My next big project is the 1:8 scale Shelby Cobra from Agora Models. This large scale kit is sold as a subscription. Each month, or so, a pack of part arrives and the model is built up overtime. This kit comes in 12 shipments, however I took the offered option of receiving the fist 6 packs all at once, then the next packs over the coarse of 6 months.
I like this subscription model in that it really forces one to slow down and consider extra detailing as it goes. It also allows breaks for other projects. Getting the first 6 issues all at once though was ideal in that I could also get a good start all at once with out waiting, while still working in order.
A bit about large scale car models...
I have not done many kits like this (see my Pocher posts), but there seems to be a cultural style to them. Firstly, it's held together with screws for the most part, no a lot of glue. Parts come pre-painted, or otherwise colored also. The idea is that it can be simply assembled without the requirement of a lot of tools, materials and skills. Someone have likened these "part-work" subscription kits to a next step beyond Lego in terms of difficulty. With this Agora model there is some truth to this. One could simple follow the instruction and assemble the parts as they arrive and get a nice looking result - no tools required (part one even comes with a screwdriver).
However, at 1/8th scale, there is really no detail that can not be reproduced. These kits just scream for extra work. And even a small amount of experience creating miniatures, the tools and paints, will dramatically improve the resulting model. Without going completely nuts, I plan to make quite a few improvements...
The first assembly up shows come characteristics of typical large scale car kits. The parts like great! However, throughout this entire kit all the pre-colored parts are silver (metal), chrome, or black. There are a few details in other colors but not many.
The silver is a high quality paint on black plastic or metal. The black pieces are black plastic with a high pigment saturation, or black painted metal.
The problem is that all the "metal" parts, literally all of them, are exactly the same color, as are all the black parts. Even a little paint will yield a vastly more realistic look. I will be repainting almost everything, except a few large silver parts since the silver finish is better than I could do. On some black parts I did not use paint but just used a gloss or matte clear coat. Especially at this scale, anything that increases variation in the tone in colors will greatly improve the look.
In addition, although all the parts are supposed to be ready to use as there are, plastic parts do show molding artifacts such as injection points and seam lines. These are minimal. Just the same, I cleaned them all up prior to painting.
Now beginning with the break assemblies...
This was my first attempt at a worn disc break. It's dark rather than silvery because in every Cobra photo I found the original breaks were a bronze tone. My simulation could be better, but these will only barely be visible.
The black parts here are actually painted black metal, "out of the box". I left the metal parts as they came. The red I painted. Note the real screw that holds the assembly together. I later painted it red.
For the most part the model's design does a good job of hiding screw heads.
I used the tiniest amount of a black wash to highlight the contours of the wheels, but the tire is as it came.
Not bad?
Next up is the engine, stay tuned.
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