New 1/20 MFH Build - Rahal Fleet Cost & Care

[woody86]

I wanted to do a Graham Rahal car from this years using the MFH 1/20 kit and was going back and forth between a United Rentals and Fleet Cost and Care. United because it was the predominant livery throughout the season but was used really only once during a test in a speedway configuration. The Fleet Cost & Care however was used for the race in Texas so that is what I ultimately decided. I did decals for both, but will use the FCC version.

One aspect of this build I am happy about is that I sent a tweet to RLL Racing and asked about the actual color used for the light blue of the car and they promptly responded with what they used which gave me the ability to determine the model paint/color that most resembles the color used on the car. One thing we don't think about much when painting the modern cars is that since most are done in a "wrap", the colors are actually based on PMS printing colors and not the usual pigments and chips we are accustomed to.

I also decided to try and post more "build" pics along the way and that is where I am starting. Here are the decals I designed/developed and had printed. I also went a bit crazy on the carbon fiber undertray and tried to duplicate the differing patterns used on the sections. While not exact, it does demonstrate separate areas on the part which is what I was after. 

I will post more along the way.















 

[indy]

You did your own decals? And CF decals?? That is crazy good work.

How was SpotModel to deal with in the custom decal area?

Jordan

[woody86]

I did not do the carbon decals myself. They are a mix of different scales and vendors between Scale Motorsport and Tamiya.

I took some pics of the undertray and then scaled it to match the size of the actual piece, then drew out the templates in Illustrator to print on Tamiya masking pages. see below.

As far as Spot Model, it is pretty straightforward. You just need to follow their deign guide to the exact requirements. When I first started doing this (I am also going to do a 1/43 version), I went back and forth with their design department (they just give you some direction with standardized responses until it is set up correctly) to get the setup correct. They require the image layers be set up a specific way, i.e., white, design, clearcoat. The one thing I do like is that they are set up as each decal as its own, meaning it does not need to be trimmed close to eliminate the extra clear around the decal itself. The only downside is that they can be considered a bit thick. I had little need for any setting solution as they did contour fairly well. 









[GrandPrecision]

I'll be curious how the decals go. I tried a couple sheets with them when they first came out and were nothing but headaches and wasted money.


I found that their decals as the decals 'expand' in the water. (If you compare the printed size on the sheet to the size that you drew, they are likely different by a decent percentage.) I found them to be very odd compared to experiences with other decals. They are very elastic so if you try to apply pressure when getting water out from under the decals, you may end up stretching the decal. In the end, I would have a decal that goes on 2 wing flaps or 2 sides of a rear cowl, yet one decal would be 10-15% longer than the other.

My other frustration is that their printer profile did not match the Pantone colors, so if you compared the printed decal to the PMS color, it was never similar.

[woody86]

They may they have changed some things about how they are printing the decals now as I have not had any severe issues to speak of. In their documents, they do state that the decals expand when they print them and that they take that into account. As far as the colors go, the ones I have made have not had to tax the color palette much so I might just be lucky.

[jj66]

Your CF decal mix looks great!

On Spot Model decals, they seem thick, but once applied it is not noticeable. One positive thing is that white color covers very well. On the other side, you cannot use decal softeners or a hair dryer, so I suppose they will not work very well for large decals and curved surfaces.

Once applied size fits perfectly to the design you sent. You can see it in this Lola.

[Gary Davis]

That looks good Juanjo!!! Can't wait to see how woody's turns out.

[indycals]

Sept 29, 2021 10:07:27 GMT -5 woody86 said:

I did not do the carbon decals myself. They are a mix of different scales and vendors between Scale Motorsport and Tamiya.

I took some pics of the undertray and then scaled it to match the size of the actual piece, then drew out the templates in Illustrator to print on Tamiya masking pages. see below.

