The Detail Kit

I've finally received my detail kit (straight from Singapore!)

It's a Top Studio Super Detail Set for the Tamiya MP4/13 (the one I showed you last post.) It's an awesome piece for the model, and that's why it's a bit daunting, specially considering how it's a bit sold out in many online stores so I basically can't screw it up. :P









This is the tiny box with the contents. I actually expected something a bit bigger.

Above you can see the general contents, plus a decal set from Tabu Design to correct the one glaring omission in the original Tamiya kit: no West liveries anywhere to be seen. With the decal set we can correct this, though I'm left wondering why it includes the number 1 in there, even though it's for the MP4/13. Chances are it's exactly the same one they sell for the MP4/14, which did use that number.

These are the little plaques with the photo-etched parts, which include the front wing, brakes and even the racing harness metal parts.

Finally some more detail into some resin parts and the West liveries themselves. Overall I've got quite a challenge ahead, but I hope to pull through with massive amounts of patience and love for the model.

I will go into a bit of historic detail of the car itself at a later post.

For now, just sit back, relax, and hope my adapter for my compressor finds its way through the mysterious workings of shipping.

Material

I've finally received (some) of the tools I'm going to use in here. These include some hobby knives, a pin vise and some (really tiny) drills, a set of picks for using on putty and last but not least, an airbrush and a compressor.

This is a nice set of X-Acto Hobby knives. The box is  fake wood, but otherwise nice. The holders have some nice weight to them and you can get a nice grip.

The Tamiya tool set is awesome too, including a varied set of tools. I also got some straight tweezers which weren't included (the black ones.)

This is the set I plan to build. Well, not all of the set I plan to build, but more on that at a later date.

This set for the McLaren MP4/13, which raced in 1998 in Formula 1, includes some interior detail and a removable back cover to let you see the engine. It also includes rubber tires which are threaded just like the real ones and a set of decals for the car. The Tamiya set is nice, but it can do with some improvements.

To begin with, the decals don't include anything related to tobacco companies (West was a major McLaren sponsor in those years.) It also lacks a bit of details, but that can be fixed. More on that later. ;-)

This is my brand spanking, new airbrush: The Paasche Talon. I got the set which included 3 needle sizes, 3 heads, tools and a hose. It's a nice airbrush, good weight on it and I really like the balance. The finishing also seems nice. You can see here that I already connected a quick-disconnect to it (and the hose, but you can't see that.)

Here's two extra needles I ordered, mainly to be covered in case of catastrophic operator error. Next to it are the included tools to be able to get the airbrush open, though you won't require most of them for a simple every-day cleaning.

Below them you can see the manual with included lessons for beginners. Since this is my first airbrush I plan on doing those exercises and some others I've found on the web. I will be using vegetable paints (which I also saw recommended) because they're cheaper than actual paints and will let me have a go at airbrushing without breaking the bank.






There's a few more things of course: My compressor is a TC-20T, which is the one everyone seems to have. Nice, kinda heavy compressor with an air-tank and water trap. I also got me a caliper and some plasticard of various thickness.

So we're getting close to getting started, but I'm still missing a few more things to actually get started. Stay tuned!

Greetings and salutations!

You are about to enter a journey deep down, staring at madness in the eye and going hand in hand with obsession and compulsion.

No, wait, that was that other book. This is just an online blog.

And this is the introductory page of said online blog.

In here I'll attempt to bring you in my own personal journey through model and miniature painting and assembly. It's a hobby I've always been mightily interested in, but until recently I didn't really have the means to get into it (that means money.)

Long ago I used to enjoy painting little ceramic figures, so in part I guess it's due to that that I've been interested in getting into this since forever. The other part of me is the one that would deeply enjoy building models of WWII airplanes and tanks, maybe even a ship or submarine, too. Intriguingly, the first model I've chosen to build is not one of those.

I've also always been drawn into Warhammer 40K (and to a lesser extent, WH Fantasy,) in the beginning due to the Dawn of War series of games from Relic Software, but later on the interest in the tabletop version just got too strong. I will eventually get into this (and Warmachine / Hordes, that also caught my eye), but I believe I will take that step once I have a bit more confidence handling the supplies.

I've started acquiring the materials and so far I have most of the required things. I'll do another post with more photos and descriptions of what I've gotten so far. Most of it is stuff that's on the cheap side, except things that are worth spending some more. My Caliper, Airbrush and Compressor are on the mid-range side, while my Pin Vise, Files and Picks are on the cheap-ish side.

As for the model, I'll describe it in far more detail in its own post, so I hope you like reading some stories.

And with that, I'm off. I'm still waiting for some of the stuff to arrive, and I haven't even ordered the paint, so it'll be a bit until the next entry.

Thank you for reading this far!