2022 Chevolet Camaro ZL1 - WIP

As always, I always start with a water wash. 

Before I started sanding the body, I took care of a few things first.
First, I removed the bonnet pins... 

After removing the Fin antenna (?) from the roof, I drilled a small hole to mark its location. 

When I put the bonnet on the body, the gap was vaguely wide. 

I attached pla-plates to the left and right edges of the bonnet, securing them with instant glue, and then cut and sanded them. 

If the gap is too narrow, I will have to shave it off due to the thickness of the paint, so it is recommended to leave a reasonable gap. 

Inside : Black surfacer for anti 'Sub Sruface Scattering'
Outside : White surfacer. 

Then, Gloss White. 

This area shown are included as decals, but I masked them because it's less stressful to paint them. 

They're a little different than the decals I'm used to, so it took some getting used to.
Once it was pressed with a cotton swab, it was impossible to move or remove it.
Also, even without using a decal softener, the decals would soften over time and had to be applied quickly.

Blue arrow: I worked on it without knowing the properties and it was torn.
Red arrow: The decal was larger than where I wanted to attach it, so I cut the marked area and overlapped it. 

It was ridiculously wide. 

So I took a knife and ripped off the excess. 

But on the other side, the decal was stuck so well that I had to scrape it off with my fingernail, which resulted in a messy removal of the paint and decal. 😭 I'll have to repaint it later... 

This area will also run out of decals and will need to be painted black later. 

I tried to reposition a little late and got ripped off. 

Left arrow : Because I pressed it in deeply, the decal stretched and the color faded.
Bottom arrow : The decal is not the right size. 

Just when I thought I had gotten the hang of it, I let my guard down and the arrow area became tattered. 

I traced the panel lines with a knife, then attached them with decal softener. However, the panel lines were wide that the deep areas were white. 

Anyway, I applied it all. 

The Valvorine logo, shown with a green arrow, is positioned differently in the topview and sideview. I couldn't be bothered to Google it, so I decided to go with one or the other and attached it where it was specified in the top view, but sideview was correct
There are quite a few documentation errors like this. 

I painted over the torn decal area with a mixed vallejo. 

Bonnet: I colored the stripes to continue beyond the edge.
Foront : I colored in the areas where the decal was peeling. 

Again, I colored the stripes so that they continue beyond the edges. 

The inside of the wide panel line was filled with color.
Note: To avoid capillarity, the paint must be highly viscous. 

Painted with Vallejo Mecha Primer(Matt Black) 

I didn't get the cleanest lines, but with my presbyopia and shaky hands, I'll have to settle for this. 🙁 

Anyway, 1st clear coated. 

Documentation error. The part number is incorrectly specified. 

Different parts, same number. 🙁
Besides this, there are a lot of documentation errors. (Not to mention the wrong decal number) 

No matter how much I look at the manual, this part is not mentioned. Since I don't have any knowledge about the internal mechanism of the vehicle, I can't guess what the parts are for just by looking at what they look like. 

Sorted by color to be painted.
Since these are parts that won't be visible when finished, I roughly trimmed them. 

I needed a handle because I had to paint it glossy white. 

Painting...
I think the red is too bright, so I will have to repaint it. 

The supports are molded on the inside of the rear window and they are instructed to put decals on them, but in this case it's much easier to mask and color them. 

Black surfacer.
Deep red - The lighting made the photo look fluorescent red. 

Gloss White. 

Brushing with vallejo.
Blue arrow : The red that is photographed the same as the actual color. 

No matter where I looked for this part, I couldn't find it.
I thought, "did I throw it away?" so I went through all the trash cans, but... 

However, when I looked at the runner photos I reviewed, it didn't exist from the beginning. 🙁 

Since it is an exterior part, it cannot be passed, so I cut the plastic plate and made it roughly. 

After the body was dry, I sanded it to remove the decal step. 

Polishing is also complete. 

I made the small fin antenna(?) on the roof that was removed with cutting the Pla-Plate. 

Last masking and air brushing... 

I usually don't do this very well, but the tires are shiny, but I could see the injection and gate marks, so I sharpened them with a file. 

Decals were applied to the front and rear glass banners and edge frames.
The tire decals were very glossy, so I applied a matte varnish. (The picture is still before work) 

The window sealing part of the body, the edge of the windshield, and the inside of the banner were painted with a brush. (Vallejo Black Mecha Surfacer) 

Panel line accented. 

Ready to assemble. 

Engine assembled with 16 pieces. 

Caution: Do not glue the cabin to the bottom board yet!!!!
It was a little tricky because it kept collapsing when I tried to attach the horizontal supports without attaching the outer wall to the floor. 

The reason why I shouldn't glue it is because I have to put these parts inside.
I have to assemble parts that can be assembled until the glue is completely hardened and then do other things.
The cabin can go on to the next level only when it is fixed to the lower board. 

It was supposed to be covered with plastic with a mesh pattern decal attached, so I cut and pasted real mesh. 

As I later found out, I would have to use a much thinner and denser mesh. 

The kit does not include a seat belt, but there was a shoulder belt decal left over from another kit, so I used it. 

Assembled the cabin.
The roll cage is very complex, but it was difficult to identify just from the pictures in the manual, so I had to assemble it while trying to match it.
Furthermore, some of the parts are curved, so I had to hold several points with my hands at the same time still until they were fixed. 

Done. 

Next, I did attache the front frame first and mount the engine.
Then, the exhaust pipe must be inserted through the bottom of the firewall as shown by the arrow and inserted between the frame and the engine, but it is difficult to insert because the gap is narrow.
The frame was firmly fixed, so I opened it up a little with all my might and put it in. 

And just attach a few more parts as per the instructions.
The parts shown require a lot of internal scrape it out to fit the under-plate's mold. 

Now that the front is finished, I also assembled the frame, transaxle, and fuel tank at the back.
For reference, the shaft did not into under the cabin, so I cut off the end. 

Since the front parts are fixed, attach the suspension, etc... 

In the same way, I attached the suspension parts and so on to the back. 

But it covered it all up. LOL.
Anyway, I glued on the rear bumper and Back Deck and... 

Once the rest of the parts are attached, such as the front bumper and fuel tube, the internal assembly is complete. 

Other side. 

The end is now in sight.
Only the triangular side glass at the end of the A-pillar on the driver's seat is attached from the inside, and all other windshields are attached from the outside. The right side window had scratches(or weld lines) from the beginning.
And I attached it using the products shown.
I also used it for the first time, but I think it is similar to 'Testers Clear Parts Cement' in terms of feel.

- The following videos are examples of how to use this product
Youtube Video
Youtube Video

 

Phew, I finally have to combine with the bottom plate.
Uhm... Maybe it was because the internal parts were pulled and pushed together, so the lower plate was slightly bent downwards.
And unlike Japanese kits, there are no protrusions holding the top plate on the front and back, so you have to glue it.
In my case, I poured instant adhesive from the front first and fixed it completely, then glued it in the order of the back -> the side. 

Finally, after the bonnet is on, the 3D printed fasteners are attached... 

Voilà! 

It's done.
I'm going to go play Zelda now~ 😉
Tanks for watching.