Turbo Optima build - Project Barney: Finished

[Coelacanth]

That's pretty close, but it depends on the anodizer. His light blue was fantastic but color shades can vary. I like the shade of purple I've seen used for HPI hop-up parts.

[Mindwarp]

I like that purple, does this help visualize it?

[Mindwarp]

Actually, I think this is closer.

[Coelacanth]

I already have a paint scheme planned...Barney will be sporting something I haven't seen before on an RC car (which was the same motivation I had for painting the Zebra Optima)--scales.

This was just posted on RCTech.net, first time I've seen someone do a scale-themed paint-job on an RC car body. He beat me to the punch! Mind you, I find this scheme kind of silly--IMHO it would've looked better if the whole car was painted with scales, not merging them with checkerboard graphics in such contrasting colors. It's still a pretty cool effect.

[sgirouard]

I dont know if you've done the shocks yet but did you see these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/DuraTrax-Shock-Set-Front-Purple-Anodized-Evader-BX-2-/290490704812?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43a29863ac

[Triton]

the easy way to do scales is to buy a fishnet stocking and use it as a template for airbrushing (you just have to be careful not to move it) i've seen it done on motorcycle gas tanks before.

purple aint that bad

i love purple, my first car was purple still got it too, need to work on the old girl

[Coelacanth]

I dont know if you've done the shocks yet but did you see these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/DuraTrax-Shock-Set-Front-Purple-Anodized-Evader-BX-2-/290490704812?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43a29863ac

I'm not going to use Duratrax shocks because the word on them is they should be named DuraLeaks. I got a few sets of gold-colored Duratrax shocks for free, it was interesting to compare them to the Kyosho Golds. Same size, same specs. But inside, they use one less piece of plastic and one less rubber O-ring. The O-rings they DID use were noticeably inferior quality.

The 3Racing shocks on the other hand were much better quality. Still, I think the Kyosho Golds are smoother. So, the best of both worlds is to get some Goldies anodized however I like--beauty & performance!

[Coelacanth]

Damn, I think I ruined this body...

I did everything I could to properly prep it; washed with dish soap, scrubbed with SOS pad, cleaned with denatured alcohol prior to masking/painting, purchased expensive 3M blue vinyl fine line tape...and all I got was frustrating bleed-through and paint lifting. And that was after only the first color (black)!! At one point, I figured it was such a mess that I decided to remove the black with nitro fuel, but for some reason, that caused the body to haze (even though everywhere I read about that tip, nobody mentioned hazing)...I tried to rectify that by wet-sanding, but it only improved slightly.

I was pretty much ready to throw out the body in disgust. But I figured, what the hell, I'll try liquid mask (FasMask) and practice air-brushing on it, and if it turns out half-decent, it'll be my basher body. This is exactly what it looked like after my final attempts to wet-sand it with 1500-grit and a cleaning with SOS pad.

[Coelacanth]

This was my first time using liquid mask. What a difference! The bleed-through was very infrequent and easy to touch up, unlike with tape. I applied 3 thick coats over 3 nights and tried to think what I'd use for a paint scheme that matched the Barney plan and wasn't overly complex. I decided to go with a modern update to my own zebra paint scheme that I first did back in the mid-80's with good ol' Tamiya brush-on Lexan paint.

The paint scheme is easy enough to do free-hand, but there were a good few hours of mask-cutting involved. FasMask has some challenges; making straight lines means you have to have a steady hand. I used fine line tape as a guide for a few spots. You also can't easily see what you've unmasked from the outside once the FasMask is all painted over.

I put on the black for the bars, windows and some trim details, then Pactra Lime Ice and Aqua Wave for the zebra stripes and window trim/roof scoop.

Hmm...

[Coelacanth]

I did the rest with a cheap $20 touch-up air-gun I bought at the hardware store (0.5mm tip). I really had no idea what I was doing or how to adjust the tip, tip retainer ring, and the thing at the end. I dicked around with it until it seemed to spray smoothly.

I mixed some lavender FasGlitter with FasKoat (half a bottle each) and shot on one layer--it went on a bit thicker than I would've liked and the glitter sagged a bit in a few places, but I didn't think that would matter much after back-spraying it with a color.

I made my own paint concoction of about 3:1 Fasescent Purple : FasPearl Black with a couple squirts of FasPearl Blue and it looked like a beautiful deep Concord Grape color in the bottle, which is what I was aiming for...it sprayed on quite a bit lighter than I was expecting, unfortunately. It also turned out a LOT more glittery than I was going for. Everywhere I looked, reading tips on using FasGlitter, people were writing that you could hardly see the glitter after back-spraying...well, they're WRONG. If you want a glitter effect, it sure wasn't hard to achieve!

Still, I think it turned out surprisingly good for a body I was about ready to trash. You can see some of the haziness in the rear roof-lines and scoop but it's definitely good enough for a basher body. And, it was good to practice airbrushing for the first time.

[besty22]

That project is looking great.
The body turned out good considering. I like the purple and the idea of mixing your own colours.
It makes me think I should get an airbrush.
God knows how much I have spent on Tamiya cans this year.
Looking forward to seeing the end result.

[losiXXXman]

I think it looks good too, Marc. As for the animal themed paint, I don't care for the face paint, but the skin is sick! Years ago RCMC did an article where they did some of those. IIRC they used a tool called a stylus? and essentially put pin-sized drips on the body one by one very closely spaced. Then backed it up with another color. I've always wanted to try that...

Cannot wait to see the purple parts, did you use Pargu again?

[Coelacanth]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I haven't sent out parts for ano yet, I'm still awaiting a few parts to arrive that might end up getting anodized as well, and want to ship it all at once.

The zebra body turned out better than expected, but the paint scheme I have planned for Barney will be MUCH better--and totally different than this one. This one was mainly just for practice--first time with liquid mask, first time with an airbrush, and a "who cares if it doesn't turn out?" mindset.

It's cool to mix your own paints and come up with your own colors, that way your bodies won't look like anyone else's. Now, I just need a decent airbrush. The touch-up gun is okay but the adjustability leaves much to be desired. At least it sprays finer and more consistently than rattle-cans do!

[Coelacanth]

I finally got around to finishing up the polishing of the final parts I was waiting for, some of which needed previous anodizing removed. The $5 GPM rear control arms were originally blue and had a rough textured look to their machining. I decided to polish the main parts with 400 then 600 grit, leaving the inside webbing textured. I think it'll make a nice contrast.

The car will have 2 sets of front shocks, but the plan is to run Option House Gold rear shocks in the front for improved shock absorption and travel. At the least, it'll sure look different from all the box-art Optimas out there!

I rewarded myself for the final 2 hours of polishing with an amazing bottle of wine, it's selling like hot-cakes at the local liquor stores because it's so good and so cheap. It's on sale for $5.99 locally but this tastes like a $25 bottle of wine! It's from Argentina and combines Malbec & Syrah grapes. If you see this at your local store and you like red wine, be sure to check it out!

[ireg]

wow! shiny like brand new
(by looking at the pic) for a moment you let me think that you used the "Hidden Canyon" to polish the parts
another interesting work of yours