As far as Spot Model, it is pretty straightforward. You just need to follow their deign guide to the exact requirements. When I first started doing this (I am also going to do a 1/43 version), I went back and forth with their design department (they just give you some direction with standardized responses until it is set up correctly) to get the setup correct. They require the image layers be set up a specific way, i.e., white, design, clearcoat. The one thing I do like is that they are set up as each decal as its own, meaning it does not need to be trimmed close to eliminate the extra clear around the decal itself. The only downside is that they can be considered a bit thick. I had little need for any setting solution as they did contour fairly well. 









Someone sent me a sample of Spot Model decals and I was a bit perplexed how they are printed. My suspicion is that it's a UV printer system, which does print kind of thick. The sample I got had similarities to UV samples I toyed with many years ago (and ruled out due to being too thick), but it appears it has gotten much better if they are in fact using UV (which I think they are). And UV printers can do clear and white. I'm guessing that you had to set up the colors as CYMK and not spot colors?

[GrandPrecision]

Oct 2, 2021 16:57:27 GMT -5 indycals said:

Someone sent me a sample of Spot Model decals and I was a bit perplexed how they are printed. My suspicion is that it's a UV printer system, which does print kind of thick. The sample I got had similarities to UV samples I toyed with many years ago (and ruled out due to being too thick), but it appears it has gotten much better if they are in fact using UV (which I think they are). And UV printers can do clear and white. I'm guessing that you had to set up the colors as CYMK and not spot colors?

I agree it appears to be UV printed. I believe this was mentioned in an email that I had when troubleshooting at the beginning. Looking back at that conversation, the artwork was shrunk by 7% to later expand to the 'drawn' dimension. I had reservations that this would be a linear growth relative to the size of the artwork of a given decal.

And yes, all artwork is CYMK+W. No spot color options have been offered from my experience.

[woody86]

Base coat done for both the white and the blue. Lines turned out nice and crisp. Only a couple of little areas that needed some additional massaging. Like how the build is coming together. I may revise the decals a bit as the number designed for the roll hoop is sized a bit smaller than desired. Would work and probably not an issue for anyone but me. I will also take the opportunity to work up the decals used inside the cockpit that line the top of the aero screen and those along the cockpit on the driver surround.








[shunter]

Looks great…

[Gary Davis]

I sure like that blue on there. Good job Woody.

[justmike]

Looking at this makes me want to drop the money on one of those MFH kits. I went to their site just to tempt myself but considering all the kits I have I decided not to. Looking forward to seeing your progress on this.

[Gary Davis]

Hey Woody....How's the progress going on this bad Boy....any updates?

[woody86]

Thanks for asking Gary. Not much progress. I lost my modeling mojo a bit and trying to get it back. The cold weather seems to have slowed me down.

[Gary Davis]

I can understand that for sure. I'm in the middle of a 1972 M16 of Gary Bettenhausen's Indy car. It's been quite the challenge and slow going. Had to fab up a few things for it to be right. And so it goes. LOL

I hope you get the MOJO back as this is really looking cool....

[woody86]

Finally, more work on the 1/20 Rahal Fleet Cost and Care. Trying to really take my time and not rush.

[kyledehart5]

Looking great!!

[shunter]

Great to see an update on this one, looking fantastic…

[Gary Davis]

Man...that looks GOOD!

[indy]

Taking your time is paying off. Make sure you paint the lipstick camera mount sticking out of the rollbar top.

Great stuff, Woody!!

Jordan

[blsmith841]

Woody,

Would you be willing to share your illustrator file for the carbon fiber? I am getting raedy to build this kit and that would make things easier! If not, I understand. Thanks!

[woody86]

Oct 27, 2022 11:52:47 GMT -5 blsmith841 said:

Woody,

Would you be willing to share your illustrator file for the carbon fiber? I am getting raedy to build this kit and that would make things easier! If not, I understand. Thanks!

I would be glad to share it if that was how I had done it. The carbon fiber decals are all separate pieces that I cut out to demonstrate the different patterns.