{"id":5155,"date":"2018-01-29T01:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gamerabaenre.com\/?p=5155"},"modified":"2018-01-28T23:27:11","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T07:27:11","slug":"the-gtr-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamerabaenre.com\/?p=5155","title":{"rendered":"The GTR Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last week at SprueFest, one of the things for sale was a Tamiya Mercedes GT3 AMG kit.  It looks pretty good and the price wasn&#8217;t bad because of the sale so I picked one up.  I also gently nudged fellow TGG Jeremy into getting one.  I suggested that we should do a build off and set the deadline for August 1, 2018.  This sets us up with plenty of time to get the damn thing finished and as a bonus, we could take it with us to IPMS Nationals in Arizona that so happens to start on August 1, 2018.  That was last Saturday and the kit was getting ready to join the rest of my backlog and partially built kits on my shelf when I left it on my table because I was in Ecuador all week for business.  Returning home a few days ago, I was ready to shelve the box but decided to open it and take a look.  The last time I build a car kit was a Ford GT40 back in July 2007, so just 11 years ago.  Before that, I think it was before I was even in high school.  So time to learn some new tricks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 001_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 001_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 002_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 002_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Since I started working on the sucker, I made a facebook post to remind Jeremy and then thought why not open this up for anyone else.  So the challenge is to build a GT race car.  Other than the deadline, and car type, the challenge is open ended.  So if you&#8217;ve only build gunpla or other scifi, time to see if those skill translate to cars!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Bandai spoils us.  Seriously, aside from just sanding nubs\/gates\/clip points\/etc; every part has mold lines and machine markings.  The marking are sometimes indented and other times just excess plastic.  These need to be removed.  The process is pretty tedious, but it isn&#8217;t anything that is impossible.  I have found my fine and small metal files especially useful in tackling some of the rather difficult and small to reach places on these parts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 003_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 003_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 039_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 039_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I finally got to use the small vice I picked up last year from my trip to Hong Kong.  Not quite a full year, but it is coming in very handy when gluing parts that need to be at a straight angle.  I can use my angle templates to check my work as well as hold them there while the glue dries.  Shopping cart wing is assembled.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 004_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 004_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next up is to assemble and glue the major pieces of the body together.  There will be some sanding and once all these pieces are set, I can wash the body and get to priming.  But that is a long ways off.  I placed the wing onto the body to check for balance and fit.  Things can be easily fixed now, not so much after paint and decals are applied.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 006_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 006_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 007_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 007_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 029_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 029_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The next piece of business is just an excuse to use my cricut machine.  The kit comes with a square piece of mesh and on the instructions, it shows how to cut the mesh for fitting into areas of the car.  For this, I&#8217;m going to use the image and have the cricut cut out masks.  I&#8217;m pretty sure I can use the cricut to actually cut the mesh, but since I only have one, I didn&#8217;t want to leap that far in my experimentation.  I&#8217;ve only used the machine a handful of times and I just need to get used to using it more.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 008_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 008_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 010_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 010_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I start with a base piece of vinyl sticker.  Over this I lay down some masking tape.  The masking tape lifts up easily from the vinyl.  The image from the instructions is cleaned up and loaded into the cricut software and we&#8217;re off to the races.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 009_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 009_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 018_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 018_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 017_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 017_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The cricut cuts the masking tape quickly with great precision.  Once I unload the vinyl from the machine, I just remove the excess masking tape.  This is perfect for drawing your own masking designs and having the machine cut them out for you.  I will definitely be using this in the future.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 019_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 019_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 022_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 022_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 023_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 023_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The tape masks are place on the mesh and I have a very easy time cutting the mesh without guesswork.  And I save on the mesh in case I screw up somewhere and I need an extra piece.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 024_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 024_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 025_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 025_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 026_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 026_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next up are the beginnings of some paint.  I&#8217;m painting as I build so for now, I have the brakes painted, struts, and suspension.  There will be lots of masking.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 030_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 030_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 031_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 031_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 032_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 032_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 034_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 034_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of masking, after the first level of the brakes have cured, I painted them in polished aluminum.  I used the cricut to cut some masking templates and masked off the painted rotors to paint the center of the brakes a titanium gold.  That was then masked off and the calipers were painted first with white followed by yellow.  And the last bit was the AMG decal over the calipers.  <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 035_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 035_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>  <a href=\"images\/mercedes_gt3_prog 038_JPG.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[5155]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"thumbnails\/mercedes_gt3_prog 038_JPG.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Not sure when the next update will be as I&#8217;m off to Canada this week for work.  At least some of the paint I applied will have plenty of time to cure before I come back and do more masking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week at SprueFest, one of the things for sale was a Tamiya Mercedes GT3 AMG kit. It looks pretty good and the price wasn&#8217;t bad because of the sale so I picked one up. I also gently nudged fellow TGG Jeremy into getting one. I suggested that we should do a build off and 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