BMW Alpina Z8 Roadster

1
September 19, 2024
Okay, it`s time to expand my Alpina collection. My collection of 2 mind you. Anyway, this is the contender...
2
September 19, 2024
I`ve got to be honest with you, I never liked Revell`s car kits.
3
September 19, 2024
Something about them rubs me the wrong way, they are just....sloppy
4
September 19, 2024
the casting quality is just poor, everywhere you look
5
September 19, 2024
There is flash everywhere, the connecting pins are humongous and why on earth are these parts chromed? These are supposed to be the handbrake lever, the steering wheel obviously and the stick.
6
September 19, 2024
There is absolutely no chrome near those parts on the real thing in any interior layout unless I missed something...only Revell knows
7
September 19, 2024
These are supposed to be new moulds from 2000! Ugh....
8
September 21, 2024
Okay when I was done self pitying myself again I started with the seats, first the headrest was chopped off
9
September 21, 2024
This is the interior I am going for, including retractable headrests
10
September 21, 2024
The grooves between the upholstery segments were deepened using the Tamiya scriber for a crisper color separation and ease of masking
11
September 21, 2024
Now I'll try something I've been wanting for a long time
12
September 21, 2024
The seats have a nice blue trim around the edges
13
September 21, 2024
I've acquired this cord with blue insulation
14
September 21, 2024
It was the thinnest I could find, still not entirely to scale
15
September 21, 2024
But it doesn't bother me a lot, just wanted to try this technique
16
September 21, 2024
I drilled small holes at certain points and just went around the edges, carefully applying thin super glue
17
September 21, 2024
18
September 21, 2024
So far so good!
19
September 22, 2024
So, I would like to replicate the retrtactable headrest. We need a headrest support and this spacer/guide thingy here.
20
September 22, 2024
First we need to fill our way too large holes, Some Evergreen strips were used for the purpose. The middle one will be the support
21
September 22, 2024
Left and right are filling the space to create a tight fit. Used superglue which is glue and filler in one
22
September 22, 2024
The headrest was treated the same way.
23
September 22, 2024
Man is it hard to do shoot pictures of white parts!
24
September 22, 2024
For the spacer plate I found the right contender on a PE plate for 1:12 seatbelt gear
25
September 22, 2024
It was carefully cut out with Dremel tool and shaped accordingly
26
September 22, 2024
27
September 22, 2024
down
28
September 22, 2024
up
29
September 22, 2024
Yep, I think I like that!
30
September 23, 2024
You might have noticed this loop for the seatbelt here. A prominent detail which I want to replicate
31
September 23, 2024
First attempt, 0,25mm styrene with a tiny resin printed bolt
32
September 23, 2024
Looks okay but does not convince me entirely, a bit too stiff to my liking
33
September 23, 2024
The attempt to give it some plasticity broke it in half so I had to scrap that idea and try something else...
34
September 23, 2024
In my materials drawer I found this shiny thing
35
September 23, 2024
0,2mm tin (Sn for you chemists out there) beautiful soft material, you can easily cut it with a knife like styrene
36
September 23, 2024
It is very bendy and malleable
37
September 23, 2024
Has a much more organic look to it
38
September 23, 2024
With the right colors it will be a convincing leather substitute
39
September 23, 2024
I think we are ready for some paint!
40
October 28, 2024
Deepened the grooves with a scriber to faciliate the masking and painting
41
October 28, 2024
Steering column received an upgrade with some evergreen rods which have been flattened at the tips
42
October 28, 2024
Modified the headrests a little
43
October 28, 2024
Modified part and kit part
44
October 28, 2024
Used some evergreen tube to make the new supports
45
October 28, 2024
and shaped them accordingly
46
October 28, 2024
this will faciliate the painting of the chrome elements considerably
47
October 29, 2024
The bulk of the last weeks was spending cleaning the parts which looked like this...
48
October 29, 2024
or like this.
49
October 29, 2024
The fit is...non existant in some cases
50
October 29, 2024
This would be passable for an AMT kit from the 60ies but not for a kit which is barely 20 years old
51
October 29, 2024
This is a mess
52
October 29, 2024
53
October 29, 2024
I just want to cry honestly
54
October 29, 2024
In Revell's defence, not all is bad. The chrome kidneys e.g. fit quite well
55
October 29, 2024
As well as the side elements
56
October 29, 2024
Even the exaust tips are usable without de-chroming them
57
October 30, 2024
A little ray of sunshine in all this gloom - the windshield looks very nice. It is smooth and scratch-free
58
October 30, 2024
To keep it that way we should protect it first before working on it in any capacity
59
October 30, 2024
Since it is no Tamiya we have to make our own window masks...
60
October 30, 2024
inside as well, there are grooves around the windshiled on both sides you can comfortably cut along
61
October 30, 2024
It is the whole frame with the windshield inside btw, the fit seems okay for once...
62
October 30, 2024
It is not terribly detailed, bar the huge ejection marks that is...
63
October 30, 2024
But luckily they will be covered with this lovely sun visor/mirror combo
64
November 3, 2024
The foldable roof cover at the back. The part just doesn't fit. There is almost 1mm too much material on either side. No idea how that is possible...doesn't seem to be warped or sth
65
November 3, 2024
Fitting and aligning the whole sandwich of chassis, interior, dashboard was a miserable experience. Nothing aligned, nothing fit
66
November 3, 2024
Had to cut of this aligning....pin to make it work. I can't remember the last time a kit frustrated me to this extent..
67
November 3, 2024
Oh wait I do remember, it was this one. Coincidentally by the same manufacturer, what a chance eh?
68
November 3, 2024
Had to do something relaxing inbetween just to calm my nerves. Like installing these lovely tire valves from USCP
69
November 3, 2024
Again, not all is bad with this kit. For example the rims look rather nice
70
November 3, 2024
Fitting rear bumper to the body. Was fixed with tape first, then sanded down the suface to make the body parts line up
71
November 6, 2024
Chrome plated parts which had no business being chrome plated in the first place (except for the mirrors) have been stripped
72
November 6, 2024
Further fitting, looking better now
73
November 6, 2024
Now back to this mess. A mate has pointed out he has seen much worse fitting headlight covers. That might be true, but in this case I just can't bring it over my heart just stick them on like this and call it a day.
74
November 6, 2024
Furthermore as you see on the original, the transition between headlight cover and metal parts is smooth and lined up
75
November 6, 2024
This is a mess. But in this picture you might notice where I am going with this. I have glued the headlights covers to the body before painting.
76
November 6, 2024
No going back now. This Idea might work but might also go horribly wrong, but atm I am at the stage "do first, ask questions later"
77
November 6, 2024
Next step was shaping the whole area with sanding files to form an uniform surface
78
November 6, 2024
Quick check with some grey primer reveals the result
79
November 7, 2024
Let's work on the interior, the steering wheel consists of 3 arms, each arm accompanied by two additional spokes
80
November 7, 2024
Kit part, I guess those are the spokes?
81
November 7, 2024
I think we can do better than that
82
November 7, 2024
This is going in the right direction
83
November 7, 2024
Back side, some careful drilling was required
84
November 7, 2024
I think the chrome plating was an attempt to replicate those struts but I like this version better
85
November 7, 2024
The struts are not glued in yet, first I will paint the wheel in base grey and we'll see from then on

