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Some post- sanding (400 + 800 grit, wet) detail pics ... TBH I do tend to "over sand" - which often means doing it again - the filling on the front is a case in point, sanding by hand can mean that filled dips end up becoming concave again, which show up badly at the painting stage - the answer is to use a small flat block so the sanding is more even.

I'm almost ready for a "guide coat" of primer, probably tomorrow anyway. This is _not_ the same as priming - it acts as a guide to where more filling work is required. The usual advice is to do it with a very light coat of black - but seeing as how a lot of the body work is black, grey primer will contrast better ...

Sprayed the guide coat ... in white as that was the only "plastic" primer I had & I though I needed all the help I could get with adhesion.

In general I'm quite happy with the filling, but as always there are a few areas & pinholes that need further attention - and a few scratches I hadn't spotted before...

I rubbed down the filler last night ... this project always seems to be 2 steps forward & one back, but I think I've reached the point to start thinking about painting ... I could do another guide coat, fill, rub down & repeat, but sooner or later there comes a point where you have to stop chasing the tiniest defects & move on ...



I could prime the body today, but I'm not sure about which colour to use, because I'm not sure about exactly what colour I'm going to paint it.

I've been looking at pictures of painted Cheetahs:

Boxart - the boxart colour is _no paint_, just the shade the plastic was moulded in ... Ford "Nevada Beige" (which I remember from 1978/1979 Ford Fiestas) is probably close though ...

Red - makes it look very much like the LM002 ...

Cheetah (white lowers & bonnet edges, fading into yellow, black stylised cheetah face & spots in black) - unsure ...

Italian Flag ... again, unsure ...

Yellow - makes the Cheetah look like a Hummer (civilianised version of the Humvee) ...

Black - reminiscent of a (black) Countach ...

Dark Olive - looks like a Humvee...




After all that, I'm going with ... well, I'm not telling you - I want it to be a surprise

As the final shade can be influenced by the primer, I've prepared some ABS sheet & sprayed two with white primer, and two with grey so I can compare & contrast.

Looks awesome so far. Brilliant work on the filling, and on the LED holders.

P.S. who's blackfoot is that? And how did it get so badly damaged?

Louisbaby wrote:

...
P.S. who's blackfoot is that? And how did it get so badly damaged?

I spotted it on eBay ... no idea how it got like that

Hi
I am so impressed with your project (beyond my abilities and patients for sure). Thank you for the time you spend with the photos and descriptions over and above the actual work. The wheel repair was particularly well done!!
Please keep your brilliant posts in this thread coming.
Best regards,
Marius

full wrote:

Hi
I am so impressed with your project (beyond my abilities and patients for sure). Thank you for the time you spend with the photos and descriptions over and above the actual work. The wheel repair was particularly well done!!
Please keep your brilliant posts in this thread coming.
Best regards,
Marius

Thanks Marius

... as for my supposed abilities & patience, maybe it hasn't been apparent, but this is the most ambitious RC/model making project i've taken on so far.

Prior to this I guess the most involved thing I've done in plastic was a pair of Airfix Wallace & Gromit "Curse of the Were Rabbit" vans. The blue-green one is strictly as it came out of the box (although I did mix my own paint, and make an effort with the weathering), the second, because Airfix don't make the version from "A Matter of Loaf & Death", was a cut 'n' shut roof extension, sun visor & open sun roof, & hats made from epoxy putting, two home mixed varieties of paint, home designed & printed decals ...

I guess I'm trying to say is I there was a path from from the first plastic kit I built, to this project that I had to build up to - just assembling kits, painting them at all, painting them relatively well, weathering them, doing fairly minor alterations, to having the confidence to tackle something like this

Nothing "supposed" that I can see around your projects mate!!
Wallace & Gromit my favorite.
Marius

I found an even rougher Cheetah on eBay ( cgi.ebay.co.uk/...0723179752 ) that I had high hopes of winning - but with 90 minutes to go it had gone over what I was prepared to bid

In the end it went for 50GBP (42 + 8 postage) - only 4GBP less than I paid for mine ... I mean, seriously? Wrong wheels & tyres, incomplete chassis, much worse paintwork, much worse damage to the body, including the roof... late Sunday evening is a really good time to have your listing end if you're a seller

Seems to be the trend that eager buyers are driving up the prices...

Great work on the resto so far. Hope it turns out red!