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Ok finally managed to take a proper look at the Avante 2001 i have. I was going to build my re release frog but have decided to deal with this one first as its been sitting on my shelf for ages gathering dust. The chassis is largely ok not needing anything really. Im not happy with the esc that was fitted it was really unpredictable and took an age to select reverse so i have removed it and will replace it with a modern equivalent. I have found one damaged part number B3 (rear gearbox top cover) that has a tiny hairline crack in it where someone has forced it over the aluminium motor mount when they have screwed it down. The car is also missing its N2 Battery clip that someone has removed and never put back. I f anyone has one of these parts please pm me.

The greatest challenge ahead of me is with the bodyshell. i am just not happy with the colour used it just does not look right on the car. The body underguard and wing are undamaged but the stickers are lifting quite badly in places so id like to replace them. Sadly the originals are

First of all, it's an awesome looking chassis.
You could have a go at the paint with Tamiya polycarbonate body cleaner (#87118).
But if it doesn't need to be completely original, I think you might as well go for the TBG shell...
Saving money on the body cleaner and avoiding the labour it could possibly still cost.
Gunmetal is a great choice, my personal favourite...
Decals is a matter of taste and price at which they're available I think.

I'll definitely be following your progress here. Great car.

OMG, do the decals really say "Hang'en On!" ?

It's definitely possible to spray a lexan shell - assuming you use lexan paint - it just won't be quite as shiny & may not be as tough. Just desticker it, wash/degrease, I'd also give it a light tickle with fine wet n dry (avoiding the window), wash again, mask the window & spray ... gunmetal would look great

I agree about the decals, even without the Engrish but I don't think it needs much - redo the vent stickers in black vinyl, window surround in line tape, maybe a number & a few sponsor logos (perhaps in the form of a black letterred "stack" rather than colour logos), some sort of "motivational" phrase for the sides & something else for the wing ... it's a bit to early in the morning to come up with anything good TBH

Like JR says, yes you can spray on the outside of a Lexan shell, using Polycarbonate paint.
You can even add TS Clear spray on top to give it more shine, but the TS spary is harder and will not be suited for a runner.
I did this on my Audi Quattro: www.tamiyabase....Rally.html

-Lars

What I've done with my Manta Ray shell, is put on a layer of plastic primer. After that, automotive paints also stuck.
Although I'm not sure vintage lexan shells generally like this approach much.
Maybe I got lucky the base coat didn't eat the lexan...
Trying it out on a small bit may be advisable.

Had a think about htis one while at work today and i think i can live with the colour but only if i can touch up the areas where the paint has rubbed off slightly. This would be easy but the builder has used Parma paints not Tamiya ones and i dont seem to be able to locate a paint code on the tin unless its the 1950? im unsure see the pics below:






The only stickers that are lifting on the shell seem to be the Avante logos on the sides the rest are ok in the interests of saving money as im skint this month id like to remanufacture just these two side logos. If a certain friend of mine thinks he could match the quality of the last set he 'sent' me id sure be indebted to him

Once i have all this sorted its back to school for figure painting. Looks like ill be reading JR's article again. For the undertray ill try wet and drying after cleaning and painting black.

No idea about the colour ... I think the chances of finding another can of that is pretty remote - and unlike Tamiya, I wouldn't think Parma have stuck with the same colours. They've certainly changed to a water based brush/airbrush formulation ... I think their "Faskolor" "Sky Blue" would be the closest match.

How much repainting have you got to do, and how much paint is left in the can? I'm thinking spraying a bit into a pot & very quickly putting it on with a fine brush might be the answer?

Paint can is DEAD no gas no paint nothing. Im thinking TBG is the only option here and i have some ps23 gunmetal already. Not sure how good the TBG bodies are though the last super sabre one i had was smaller than the original and i wasnt that impressed with it.

No, I wasn't very impressed with the TBG Bigwig shell I had - it was undersized too

How well stuck is the paint on the shell? If you can remove it mechanically - i.e. by scraping/sanding it off & not mess up the window or outer surface, new paint will fill in the scraping/sanding marks & you'll still have the shiny finish on the outside.

Seriously, it does work - sanding the inside of lexan shells to promote adhesion was an old skool tip from back in the day when polycarbonate paint was a bit pants.

Paint looks stuck like something on a blanket

Im not giving up on this shell though as i have decided to try and keep it as original as possible. I really dont want to use an undersized TBG shell again. Im wondering about matching a Tamiya paint to it.

If i can repair the paintjob and replace the side decals id be happy.