Tamiya 1/24 Sauber Mercedes C9 MkII

Slavo Hazucha
Cheers Kerry - carching up on Pere's project? 😄

There's a lot to marvel at in the detail department, the brake discs with all the cooling deserving a honorable mention, but the paint-job really carries the day... 👍 Absolutely flawless, like crown jewel diamond - hope the decals don't just slide down by force of gravity on a surface like this!😉

Kerry COX
Slavo. Thank you for your attention to detail mate. 🙂
This is my second C9, having detailed my first with what I could find and no dedicated after market items.
But building this one is because I have got into the habit of buying two of every model I build now.
And now I have mastered the art of using Tamiya enamels and the Iwata 'eclipse' air brush, it is so much easier to get great results.
The 'finish' one can get with a paint job is, as you say, the crowning glory in one's attempt to produce the very best you can.
Now I have a few extra days tucked under my belt. I am becoming a little more daring in what I do and how I want my work to be seen.
As for the decals, they will be the fun part really, as this livery scheme is visually, just spectacular and so worth the time involved.

James C
Another "master class" in your detailing Kerry, and the finish that you've achieved on that black paint is incredible! 👍

Munkyslut
Just beautiful to look at, an amazing job of detail & finish. Even the AN fuel fittings are perfect, I'm in awe 😉

Kerry COX
Monkeyman and James. Thank you many times over for your kind words on my work. 👍 🙂
I am always out to improve all I do, and the finer the detail, the happier I am.
Painting is what will be my cross to bare, as that is what drives me crazy when I see a paint job that has so many flaws.
Oh well. that's modelling I guess. hehehehehe 🙂

Slavo Hazucha
A flying start on the decals 🙂 👍 I thought enamels need much more time to totally dry (I vaguely remember someone recommending giving them a week in some youtube video...) - is that a hoax or did you just posted the pictures after everything was safe & dry?

Kerry COX
Tamiya paints you can call 'dry' 30 minutes after spraying. 👍
That is why I love working with the Tamiya paints, as they are dependable and consistent in pigment and finish.
Humbrol leave me cold, as they take days and sometimes weeks before you can get on with any sort of decal application.
This build was posted as it happened. Not something that has been weeks on the brew, but as I finish one step, I am on to the next.
Tamiya suites my impatience.
Caution is something some people are good at, but I am always in a groove and find it hard to rest and be patient.
But mostly, all I do seems to work out ok. 👍 🙂
I have nothing else in my day except being isolated and staying out of the way of the Corona19 virus and what it's doing to us all.
I can't think of a nicer way of being forced to be out of the way of the world.
Building models. Yahoo. !

Rui S
That paint job is from another planet it shines like a Mirror. Very Well done Mate.👍. As to the details, it's your standard work, great as usual.

Munkyslut
Agree on the Tamiya paint Kerry...... I spray it, brush it, rattle can it, never disappointed!
I'm a fumbling impatient munky & even I can get great results with it, very impressed😉

Kerry COX
Thanks lads. 👍 🙂
I have become more pedantic than usual with what I am building these days, as being forced to stay at home because of this virus problem, and not socialize for a while has got me a bit concerned about what I will have ready to present on a comp table once the world gets back to 'normal'.
So, not being under any deadline, I am happy to use all this event to concentrate and take some time to be ready for when the comp flood gates open.

Lode Schildermans
How the hell could I've been missing this one. Master@work. Kerry, you're an autobot

Kerry COX
High everyone. 🙂 I do apologize for my being as quiet as I have been, but with the 'lock downs' and cancellations of competitions, the zing has gone out of me to have some models ready for the next comp, and having to be as active as I can be physically after my little heart stopper, I have had other things on my mind.

Selfish of me really, but after all, there are no more extensions left for me to cash in, so looking after myself means no sitting for LONG hours, all hunched over my table, forgetting to breath.

So I have had a longer hiatus to heal and feel good about myself again, only dabbling at the odd little bit now and then, to keep the momentum happening.

Currently I am trying to keep track of my many half started/finished kits, without getting into a lather thinking of the next comp.

But that seems like it may never happen the way this virus has got every one shitting their pants, not knowing what the hell this world will look like in twelve months time.

I am sure many of you are asking yourselves the same questions. :-/

In the mean time, I just have to get used to a whole new world.

Wear your masks and wash your hands often.

Kezza. 👍

Rui S
Hi Kezza,
yes it's been a while but the most important thing is your health. it is always Nice to communicate with you.
Of course, the hobby also helps in health but should not compromise it. this is our hobby, to enjoy. Contests should not be a concern.
keep active and safe because this virus is tricky, Luck or bad luck like a Russian roulette and so all we have to do is minimize the odds.
Cheers Mate

Tim Heimer
Sorry I missed this one! Nice work as usual Kerry! Just beautiful!

Brandon H
Shame that I missed it before but glad to be following now! Amazing work!

