Tamiya Sand Scorcher - 2010 Reissue

[GreenBar0n]

FWIW, I always use Duplicolor clear lacquer for my hard body projects. It sprays and levels beautifully and wet-sands and polishes to a mirror finish - I wait at least 10 days for the clear to fully cure. Duplicolor lacquer doesn't react when applied over Tamiya TS or PS or Duratrax PC paint so it's safe to use. Also, all three of the major auto parts chains in my area (Advanced, Auto Zone, O'Reilly's) carries Duplicolor paints. It's also much cheaper than Tamiya paint. All the paint on my KW is Duplicolor.

Much thanks! Wish I'd have known about the Duplicolor. Though I am an ardent Tamiya devotee, love everything they do.

Do you have a build thread on your KW? You have the King Hauler, or the Grand Hauler?

[GreenBar0n]

Painted in the dark last night.




Small drip had to be sanded out, needs to be resprayed.


Going to try to get this drip free, then Clear.

[XLR8]

FWIW, I always use Duplicolor clear lacquer for my hard body projects. It sprays and levels beautifully and wet-sands and polishes to a mirror finish - I wait at least 10 days for the clear to fully cure. Duplicolor lacquer doesn't react when applied over Tamiya TS or PS or Duratrax PC paint so it's safe to use. Also, all three of the major auto parts chains in my area (Advanced, Auto Zone, O'Reilly's) carries Duplicolor paints. It's also much cheaper than Tamiya paint. All the paint on my KW is Duplicolor.

Much thanks! Wish I'd have known about the Duplicolor. Though I am an ardent Tamiya devotee, love everything they do.

Do you have a build thread on your KW? You have the King Hauler, or the Grand Hauler?

Duplicolor extends the range of color options -- if, for instance, you're having trouble finding the desired color from Tamiya.
Honestly, I think Tamiya paint is extremely over-priced for what it is. Also, I've gotten faulty spray cans on a couple occasions and since I buy online (no LHS close-by), they were tossed in the trash.

Anyway, I don't have an actual build thread for the Grand Hauler but thanks for asking about it.
I like the tanker trailer; the Texaco livery is my handy work.

[GreenBar0n]

Your Grand Hauler with the tank is incredible! You need a thread for it here in the Tamiya section, would like to know if it has sound, lights, and how much is controlled from the Tx, and also where did the custom KW decals and the grill come from? Video of it cruising would pretty much get me to sell some other toy, for one of those.

Your Tamiya paint experience is completely opposite of mine, sorry to hear that; I must've bought at least 40 cans in the last year alone, no duds or any issues. Used my first Tamiya paint at 13 in '85, on the Tamiya Frog, they've got me for life, same with AE, and Kyosho.

I've been thinking about an airbrush for a long time now, that's the way Andy Jacobson does the Andy's bodies, and those have a really rich and vibrant color, even next to Tamiya sprayed shells.



Back on track, going to mount these parts in a couple of hours, if they are no longer sticky.

Will wait until tomorrow to Clear this, every time I rush, it goes wrong.

[XLR8]

Your Grand Hauler with the tank is incredible! You need a thread for it here in the Tamiya section, would like to know if it has sound, lights, and how much is controlled from the Tx, and also where did the custom KW decals and the grill come from? Video of it cruising would pretty much get me to sell some other toy, for one of those.

Your Tamiya paint experience is completely opposite of mine, sorry to hear that; I must've bought at least 40 cans in the last year alone, no duds or any issues. Used my first Tamiya paint at 13 in '85, on the Tamiya Frog, they've got me for life, same with AE, and Kyosho.

I've been thinking about an airbrush for a long time now, that's the way Andy Jacobson does the Andy's bodies, and those have a really rich and vibrant color, even next to Tamiya sprayed shells.



Back on track, going to mount these parts in a couple of hours, if they are no longer sticky.

Will wait until tomorrow to Clear this, every time I rush, it goes wrong.

Thanks again.

The KW and Texaco livery decals were made on a Cricut vinyl cutter.

My plan was (is) to install a sound and light system but after spending weeks building the truck, tanker and a flat bed trailer I sorta got burned out. I'll get back to it one day.
Tamiya has their MFC (multi-function controller) which is nice but it's plug-n-play with no way to customize anything. A German company called Beier offers a system that is fully programmable - build your own lighting scheme right down to each LED, selectable motor and brakes sounds, etc. It even includes an .mp3 player so, for instance, you could upload the theme from Smokey and the Bandit, or Movin' On, etc. and assign it to a toggle switch on the Tx. Programming is done through their app running on a laptop and connected to the controller via usb port.

