Sauber Mercedes C9 "Claire Frost" w/figure! A greedy kit that allows you to enjoy a racing car and a beautiful girl figure together!

Hello, this is Kariyasu! This time, I would like to introduce and review the 1/24th scale "Sauber Mercedes C9 "Claire Frost" w/figure" currently on sale from Hasegawa!

This time we would like to introduce the "Sauber Mercedes C9" with markings of "Claire Frost" from Hasegawa's original character "Tamago Girls". The scale is 1/24, and this limited edition comes with a figure of Claire in a race queen outfit of the same scale!

Price: 4,620 yen (tax included)
Adhesives required
Paint required
Suitable for intermediate to advanced level users.

What are Tamago Girls?

The "Tamago Girls" are the image models of Hasegawa's deformed airplane plastic model "Tamago Hikoki" series. The girls are very active in decorating the box art with various costumes, and are also available as individual figures! If you are interested, check out the official website!

Check out what's inside!

There are not many parts, but since the molds from kits of yesteryear are used as they are, you need to shape them well.

There are clear parts, but no plated parts. Tires are made of rubber.

The logo on the body part, Claire's markings, and some instrument panels are reproduced with decals.

And a 3D printed Claire figure is included. The figure fabrication is for advanced users and will be explained in the latter part of this article!

Before making the figure

This kit is not for beginners, so you will need various adhesives, paints, and other tools for shaping to make a cool figure. However, we are introducing "easy modeling" with only minimal crafting and painting, so we recommend that first-time car modelers take it easy and prepare tools and paints as needed!

*Because there are many processes, we have kept the number of photos small. If you want to know more about the fabrication process, check out the video!

Start of fabrication!

First, we start shaping the parts. It takes a little time and effort, but it will look much better if burrs, parting lines, etc. are removed and the surface is prepared with a sponge file, so work carefully!

A design knife and a file are useful for cutting work. Personally, I recommend Wave for metal files and God Hand for sponge files. They are inexpensive and conveniently available in a wide variety of types!

The push-out pin marks (round dents) are not cool if they are noticeable after completion, so be sure to fill them in properly. In this case, since we are going to use the molded color purple, we injected Wave's transparent instant adhesive into the recesses, hardened it with Alteko's spray primer (effect accelerator), and then scraped it with a file.

Since there are many parts to be painted black, I sprayed Kreos "Water-based Black Surfacer 1000" with some parts masked. Since lacquer-based surfacers have a strong smell, I recommend using water-based surfacers that can be easily used indoors!

For the detailed parts, apply the water-based paint with a brush without removing from the runner. This time, we used Kreos water-based Hobby Color diluted with a dedicated solvent. By the way, the interior parts will be almost invisible after completion, so if you are not particular about them, just painting them in black will not be a problem!

Carefully paint the clear parts with a brush. If you are a beginner in brush painting, you can buy a set of several types of brushes (faceted brushes, flat brushes, etc.) for about 1,000 yen!

After painting the parts, let them dry thoroughly before cutting them out and assembling them in order. The paint will melt a little when using plastic model adhesive, but it is hardly noticeable, so it is OK (if it is noticeable, you can retouch it later)!

After assembling to some extent, spray Kreos water-based top coat (glossy) to protect the paint film, and after it dries, apply decals. When applying decals, use decal rubbers or softeners and work carefully. This is the most important part of the entire process!

After the decal has cured, apply a smear. This time, I used CREOS weathering color "Grand Brown". The atmosphere will change depending on the color you use, so choose according to your preference.

After removing excess smudges with Gaianotes Finish Master or cotton swabs, spray water-based topcoat (gloss) over the entire surface one last time. Then, after drying, glue all the parts together to complete the work!

Beautiful form! I want to look at it from various angles!

Thanks to the solid shaping at the beginning, the decals are adhering nicely.

The purple color of the molding also looks natural and plastic-like, thanks to the topcoat.

Click here to see the video!

For advanced users! Try your hand at figurine making!

Next, we will explain how to make a figure of Claire. After all, a cute girl goes well with a cool machine. ...... So, once you have completed the Sauber itself, let's try our hand at figure making!

First, cut out the parts and shape them. Be very careful not to damage the parts!

After gating the figure to some extent, drill a hole in the sole surface to make it easier to work with, and fix a 1cm diameter brass wire with instant adhesive.

Dilute CREOS "Water-Based Surfacer 1000 (Gray) in a Bottle" and spray it with an airbrush. Incidentally, resin figures, which were the mainstream until a decade ago, needed to be cleaned with a neutral detergent before painting, but 3D printer figures can be painted as is.

By spraying the figure with gray paint, the dents and bumps that would not have been noticeable if the figure had been left in its molded color are now clearly visible. We need to be careful not to miss the lamination lines that are characteristic of 3D printer kits, as well as the parts where the gate processing was not done properly!

Apply the "Water-Based Surfacer 1000 (Gray) in a Bottle" used earlier directly to the areas to be shaped without diluting it.

Carefully file the surface with a sponge file, and then spray "Water-based Surfacer 1000 in a Bottle (White)" with an airbrush. By using white as the base color, the coloring will be better and the painting of the costume can be omitted.

Apply the water-based paint with a careful brush. In this case, use Farejo Color, which is ideal for painting figures. The purple color of the hair is toned to my taste.

After spraying water-based topcoat (glossy), decals are applied.

Use a fine brush for smudging. The color used is black for a crisp look, brown for a realistic look, and gray for a soft look!

Finally, dilute a bottle of water-based topcoat (glossy) and brush over the skin and hair to complete the process!

Pop but realistic, great modeling! It might be fun to paint the costume in your favorite color!

As it does not stand on its own, I fixed it to a wooden block on the market and took pictures. By the way, the brass wire can be easily removed by pulling it while shaking it.

Click here to see the video!

Well, how was it? Although 1/24 car models are a bit challenging, they are very impressive when completed, so please give it a try! See you again soon!