Tamiya Avante driver finished to box art.
After a week I have finished my driver figure for my vintage 58072 1988 Avante. The process from start to finish took 9 hours in all including the decals. I started with all items cut and cleaned up removing the flashing and a furer wash thro, First a coat of Tamiya primer, then using the air brush a coat of matt black for the base. It took three coats of revell satin red for the drivers racing suit leaving a day between coats, I prefer the revell red as its a richer red, toning the sheen down by dry brushing a white pastel over the top. The helmet had a coat of humbrol metal coat silver once fully cured I started to mask of the visor erea for a coat of gloss black air brushed. The original helmet decal for the top of the helmet was avoided as I wanted to paint the top stripe to achieve a better finish. This was a humbrol bright red gloss, after a couple of coats later and once cured, I then decided to use a vinyl black sheet, I used a scalpel and cut the black strips to the right width and attached them either side, I was thinking of air brushing these lines but decided against the idea as it would mean more handling of the silver and may result in spoiling the finish. Finally I dryed brushed the steering controls and the racing harness with a little silver just to give a worn look and help to bring the detailing out a bit more. I used original 1988 decals for the rest of the figure including the controls. It took a few hours to complete but I am a stickler for getting it as neat as possible and avoid any brush strokes. Hope you enjoy the pics.