Hiro Fukuda

Thank you in advance for all the comments and likes. I'm not rushing this build, but I'll try to make as much progress as possible. I also have a Plan B waiting in a contest in Texas, and many more opportunities for Plans C, D, E... (laughs).

I've simplified the carbon fiber work to just two decal patterns. For the finer weave seen in the interior photos, I used Scale Motorsport 1/20 Twill (#1020). For the more prominent areas, such as the rear section, I used Tamiya Twill Pattern Fine (12681). I saved masking tape templates for other Huayra kits.

The body is temporarily taped together to make it easier to apply an even coat of paint across all body parts. I initially forgot about the front bumper, which resulted in an extra painting session. Matching color across multiple parts is always challenging, and avoiding that was the whole reason for painting everything together in the first place! (sigh...)

I used a Swallowtail SD airbrush throughout the entire paint process and kept adding paint to the cup without cleaning it between colors to save time. The sequence started with Gundam Color Zaku Pink, followed by several hours of drying time. I then repeated the spray-and-dry cycle with Zaku Red, Gaia's Ideon Red (orangish red), Gravity's Rosso Dubai Base Coat (metallic red) and Rosso Dubai Mid Coat (clear red).

The last photo shows a mist coat of Gaia EX Clear applied before intermediate sanding. Personally, I find it easier to smooth out a finely textured surface than sanding the orange peel as a result of heavy wet coat.