On-line Build Steve DeVaux - BMW Z8 Part 1 |
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BMW Z8 1/24th scale kit Revell #2332 Click on any thumbnail to see a full-size pic
Part One - Parts Preparation and Basic Painting The BMW Z8 is one of those cars that catch your eye. BMW has packed as much technology and style into this $120,000 car as it knows how. It has similar features to the late 50’s BMW 507 including styling cues and a BMW V8, but it is a completely modern sports car. As it turns out, Revell-Germany makes a 507 kit also. Back to the Z-8…
Upon opening the box, we discover that there is no
engine with this kit. This may disappoint some of you, but will make the
build go much quicker. The focus of this online build will be to emphasize
basic painting and box stock skills. The assembly of this kit is pretty
simple, but there are a number of things that can be done to enhance the
final result. The parts are all moulded in white, which makes things a lot easier for us. Clear parts for lenses, windshield, and convertible up-top are included, along with a small tree of chrome parts for the body trim and some interior parts. The first step was parts inspection and basic fitting. I usually take the interior tub, chassis, and body and dry fit them without paint to see how well they go together. The fit on this kit is quite tight. Getting the tub and chassis pan into the body with the paint on is going to be a very delicate maneuver to attempt without chipping the paint. One thing I also noticed was that they include a very nice decal sheet with the BMW logos and main front and rear marker lights. Revell neglected to include the chmsl (centre high mounted stop light), the two bottom brake lights, and the backup lights (these really should have been separate parts) on either side of the license plate. They also did not include the "Z8" logo that goes on the body-coloured panel between the seats. I made the Z8 logo on my ALPS printer, and the artwork can be downloaded here. 
I also go through the entire kit and sand down all of the mould lines in the entire kit. This can be tedious but it is a must if you want a model you plan to enter in competition. I have seen an engine seam or " © MMI" on the chassis knock more models out of competition than I care to count. The first step was to decide what colour to paint the model. I happened to have some "Aston Martin Green" lacquer from Model Car World. It is not actually a colour that Aston has ever used on any of their cars, but it is a respectable shade of teal, so…I first decided what would be painted body colour.
This included the body, rear valence, chassis pan, dashboard, centre console
and between the seats of the interior tub, door panels and door pulls. All
of the mould lines and rough edges were sanded smooth on the body and all
other parts. They were all then treated with a medium coat of Plasticote
sandable white primer #T237. This coat was inspected for smoothness, sanded
where needed with the light rust coloured sanding film from Testors.
Anything that was sanded was then recoated with a mist coat and reinspected.
When everything met expectations, I put on 2 light coats of the metallic
teal lacquer. I let this dry for a couple of days, re-inspected, and I ended
up sanding out a couple of slight imperfections in the hood. I put a medium
coat on the all parts but the body, which received a lighter coat first. The
chassis was not going to get any clear coats, so the body colour painting
for that was done. All of the other body coloured parts received 2 light
high gloss clear coats. At this point all the body decals were put on. This
included the rear and nose emblem, the rear "Z8" graphic, and the marker
lights.
At this point I applied the BMW logo decal onto
the chrome side trim and sealed it with a daub of Crystal Clear. The
detailed grill parts and side trim were attached to the body.
Click here for Part 2 where we detail the chassis and interior... |
