Project Bad Bunny: Paint and Starting Assembly.

Work has been moving slow but steady on project Bad Bunny. All the parts are painted and assembly has started. I went with Tamiya PS-23 Gunmetal for the color, and backed it with PS-5 Black to make sure it had a dark hue to it.

The first part to go on was the rear wing. I did that in two stages to make it a little easier. First I attached it at the back with shoe goo. Once that was dry I used body screws for the part that attaches to the trunk.

If something looks a little odd in the pics it is because I am only partially removing the overspray film to keep the body protected as much as possible during the lengthy assembly process.

Next up is mounting all these Rocket Bunny body kit parts...

Working with these overfender kits can be tricky. Patience is absolutely in order, along with planning ahead. I have had a few people ask how to work with the tiny screws that can be bought from Tetsujin and Speedway Pal. Here is a method that I feel works well.

First, I drill the overfender at all the rivet locations using a 1/16" (.063) drill bit. Place a block of wood or something under it to help with accuracy and to prevent drilling into your work surface. Drilling lexan almost always results in a burr forming on the back side of the hole (and sometimes the front). I use some small flush cutters to remove most of the burr and the tip of an xacto blade to finish cleaning up the hole. You want to remove any excess material, otherwise it will prevent the overfender from sitting flush with the body once it is screwed on.

Once I get done drilling the overfenders, they get carefully aligned with the body and taped in place. For this kit, I used shoe goo on the large flat part of the front fenders and also the side skirts. Next I drill .045" holes where the screws go. This gives the threads some material to grab onto, but does not let the screw deform the lexan on the body. Then carefully run the screws in using a #0 Phillips screw driver. Make sure to run each screw all the way in, but be careful not to make it too tight, otherwise you will end up win a dimple around the screw head that will not look very good. It is a lot of work, but the end result is pretty satisfying.

I wanted to go for a different look for the headlights on this build. Ultimately I went with a fixed bulb aero setup. The lexan pop up covers from the Tamiya body were used, and I modified the light buckets that normally mount on the stock bumper. I really like the look of it all together.

I plan on running fiber optic lights on the bumper, and this should all work well with the PiPES V2 light kit I have for this build.

That is all the progress for now. Up next, I will be finishing up the lighting and doing final assembly. I also have a new design PiPES exhaust he is making for this project. It should be killer! There are a few other finishing touches in store as well. Stay tuned...