James C
Good to hear your keeping safe and well Kezza... as Rui has said, that is the most important of all.😉👍

Kerry COX
Friends, one and all. 🙂
How sweet it is to read your comments. 👍
It never ceases to amaze me, just how lucky I am and have been.
"I once complained when I had no shoes. !
THEN, I met a man who had no feet. !"
I am indeed most fortunate, and If I sounded like I was feeling sorry for myself, then I do apologize.
I must stop and take stock of where I am at in my life, and who I am. And count my blessings and get in touch with those who I call my friends.
Especially Mr Peter Hardy.

Lode Schildermans
Kerry, it didn't felt at all as a complaint from you. We were just worried not to have your always positive comments around. You motivate us much more than you can possibly imagine. We walk the path of building, you made the path where we are walking, and that is quite a difference. Thank you for that, my aussie friend

Peter Hardy
Rui is correct on so many levels! This hobby has done us all a huge favour though, it has connected us all with some wonderful people. Friends we may never see with our own eyes or actually touch physically. I am grateful to have joined Scalemates. Tim, and I have said this before, Has done far more than put a group of like minded people in touch. He has given us the median to make friends with someone, even lots of people whom we will never actually meet. The whole difficult year has created challenges for the whole world, least of all grumpy old Boomers from around the world. Sure, we have our families but we also have our friends who don't just tolerate us but actually care. I know the challenges that Kerry has faced this year, you know of some but some he hasn't shared with you. His inner strength is something you would wish for your children, his courage to fight what seems insurmountable alone is truly awe inspiring. I am very proud to call him my friend.

Slavo Hazucha
I was actually looking up lately what you two - Kerry & Peter are up to, glad to hear you´re soldiering on - in life & the hobby... I for myself may not have been here from the start/for all too long, but you gave me a lot of inspiration & motivation (Kerry with all his commented builds & you both during the F-111-run 🙂 )...

Your builds always radiate that strong feeling that you really have a relationship to the subject you´re working on & the results then speak for themselves 👍

So likely speaking for the "lots of people whom we will never actually meet", I´m proud to have met you virtually & Kerry & Peter, even if you are not cranking out dozens of builds, a life-sign or a tip or comment is always most welcome!! Hope you all stay safe & nothing changes towards an all too terrible course - If you cut it through life half as tenaciously & brilliantly as through the hobby, nothing can shake you guys!😉

Kerry COX
WOW. ! Slavo, your words of sentiment and endearment are well received my friend.
Thank you for your concern and well wishes, as they mean a lot, especially in these times of uncertainty and anguish.
This virtual world we live in is certainly what we all need right now, and it makes me wonder how we all got through our troubles before it became the most important medium for communicating in our lives.

Strangely though. We here in Australia have no respect of distance when it comes to knowing each other, saying that some one you know lives 'just up the road a bit', when in reality, it's a thousand miles or so away from you. !

And that is what makes Peters and my friendship so unique, is the fact that when I visited him in his house in Moranbah, west of Makay, it took a train ride of 12 plus hours and then a car ride of an other 4 hours to get there, and it was, worth every minute to get there.

Scale modelling for me has become a life style really, always looking for those things in miniature of what it was that you could never have had in real life, answering the question in your heart of what it was that fascinated you all your life so much.

Like my Bren gun carrier model. It was born of something I used to play in when it was positioned in a play ground not far from my home, that was in reality, a 'Memorial' to all those who passed in the WWII, giving me much delight to know that I actually sat in something that a brave group of men had done so when called on to preserve something some nasty people were trying to take away from us, only to serve in the same capacity some few years later when I signed up to serve Queen and country.

All those memories became as clear as crystal when gluing all these minute pieces together, and even the 'smells' were flooding back.

And then, getting permission to do a 'walk around' (on behalf of all scale modellers) of what was then, the most secretive of aircraft, the F-111 at Amberley Air Base was for me the pinnacle of all it was to be a scale modeller, being so close to something that mere mortals could only dream about, being allowed to walk on the upper wing and fuselage surfaces, recording every step, with my son there to share that moment was as good as I could have ever imagined, having only ever seen them screech across the skies above our towns and cities, thrilling the masses with their 'dump and burn' !.

Slavo. As for bringing a piece of inert plastic to life, I will always be in admiration of your skills and imagination, as it has been your postings that have me getting inspired and wanting to head out and buy me a Russian air force. !All in miniature of course. !! 🙂 🙂 🙂

I do have a great deal to be grateful for, and now I have made it through this 'event', I am, with all my heart, looking forward to what the rest of my life has installed, and with mates like you my friend Slavo, and all my other friends involved in Scale Mates, that will not be a chore at all.

Cheers one and all.
I love you all. 👍 🙂

Tim Heimer
And we love you.

Stephan H.
Fantastic work!

Kerry COX
Thank you Stephan H I did work hard at getting things as close to the real thing as I could. And, it was fun. !!! 👍 🙂