Tamiya BBX Project
Page 2: Painting
This is a very complex body to trim and assemble since it has to wrap
around the roll cage. We start out with four vacuum formed pieces
of polycarbonate as shown on the left which are then trimmed into six
individual parts as shown on the right. There are two side pods,
two engine covers, a top cover, and a roof panel. The side pods
are not symmetric because they contain a larger cutout on the left to
remove the battery holder.
On the left I've temporarily attached all the panels to see how they
look. They use tiny 2mm tapping screws and, with the exception of
the top cover, are not really intended to be removed except for
maintenance. The top cover attaches with Velcro and must be
removed to access the battery. On the right I've painted the model
in brilliant blue (which I like a bit better than the regular darker
blue) and have applied all the stickers. I have not yet painted
the driver figure. The driver covers the receiver and some of the
wiring.
With the driver painted and installed, the final step is to trim and
attach the mesh over both of the "windows". Although it looks
really good, the mesh is actually quite annoying because the roof is the
natural area to use to pick up the model but any attempt to do so will
push in the mesh.
©2026 Eric Albrecht
