Marui Shogun Restoration

The place for all things Marui.

Moderators: scr8p, klavy69

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

Thanks for the info, naushad. The word on Marui RC cars in general is that they were decent models that competed with or outperformed models in the same price range (i.e. Tamiya Grasshopper, Hornet, Frog, Hotshot) but were all plagued by fragility. Every Marui car had some major weaknesses. That's why there are so few survivors for us to restore. :)

I got to repainting this body. I figured it had decent RC paint like Pactra, and since it was mostly good and needed only some touch-up to cover up some areas of chipped or flaked off paint, I got some leftover Tamiya black and sprayed over the existing black. The body was originally painted with the common "lazy black everywhere" paint job, including the windows. Unfortunately, not long after I sprayed on the black overcoat, I could see the Tamiya paint was reacting with whatever was already there. In those areas like the corners, I was able to wipe up sections with a toothbrush.

I supposed the original paint was therefore NOT Pactra, and began soaking tissues in DOT 3 brake fluid and left the bunched-up tissues on the body shell. After several hours, I was able to remove large portions of the original black paint with a toothbrush, X-Acto knife (on the inside) and my fingernails (on the outside). I also discovered there was a LOT of black overspray on the outside of the body...something you wouldn't really notice with an all-black paint job. I've been at it for almost 2 days now but I'm almost finished. It takes a lot of patience because each round of DOT 3 tissue soaking takes hours of waiting before you can brush or scrape off more of the paint, but I'm actually glad. Now I can do a nicer paint job with good paint and have clear windows. I'm no fan of box-art, especially not the original box-art design with silver areas to go with the black & gold, I don't think silver works with black & gold. I'll probably come up with something that's mostly black but maybe I'll add some subtle gold trim or gold pearl.

PaintRemoval.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

User avatar
coxbros1
Super Member
Posts: 2187
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2018 8:50 am
Location: Energy, Illinois
Has thanked: 1975 times
Been thanked: 1756 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by coxbros1 »

Keep updates comin!
Tap pic for clarity: Derek

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

After a lot of painstaking black paint removal, most of it overspray on the outside of the body that was obvious when looking at it over a white piece of paper, it's ready to be repainted. I'm lucky to be able to salvage this original body, even with a few cracks and flaws, and not have to buy a repro body.

Body_PaintRemoved.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

User avatar
Lonestar
Approved Member
Posts: 4270
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:17 am
Location: Switzerland, yannow, in Europe (or almost)
Has thanked: 626 times
Been thanked: 166 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Lonestar »

Coelacanth wrote: Tue Apr 07, 2020 7:36 pm After a lot of painstaking black paint removal, most of it overspray on the outside of the body that was obvious when looking at it over a white piece of paper, it's ready to be repainted. I'm lucky to be able to salvage this original body, even with a few cracks and flaws, and not have to buy a repro body.


Body_PaintRemoved.jpg
Congrats for getting to that point... lots of patience involved 8)
AE RC10 - Made In The Eighties, Loved By The Ladies.
Blue Was Better - now, Blue Is Bankrupt.
Facebook affiliate program manager: "They go out and find the morons for me".
Life is short. Waste it wisely.

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

Painting is finally done! I had a major setback following my own stupidity, only brushing on 2 thick layers of FasMask (instead of 3 or 4) and peeling off most areas of the mask was a painstakingly tedious, frustrating ordeal requiring many hours of X-Acto knife cutting and scraping of paint and mask, and several subsequent touch-ups. OMGawd that wasn't fun. :x

Well, I don't do box-arts, because it lacks imagination and creativity, and also because I don't like how the original box-art has silver sections that I don't think contrast nicely with the black & gold sections. I try to somehow bring out the body's lines and accentuate them in a way that does it justice. Here's what I came up with for this Shogun's salvaged, repainted body. I'm waiting on a sticker sheet from MCI, but I won't be putting all the box-art-suggested stickers back on, only the ones that I think will improve the esthetics without obscuring the paint job. Next thing to do: Take care of that repaired rear body mount section with the big round hole.

Body-PaintDone_1.jpg
Body-PaintDone_2.jpg
Body-PaintDone_3.jpg
Body-PaintDone_4.jpg
Body-PaintDone_5.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

Dadio
Approved Member
Posts: 3870
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 2:21 pm
Location: Guildford UK
Has thanked: 2287 times
Been thanked: 1994 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Dadio »

That's come out really well , all the stress was worth it for the result !
If a jobs not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.