Comentarii

34 19 September, 17:36

Martin Oostrom
Modelbouw Dordrecht. One of the last surviving brick and mortar stores. And a very nice one too!

20 September, 08:57

Alexander Grivonev
I waited for someone to notice actually 😄 I was on vacation in NL last year and you know what? Spent actually a night in Dordrecht but didn't even bother to check for model shops...

20 September, 11:56

Alexander Grivonev
Bought the kit on eBay couple of years ago

20 September, 11:56

Spanjaard
i was there actually a few months ago. i was just walking in the city and found it, i could not resist entering and buying some stuff, very nice shop! and now, let see the masterclass in car modelling. lovely work on that seat, love the blue trim 🙂

23 September, 06:59

MS K
I took my seat. 😎

1 October, 02:51

Byron
amazing ideas for the seat piping, headrest and seatbelt loop, if you don't mind I'll steal them.
Amazing work sofar.
Keep that Alpina collection growing, I'm at 12 now 😄

22 October, 08:26

Alexander Grivonev
Welcome boys, welcome.

Byron, we don't steal around here, we *get inspired*

29 October, 15:21

Michael Kohl
Be Am Troubleyou. Looks like fun - to watch. 😉

29 October, 16:26

Alexander Grivonev
More like "Revel in agony"

29 October, 22:22

bossy122
Considering the manufacturer, that headlight cover actually fits pretty well. Ever tried a 962C? There's some ill fitting headlights.

29 October, 22:49

Alexander Grivonev
Maybe I am just spoiled by Tamiya to be fair

29 October, 23:41

yngvenett
Following this to learn. I would like to know what cord you're using on the beautiful seats. Inspiring to see what you're doing with them. Also how will you be able to make it look like fabric on them?

1 November, 10:18

Alexander Grivonev
Hi yngvenett, the cord is just blue isolated wire, the thinnest I had in my stash. I think this one is 0,25mm buth there are thinner ones you can buy. For the seats, just keep an eye open, will post updates the next days 👍

3 November, 14:23

CasModeler
Hey. Interesting idea with that blue upholstery. I'll share with you a tip that I recently tested. For better reproduction of fabric seats, you can try adding 10-15% Mr Color C188(Flat Base Rough) paint to the blue paint. The rough surface will enhance the matte and the seats will be more realistic. Of course, I mean only those parts on the seats that are blue in color. Regards.

3 November, 18:19

Alexander Grivonev
Hey Cas, yeah something of this kind was my idea too. Just making the surface extra flat will get you a nice "fuzzy" texture

4 November, 06:58

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It`s finally time for another Alpina...

BMW Alpina Z8 Roadster V8

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1:24 BMW Alpina Roadster V8 (Revell 07359)

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