Painting a 1:18 Model?

Any tips for painting a 1:18 model?

I got a Hotwheels Ferrari 308 GT4 model in Silver (Black Boxer paint scheme). It looks like the one at this link:

Amazon.com: Ferrari 308 GT4, silver-grau/black , Model Car, Ready-made, Mattel Elite 1:18: Mattel Elite: Toys & Games

I'd like to paint it red (I have paint that matches the color of my 308 GT4 that I can spray.

From the looks of it, if I unscrew the 7 screws on the bottom (see pic), I should be able to disassemble the top from the bottom, which will make painting easier.

What about stuff like the doors, hood, etc? Can those be disassembled easily? Or, do I just have to really spend a lot of time masking rather than complete dis-assembly?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!
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Dom,
You will have a hard time masking all window surrounds and other tiny bits on the body.
Many are glued and I wouldn't risk detaching them.
Since your car is a red one and those exist in 1:18 I would sell the silver and look for a red one.
Then you could do the boxer paint like on your car with much less trouble.
I once went this disassembling path once when I wanted an Autoart Alfa Bertone in the colour of my 1:1 car. Eventually I succeeded, but it was a major pain.

Best Regards
Martin

 

I took apart a 94 348 made by hot wheels some time ago.

You can only disassemble so far and then everything is basically riveted if I remember correctly. But the model I reference is 20 years old.

 

Hotwheels are generally easy to disassemble. Especially compared to AutoArt or Kyosho. Those companies use hidden screws and a lot of glue.

I would just try and see how far you get. I recently disassembled a HW Elite 348 and it couldn't be simpler. A lot of screws, very little glue. Just be careful not to break things off.

p.s. oftentimes you need to pry the tires off the wheels because there are screws inside the wheel wells. That shouldn't be a problem though.

 

Since most of us make significate upgrades to our die cast, it would be nice if someone made a pair of black Vitaloni side mirrors. Not sure why Hot wheels choose not to add mirrors to the 308GT4 model?

 

I agree with bigodino. You can remove the several screws & then grind out the glued areas with a small Dremel tool just like you might do to remove spot welds. I have done several models that way & use epoxy glue to reassemble the car. With the car disassembled you can easily paint the parts & don't need to do any masking.

 

Thanks guys. I took a shot at it, and it came out OK. Not perfect, but neither is the paint on my GT4.

I'll try to do some touch up over the next few days.
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So, just to follow up- I'm really happy with the way the model turned out, but now I'm thinking about the wheels. The model has the Dino style wheels, and my 1:1 car has 328 wheels.

Am I crazy to think about buying a Hotwheels 308 model (about $40), just so I can change the wheels? Those wheels will be closer to what I have on the real thing (It doesn't look like HotWheels makes a 1:18 328 model).

 

For 40 bucks, I say go for it.

 

Go for it.

 

Done...