Bitd I bought a Paasche air brush set very much like this one and I still use it. I've had no problems with it.



Anyway, hope the clear coat goes well. Be mindful of the humidity levels. The less humid the better.

[GreenBar0n]

Brand new TS-13 can, held the button down and didn't let up until the can was empty. No drips or runs somehow.








Will wait a week, for the Clear to fully cure, and then polish it out.

Chromed the exhaust stinger, was too dull in flat black.

[GreenBar0n]

Thanks again.

The KW and Texaco livery decals were made on a Cricut vinyl cutter.

My plan was (is) to install a sound and light system but after spending weeks building the truck, tanker and a flat bed trailer I sorta got burned out. I'll get back to it one day.
Tamiya has their MFC (multi-function controller) which is nice but it's plug-n-play with no way to customize anything. A German company called Beier offers a system that is fully programmable - build your own lighting scheme right down to each LED, selectable motor and brakes sounds, etc. It even includes an .mp3 player so, for instance, you could upload the theme from Smokey and the Bandit, or Movin' On, etc. and assign it to a toggle switch on the Tx. Programming is done through their app running on a laptop and connected to the controller via usb port.

Bitd I bought a Paasche air brush set very much like this one and I still use it. I've had no problems with it.



Anyway, hope the clear coat goes well. Be mindful of the humidity levels. The less humid the better.

Is the Cricut vinyl cutter worth it, in your experience? Is it as good as the MCI decals are, would you say?

What compressor are you using for the Paasche? Are you painting RC shells with it?

Thanks!

[XLR8]

Thanks again.

The KW and Texaco livery decals were made on a Cricut vinyl cutter.

My plan was (is) to install a sound and light system but after spending weeks building the truck, tanker and a flat bed trailer I sorta got burned out. I'll get back to it one day.
Tamiya has their MFC (multi-function controller) which is nice but it's plug-n-play with no way to customize anything. A German company called Beier offers a system that is fully programmable - build your own lighting scheme right down to each LED, selectable motor and brakes sounds, etc. It even includes an .mp3 player so, for instance, you could upload the theme from Smokey and the Bandit, or Movin' On, etc. and assign it to a toggle switch on the Tx. Programming is done through their app running on a laptop and connected to the controller via usb port.

Bitd I bought a Paasche air brush set very much like this one and I still use it. I've had no problems with it.



Anyway, hope the clear coat goes well. Be mindful of the humidity levels. The less humid the better.

Is the Cricut vinyl cutter worth it, in your experience? Is it as good as the MCI decals are, would you say?

What compressor are you using for the Paasche? Are you painting RC shells with it?

Thanks!

Well, a vinyl cutter isn't as versatile as a decal printer but it is possible to cut and layer pieces - for instance, the Texaco logo is a white star over a red circle. Very intricate and precise paint masks can be made using a vinyl cutter - you can't do that with a printer.

I just use my Porter Cable shop compressor and adjust the pressure down at the regulator. Honestly, I don't use the air brush very often these days. I've used it mostly for fades (outlines) like with this sprint car body I painted many years ago.

I plan to use it when I paint the boxart RC10T body since the blue has a black faded outline.

[GreenBar0n]

How did you do the Kenworth decals, and emblem on the grill? The sprint car looks great!

[XLR8]

How did you do the Kenworth decals, and emblem on the grill? The sprint car looks great!

Thanks again.
Ya know, you really should get yourself a Tamiya truck. I think you would enjoy the build and I'm certain you would finish it to perfection and make something very unique.

The KW grill emblem was an ebay purchase.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/226153560715?_nkw=tamiya+semi+grill+emblem&itmmeta=01J6J99RVS3MZFJCENDGEA0M31&hash=item34a7cd7a8b:g:WpMAAOSwgANmMqE9&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKkQbMvkr05ynlSes7QVPH5a6k2Lci8Y06cUhsIjdUyeGdqNDI3bKZ2ebHMoCxR4C929YaiSZNdK%2BqD1sfK%2BWZ8uQav6OOdvF7Zcc39qutW3Jr3pWcvBI14k7i0w%2Fafl%2F1nu05ao%2Fe%2Bp10gboEZNtmeCJI5I1EqUS9ipJGNHh2NXoKWZbSc8B5JFOXDNljG%2BbMlwL20MfGOZpkedW2ZBiCv2gc8FZ49DNwNX1SkF97tyuK5mu0Ixt2M13LhWoW6NvGFJCk58EzDL8Q5Ub4iWGfMn5ltvlXJdpL7DBK3P0%2Fooxg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_qNp8m0ZA