User avatar
RC10resto
Super Member
Posts: 2937
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:26 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Has thanked: 1110 times
Been thanked: 430 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by RC10resto »

Yes, worth the effort - looks great.
Nice save :!:

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

The body repair of the originally mangled rear body mount section is done. It's not picture-perfect, but a lot better than the way it was before:

Image

I already ground out a largeish circle to get rid of the original damaged Lexan, everything except a bit of a crack that ran rearward. I didn't want to totally remove the crack because the hole would've ended up being too big. I think I ended up with a fair compromise.

Image

I found a piece of Lexan with a curve that was very close to matching the inside of that part of the Shogun body, then painted it black.

Body_Repair1.jpg

I used Shoe Goo to stick on the repair patch to the underside of the body, and since it's hard to get a clamp in there to firmly press on the patch until the Goo cured, I used a couple hard drive magnets on opposite sides to keep it tightly secured for 24 hours. I work in I.T. and every time I get a hard drive crap out, I remove the magnets. These are the best fridge magnets ever! I even use them inside my Grand National's transmission and oil pans to keep any metal particles from flowing around the oil. They stick on so hard, you practically need a screwdriver to pry one end up, and remove them.

Body_Repair2.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

The finished body mount repair looks a lot better now; repair patch from the inside and outside:

Body_Repair3.jpg
Body_Repair4.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

Here are some finished chassis pics:

Chassis_Done1.jpg
Chassis_Done2.jpg
Chassis_Done3.jpg
Chassis_Done4.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

Some pics of the almost-completed car. Still waiting on the MCI sticker sheet to add a few stickers before taking the final money shots.

BodyMounted1.jpg
BodyMounted2.jpg
BodyMounted3.jpg
BodyMounted4.jpg
BodyMounted5.jpg
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

Dadio
Approved Member
Posts: 3870
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 2:21 pm
Location: Guildford UK
Has thanked: 2287 times
Been thanked: 1994 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Dadio »

That's stunning , gold on black (even the nuts) works so well !
If a jobs not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

Thanks for the comments, Dadio & RC10resto! I'm glad that it has turned out better than I expected. Up close, it really looks good with all the gold-plated screws and gold anodized nuts & washers, not to mention the shocks. I wonder what the purists would think of the build? :lol:
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

User avatar
coxbros1
Super Member
Posts: 2187
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2018 8:50 am
Location: Energy, Illinois
Has thanked: 1975 times
Been thanked: 1756 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by coxbros1 »

Who cares, thing is awsome! Last piece is....
Kyosho 480 gold motor!
Tap pic for clarity: Derek

User avatar
Coelacanth
Approved Member
Posts: 7370
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:20 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 288 times

Re: Marui Shogun Restoration

Post by Coelacanth »

coxbros1 wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:41 pm Who cares, thing is awsome! Last piece is....
Kyosho 480 gold motor!
That was my plan, I have a partial 480 Gold motor but I don't have the gold endbell. ;) Ironically, at least Marui-wise, I put a 480 Gold in my brother's Galaxy RS that I resto-modded. He has it now. :mrgreen:

If anyone has one, or a decent gold brushed motor, please PM me.

Image
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3

Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post
  • Marui Shogun And Ninja?
    by Mad Racer » » in Marui Forum
    4 Replies
    868 Views
    Last post by RETRO R/C
  • Another Marui project - Ninja/Shogun
    by silvertriple » » in Marui Forum
    93 Replies
    4297 Views
    Last post by silvertriple
  • Two Marui Cars Ninja and Shogun
    by tizeye » » in Marui Forum
    3 Replies
    1783 Views
    Last post by purpletimbo
  • Marui hunter restoration
    by rcnoob95 » » in Marui Forum
    4 Replies
    1038 Views
    Last post by rcnoob95
  • Marui Jeep CJ-7
    by shagrat69 » » in Marui Forum
    0 Replies
    1279 Views
    Last post by shagrat69
  • marui jeep and not marui jeep
    by saga101 » » in Marui Forum
    4 Replies
    1676 Views
    Last post by saga101
  • Marui Samurai Help
    by ireg » » in Marui Forum
    43 Replies
    5152 Views
    Last post by DennisM
  • Marui Samurai...
    by Brandon G » » in Marui Forum
    19 Replies
    3737 Views
    Last post by naushad

Return to “Marui Forum”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests