Worklog
![Album image #1 Album image #1](/albums/img/4/5/3/1240453-67029-59-720.jpg)
![Album image #2 Album image #2](/albums/img/4/9/7/1240497-67029-68-720.png)
I wanted to do something different from the examples I found online and the suggested colouring patterns found on the box. Given this specific van was produced around 1981, I thought that a full-blown 80s style was due. This is a bit of the collection of work and the selected pattern I decided to use at the top.
![Album image #3 Album image #3](/albums/img/4/9/6/1240496-67029-98-pristine.png)
I decided to scan the manual and try to apply the pattern, to get an idea of the end result.
![Album image #4 Album image #4](/albums/img/4/4/6/1240446-67029-38-720.jpg)
it's interesting to see in these old Aoshima kits that they could be converted into RC kits (or maybe just motorised ones, like mini-4WD). Here you can see the battery bay.
![Album image #5 Album image #5](/albums/img/4/5/4/1240454-67029-60-720.jpg)
and here is the slot for the switch, which I will instead seal off.
![Album image #6 Album image #6](/albums/img/4/4/2/1240442-67029-64-720.jpg)
Lights and bumpers. I wish I had more time and resources actually to make the front lights correct, currently, they're just two hollow sockets.
![Album image #7 Album image #7](/albums/img/4/4/8/1240448-67029-42-720.jpg)
Interiors, before doing the flocking of the floors and completing some detailing of the HiFi and TV set.
![Album image #8 Album image #8](/albums/img/4/6/5/1240465-67029-83-720.jpg)
Flocking and detailing of the interiors done.
![Album image #9 Album image #9](/albums/img/4/5/0/1240450-67029-68-720.jpg)
Under the suggestion of several people on IG, I've started scribing all the panels for better realism, doing a dark gray primer before moving towards the white primer.
![Album image #10 Album image #10](/albums/img/4/4/3/1240443-67029-27-720.jpg)
some dry fitting of the bumpers over the white primed body
![Album image #11 Album image #11](/albums/img/4/7/5/1240475-67029-90-720.jpg)
Finalised the white coat using Tamyia cans.
![Album image #12 Album image #12](/albums/img/4/6/2/1240462-67029-98-720.jpg)
Finding the right colour for the two strips has been challenging: since I'm yet without an airbrush, I was limited to what the can producers would offer. The only one that was close enough to what I wanted was provided by Montana, and I have to say, while it has a great drying time and coverage, the final result is also extremely coarse, which forced me to spend some considerable time wet sanding it.
![Album image #13 Album image #13](/albums/img/4/3/5/1240435-67029-17-720.jpg)
All the printed decals after hours spent designing them by hand. I also realised that the outline in the manual was widely inaccurate, so I had to vector-draw the outline from a photo I took of the van.
![Album image #14 Album image #14](/albums/img/4/7/4/1240474-67029-46-720.jpg)
Now into the step of cutting all the decals into the right shape. There was a bit of guesstimating of sizes, but overall I have to say that they all worked perfectly.
![Album image #15 Album image #15](/albums/img/4/5/1/1240451-67029-92-720.jpg)
This has been a very tense moment as I had to re-print some parts as they broke as I applied them. The joys of being able to print your own decals!
![Album image #16 Album image #16](/albums/img/4/5/9/1240459-67029-86-720.jpg)
more decals and more details. Here I notice the 4WD logo on the sides, which is a nice addition. I will then proceed to create it from scratch (the original decal sheet does not provide a black-only version).
![Album image #17 Album image #17](/albums/img/4/6/4/1240464-67029-81-720.jpg)
The front view.
![Album image #18 Album image #18](/albums/img/4/7/3/1240473-67029-16-720.jpg)
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK: the intention here was to mask off the windows and do all the black trimmings in one go. The idea looked cool at first and I thought this would have spared me any manual detailing
![Album image #19 Album image #19](/albums/img/4/3/4/1240434-67029-94-720.jpg)
Unfortunately, this wasn't the case on top of having to anyway go through each of the window trimming one by one, I also noticed that the tape ate a bit of the gloss coat, which probably ended up too thin after the wet sanding.
![Album image #20 Album image #20](/albums/img/4/4/5/1240445-67029-47-720.jpg)
the only other area that suffered from this shortsighted approach
![Album image #21 Album image #21](/albums/img/4/6/7/1240467-67029-77-720.jpg)
Finishing off the whole body with all the rest of the details
![Album image #22 Album image #22](/albums/img/4/7/0/1240470-67029-35-720.jpg)
And now with the rest of the interiors, underbody and wheels.
![Album image #23 Album image #23](/albums/img/4/5/2/1240452-67029-91-720.jpg)
Before closing down the sleeping lady, a set of shots showcase the detailing done on her. This was probably my second attempt at mini painting.
![Album image #24 Album image #24](/albums/img/4/6/9/1240469-67029-66-720.jpg)
![Album image #25 Album image #25](/albums/img/4/7/1/1240471-67029-22-720.jpg)
![Album image #26 Album image #26](/albums/img/4/5/6/1240456-67029-47-720.jpg)
![Album image #27 Album image #27](/albums/img/4/5/7/1240457-67029-49-720.jpg)
![Album image #28 Album image #28](/albums/img/4/4/0/1240440-67029-63-720.jpg)
This is the finished sleeping beauty, ready to be hidden away 😄
![Album image #29 Album image #29](/albums/img/4/4/4/1240444-67029-79-720.jpg)
The small detail that most might miss. One thing to note is that it was clear that this van is not built for non-Asian people. I was lucky enough that she was crumpled and fit well in the van's rear.
![Album image #30 Album image #30](/albums/img/4/7/2/1240472-67029-91-720.jpg)
on to work on the rubber dingy. I wanted to have something very 80s, and I thought the classic blue/yellow pattern would have worked well.
![Album image #31 Album image #31](/albums/img/4/3/2/1240432-67029-50-720.jpg)
Finalised the pattern (I will, later on, add some more details on the ropes using ultra-matte colours.
![Album image #32 Album image #32](/albums/img/4/7/6/1240476-67029-34-720.jpg)
And here are the dingy and the surf with their decals applied.
![Album image #33 Album image #33](/albums/img/4/5/8/1240458-67029-31-720.jpg)
I noticed that Aoshima left a lot to the imagination when they provided flippers, a mask and a breathing tube. For as much as I liked the details, I had no idea how to place these in the context of the kit. So I decided to create a duffel bag myself, using FIMO, since I don't own a 3D printer, nor I'm literate enough to work with such software.
![Album image #34 Album image #34](/albums/img/4/3/1/1240431-67029-85-720.jpg)
Here is the duffel bag with flippers
![Album image #35 Album image #35](/albums/img/4/3/3/1240433-67029-40-720.jpg)
a close-up of the duffel bag
![Album image #36 Album image #36](/albums/img/4/5/5/1240455-67029-59-720.jpg)
Some test shots to understand how to put things together.
![Album image #37 Album image #37](/albums/img/4/4/7/1240447-67029-76-720.jpg)
For these shots I have used another base I'm currently building for another small diorama.
![Album image #38 Album image #38](/albums/img/4/3/9/1240439-67029-74-720.jpg)
At this point, all the clues pointed at a sandy environment, perhaps the entry to the beach. I used some air-drying modelling clay (again made by FIMO, as that was the only thing I found) to mould the base on top of the display case I had lying around.
![Album image #39 Album image #39](/albums/img/4/3/8/1240438-67029-49-720.jpg)
once that was dry, I had to apply some plaster to cover some cracks, and then used PVA glue to have the sand stick to the base.
![Album image #40 Album image #40](/albums/img/4/6/3/1240463-67029-26-720.jpg)
a close-up of the sand effect. As you can noticed it will smoothen a lot the curves, as intended.
![Album image #41 Album image #41](/albums/img/4/6/0/1240460-67029-36-720.jpg)
after that, I had to paint the sand with some "light Sahara beige" acrylic colour from Montana, to make it more uniform and hide some pink-ish tones underneath.
![Album image #42 Album image #42](/albums/img/4/6/1/1240461-67029-67-720.jpg)
While I wasn't extremely happy with the sand effect, I had to reconsider it once I took this photo.
![Album image #43 Album image #43](/albums/img/4/4/1/1240441-67029-85-720.jpg)
To add more consistency to the whole set, I found some signs from the island of Itoman in Japan, so I replicated them in vector format and printed them on white decal paper. The whole thing ended up being weathered as needed.
![Album image #44 Album image #44](/albums/img/4/6/6/1240466-67029-46-720.jpg)
A small teaser of the whole thing together.
Komentarzy
12 9 June 2022, 09:40
![](/profiles/img/21096-573-s.jpg)
excellent job. i really like the painting of the figure and the bad. and the signpost is just perfect.
25 August 2022, 07:44