Peterbuilt emblems are available as well. The aftermarket for 1/14 scale RC trucks is well established and immense.
For the Kenworth and Texaco decals, I downloaded logos from the web and used the Cricut software to do raster to vector conversion (the cutter requires vector) and adjust the scale. It was easy. I could have done Exxon or Shell or some other company but I'd already painted the truck red so I wanted a livery that somewhat matched.

[GreenBar0n]

How did you do the Kenworth decals, and emblem on the grill? The sprint car looks great!

Thanks again.
Ya know, you really should get yourself a Tamiya truck. I think you would enjoy the build and I'm certain you would finish it to perfection and make something very unique.

The KW grill emblem was an ebay purchase.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/226153560715?_nkw=tamiya+semi+grill+emblem&itmmeta=01J6J99RVS3MZFJCENDGEA0M31&hash=item34a7cd7a8b:g:WpMAAOSwgANmMqE9&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKkQbMvkr05ynlSes7QVPH5a6k2Lci8Y06cUhsIjdUyeGdqNDI3bKZ2ebHMoCxR4C929YaiSZNdK%2BqD1sfK%2BWZ8uQav6OOdvF7Zcc39qutW3Jr3pWcvBI14k7i0w%2Fafl%2F1nu05ao%2Fe%2Bp10gboEZNtmeCJI5I1EqUS9ipJGNHh2NXoKWZbSc8B5JFOXDNljG%2BbMlwL20MfGOZpkedW2ZBiCv2gc8FZ49DNwNX1SkF97tyuK5mu0Ixt2M13LhWoW6NvGFJCk58EzDL8Q5Ub4iWGfMn5ltvlXJdpL7DBK3P0%2Fooxg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_qNp8m0ZA

Peterbuilt emblems are available as well. The aftermarket for 1/14 scale RC trucks is well established and immense.
For the Kenworth and Texaco decals, I downloaded logos from the web and used the Cricut software to do raster to vector conversion (the cutter requires vector) and adjust the scale. It was easy. I could have done Exxon or Shell or some other company but I'd already painted the truck red so I wanted a livery that somewhat matched.

Really appreciate the info, thanks! The vinyl cutter, masking and painting in stages, is excellent, that sounds very useful for larger projects.

Making a Snowman & Bandit rig, with as much scale detail as possible, would be a lot of fun. Would be difficult to explain why I have a stage coach hold up on the side of an expensive looking toy, taking up a large space in my main room though.

[GreenBar0n]

The TS-13 Clear looks like it's getting smoother.


Hoping the polish gives it the wet look, that's what I'm trying to accomplish before the decals go on.

[1911Colt]

You don't apply the decals before the clear coat?

[GreenBar0n]

You don't apply the decals before the clear coat?

From what I was reading, the Tamiya decals are high quality, and already shiny. Clear over low quality decals makes them look better.

If the decals don't look good in contrast, I can always clear over the body and decals, after the fact.

The P-34 6-wheeler is the testing ground for all of this, it will be fully cured and ready to polish next Tuesday, I'll try to experiment and make my mistakes there, before deciding on the Sand Scorcher.

[GreenBar0n]

Getting back to the Tamiya's.

I wanted to push this Sand Scorcher build just a bit higher, if possible. This will be a shelf relic, and was the holy grail to me as a kid.

There are (3) different VW motors available in 3d print form, for the Sand Scorcher:




The one on the left is the free motor, and is a solid one-piece drop in part.


The middle motor is known as the Flat4 MK2, and comes in multiple pieces, that are designed to fit the odd transmission/motor case.


The Flat4 MK1 on the right, is made to be gear cover replacements, that do away with the included Tamiya gear covers:








The free motor fits well and without taking the gear cases apart, but the exhaust choice is already made, whereas the MK1 and MK2 allow for many different and included exhaust choices. Will try this free one out for a bit.


The interior plate includes a dashboard, with radio and glovebox.




Have to remove the waterproof battery box lid to make this plate fit.








Will decide on the parts, and then paint them as close to scale as possible.

Would like to make a 3D model and print of my real VW motor, someday.