I'm back to US, and back to my workbench. Several projects are on it, but today let's talk about a project that has not seen light of day until today - I present you The Original Shark - Tamiya BMW ///M635 CSi. One of the most charismatic bimmers of the 1980's, the car that inspired hoards of followers and imitators in automotive world, but was never excelled in its time.

A high-end two-door luxury sports coupe dubbed the "Bavarian Ferrari", E24 6-series is considered by many to be the most aesthetically pleasing BMW of all time. Just 86,219 units were built between November 1975 and April 1989. About half of those came to the United States.

The M635CSi was introduced in Europe at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1983. It is essentially an E24 powered by the powerplant of the BMW M1 (the M88, now putting out 286 PS (282 hp/210 kW)). A catalyzed, lower compression ratio version of the car with the S38 engine putting out 260 PS (256 hp/191 kW) was introduced in the U.S. in 1987. All M635/M6s came standard with a 25% rear differential. U.S. models included additional comforts such as Nappa leather power seats and a dedicated rear A/C unit with a center beverage chiller.

The kit is an older (and not the most detailed), but still very nice Tamiya kit. Biggest advantage of this kit is the fact that it (mostly) has a good parts fit, as compared to famous Fujimi Entusiast version! I will be building the kit with the help of Studio 27 photoetched set, MSM Creating badging, and a few aftermarket additions such as wiring, flocking, BMF, and little 'Upgrade" bits here and there which I will point out during this WIP. Enjoy!

Body of hte tamiya kit is rather clean, and not too complex. It had few very faint mold lines that were sanded off, and few sink marks (trunk, sides) that were fixed with Tamiya putty and sanded smooth. I also removed embossed emblems (will use MSM Creating stuff) and shaved off door handles (S27 P/E will replace that).

Body, hood and chassis was washed, sanded, mounted and shot with a few light coats of Tamiya primer.

Finally, all parts were painted with Zero paints Tabago Blau, and clearcoated with 2K clear.
Parts are not polished yet, but they already look very nice! More progress soon!

I love this blue Alex!!
John

Very nice work Alex. the blue color is gorgeous.
You mention adding aftermarket stuff like wiring, so I suspect the kit has a detailed engine as well?...

Alex, that is a great start, the paint looks flawless.

I like to give a suggestion to help make my post worthwhile but I can't find any area in which to suggest something.

I have one question though, how do you spot those sink holes in the body? Do you use the reflection of light to spot the sink hole or just use feel?

Great start! The paint looks like amazing. Can't wait to see it polished.

Good Start, Alex. Can't wait to see your detail work.

What sort of adhesive will you use to apply the PE door handles. I'm sure by the time you are done with the body, it will be slicker than ice. That must make applying adhesive surfaces quite difficult, no?

Also, what BMW blue are you trying to replicate? I looked up a few BMW colors that were available for the M635 but couldn't really find any that were close to that blue.

Timeon said:
Very nice work Alex. the blue color is gorgeous.
You mention adding aftermarket stuff like wiring, so I suspect the kit has a detailed engine as well?...

Yeah, the kit has a very nice engine. I will further detail it tough - stay tuned.

ScottN said:
Alex, that is a great start, the paint looks flawless.

I like to give a suggestion to help make my post worthwhile but I can't find any area in which to suggest something.

I have one question though, how do you spot those sink holes in the body? Do you use the reflection of light to spot the sink hole or just use feel?

Combination of feeling the plastic, and looking at it really. You acquire this skill when you work a lot with resin! Plastic is a lot better in this regard though, but still.

VirusX said:
Good Start, Alex. Can't wait to see your detail work.

What sort of adhesive will you use to apply the PE door handles. I'm sure by the time you are done with the body, it will be slicker than ice. That must make applying adhesive surfaces quite difficult, no?

Also, what BMW blue are you trying to replicate? I looked up a few BMW colors that were available for the M635 but couldn't really find any that were close to that blue.

I use CA glue almost exclusively with P/E Dan. It sticks to almost anything, and holds real well. The original 635 color called Cosmos Blau Metallic, but I used Tabago Blau (another BMW color) which has better hue and fits the car better IMO.