Herpa has issued 3rd release of Opel Manta B, orange and black

[bbussey]

Herpa has released a third color set (065725-003) on their beautiful Opel Manta B model.  The set has come and gone at MBK, but DM Toys has stock at a lower price with only ~$12 shipping to the States.



DM Toys still has stock of the second release (065725-002, blue and white cars) from early 2014 as well.

[Mark5]

Interesting that herpa equipped these with low profile tires (which were not available in the 70s).

[bbussey]

Hmmm, i'll have to check the previous releases to see what is there.  My recollection is that they didn't stand out, so this is either a new paint mask or it appears as such because the photo is 1:24 size.

It appears Herpa will be issuing annual releases at the beginning of the calendar year.  That's been the pattern to date on this model.

[peteski]

Interesting that herpa equipped these with low profile tires (which were not available in the 70s).

Looks to me like the silver paint mask was just made too large so part of the tire is painted silver.

[Mark5]

Could be, but hard to tell with the low def pic.  Either way its wrong. If its just a bad mask paint can fix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Manta#mediaviewer/File:1975_Opel_Manta_B_Heck.jpg

[peteski]

If its just a bad mask paint can fix.

Or even just scraping the paint of the sidewall using a hobby knife.

[Mark5]

The down side of this is that I'm pretty sure we only got the Manta "A" (1970-1975) here in the states. The "B" wasn't sold here.

[bbussey]

This is true.  But it strongly resembles the late 1970s Chevy Monza coupe and Buick Starfire, so repainting the black hood makes it a good filler for the top deck of an open-frame auto rack. 

[bbussey]

@peteski — Pete, will your thinned nail polish innovation work on models this small in depicting a realistic-looking metallic finish?

[Mark5]

This is true.  But it strongly resembles the late 1970s Chevy Monza coupe and Buick Starfire

Yeah, kind sorta 

[tehachapifan]

Are these 1:150 or 1:160? Continue to notice that the lines between the two scales are becoming fuzzier.

[Mark5]

Are these 1:150 or 1:160? Continue to notice that the lines between the two scales are becoming fuzzier.

These are 1:160.

1:150 is only used in Japan by Japanese manufacturers.

[bbussey]

Yeah, kind sorta 

More than kinda-sorta.

[peteski]

@peteski — Pete, will your thinned nail polish innovation work on models this small in depicting a realistic-looking metallic finish?

It can. Nail polishes are really not that much different from automotive touch-up paints or even from hobby paints.  But it is all about the metallic particle size (in all those paints).

If the metallic flakes are visible (especially if they are relatively large), the finish will not look realistic in N scale. But if the metallic particles are very fine (some are so fine that they blend into a shiny metal-surface-like color, then they will work on an N scale model).

Difficult part is finding those paints. Many are packaged in opaque bottles with just a representation of the color inside the bottle, so unless you open the bottle and actually paint a swatch you don't really know what you are getting.  If the paint bottle/can has the lid painted with the actual sample of the paint they obviously this task is easier.

I have some  fine grain metallic nail polishes but since the product lines change often, and the ones I have are several years old, it doesn't make sense for me to mention brands or color names.  But I can if you want.

Another possibility is to try to mix your own color using a fine grain silver paint. AccuPaint for example has a fine grain aluminum. You cna get some nice metallic colors by tinting it with other AccuPaint colors. Since the AccuPaint colors are opaque you can only mix a little into the silver to retain the metallic sheen, but it is doable.

[C855B]

Nail polish... product lines change often...

Seasonally. Cosmetics lines are shuffled continuously, and are also regional. Don't get me started on Robyn's rants with every trip to a cosmetics department.