Painting and Building a Scale Model Figure RC Driver

I recently got into RC building and some of the cars have scale model drivers that needs to be finished. I decided to give some attention to the drivers as I do with the cars. I’ve never had any scale modeling experience prior and it's something I avoided because of the time and skill required to do it (but also because I don’t have the steadiest hands).

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This is not a how to video. I’m no expert or experienced in scale modeling. Some of my steps might not be the right process so please view it as a grain of salt. In fact, this is my first time working on something like this. In this video, I only want to share my journey in making a driver for the Kyosho Javelin car I’ve been working on.

The Kyosho Javelin is an RC car that originally came out in 1986 and was re-released in 2017. The original driver the kit comes with is quite comical. It bothered me to just proceed with the provided driver so I decided to do something different and perhaps period correct. I immediately thought about the Tamiya Avante’s driver, but just the lower half, and the idea of pairing it with the ubiquitous and generic Tamiya man helmet. I also thought about movies from the ‘80s like The Last Starfigher, from the ‘90s like Fifth Element, and F1 drivers from the ‘70s as loose references.

I eventually found and purchased an unpainted Avante cockpit/driver on an auction site. And so I began the work. For materials, I used Army Painter acrylic paint for the body color, Vallejo Face and Skin Tones paint, Tamiya TS paint for the helmet, various Tamiya paints for some details, Mr. Hobby matte spray paint, Liquitex gloss varnish, and various brushes. I don’t have an airbrush and perhaps it’s best so I can practice my brush skills first. With the Javelin frame color and build I’m going for, the driver I worked on reminds me of a space opera character and vehicle.

In the end, I felt good about what I wanted to achieve. I think overtime I can become more experienced and confident with painting faces. However, my limitation is the steadiness of my hands because I can get occasional light hand tremors. I think anyone can do scale modeling with enough practice and patience (and access to tools is probably one of the important aspects of the hobby—aside from having a budget). Before I started, I read up on scale modeling, checked forums, and studied other people’s work. I believe curiosity has helped.

I enjoyed working on this and moving forward I’ll keep at it.

Thanks for taking the time to watch this video, I truly appreciate the views, and I hope you found it enjoyable and entertaining.