Continuing work on the RX-7 in half scale. The Tamiya kit has wider wheels and tires, which look sportier, so I tested to see if I could put them on the C-West kit. Nope. They stick out past the fenders.
The C-West kit comes with both gold and silver wheels. I planned to use the silver ones, but the tires are loose on the wheels – they just fall right off. Oy. The gold ones fit perfectly, of course. This is what I mean when I say getting one kit to fit properly is hard, let alone mixing more than one. Even the parts provided in a single kit don’t fit at times. =shakes head=
I tried wrapping one of the silver wheels with electrical tape, and if I was set on this design, it could work in a pinch. It’s not the cleanest solution from the back, but up front it’s not too noticeable to the naked eye.
So, on to painting the gold wheels using Model Master Metalizer Lacquer in Aluminum Plate. The initial finish is light matte silver. Once you buff it with a paper towel, it gets all shiny. :D
I then sealed with Model Master Metalizer Sealer.
Much better. All four wheels roll well, and the front ones turn from side to side.
Of course, once I got the wheels on, I could see that the main body piece was warped leaving one tire roughly 1/8″ up in the air. Oy. I heated the plastic along the warp line using the hot setting on my hair dryer, stretched the plastic past the point of being level, and taped it to an mdf board to cool. I’ll give it a looksee tomorrow and see if it needs more. If the heat doesn’t fix the issue, or gets it at least close to level, there are small weights I can add to the empty spaces inside – one good thing about not having an open engine compartment.
