what's going on.

By the way if you go for the Skyline as Matra suggested, than be sure to have Tamiya TS44 spray for the body colour.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by henk4

Glad you like the kit, but $22 is only the beginning, you will need additional things like paint, glue, and some tools to start with. Check out whether there is a good hobby shop in Caracas and they might be able to help you along. Tamiya kits are the best to start with, as there quality of fit and level of detail stands out against most of the other brands, in particular Revell.

Good point and important in the first kit you chose - - -
Find one where the moulding is predominantly in the colour you want the finished car. Then you won't need to paint much.
Getting good paint finish is a challenge to leave for a while.
Again, Tamiya are excellent at mould finish and a lot of models need nothing.
I'll post some pics of the A110 I built last year ( a quick build with minimal paint )
If you only need to paint detail parts then a few tins of paint ( matt black, aluminium and yellow will let you mix colors up to match bolts/nuts. Small tins are only a few $$ - spend the money on good brushes and cleaners
Don't go for glue in tubes, the best are dispensed in bottles with syringe tips - these allow to lay a precise amount in the right places. Later you can get into 'painting' the glue and building up etc etc that are all necessary with less well made kits
A small pair of cutters and file are also advised for getting items of the spure ( again don't go crazy as I built dozens of models using my mum's fine sewing scissors and nail files )
Leave for later the .2mm drills etc ( needed to drill the holes on brake rotors )

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by henk4

By the way if you go for the Skyline as Matra suggested, than be sure to have Tamiya TS44 spray for the body colour.

I'd have expected this to be a model that you wouldn't HAVE to paint the body, hence keeping the first kit and easier task.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

I'd have expected this to be a model that you wouldn't HAVE to paint the body, hence keeping the first kit and easier task.

Probably the body is molded in blue but TS44 is an extremely well covering and easy to handle paint, which you can apply directly to the body, without having to use a primer (but not without good cleaning). Would be a good starter for getting experience with spray cans.

(For the A110 I used the special Alpine Blue metallic, with in combination with a clear coat gave a very good result.)

[Niko_Fx]

Ok, thanks for all the advices, I'm going to follow them

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by henk4

Probably the body is molded in blue but TS44 is an extremely well covering and easy to handle paint, which you can apply directly to the body, without having to use a primer (but not without good cleaning). Would be a good starter for getting experience with spray cans.

It just brings in the complexity of cleaning the body.
Spraying paint needs the body to be washed in good detergent and dried - preferably air-dried - and use cotton lint-free glove to handle it till painted.
I reckon not worth the hassle for the first attempt.
( if you don't do the above you end up with uneven surface or dust caught in the finish )
Americans love a product called "Future" - a floor polish - as a final coat on their models to seal and provide a very high gloss finish. Have you tried it ?

(For the A110 I used the special Alpine Blue metallic, with in combination with a clear coat gave a very good result.)

Well the Alpine Blue is a unique colour and the only way to get a realistic result is to use the Tamiya paint - they also do a polycarbonate paint for those who want to build the 1/12 scalre radio controlled A110

Niko-fx, I hope we've given you some starters and you enjoy trying it and hopefully join the ranks of modellers. Don't worry if the first ones don't come out as you'd like. It's a hobby that takes skill and experience.

Be careful, it's a dangerous hobby, you will find yourself at classic car shows taking photographs of the most obscure parts so you have a reference to make a model more accurate. I was 16 and had just built the Tyrrell when Jackie donated the car to the city of Glasgow. I was upset to find all the wiring and piping on the real car that wasn't in the model and stripped it and rebuilt it up with all the right parts and colours. SAD

PS: 1/12th scale motorbikes are another great series

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

Be careful, it's a dangerous hobby)

the most important danger being that you will have not enough life to finish all the kits you tend to hoard during the years

[Niko_Fx]

Originally Posted by henk4

the most important danger being that you will have not enough life to finish all the kits you tend to hoard during the years

hahahaha

[<AAA-MOD>]

Originally Posted by henk4

the most important danger being that you will have not enough life to finish all the kits you tend to hoard during the years

That's a great comment, especially coming from you. You may outrank HLJ's stock of sealed new kits.